State Senator Scott Wagner has never been accused of being a shy person.
So it shouldn’t have been surprising when at the GOP’s annual winter meeting, Wagner had this to say about how Republicans in the legislature treated Gov. Wolf during the budget stalemate:
We had him down on the floor with our foot on his throat and we let him up. Next time, we won’t let him up.
I was covering the event last weekend and tweeted out that quote shortly after Wagner said it. Within minutes, the Wolf Administration was condemning Wagner’s language and fundraising off of it.
Therefore, you would expect Wagner’s first email message to supporters since then to address the quote in some way. It did not, although he has defended his remarks in other outlets. Instead the State Senator delivers a long, honest explanation on why he is so passionately opposed to the Governor.
After apologizing for the length of the message, Sen. Wagner proceeds onto his major theme: that while he had to work hard for everything in his life Tom Wolf is a spoiled, child of privilege.
“Governor Wolf was born into an upper class family, he attended a private high school, attended Ivy League colleges and by all accounts, had a privileged upbringing,” Wagner writes. “He was also given an opportunity to buy his family’s business which was started over 100 years ago.”
“My background is much more humble – I grew up on a farm, graduated from Dallastown High School, and only attended college for one year,” he continues. “In fact, I was not a very good student because I loved to work at my parents’ farm and neighboring farms, my uncle’s construction business, and I wanted to learn how things worked in the real world.”
This is only the beginning of a long Nixon-esque harangue about the difficulties Wagner encountered establishing his own business.
“Nothing has been handed to me,” he states at one point.
He goes on to denounce Wolf’s decision to veto the Republicans budget plan and reveals that he is loaning money to York charter schools.
“It is time to take off the gloves with Governor Wolf and get out on the field and settle this once and for all,” Wagner declares.
“My job is to fight the war for all Pennsylvanians and protect middle-class citizens,” the State Senator concludes. “Welcome to the arena Governor Wolf.”
What makes the message so extraordinary is not the negativity or the attacks, hyperbolic emails have been standard fare for all politicians for years now. Rather it is the personal nature of the message that is so rare.
Through his own words Wagner paints a portrait of two individuals, who despite both being from York County, have such diametrically opposed experiences and value systems which prevent any possibility of cooperation. As a result, it provides some insight into why the two parties can’t come to any consensus.
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27 Responses
According to the Reading Eagle, the Honorable Senator somewhat walked back those comments at a Berks Patriots meeting by telling the group he should not have said those things.
Balya who destroyed Westmoreland county is bad mouthing Wagner. That’s rich! Talk about contracts. You would know.
Rendell and Wolf ‘tanked’ Pa. Corbett inherited a mega mess had things going in the right direction and BOOM the nitwits put a liberal tax and spend back in.
Isn’t this guy a garbage baron? Apparently that’s all that comes out of his mouth too. Wonder how many government contracts Wagner had to build his fortune?
You white peoples sho is funny talkings about that noob Wagner. He’s just a backwoods klan member from York County. I seen him at the rallies back in the 80’s when we went up there to protest. He hates us black people. MaybeTHAT should be the story. Wagners’ klan ties.
Let’s not forget that Wagner made a bunch of money from local governments forcing their residents to use his trash service.
Wagner also exposes the way of the right wing extremists that have taken over Harrisburg. If you didn’t have a similar white, christian, & ‘hardworking’ upbringing as me, you don’t understand the people of Pennsylvania!
Tom Wolf did NOT inherit the family business and it was not “handed to him.” He BOUGHT it, along with a cousin as a business partner in the mid-1980’s. His family has NEVER believed in inherited wealth. He sold the business in 2006 and bought it back again in 2009 at the request of his former employees. He built the business a second time saving it from certain closure.
Tom Wolf started out in the warehouse of the family business as a fork lift operator loading trucks to make deliveries to their retail outlets. He later managed one of the retail stores.
As for the nature of the business, the model was radically changed in the wake of the Great Recession from hardware retailers and distribution to the largest supplier of kitchen and bathroom cabinets in the country. The Wolf Organization does all of the design work and contracts out the actual building of the cabinetry. Every cabinet is 100% American made right down to the door knobs and hinges.
Today, Governor Wolf has NO ownership interest in the business and no longer receives any type of salary from it. He is 100% divested of the Wolf Organization.
Trust me, I know or knew the Wolf relatives and this guy is a light-weight
They must be spinning in their graves to witness this turncoat. If Wagner was Governor we would have a budget.
What a mistake 10 million dollars made.
Two points:
1. Wolf had to buy the company from his family – at cost. It was not handed to him. He started out at the company driving a forklift.
2. Wagner deserves credit for building his businesses, but it’s worth noting that he is related to a very successful York County construction company owner. He’s related to York County movers and shakers, just like Wolf.
From The Untouchables:
Malone: You said you wanted to get Capone. Do you really wanna get him? You see what I’m saying is, what are you prepared to do?
Ness: Anything within the law.
Malone: And *then* what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they’re not gonna give up the fight, until one of you is dead.
Ness: I want to get Capone! I don’t know how to do it.
Malone: You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That’s* the *Chicago* way! And that’s how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I’m offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?
Ness: I have sworn to capture this man with all legal powers at my disposal and I will do so.
Malone: Well, the Lord hates a coward.
[jabs Ness with his hand, and Ness shakes it]
Malone: Do you know what a blood oath is, Mr. Ness?
Ness: Yes.
Malone: Good, ’cause you just took one.
Stop picking on Wolf. This is his first real life job. That silver spoon was hard to eat with. You should hear the comments the Democrats make about Republicans. Grow up wolf. Have your wolfpack put your big boy pants on while kissing your butt.
Has Eakin resigned yet?
John Galt: Obviously, you meant your thuggish, uneducated, no class hero (Scott Wagner) is the anithesis of “democratic” values. Trump has class compared to him, but then Trump went to Wharton and inherited his business from his daddy. But you love Trump, right?
While i don’t agree with wagner’s negative approach. He does have a point, wolf never had to worry about paying any bills. His entire life was handed to him on a silver platter, including his current “business”. Which, BTW if you look at his campaign commercials, looks like nothing more than a distribution center for his family’s business. All i saw were shelves of boxes, a forklift, and some semi-truck drivers…. He makes 2 million a year to run a distribution center for his family? To me, wolf has little to show for himself in which his family didn’t hand down to him.
Has kane resigned yet??
Classic simple minded Dem’s with their bleeding hearts and perpetually offended sensibilities. Wagner is the antithesis of Democrat values.
D.Miller, Your “Real Man” dropped out of college, ie; no brains…, while Wolf graduate from Dartmouth [the oldest college in America] with a degree in government, The University of London with a Masters degree and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] with his Phd. Now that’s some real brain power. I’m sorry if your “Real Man” is some huckabuck dope from the backwoods of York County that likes to cast aspersions and talk tough like his fellow criminal thug rats in the Republican party trying to run the show.It only furthers my supposition that when you have bruts running things, that, you have a bunch of half ass patch jobs to tie thing over when what you really need is a master plumber in there to fix the system. By the way, your comments shows what a dope you are too.
Wagner’s such a tough guy. He used to beat up on his daughter until she got a PFA against him. Real big man.
Wagner’s remarks are disgusting. If you don’t like what Wolf is doing, sit down, and be civil and speak about it. Wagner is an embarrassing representative of Pennsylvania Politics. Wagner should also be reminded that Wolf was elected by a wide margin of Pennsylvania voters.
This is the guy that tried to explain education funding in Pennsylvania by a helicopter ride.
People are also tired of bombastic twaddle that passes for straight talk.
Look at all the wolf trolls on here. Wolf didn’t build his company he inherited it from daddy. There is a difference between these 2 men, 1 is a man and the other a sissy girl leftist
Scott Wagner wants to end prevailing wage laws and hand over thepension fund to a private investment firm [can you say “political patronage”?]. Wagner is just another Republican thug from the criminal gang trying to exert their hold on state politics now. Well, too bad it won’t last forever. They may meet with some minor successes now, however in the long run it will ultimately backfire on them and they will pay at the polls. Keep it up dummy, we’ll see how far it gets you in the long run.
By the way, This York county Republican was a “write in” candidate” [1st ever in PA Senate] with just 14% of voters turning out for the election. Now he’s a flapjaw, tea party conservative who is so full of himself due to his huge personal bank account from his trucking company and waste management business as well as his handsome paycheck courtesy of the taxpayers of the stateof Pennsylvania.
Wagner is a classic example of someone who can’t handle success. He is devoid of any class and is just an obnoxious bully. But more importantly he is unfit to hold public office.
That man has never had his foot on anyone’s throat. He is a cowardly weasel. All bullies are. And, of course, he wants to be Governor. So, he is willing to put his ambition ahead of his constituents and his State.
People are tired the left being offended about everything. Its just another way to silence people.
Wolf to Wagner: Sorry for partying bro.