Search
Close this search box.

Week in Review: As Onorato Momentum Builds, Oil & Gas Shill Corbett Doesn’t Think He Owes it to Voters to Explain His Positions

Week in Review:
As Onorato Momentum Builds, Oil & Gas Shill Corbett Doesn’t Think He Owes it to Voters to Explain His Positions
 
The stakes are high and Tom Corbett doesn’t understand policy, doesn’t care about it or is just plain wrong for Pennsylvania.  The proof?  This week voters were treated to the ongoing display of Tom Corbett’s inability to grasp, much less offer solutions to, the serious challenges Pennsylvania is facing.  At the same time, Corbett continued to defensively insist that people should just elect him first and then he’ll share what he really plans to do.  Corbett’s astonishing financial connections to the gas industry were exposed, while Onorato continued to gain momentum with new endorsements.
 
Corbett Remains Dumbfounded by Policy Questions, Just Wants to Get Elected 
 
“Corbett said this:  ‘Let’s worry about the election right now. Let’s get through this election and get into, into office. That’s what I’m focused on right now.’ Umm, Mr. Attorney General, voters are worried about what you or Onorato will do when you’re in office. And when you won’t tell them now, that should make them more worried, not less.”  [Capitolwire, 10/13/10]

Corbett garnered additional attention for his much-derided October 8 interview with WGAL-TV in which he continued his struggle to explain his proposed $3 billion tax increase on workers.  Making matters worse for Corbett was his assertion that once he’s elected, he’d figure it all out and let us know what he comes up with.
 
“Asked about his inconsistent recent comments about tax-hikes, Attorney General Tom Corbett said, essentially, don’t worry, that is for after I get elected.

No, Mr. Republican Gubernatorial Nominee, it isn’t. From a voter and taxpayer point of view, the whole point of campaigns is to find out what kind of person you are, and what you would do if elected.” [Capitolwire, 10/13/10]
 
See the full WGAL interview here.
 
Public Interest Groups Expose Corbett’s Massive Financial Connection to the Big Oil and Gas Drillers He’s Protecting 

“Spending $707,220 on a gubernatorial candidate who promises to save you $570 million makes a lot of economic sense if you’re a gas driller – that’s an 80,000% return on investment,” Josh McNeil of CVPA said.  “But taxpayers in Pennsylvania should know that every dollar that drillers aren’t paying to clean up their own messes is a dollar that our citizens will soon have to pay instead.  For $3,448 a day, Tom Corbett may be a good investment for the drilling industry, but he’s a subprime mortgage for Pennsylvania’s future.” [Conservation Voters of PA Press Release, 10/14/10]
 
Tom Corbett is adamantly opposed to requiring Big Oil & Gas to pay for the costs of oversight, environmental protection and road repairs caused by the industry through a severance tax like every other major gas-producing state already has. Corbett would rather Pennsylvania taxpayers pick up the bill.
 
Why? Well, two independent organizations, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Common Cause, revealed this week that “Corbett’s campaign received $334,500 from natural-gas industry political committees and executives during the 97 days covered by the latest campaign finance reports. They say that works out to nearly $3,500 a day.” [Associated Press, 10/14/10]
 
“[It will be up to Corbett or Onorato] to ensure that drilling is done cleanly, that drillers pay their fair share, and that local communities have the resources to deal with drilling’s impacts. Dan Onorato has a realistic plan to make drillers contribute to Pennsylvania’s environmental and economic health with a severance tax. Tom Corbett refuses to consider a reasonable and responsible tax that every other gas producing state has already implemented.”  [Conservation Voters of PA Press Release, 10/14/10]

Onorato Earns First Newspaper Endorsement of General Election, Support from Education Voters of PA

“Unlike Corbett, Onorato has had experience – and success – in government, both as a legislator (Pittsburgh City Council) and as an executive (Allegheny County). Pennsylvania needs a governor who can govern, cooperatively with the Legislature, to address urgent and substantial problems of finance and public safety, e.g., Marcellus Shale gas drilling related issues. In our opinion, Tom Corbett isn’t that person.” [Tri-County / Courier-Express, 10/10/10]

Dan Onorato earned the first newspaper endorsement of the general election, when he was endorsed by the Tri-County / Courier-Express this week.  The paper praised Onorato’s experience while blasting Corbett as a candidate who “just doesn’t cut it.” 

“We see no evidence that Corbett would deliver on what he promises – and plenty of evidence that a Corbett administration would portend years of divisive bickering between Corbett and legislative leaders of both parties, with ordinary Pennsylvanians caught as the ultimate losers.” [Tri-County / Courier-Express, 10/10/10]

Meanwhile, Onorato picked up another major endorsement when he announced the support of Education Voters of Pennsylvania.
 
“Calling him ‘the education candidate,’ … Education Voters of Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group based in Philadelphia, said it preferred Onorato over Republican Tom Corbett… ‘We are dedicated to putting pro-public education candidates into office, and Dan is committed to promoting equity,’ group president Susan Gobreski said from the steps of the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. [Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/14/10]
 
###

Email:
  • Do you agree that ByteDance should be forced to divest TikTok?


    • Yes. It's a national security risk. (60%)
    • No. It's an app used by millions and poses no threat. (40%)
    • What's ByteDance? (0%)

    Total Voters: 30

    Loading ... Loading ...
Continue to Browser

PoliticsPA

To install tap and choose
Add to Home Screen