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PA-Gov: Guzzardi Slams Corbett on TV

Bob-Guzzardi2In his first public interview on broadcast television, Republican candidate for governor Bob Guzzardi laid into Governor Tom Corbett for not keeping his promises.

“Remember what happened in 2010: Tom Corbett made a promise. He broke that promise,” Guzzardi said to CBS Pittsburgh’s Jon Delano. And yet, “In his campaign, he lies about it. He says, ‘I didn’t raise taxes. Promises made, promises kept.’ Those promises weren’t kept, and every Republican primary voter knows that.”

Guzzardi goes as far as to question the Governor’s conservative credentials.

“Tom Corbett, the alleged Republican, taxes Marcellus Shale, targets a specific industry, and then raises taxes on the motorist and the trucking industry,” Guzzardi said.

Guzzardi is running as a limited government and fiscally responsible Republican — a very similar campaign strategy to the one that Corbett is currently utilizing. But what makes Guzzardi different is that he is usually viewed as a government outsider, and he even told PoliticsPA that his own party is afraid of him.

“The Republican machine sees me as a threat. Corbett is panicking.”

It should be mentioned that Guzzardi’s claim that Corbett broke his promise to not raise taxes and fees is surely debatable. CBS Pittsburgh shows a video of Corbett from 2010 “pledging” to not raise taxes and fees, adding that it is something his administration “is going to aim for.”

However, Guzzardi sees that as a promise that the incumbent reneged on. He said that Corbett misled voters. “This is not an accusation. It’s a statement of fact,” he said.

Pending any appeal, Guzzardi is going to be on the ballot come May 20th. Although four Republican voters and the PA GOP challenged Guzzardi’s petition signatures, a Commonwealth Court judge struck down that challenge.

With his first chance to speak with the media, Guzzardi displayed his confidence going into the primary.

“I am very reasonably likely to defeat Tom Corbett for the Republican nomination,” he said.

If he intends to do so, he will have to up his fundraising efforts. Currently, Guzzardi has less than $400 on hand as of March 31st.

36 Responses

  1. @ “Not Ready”:

    By slashing spending for corporations [such as Penn & Comcast], he would use tax-$ to repair roads/bridges; he would also not be tossing $$$ @ DRPA [as per the legislation proposed yesterday by Vereb/Rafferty].

    @ DD:

    I have not predicted that the GOP would “surge” to Guzzardi, notwithstanding the multitude of postings I have provided @ PoliticsPA; you are [again] hallucinating.

    Also, notwithstanding whatever the unions might pay for the government to collect dues-$, you conveniently sidestep the fundamental concept that the entire involvement of government in this enterprise is inappropriate; note, for example, that even in Wisconsin, the gubernatorial candidate opposing Walker has not initiated proposals intended to roll-back what he has [laboriously, no pun intended] achieved.

    {note last line of htt p://www.nytimes.com
    /2014/04/27/us/politics/

    governor-with-eye-on-2016-finds-his-rise-under-scrutiny.html?_r=0}

  2. Sancho-
    I haven’t pulled back at all from Bob being a loony-tune. The idea that his positions are winning positions is about as loony as it gets.

    And, yes, changing how the union dues are collected has no other real purpose than to gut unions by making it harder to collect the dues and thus defund/weaken unions. If you are really concerned about the cost, then propose/advocate charging the Union a small processing fee (like 5 cents per week per employee). Even you must realize that with automated payroll systems the cost of extracting the union dues is minuscule. So, if Bob isn’t anti-worker and anti-union then ask the union to absorb the cost to tax payers, instead of gutting the system.

    As for my track record, it’s pretty good. You just keep choosing a sample size of one. Whether or not Bob got on the ballot has always remained irrelevant to the overall prediction that he wouldn’t win the primary. Failing to make the ballot was one of the ways he could fail to win the primary. I also predicted that he wouldn’t be able to raise enough money to compete. Oh, yeah, and I said that Republicans wouldn’t be rallying around him and flocking to his cause.

    So, you have been making predictions about the surge of support for Bob all along. Now, you want to pretend you haven’t made predictions. Typical.

    Just being on the ballot he’ll get 20%, but not from people who have any idea of his positions or know who he is prior to seeing his name on the machine election day. That’s not supporting Bob, but rather poking a finger in Cobett’s eye.

  3. Dr Sklaroff:

    If Guzzardi will not enact the gas tax, how does he propose funding the road and bridge improvements, which are desperately needed in PA?

  4. @ DD:

    What you demonstrate is that the aforementioned policies fall within what might be viewed as political discourse; for example, stopping government from collecting dues is not necessarily “anti-union” and it certainly isn’t “anti-worker.”

    Thus, behaviorally, you have retreated from the claim that Guzzardi is a loony-tune, to a point whereby his views could be reasonably debated [such as with Corbett]; would you concur that such an event should transpire [assuming the Supremes don’t overturn Leavitt]?

    BTW, regarding your prior gambit, unlike yourself, i’m not in the “predictions business”; indeed, noting your track-record, you may wish to join me in that posture.

  5. Sancho-
    Thanks for displaying the crazy: point-by-point
    “pursued polices that will raise the annual tax burden by close to $1,000 for many Pennsylvanians by 2018 -at least those who own homes and have jobs.”

    State income tax is about 3%. So, $1,000 is the tax on $33,000 income. (or the sales tax on $16,500 in purchases). Your going to have to explain where you get $1,000 in taxes.

    gas taxes pay for roads and bridges (which got a beating this winter)

    sell the liquor stores – this is mixed issue. lot’s of big private money to bribe politicians with. might get some support.

    fight to ban school strikes- so, you are against teachers being paid decent wages and have the right to collectively bargain? anti-education policy that will drive away talented teachers who can’t afford to hold that job.

    not sign any union contract that contains automatic forced union dues deductions: another anti-labor anti-worker position

    not sign any budget that spends more this year than last: this not only ignores inflation, it ignores underfunded areas like schools, education, roads, bridges, environmental cleanup, etc.

    The Forgotten Taxpayer: Bob will be the Forgotten Candidate

    Tom Corbett cannot win in November. I can: NOPE. Neither of you can.

    ALL the policies are LOSERS. You may be upset with Corbett for failing to implement them (though he pretty much supports them if he could get St. Leg to pass them).

    The policies outlined would destroy PA and hurt those already struggling.

    Fortunately, the GOP will be out of the Governor’s mansion after the election.

  6. @ “Not Ready”:

    I am not in a position to critique hearsay observations [regarding the meeting], for I wasn’t present; I am very much aware of his reticence to launch a campaign until his ballot-status has been clarified.

    Therefore, I will provide a bullet-point summary of his key-positions, and you [and DD, probably] may dig into them accordingly:

    The Republican establishment during the three years that it has controlled Harrisburg has pursued polices that will raise the annual tax burden by close to $1,000 for many Pennsylvanians by 2018— at least those who own homes and have jobs.

    If this angers you, if this sickens you, if this makes you feel betrayed vote for me on May 20.

    I am running to be the Republican nominee for governor against incumbent Tom Corbett.

    I will not implement the Corbett gas tax

    I will move to sell the liquor stores.

    I will fight to ban school strikes and other things that cause unnecessary increases to your property tax.

    I will stop Common Core.

    I will not sign any union contract that contains automatic forced union dues deductions.

    I will not sign any budget that spends more this year than last and I will gore the special interest spending oxen to protect The Forgotten Taxpayer.

    Tom Corbett cannot win in November. I can.

  7. “Dr.” Sklaroff: I live on the Main Line. If I am “ignorant” of Bob’s positions, is it my fault, or the fault of a candidate who cannot be bothered to raise funds to get his message out? Why should anone take him seriously when he’s not even taking himself seriously?

    I also heard he was at a local Tea Party event and had a bit of a hissy fit in public because they let Dom Giordano speak instead of him. True or false?

  8. Sancho-
    Corbett is the most vulnerable to the Dems. Not to anyone inside the GOP.

    That you claim Bob’s positions are “well considered” just makes it worse, because the positions are so foolish.

  9. @ DD & “Not Ready”:

    You are both ignorant of his well-considered positions on myriad issues, most prominently slashing expenditures [and killing Common Core]; he is not primarily antagonistic [although Corbett’s vulnerabilities…again deemed the most vulnerable Governor by the WaPo…prompted him to enter the race].

  10. “hannah” wrote:

    “Mr. Guzzardi is a threat to both parties because he is a threat to the banal minions who dwell in the sewers of a corrupt system”

    Clearly, “hannah” must be Guzzardi himself because no one else talks that crazy and thinks Guzzardi is a threat. 🙂

    The only “threat” Guzzardi poses is to the credibility of anyone who claims he’s a threat to either party.

  11. The appearance of conflict is not conflict as this latest post reveals. One who is aware could learn that the fetid sewer dwellers of Harrisburg of both parties use the same perfume: essence of cronyism. The only issue is who gets the long end of the 60/40 split of someone else’s money. Mr. Guzzardi is a threat to both parties because he is a threat to the banal minions who dwell in the sewers of a corrupt system.

  12. Sorry Josh, but just being the “anti-Corbett” is not bringing any new ideas to the party. Indulgence of Guzzardi’s ego isn’t necessary for the “health” of the party, nor is it “good for America.” I haven’t heard Guzzardi’s great ideas on how he would have funded transportation differently than Corbett has. He would instead tear down a Governor who has accomplished much by way of digging PA out of the fiscal hole left by the Rendell Administration, only to open the door so that another Rendell clone, or worse, an Obama clone can sit in Harrisburg and reverse the course we are on.

    Guzzardi’s candidacy is a joke and the only reason it’s getting any play on this website is because he’s a frequent commenter here.

    I never agree with Diano, but he’s spot on about Guzzardi.

  13. [sorry for the previous errant iPhone touch screen post] Guzzardi probably isn’t a threat to Gov. Corbett, but he is a threat to the superficial notion of party unity and concensus. While politically situated Rs don’t like broken ranks, R voters enjoy and need a mix of ideas and candidates. It’s healthy. It changes debate, introduces new ideas, challenges orthodoxy. It’s good for America.

  14. Guzzardi isn’t a threat to Gov. Corbett, but he is a threat to the notion of party unity and concensus. While politically situated Rs d

  15. One experiences the banality of evil in every generation under every failing system reeking of self-serving, self-dealing, self-interested consultants, cronies and hangers-on. “Who are they — this new generation? One is tempted to answer: those who hear the ticking. And who are they who utterly deny them? One must conclude: those who do not know or who refuse to face things the way they really are.”

  16. “hannah”-

    Yep. Nothing makes you sound “reasonable” like comparing politicians to Nazis. You should teach a history class with Cliven Bundy.

  17. It would be possible to note of the Harrisburg crony consultants, the lobbyists and the entire political class of both parties what was said before about the banal minions of another rotten, immoral system: “the trouble with Eichman is precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic but were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal.”

  18. Sancho-

    Still waiting for your % prediction for the race.
    The range of guesses I’ve seen seems to be 15%-25% ballpark.

  19. @ dd:

    You capture the challenge Guzzardi will face after his ballot-challenge has been rectified–although your third point is tangential, given the first two–and you can taste his performance in this regard by not only looking elsewhere @ PoliticsPA [“pa-gov-guzzardi-slams-corbett-on-tv/57284/”] but also by listening to a radio-interview by Thomas G. Brown on his “thetgbreport” page [“2014/04/26/interview-with-bob-guzzardi-replublican-candidate-for-pa-governor/”].

  20. Philip-
    “If Guzzardi can simply get word out that he is on the ballot, that simply might be the difference between winning and losing the primary.”

    1) He can’t “get the word out” with no fundraising, and no plans to spend money advertising his existence.

    2) Corbett’s got millions in the bank and will be on all the sample ballots.

    3) Guzzardi is going to have “Montgomery County” next to his name. For the GOP voters in Pennsyl-tucky it might as well say Philadelphia.

  21. in January, prior to Guzzardi annoucing he was running, he scored 26% in the one and only head to head poll against Corbett who reached 42%. Corbett only being at 42% means he is vulnerable. Incumbents statistically need to reach 41% in approval ratings if they have a chance to win. head to head match-ups are not the same as approval, but this still shows he is vulnerable, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the next poll which comes out soon would have them within a few points apart from another. If Guzzardi can simply get word out that he is on the ballot, that simply might be the difference between winning and losing the primary. Corbetts advantage is many disgruntled Republicans are gearing to vote COrbett out in November.

  22. “The new always happens against the overwhelming odds of statistical laws and their probability which for all practical, everyday purposes, amounts to certainty; the new, therefore, always appears in the guise of a miracle.” For the denizens of the moral propaganda swamps of Harrisburg whose banality is ideology enough, Mr. Guzzardi’s campaign represents improbability but to the average voter it represents a new day, a chance to strike the chains of the two party one master system and to reclaim a government too busily serving consultants, cronies and special interests. Now is the hour! Will Mr. Guzzardi be the man?

  23. Vincent – change your story lede to the “first and only public interview”

  24. Delano’s an anti-Republican hack. Buzzardi won’t break ten percent but Delano is wasting air time on this loser only to embarrass Republicans. I don’t recall him interviewing Mike Doyle’s primary challenger (or general election opponent for that matter). He’s giving free publicity to Buzzardi only because he wants to impugn Corbett. Remember – Delano was Chief of Staff to Doug Walgren. He can’t get over the fact that Brabender beat the crap of Walgren with Rick Santorum.

  25. Bob Guzzardi represents 25-50 percent of the Republican base. Hear of Scott Wagner? If the Guzzardi bid is a joke then it is a cheap one, not benefitting the Republican consulting class of Loudon County Virginia!! Bob will not coerce gullible donors to write chEcks to the Tom Corbett campaign to support the life style of Acting Governor John Brabender and others surrounding Corbett who are committing the sin of political necrophilia!!!

  26. Sancho-
    Guzzardi is just a clown looking for a circus.

    What did I “accuse” him of, besides being completely unrealistic.

    Are you honestly going to go on record backing any of Guzzardi’s wild claims:
    A) that Corbett or the PA GOP considers Bob a genuine threat, rather than merely an annoyance?
    B) that Bob is “reasonably likely” to defeat Corbett. What’s his definition of “reasonably likely”? 1 in a million? I guess the odds of Corbett suffering a heart attack or fatal slip-and-fall might be 1 in a million.

    I’m still waiting for your prediction on Bob’s % of the May vote.

    “Guzzardi is attempting to achieve the nomination via such mechanisms as Social Media” Translation:
    Bob doesn’t want to raise any money, because he doesn’t want to waste his time trying to convince people he is worth backing (or he has a message that anyone wants to hear). “Social media”, in this instance, is code for “too lazy to do anything but put up a site and see if anyone visits”. It is literally (not just figuratively) almost the least work he could possibly do. He’s not even posting here to explain himself.

    Sean-
    Bob is too small potatoes for the Rush-types to notice.

  27. Because DD keeps trotting-out trite accusations, I’ll only address Tom by noting that, yes, Guzzardi is attempting to achieve the nomination via such mechanisms as Social Media; otherwise, it would be desirable to engage in dialogue with him on his Facebook homepage.

  28. A few corrections to Guzzardi’s fantasy world:

    1) Guzzardi is running as a limited government and fiscally IRRESPONSIBLE Republican.

    2) own party is afraid of him? No. He’s just a nuisance that goes against their image of unity behind Corbett. Mo one thinks that Guzzardi will beat Corbett in the primary.

    3) “The Republican machine sees me as a threat. Corbett is panicking.” Not even close. Any panic from Corbett is from his poll numbers against the Dems and that he remains the MOST vulnerable governor in the country.

    4) “I am very reasonably likely to defeat Tom Corbett for the Republican nomination,” he said. At this point, the guys in the white suits should have put a giant butterfly net over him and taken him away for observation in a nice padded cell.

  29. I’ll vote for Guzzardi next month, just because I’m appalled at Corbett and the likelihood that he will destroy my party.
    With that said, Dr. Sklaroff, why should anyone take seriously a candidate who preens himself on the moral virtue associated with not fundraising, not building support, and not campaigning?

  30. Corbett signed the Grover Norquist “No Tax Increase Pledge.” Norquist himself has said that Corbett has broken the pledge. It is not debatable that Corbett has broken his no tax increase pledge. Guzzardi is right about Corbett breaking his promise. Of course, the promise itself was reckless and irresponsible.

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