PoliticsPA recently featured an op-ed from Katie McGinty where she made her case as to why people should support her candidacy for the U.S. Senate this fall. However, McGinty conspicuously overlooked the majority of her actual resume and record, which could prove problematic in November.
The Washington party bosses spent an astounding $4.5 million to push McGinty across the finish line, after lagging far behind Joe Sestak in the polls. She was also bolstered by President Obama and Vice President Biden who helped with endorsements, commercials, and visits to Pennsylvania. But McGinty is no stranger to special favors from the Democratic Party elite. Katie McGinty has long history of partisanship and insider deals.
Before she entered the Senate race, McGinty served as Governor Tom Wolf’s chief of staff, where she played an integral role in drafting and promoting Wolf’s initial tax plan. This plan, as reported by The Morning Call, would have raised taxes “across all income brackets,” and was such a failure that it did not garner a single vote in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, failing 0-193.
Even worse, while trying to sell Gov. Wolf’s out-of-touch proposal to Pennsylvanians, McGinty employed divisive tactics that alienated Republicans. As a result, McGinty was reportedly “excluded” from budget negotiations altogether.
This was not McGinty’s first brush with controversy in Harrisburg. While serving as Governor Ed Rendell’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) secretary, McGinty came under scrutiny for authorizing millions in state grant funding to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and a subsidiary which paid her husband. McGinty’s actions ended up in front of a state ethics panel, which unanimously rebuked her actions. The commission ruled that similar future actions could be punishable with a five-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine. This ruling was later affirmed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
And of course, there is McGinty’s well-documented use of the revolving door between official government positions and well-paying jobs on corporate boards. In fact, an NPR investigation earlier this year found McGinty was a top abuser in Pennsylvania.
As Pennsylvania’s DEP Secretary, McGinty was charged with overseeing Pennsylvania’s energy industry. In this capacity, McGinty supported or spearheaded efforts to provide millions in taxpayer incentives to companies she favored.
Following her tenure at DEP, McGinty was awarded with plush board seats at many of the companies she regulated and awarded taxpayer assistance to. In some cases, the projects McGinty helped fund failed, leaving people out of work and taxpayers holding the bag. But McGinty? Reports indicate she made more than seven figures while sitting on the Board of NRG alone.
Katie McGinty is the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate. One hopes she is capable of highlighting any issue where she is willing to serve as an independent voice, as Sen. Toomey has done over the past five years. Finally, McGinty owes it to the people of Pennsylvania to offer an explanation about her clouded past. Pennsylvanians deserve a leader they can trust to serve the state, not herself or the Democratic Party elites.
John E. Peterson served as the Representative for Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District from 1997 to 2009.
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25 Responses
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How many surrogates has Toomey paid off to make him look good? Some bitch white cop wife, Vince Papale and now this buffoon. I can see right through it. And oh yeah, my opinion of Vince Papale just tanked over the past 2 months.
Where is Toomey’s energy policy and how does it compare to McGinty’s solid support of clean and renewable sources?
Toomey is the candidate married to the fossil fuel industry and fracking bosses. It’s pathetic to see him use his oil-stained hands to point at somebody else.
Who? Some guy I never heard of takes on future Senator McGinty. Come on!!
It is certainly a measure as to how low we’ve come lately that the attacks are on former congressman Peterson (the messenger) or on Toomey for using a surrogate yet do not specifically try to refute Peterson’s substantive charges against the Democratic nominee. If you’re going to disagree, refute it and start a true dialog — rather than this incessant name-calling.
Toomey’s greatest asset as a Senate candidate is his presumptive opposition to potential Hillary nominees to the Supreme Court, while McGinty will lean far-left liberal, e.g., eviscerate the Second Amendment.
Toomey is a tool.
Outsiders can just share what other notable Dems have publicly recognized about her fracking love affair.
John who?????? Exactly. This op-Ed just sounds like regurgitated Republican and Toomey talking points. And yes, I voted for Sestak and also was considering voting for Fetterman, but I still think McGinty is better than Toomey. If you can’t even acknowledge climate change and the need for universal healthcare like every other developed country you are not getting my vote (and I always vote).
I’m no fan of McGinty, she is a badly flawed candidate, and just another corporate Dem who doesn’t deserve to be a US Congressperson.
Boomers need to all die off faster and let the rest of us fix what they’ve destroyed in the past 40 years.
Toomey’s aim since Day 1 with McGinty has been to smear her as some kind of pro-fracking environment hater (you know, like he is). It’s not true. She has a solid record of working for clean and renewable energy and spells out how she will continue to work for these goals as Senator. You can read about on her Issues page at http://KatieMcGinty.com/issues.
Then compare it to what Toomey says about energy policy on his Issues page at http://toomeyforsenate/issues. Oh wait, that’s right, you can’t — Toomey doesn’t even mention energy.
Probably because he’s the real fracking idiot in this race.
At least we’re guaranteed a senator who loves fracking.
With Peterson’s terrible record with women. What would you expect. Peterson’s views don”t mean a damn thing to anyone. If Toomey needs Peterson to speak for him his campaign is really stretching for support. Most women perceive Peterson as a moral pig. Keep on talking Petterson. You will turn out more votes for Katie than any commercial she could run on tv.
I care who wrote it. David is correct. One-Term-Toomey is a coward.
Katie McGinty is certainly a flawed candidate, but regardless, I would urge sensible people to hold their nose and vote for her over Pat Toomey, whose voting record clearly indicates he is out of touch with Pennsylvania, advancing a right wing agenda to further the interests of his political friends and not his constituents.
Same Old Same Old-
Why does someone else need to review Toomey’s perspective for him? Can’t Toomey present his own perspective?
More weakness from Toomey.
It’s important that this well written rebuttal is read and evaluated. Toomey deserves to be represented and his views examined in the context of the US Senate race. I think this is a good review of the Toomey perspective.
Who cares who wrote it. Facts are facts. I don’t know why he left out the whole dirty coal fast-tracking thing.
Obviously David, Toomey is busy doing exactly what he’s done for the past six years — nothing.
McGinty wrote her piece herself (or at least under her name).
PoliticsPA should not even have considered publishing a rebuttal that was not written/claimed by Pat Toomey.
Is Pat not up to the job?
He isn’t making plans to go to the RNC convention to “stand with Trump” and he isn’t preparing for a hearing/vote on Obama’s supreme court nominee.
So, that the f*ck is Toomey busy doing?
At some point shouldn’t you identify this guy as affiliated with a particular political party, just to give this political hatchet job some context? Did you flunk the journalism course in college?
Really? You publish a column by one of the worst Congressmen to ever embarrass Pennsylvania?
No chance Peterson wrote this. A ghost named Pat wrote this and some other pieces.