Well, it couldn’t last forever. Today the first negative ad in the Democratic primary for Governor was released though it is missing some of the standard negative ad fare.
State Treasurer Rob McCord’s latest commercial, titled “Sucker”, contrasts his 10% extraction tax on natural gas drilling to Tom Wolf’s (Katie McGinty’s and Allyson Schwartz’s) plan for a 5% extraction tax. Unlike most negative ads, though, McCord delivers the message himself and the spot is mostly devoid of the textbook scary music and black and white imagery.
“Here’s the biggest question in this campaign,” McCord states in front of a drilling rig. “Are we going to get our fair share from the fracking industry or are we gonna keep giving away the store?”
McCord goes on to state that his 10% tax will go towards protecting the environment and fully funding PA’s schools.
“Tom Wolf and the others would leave hundreds of millions of dollars in the driller’s pockets,” McCord continues. “That’s a bad deal for Pennsylvania. I’m tired of being played for a sucker, if you are too, join us.”
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25 Responses
I Do live in Susquehanna County. When the gas companies started drilling wells here, they made an offer to our PADOT to completely pay to rebuild our roads. DOT would supply their equipment and man power. Dot refused. The gas companies started rebuilding roads on their own using subcontractors. Pa passed Act 13. impact fee (+/- 50 million per/year) Pa state takes +/- 25 Million off the top. This is charged no matter if the wells are on or off. How are the gas companies getting off for free? A lot of you people don’t want gas wells, but you sure want our money. Some of you people want to move up here, but drive through our county on our 20 year old roads and you may want to change you minds.
Peter Pumpkinhead has spoken!!!!
Poor single mom upbringing.
Against all odds rise to power and wealth.
The only candidate to take on Corbett.
The only candidate with a plan for PA.
Is also:
The only candidate to outsource jobs to India.
The only candidate to furlough numerous PA employees.
The only candidate who has his children in private schools.
The only candidate to list his address as a UPS store.
I am sure we can do better for Pennsylvania!!!
I’m probably not voting for McCord, but I think two things bear mentioning.
1) This is a great ad. It’s not only persuasive to people who haven’t made up their minds, but it’s persuasive to people leaning against McCord like myself. It’s straight to camera, which is always the best way to deliver a hit, which mitigates the nastiness.
2) This isn’t a negative ad. A negative ad would say Tom Wolf is a terrible person, who clubs baby seals with the fistfuls of money he leaves for the drillers. This is a contrast, and the difference isn’t just semantics. The thrust of the ad is “This is why my policy is better than Tom Wolf’s.”
The smart thing about a 10% tax is that if negotiations take place, it can always be cut down to something less than 10%. To start with a 5% tax as others do, results in something less than 5% if negotiations take place. 10% is smart!
McCord reminds of the big mentally challenged guy from the movie Goonies.
If folks consider this a negative ad, then they have very thin skin and probably shouldn’t be in politics. This is a simple contrast ad. All 4 candidates want to charge an extraction fee and all 4 want to increase spending on education. McCord wants to increase investment in education at a much higher lever than his opponents and it’s the extraction fee that will pay for it. He has, quite frankly, a responsibility to disclose how he will pay for his plans. This ad shows that. Quit the whining folks. I think undecided voters will appreciate the frankness and ultimately vote for McCord.
You can tell who is in the lead and who is desperate.
Vote Wolf on May 20th.
You can count the number of jobs Observer, JB, and Peggy have created on the fingers of a man with no arms.
This ad is so misleading and desperate.
JB-
Corbett is so unpopular that a mannequin with a pumpkin head could beat him. Combine that with reminding voters of his record, and it’s a landslide win for Dems (hopefully with coattails).
There are plenty of Dem power-brokers who aren’t in elected office. Any union leader, big donor or some Philly Ward leaders would qualify (as well as various state committee members looking for positions or policy influence). My point is that Rob is a Dem-insider/establishment candidate. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, it’s also nothing to be overly proud of either.
With any change in administration, there are going to be winners and losers. The more independent a candidate is, the more confidence the voters can have that the picks of winners and losers are not repayments of favors/friendships/influence.
I have always considered Rob to be a honest and forthright. However, I also understand that he’s been in politics a long time and realizes that political favors are part of the grease that keeps the machine running. Rob has loyalty to those who have done right by him. “You dance with the one that brought you”.
Wolf seems far less likely to engage in the business-as-usual political games and shake up the status quo. He’s more of an outsider. So, I’d hope he’d be a breath of fresh air to PA politics.
I’d be happy with either Wolf or McCord as governor.
David – Wolf = Rendell, Stetler, Veon, DeWeese, Dwight Evans etc. if that is what you are into. Ask a current house member how they feel about those guys being gone or not in leadership positions. Robs strength is these guys aren’t his friends in my opinion.
Wolf and Schwartz are by far the weakest candidates. I’d love to run against either of them if I’m Corbett. McGinty doesn’t have the cash.
People are also ignoring the fact that Wolf can’t finish by writing checks and taking on more debt. It’s a problem from a very practical standpoint.
McCordLies-
I wouldn’t consider Rob’s ads to be ineffective. Quite the opposite. I know someone who was originally for Schwartz (mostly out of recognition), who jumped over to Wolf when he started airing ads. Now that she’s seen McCord’s ads, she’s on the fence between Wolf and McCord. The person is a retired teacher, so Rob’s story and emphasis on education resonates with her.
So, I think the next polls will show Rob gains some ground on Wolf. However, from a strictly “prediction” standpoint, I think Wolf will remain ahead come the primary.
I haven’t decided between Wolf and McCord for my own vote yet. They both have strengths that appeal to me.
I think Rob might have better/more-relevant technical/executive skills, particularly the mechanics of how things operate politically in PA. However, on the downside, I think he’d be more beholden/friendly to some of the special interests and status quo players who need a kick in the a$$. I think Wolf would be more independent of those interests, and I’d hate to lose a fine Treasurer like Rob.
So, there are pros-cons to either pick that balance out. I’m sure they both can defeat Corbett and that one of them will be our next Governor. So, while it’s a 50-50 proposition for me, the odds seem closer to 90% chance that Wolf will prevail in the primary because of his huge polling numbers.
In the end, there are going to be 1 million Dem votes in May. I have just one of those votes.
My guess is that McCord won’t get any boost in the poll airing this ad. His ads have been very ineffective since he’s begun airing tv ads. McCord is really putting himself at risk of other candidates airing ads regarding McCord’s record in the private sector when McCord outsourced good PA jobs to India. He’s also risking his opponents bringing up his character and referencing McCord’s own step-brother who referred to McCord as a liar. Everyone I told to agrees McCord comes across as cocky and arrogant. Western and Central PA are solid Wolf. I think McCord probably splits the Southeast with Schwartz with Schwartz topping him in the numbers albeit slightly. If this primary race continues as it has for the past 3 months, Wolf is the nominee.
McCordLies-
I haven’t heard an official endorsement from Sestak, but I suspect he’ll support McCord for hiring Joe’s brother, Richard, for the campaign.
BTW, I don’t consider this ad to quite be a “negative ad” (though it’s hardly a positive one). Rob’s highlighting a difference and just saying his plan/policy is better. To me, a negative ad needs to go further and imply (or outright state) some examples of fraud, corruption, incompetence, or misbehavior.
The people who are going to find this ad “negative” (against all candidates, including Rob) are the frackivists who don’t want any drilling. They don’t care about 10% vs 5% extraction tax, because they don’t want anything extracted. Among them, it might even hurt Rob more, because at 10% he has more “incentive” to keep the fracking going.
The frackivists aren’t going to be happy with any of the Dem candidates. My recommendation is that they focus their efforts on Dem primary races for State House/Senate to tip the scales toward more environmentally friendly candidates.
David Diano you know who Sestak is supporting right?
Another unreachable goal by the always negative McCordddd…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Time to put Rob “Gordon Gekko” McCord back in the box and return him to the store.
Negative ads don’t work. This will hurt the arrogant, self-serving Mr. McCord. He should go back to doing the job taxpayers elected him to do. He will lose this primary and I can’t wait for the blow to his ego.
Internal documents from Chesapeake show that their executives agree: PA is being played for a fool, as the only major fracking state without any severance tax at all. And 5% is below average among the rest who do tax it – so the other Dems are still doing the Frackers a favor – in return for Corbett-sized campaign cash, no doubt. And since we have the largest Frackabale reserves in the country – the driller will STILL go where the gas is, without a doubt. Anyone who says the tax will cost jobs has NO idea what they are talking about.
Don’t fall in the trap… Rob McCord is full of crap!!
Rob McCord outsourced good, hard working Pennsylvania jobs to India!
http://paindependent.com/2014/04/mccords-outsourcing-record-leaves-him-walking-a-thin-line/
Associated Press Article:
Stepbrother calls Rob McCord a liar!
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/04/mccords_stepbrother_slams_over.html
This is a strong ad by McCord, and I appreciate him talking directly to the camera.
However, I’ve recently been spending time with the anti-fracking crowd and they are interested in a moratorium, not drill-baby-drill-and-tax-a-bit-more. There are a lot of unknowns about the long term cost, and too many in the DEP are industry insiders.
We need our next Governor to take several steps:
1) Declare a full moratorium on ANY/ALL fracking where the chemicals used are not disclosed to the DEP and EPA.
2) Put some industry watchdogs and independent scientists in key DEP positions. Have them re-evaluate the existing laws, perform more inspections, etc
3) Give DEP real teeth and support in shutting down violators and implementing recommendations.
4) Use the increase drilling tax with the following spending priorities:
a) Clean-up, healthcare for affected residence, pay for damages caused.
b) Put money into building clean energy: wind, solar, etc
c) then use money for closing education gap
JB is spot on! Rob McCord is who we want for Governor. He has the strong leadership skills that is necessary to be Governor. Rob McCord will represent all of Pennsylvania not just the 1%. All the Democratic candidates are good, but my pick is Rob McCord!
This tax does not hurt the industry. It is a cost of doing business and does not have an effect on their bottom line one bit.
Also worth noting is due to the nature of the commodities market it cannot be passed along to the end consumer.
This guys an idiot, He really must feel that he has enough union money to run on. The problem is that a lot of these unions work in the gas industry. He’s trying to separate himself but he’s just too boring. This ad sucks
FRACKING is a crime created by Corbett. I plan to live in Susquehanna county. This is ground zero for tracking. We need help.
Strong and intelligent leadership is what is needed and what McCord provides.