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Conservative Activist Mounts Primary Challenge to Corbett

Bob Guzzardi
Bob Guzzardi

Angry with Tom Corbett’s record, activist Bob Guzzardi is mounting a primary challenge to the Governor.

“I would like to know if you think it feasible that you could get 250 signatures in your county to put my name on the Republican Primary Ballot as a challenger to Tom Corbett,” Guzzardi wrote in an email to Republican activists this week.

Guzzardi, 69, resides in Ardmore, Montgomery County. The longtime politico is an attorney and businessman who made his living in real estate. He advocates for lower taxes and is staunchly pro-Israel.

He cited Corbett’s support for the recently passed transportation funding bill, which removed the cap on the Oil Company Franchise Tax. Consumers are expected to pay 28 cents more per gallon for gasoline once the law is fully phased in.

“Why would you want to be complicit in the nomination of a Promise Breaker to represent you? This is a moment,” Guzzardi wrote.

The polls tell us that Tom Corbett is very likely to lose and not likely to get better with the Corbett Gas Tax.”

Following the legislative pay raise vote in 2005, Guzzardi stepped up his efforts to reform the Republican party. He’s contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Republican primary challengers and over the past decade, including notably state Sens. John Eichelberger (R-Blair) and Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon).

He also funded Democrats who ran against Republicans he thought were undermining conservative principles, including Brendan Boyle against former House Speaker John Perzel.

Guzzardi is a frequent commenter on PoliticsPA.

The Corbett campaign had not yet responded to the primary challenge as of 10:30am.

For months, driven by poor poll numbers and a belief that the Governor has not sufficiently pursued a conservative agenda (particularly on labor issues), activists have floated the possibility of a primary challenge. Names like Senator Pat Toomey, Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor and York County businessman Scott Wagner entered the conversation.

Guzzardi’s challenge has a silver lining for Corbett. It means that conservatives critical of Corbett were unable to recruit a notable public figure into the race.

Toomey categorically ruled out a primary challenge, Castor considered a bid but ultimately declined and Wagner opted for a run for state Senate.

Meanwhile, Corbett remained firm in his determination to seek a second term.

Guzzardi acknowledged his long odds.

“Winning is unrealistic,” he said. Instead, he wants to send a message.

“My goal is to mobilize a disaffect grassroots, the Forgotten Taxpayers, who are forced to fund Unions and Government Contractors and Vendors.”

He said that a primary challenge may even benefit Corbett in the long run.

“A challenge to Tom Corbett by The Forgotten Taxpayer and Constitutional Republican will demonstrate how ‘moderate’ he really is making him more appealing to the General Electorate in November 2014,” he wrote.

34 Responses

  1. Pennsylvania’s Challenges are Fiscal

    Pensylvania Pensioners need to be told that there is reaon to worry. http://www.empowerpa.org/which-pennsylvania-cities-could-be-the-next-detroit/

    Even Philadelphia’s Controller, Alan Butkovitz, a Philadelphia Democrat and “team player” sees the danger to Philadelphia’s fisc. The Numbers can be ignored only at the pensioners’ peril.

    “Butkovitz is concerned about the city’s steadily declining fund balance, which is projected to reach only $8.5 million by 2017.” http://articles.philly.com/2013-09-18/news/42151964_1_5-year-plan-city-controller-alan-butkovitz-pennsylvania-intergovernmental-cooperation-authority

    Chicago Pensions: Mayor Rahm Emanuel takes on Unions Governor Corbett will not. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20131210/DAAJB4881.html

  2. @ “Bob Buzzard”

    Guzzardi and I have been poised to address low-lifes if/when they were to have any cogent idea embedded within their postings; inasmuch as yours even lacks a modicum of cogent content, know that future uploads of that ilk will be justifiably ignored, and the monitors of PoliticsPA will be invited to block your computer from becoming engaged herein.

  3. You know of my hatred for the building trades is limitless, but there is one union I’m calling upon to help me collect signatures for my ballot drive. Fudgepackers Local 14th-Street-Gym will be going (back) door to (back) door with me this weekend. It’ll be festive, too as we celebrate! I’ll be wearing my favorite green-and-red singlet and a ruby red nose.

    I’ve also been keeping a list of who’s been naughty and nice to me on this message board. Turns out ALL of you have been naughty. Very NAUGHTY! And NASTY! You know what happens to naughty, nasty boys don’t you? Oh, Santa Bob gives you a lickin! A long, hard lickin! Now come here, you naughty nasty boys.

  4. @ Diano

    As is transpiring nationally, debates between the “GOP-Establishment” and the “Constitutional-Conservatives” are both healthy and long overdue; Guzzardi will be able to convey many ideas that heretofore have received scant attention, such as the tremendous fiscal support afforded entities such as Penn [which are already awash with $].

  5. Robert-
    I maintain my own statewide voter registration database, and help candidates with petitions every year. I’ve already marked Feb 18th (along with Mar 11th, the end of petitions).

    I think you over-estimate the chances of a crank like Bob even getting on the ballot or being a concern for the state GOP. Corbett’s got a ton of money, and no one is really interested in challenging him and emerging bankrupt.

    As Keegan pointed out:
    “Guzzardi’s challenge has a silver lining for Corbett. It means that conservatives critical of Corbett were unable to recruit a notable public figure into the race.”

    However, I think helping Bob with his petitions if he got challenged, would be detrimental to the GOP, so I’d have to consider assisting such a self-inflicted wound.

  6. @ Diano

    Your sarcasm obfuscates the key-issue, namely, whether Guzzardi’s challenge will serve to prompt the GOP to find a preferable candidate.

    BTW, signature-acquisition starts on 2/18/2013.

  7. Bob-
    You fail to grasp that Corbett is already too conservative for PA (unless the goal is to destroy PA’s education, environment, infrastructure and economy).

    Thus, your brand of conservatism would merely hasten the destruction. But, it would shine a light on how outdated and out of touch the GOP is.

    If Corbett was dumb enough to worry about your campaign, it would also force Corbett to run further from the center. This would be a helpful counter-balance to the Dem candidates running the the Left for their primary.

    So, it would be great for Dems if you got on the ballot, and helped the GOP shoot itself in the foot.

    If you actually get close with petitions, I may even considering assisting you against a petition challenge from Corbett. Getting you on the ballot wouldn’t violate my code against helping the GOP.

  8. Steve Todd is a Righteous Democrat who offers a clear choice in Derry. He and I, frequently, agree on issue of good government, that is, exposing people and businesses using government for their own power and profit.

    The phony “Transportation Bill” is an example.

    Sadly, his solution is bigger government with better people. I think our Founders had learned that only representative Constutituition Republic of limited and enumerated powers can adequately protect against an abuse of power.

  9. Dave Diano makes the point. I make Tom Corbett seems ‘moderate’ compared to me.

    Any Democrat will escalate the cost of government leading Pennsylvania toward Detroit.

    I advocate for reducing spending, borrowing and taxing.

    Tom Corbett is Goldilocks. 🙂

  10. I need people to volunteer to collect signatures on a petition to put me on the Republican ballot. Technically I need 2,000 with 100 from ten counties. As a practical matter, I need double that amount or more. Petition circulation begins Feb 11 and I have to file by March 11 to be on the Republican primary ballot. The primary is May 21.
    Given Tom Corbett’s upside down numbers, and given that there is no reason to think Tom Corbett will do anything that will improve those numbers, (and Corbett’s Gas Tax Increase won’t help with conservative and very conservative voters) , it may well be that I am as electable as Corbett in a general election and what happens when Republican voters realize that?

    Who speaks for The Forgotten Taxpayer if not I? And if not now, when?

    Please send me a Facebook email if you want to help collect signatures to put me on th May 21st Republican Primary Ballot.

  11. Bill Levinson-
    Interesting detail that you got your degree in b*ll-s**t from Penn State in ’78. However, Bob Guzzardi is a nut job. His presence can only hurt the GOP by revealing it’s worst ideological examples.

    So, the question is: How can Dems help get Bob on the ballot? 🙂

  12. Congratulations, Bob. “Winning is unrealistic,” he said. Instead, he wants to send a message. This is courageous and necessary for a well-functioning democratic republic. Unchallenged elections leave the candidate unaccountable to his or her voters. Way to make sure that does not happen.

  13. Addendum:

    Kyle Hess wrote “Wow, what a joke. He will sure up the homosexual Jewish vote I suppose.”

    If this is the most potent ad-hominem you can conjure, Guzzardi should have clear-sailing; although he has no problem interacting with the gay community [personally and professionally], he isn’t himself gay.

    He will “shore”-up whatever constituency that will resonate with his brand of Constitutional Conservatism.

    One wonders whether Mr. Hess is conveying his brand of anti-Semitism for all to smell but, regardless, the previously-provided hyperlink illustrates–in counterdistinction to this inane posting–that Guzzardi even aspires to win the African-American vote.

  14. This input is provided solely in response to the prior comments; my overall support for my friend, RRG, should be viewed as an ongoing disclaimer…although I will not discuss whatever he has divulged privately beyond providing a hyperlink to a recently-composed essay that channels his major concerns with Corbett’s performance [gleaned from his writings rather than plagiarized].
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/190552233/Action-Items-III

    The candor he has conveyed regarding his putative candidacy must be viewed as unique to the politicos who regularly read this [and other] “junkie”-style sites; the one conclusion that must be drawn by everyone [GOP and Dem] is that Guzzardi is “the real thing” who has unabashedly decided to “walk the talk.”
    @ Brad: Know that, alone, he acquired 750 signatures in 2010 for a potential candidacy for Lieutenant Governor [at the last-minute], so acquiring thousands is not much of a leap [noting the hunger he may already have experienced statewide from people who have problems with the incumbent [two months prior to when petitions must be circulated].
    @ jibob: Guzzardi may be many things, but he is certainly not “looney”; do a bit of research by checking-out his website, and you will see that no layperson is more thoroughly knowledgeable regarding what has been happening in Harrisburg for the past decade.
    @ Clutch Cargo: Guzzardi does not seek perfection, but he does rail against Republicans who are corrupt [recalling his support for Brendon Boyle over John Perzel] and expects candidates to live-up to their campaign promises [recalling Corbett’s “no new taxes”…even as he increased debt by $6.2B and hiked the gas-tax].
    @ sean ryan: Were Guzzardi to ACHIEVE “25%”…he’s probably be thrilled, for his goal [in my view] is to provide a home for those who have become exasperated by Corbett’s not having achieved the major goals he had established for himself [sell State Stores and achieve pension reform]…and who are justifiably worried that AG-Kane’s report on his allegedly-cursory investigation will drive his popularity into the single-digits. [*]
    @ Sammy Maudlin Jr.: Guzzardi’s Zionism reflects “who he is” as an ethical/educated person, and his knowledge of such issues is encyclopedic; this is a highly-motivated individual who exhibits humility [in-between shots @ politicians, sometimes employing stark-rhetoric and othertimes absolutely dead-on].
    @ PAINDY1: Your reference to “UPMC and Highmark in the insurance wars” is of extreme personal interest, for Corbett killed-off litigation [which I had filed, as President of the PA Society of Internal Medicine and as a PA Blue Shield Incorporator] to stop the consolidation of PBS with Blue Cross of Western PA; he countermanded the anti-trust official in the AG’s office, who had concluded that BCWP was itself already monopolistic/monopsonistic. [When I asked Corbett why he had done this (@ a picnic sponsored by then-Rep. Curt Schroder), he claimed amnesia, but I wonder….]

    And the last quote is so gorgeous that it’s worthy of being “re-tweeted” in-toto:
    Bill Levinson PSU B.S. ’78 on December 10, 2013 at 1:12 pm said:
    “I will vote for any stray pet from an animal shelter before I vote for Tom Corbett. This means that, if Allyson Schwartz is the best the Democrats can do, they had better visit the SPCA as quickly as possible because I will vote for Corbett over Schwartz. Schwartz has the ethics of a bottom-feeding ambulance chaser as shown by her advocacy of malicious and baseless lawsuits against gun manufacturers–sort of like allowing somebody to sue Sears Roebuck if a criminal assaults him with a Craftsman hammer. The danger is, however, that even somebody like Schwartz could defeat One Term Tommy. That is why we need somebody like Guzzardi to take him out in the primary election.”
    [*] – I would aspire to be a “fly on the wall…buzzing around Corbett” over the upcoming weekend @ the Waldorf, for the concept “you can’t beat somebody with nobody” is no longer applicable, and it is truly difficult to predicate one’s chances of re-election solely on a plan to paint one’s opponent as a leftist-extremist [regardless of whether she is or isn’t]. As I have written for the past year-plus on PoliticsPA, either Corbett comes-clean on Sandusky IMMEDIATELY, or his campaign could ultimately yield the loss of the legislature; I’m a GOP-Committeeman, so I’ll support the candidate who wins the primary, but worriment is widespread that Corbett should suddenly announce he has a chronic medical problem that would preclude his committing to serving four more years.

  15. There are many reasons Bob Guzzardi won’t beat Corbett in the Republican primary. The most important reason is that he won’t be on the ballot. Pennsylvania requires candidates for Governor to get 2,000 signatures, including 100 signatures from each of 10 different counties. Guzzardi will not get the 2,000 signatures or the 100 signatures from 10 different counties, so he won’t be on the ballot.

  16. Hey Bob —

    You would be more at home seeking the Democrat nomination. After all, that seems to be the ultimate goal of your very essence.

    You remind me of that episode of Star Trek (the 1960s original) where a rogue computer goes bonkers and tries to destroy everything in its path it deems to NOT be perfect.

    In the end, Capt. Kirk convinces the computer that the computer itself is flawed, thereby tricking the computer into destroying itself.

  17. Being “staunchly pro-Israel” is very important, given the crucial role that state government plays in US foreign policy.

  18. Any one running against Corbett in the Republican primary has to be a step up. You cant possible be a step down from the current governor unless you are a liberal. He has my vote!

  19. I will vote for any stray pet from an animal shelter before I vote for Tom Corbett. This means that, if Allyson Schwartz is the best the Democrats can do, they had better visit the SPCA as quickly as possible because I will vote for Corbett over Schwartz. Schwartz has the ethics of a bottom-feeding ambulance chaser as shown by her advocacy of malicious and baseless lawsuits against gun manufacturers–sort of like allowing somebody to sue Sears Roebuck if a criminal assaults him with a Craftsman hammer.

    The danger is, however, that even somebody like Schwartz could defeat One Term Tommy. That is why we need somebody like Guzzardi to take him out in the primary election.

  20. In truth, I think it would be easy to make fun of Mr. Guzzardi. But he’s not only talking about what he believes in, but getting involved and running himself.

    Sure the odds are long, and I’m not sure it’s the best idea. But more credit to him. More people should run on the courage of their convictions.

    PS – I promise I am not Bob Guzzardi.

  21. Well Bob doesn’t have a Paterno problem? Bob: Acting Governor Brabender wants to run your campaign too. Our Dark Prince is not very loyal but Brabender Cox is great with Chinese Walls and he will build one for you. Just like he has done with UPMC and Highmark in the insurance wars.

  22. What a joke.

    Guzzardi has always been louder in words than actions…and I hope those who would take time out of their busy lives believing they could help this man will remember that before they do.

    Go back to your keyboard Bob.

  23. Say it isn’t so.. The keyboard warrior himself. Best of luck Bob, to you and the holiest of all neckties.

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