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PA GOP Picks Fight with Shapiro over Fracking

gas-drillingAfter much attention on the Senate contest, the PA GOP has now momentarily shifted their focus to the Attorney General race.

Specifically, the Republicans are attacking Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro for comments he made in his speech to the PA Press Club.

“Using my bully pulpit, I’ll advocate for legislative changes where I see fit. Now that’s outside the scope of the legal work we’ll be doing day-to-day in the AG’s office, but there’s nothing stopping me from rendering my opinion, and my opinion on this is that there should be greater authority vested in the AG’s Office. What we don’t necessarily need is a referral from a District Attorney or [Department of Environmental Protection] in order to pursue an environmental crime.”

The GOP believes that Shapiro’s desire for a “bully pulpit”, along with his past advocacy for fracking accountability, will cause harm to the natural gas industry.

“Josh Shapiro is more concerned with attacking Pennsylvania’s energy jobs than actually performing the duties of Attorney General,” PA GOP Communications Director Megan Sweeney said. “Josh Shapiro is running to be the most political Attorney General in the country, so it’s not surprising he wants to declare war on Pennsylvania’s energy jobs.

“We can’t afford to have a top law enforcement official who’s more interested in politics than restoring honor and integrity to the Office of the Attorney General,” Sweeney concludes. “We need someone who will keep politics out of Attorney General’s Office instead of doubling-down on the failed policies of the past.”

PoliticsPA reached out to the Shapiro campaign for a response.

“Apparently Sen. Rafferty thinks properly enforcing the law to ensure clean drinking water isn’t the Attorney General’s job – Josh couldn’t disagree more and both common-sense and PA law is on his side,” Shapiro Campaign Manager Joe Radosevich stated. “Sen. Rafferty is wrong to think special interests should have a different set of rules that put the health and safety of Pennsylvania families at risk and hurts responsible companies that do follow the rules. Josh will go after those that break the law. Letting bad actors off the hook is what hurts Pennsylvania’s economy and kills jobs.”

The Democratic nominee is the Chair of Montgomery County Commissioners and is running against Republican nominee and State Senator John Rafferty for the open Attorney General seat in the November 8th general election.

UPDATE: Rafferty Campaign Manager Mike Barley sent the following response to PoliticsPA:

“First of all, unlike Commissioner Josh Shapiro, John Rafferty is the only candidate who has a long history of protecting the environment, including voting for some of the toughest regulations on the natural gas industry in the nation.  

“Let’s set the record straight, Commissioner Shapiro is campaigning on a blanket statement that its time to get tough on frackers. Commissioner Shapiro is not saying that he is going after bad actors, he is saying that he will go after all natural gas companies because he wants to be an activist attorney general. Pennsylvanians don’t want an activist attorney general that is going to go after the entire natural gas industry because he personally believes demonizing them benefits his political campaigns. In this scenario, while Shapiro is playing politics with an entire industry, Pennsylvanians are losing family-sustaining jobs in the energy industry. That is a dangerous precedent and that is just one of the reasons that Commissioner Shapiro is a terrible fit for the Attorney General’s office.

“John Rafferty is going to go after criminals because they break laws, not based on a political agenda.”

16 Responses

  1. Rafferty in a jerk-off old-school Repervlican. He will get smoked by Shapiro. And then Shapiro can CLEAN HOUSE of all the back-stabbing Corbett-lovers and Fina-dovotees at the AG’s Office. Shapiro needs good lawyers and real prosecutors.

  2. Funny Josh takes a stand and makes himself perfectly clear. But Rafferty won’t comment. His lackeys do all his talking for him so the Dems can’t use what his lakeys say.
    Josh race was against zappila . Rafferty like a typical montco r…. Non existent…

  3. Stand tough, Josh. We chose you for the liberal party’s selection. Advocate for us, and we will support you. Move to the right, and you’ll need conservatives to fill the gap we leave.

    The left in PA as the USA is done having no representation. And so are We Almost All The People.

  4. Hey Nick Field. How is this the GOP picking a fight? Shapiro commented on an issue that is political and does not have any direct relevancy to the position he’s running for and currently in. Wouldn’t it be Shapiro picking the fight with the has industry?

  5. Shapiro in a landslide. Hillary too.

    McGinty takes out Toomey. Bank on it. The O knows.

  6. This will get Rafferty some gas industry lobbying money and get Shapiro the AG job.

  7. If this is the best the GOP has to work with, they certainly have their work cut out for them. Shapiro basically said he’s not going to sit back and wait to take action on environmental crimes. How is this remotely controversial? It’s the same as saying he’s going to take the initiative and be proactive in prosecuting other public crimes.

  8. It’s not Senator. Lipless Rafferty is desperate. He’s a dip-shit and he knows it.

  9. So basically Rafferty thinks the AG has to govern according to GOP rules/interests only. Good to know. Shapiro is gonna smoke you in November.

  10. What exactly did Shapiro say that was “attacking energy jobs?” All he said was that the AG doesn’t need a referral to investigate environmental crime. Why is that even a controversial statement?

  11. Fuck Frackers.

    Shapiro’s people should talk about the GOP’s attacks on “Choice jobs.” Plenty of people who work at Planned Parenthood would be kicked to the unemployment line if GOPers had their way.

    Rafferty is anti-jobs!!!

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