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PA-Gov: McCord Swipes at Wolf’s $10M, Corbett’s “Intellectual Rigor”

McCord
McCord

In an interview with NPR out in Pittsburgh, State Treasurer took a shot at former Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf in their battle for the Democratic nomination for Governor and also at sitting Governor Tom Corbett.

“[The Democratic Party] says we’re here primarily for working people who don’t have a house with a $200,000 net worth, let alone $20 million net worth,” McCord said. “To say we’re gonna give the nomination for governor to anyone who can write a 10 million dollar check out of their own household, I think it’s not right. It’s not the right thing for the Democratic Party.”

It was a not-so-subtle allusion to Wolf, who gave his own campaign $10 million, in addition to raising $3.2 million from other contributors.

Wolf’s campaign declined to comment.

McCord goes on to mention the problems with self-financed candidates and the distortion of influence between someone who can write a $10 million check, and a labor leader who has to aggregate finances amongst hundreds of members to reach a sizeable contribution.

It’s worth noting that McCord gave $1.7 million to his own campaign.

 UPDATE: The following statement comes from McCord’s spokesman, Mark Nevins.

“Rob didn’t say anything that Tom Wolf himself didn’t say a few years ago, namely that a candidate that who is almost entirely self-funded should not be a candidate.  For the Democratic Party to hand its nomination to such a candidate would be in conflict with Democratic Party ideals.  Rob’s campaign is built on the support of people from all walks of life, from all across the state.  As governor, he’ll never forget his own struggle as a child, nor the struggle of countless working families in Pennsylvania today.”

He also took a personal shot at Governor Corbett, after saying that he was owned by the energy industry.

“Now does he also have an appearance problem in that he took a couple million dollars? Yes, but here’s my problem: I think he’s not intellectual vigorous enough to be skeptical about what they’re spoon feeding him.”

A shot at intelligence is seen as somewhat “below the belt,” in campaigning.

“I’d think Pennsylvania voters would be better served if our opponents stuck to the issues instead of these types of comments,” Corbett campaign spokesman Billy Pitman told PoliticsPA.

 

21 Responses

  1. The new PA governor, Wolf, is a draft-dodger who inherited a cabinet business and is a millionaire. For real intellectual rigor, Democrats favor Joe Biden, who got 5 draft deferments and had to drop out of law school along the way for plagiarism. On the plus side, Wolf and Biden favor higher taxes and more illegal immigration.

  2. The democrats running for PA Governor will hike your taxes and are clowns. I thought the democrats hated rich white people haha. Corbett 2014!

  3. McCord also said on PennLive’s podcast about Jonathan Seidel that “a lot of people underestimate his intellect.” This seems to be a theme.

  4. Robert G.-
    What would be your alternative to McCord in November? Corbett?

    I don’t like Schwartz, but I’ll vote for her in a heartbeat over Corbett.

  5. McCord is such a hypocrite and if he does become the nominee, he should not count on my loyal democratic vote in the fall…

    He not only self-funded his campaigns but also accepted $500k from the former CEO of Sallie Mae who made a massive fortune off the backs of poor college students paying unusually high loan interest rates. He should return the contribution just like McGinty has done with her questionable donations. It’s disgusting that he would preach about how expensive college is and then benefit directly from a fellow who makes college that expensive.

  6. BTW, as for Corbett, he has all the intellectual “rigor” of a piece of cooked linguine. We had Bush Jr who was an unusually incurious person with the depth of a puddle. Sarah Palin is another GOP mental lightweight.

    Maybe the people running the GOP behind the scenes like candidates who aren’t bright enough to realize how bad their policies are.

    Corbett is an embarrassment to Pennsylvania that will soon be rectified come November.

    Paul-
    He’d be the first to win by write-in after to get on the ballot. 🙂

  7. Former Lower Merion Constable Eric Bradway will win the Democratic Nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania

  8. Also, if I’m Tom W. I don’t mention this or hit back in any way. Just keep focusing on my message and buying TV/radio ads. It is working and throwing others off their game.

  9. This is the reason why I don’t like Rob. He is extremely hypocritical in his comments about Tom W. and his shot at Corbett is a low blow (even though we all think it, you don’t go there at this level of a race) Rob is panicking because Tom W. seems to be gathering momentum and Wagner eats into the West with today’s announcement. Next few weeks should be interesting.

  10. Taking a swipe at Wolf (for having more money, rather than an issue) just comes across as petty. This is a rare misstep for Rob.

    If he is going to bad-mouth, he should stick to his buddy Saidel. 🙂

    I’m not generally a fan of self funded candidates, unless they practice what they preach and are offering a real alternative to insider politics. Wolf was in the Peace Corp, worked as a forklift driver (only one in PA with a PhD), and he built a successful business while profit sharing with his employees.

    Rob should stick to his own personal story, and attacking Corbett.

  11. Rob is a shark who has made a career off ripping off pensioners. Time to retire Rob “Mitt Romney” McCord.

  12. Isn’t Mr. McCord the one who has given non-competitive slices of the pension pie to hedge fund donors who line their pockets at the expense of the retirees? And hasn’t PA underperformed every other big state in pension returns because of this practice? That is standing up for the fat cat, not the working man. After the fraud and criminality pervasive in finance in the crash, why has president Obama prosecuted fewer wall street tycoons than any president since John Kennedy? Because he would have to put his friends and McCord’s friends in jail.

  13. If Jack gets on the ballot, he’ll hurt McCord – but with all the McCord endorsements that he has racked up all parts of the west (not to mention the T), he is in position to come out ahead of the pack.

    With seven announced and a potential eighth we are in for a whirlwind of sniping and whatnot.

    Let’s hope a strong candidate emerges and beats ‘one term Tom.’

  14. so you can give yourself 1.7 million.but when a richer guy than u gives himself 10 million thats a problem hmm.i think after todays announcement of wagner rob mccord can see his chances are fading fast he was banking on western pa thats why he is here so much.im sure wagner will carry this area easily.and now tom wolf is a threat to him grab the life preserver the mccord campaign is sinking fast.advantage schwartz and mcginty

  15. It does seem a little desperate when a guy who gave his campaign $2 million (and who gave millions to each of his previous campaigns for Treasurer) complains about personal wealth because he has to run against an opponent who can spend more money than him.

    I have no problem with either, but let’s be clear about how each made his money. Wolf is a businessman. He made his money by building a business making things people use. McCord was a venture capitalist. He made his money by using his money to get others to make or do things (no different from what a bank does when it loans money).

    Which is a better story to tell voters, a person who built a family business or a professional investor? Wolf already has spent a lot of money being honest and talking about how he made his money building a family business. Do you think McCord will spend his money being honest and talking about how he made his money?

  16. McCord may be in trouble. He doesn’t have $10 million to spend on his campaign. Wolf can continue to get name id even though Wagner is in the race. Schwartz courted Pittsburgh very hard. She may be in worse trouble now.

    WE NEED ANOTHER 3RD PARTY POLL! Where is Real Clear Politics when you need them???

  17. So a super rich guy taking swipe at the wealth of an even super rich guy? Yeah these are supposed to be our ultra-progressive choices besides Allyson Schwartz right? I will choose the woman with a proven record rather than the two business men to do what’s right for Pennsylvania.

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