Gov. Tom Wolf insisted that “the biggest problem in Pennsylvania is low self-esteem” at the National Governors Association panel in Washington, D.C., implying that the Keystone state should do a better job of promoting and touting the state’s assets.
“I’m not saying this is a matter of just confidence, and that kind of thing, but I think one of the things that a good leader does is – and I think as governors we have this opportunity to do that – is to actually tout our own potential, and make sure that we’re not wasting away in part because we don’t think we’re as good as we’re really are,” the Governor said.
He also made sure, however, to not undersell the importance of the state’s educational and economical success.
“I agree with everything…education, we got to build out the infrastructure, we have to make investments to make sure the economy can function, but I think the biggest problem in Pennsylvania is low self-esteem.”
Wolf’s spokesperson, Jeffrey Sheridan, tried to clarify this stance.
“Of course the $2.3 billion deficit Governor Wolf inherited along with a middle class that is burdened and schools that are suffering as a result of his predecessor’s cuts are the greatest challenges Pennsylvania faces,” Sheridan said. “As he has always said, the governor believes Pennsylvania is too modest about promoting its tremendous assets like our natural resources, our universities, our geographic location, our ports, and our great cities – to name only a few. He has said that many times.”
The comments are not dissimilar to sentiments Governor Wolf has expressed in the past, the problem though is political. Ever since President Carter’s 1979 ‘malaise’ speech politicians run from any statement questioning citizen’s confidence in fear of being viewed as weak or critical.
Still, Tom Wolf sold himself as an untypical politician and whether one agrees with him or not, his statement fits into that mold.
Update: PA GOP Communications Director Megan Sweeney released the following statement in response to the Governor’s comments:
“Governor Tom Wolf continues to prove just how out of touch he is with Pennsylvania families. Every day, millions of Pennsylvanians are working hard to provide for their families in the face of his looming high tax, big government agenda. Now, Governor Tom Wolf wants to raid family budgets and complain about our attitudes.
Governor Wolf’s decision to call Pennsylvania an ‘underachiever’ is a slap in the face to every hard-working Pennsylvanian in this great Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is the greatest state in America, and Governor Wolf’s public bashing of our great Commonwealth says more about him than it does about Pennsylvania.”
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8 Responses
Low self esteem, tired of being bullied by elected morons who talk down to us citizens, tired of being lied to and then ignored. Tired of the poor road and bridge conditions and very tired of poisons in our water caused by Fracking. Tired of the unions who support sending the work to China but the union thugs live in million dollar homes. Real tired of one of the most corrupt judicial systems in the 50 States too. Tired of be taxed, and taxed and taxed again and not one of the tax increases is ever used what it is claimed to be used for. Like you told Corbett, GET REAL!
The root cause of low self-esteem is the believing/acting on a lie about life,liberty,and happiness; and democrat/liberial religious people are the very people who are always resiting the truth that would set people free from low self-esteem so that they could enjoy the fullness of life,liberty,happiness here in Pennsylvania and ,of course, all accross America. The democrat/liberial religious person is always claiming that their belief/religion/leadership is how people overcome low self-esteem. The democrat/liberial/religious person does not like the idea that each person has the freedom/right to believe/recieve the fullness of life from God our creator. Gov.Wolf is a democrat/liberial/religious person.
Pathetic statement in front of national Governors.
Megan Sweeney could learn a lot about attitudes from the popular ‘Meanwhile in Delco’ Facebook page. Caustic accurate memes sum up quality of life in the 5th most populous county, and Republican stronghold. Drug addiction, poverty, illegitimate children, neighborhoods overrun with violent crime, home values plummeting, welfare recipients, you name it. The per capita income for the county is less than $30,000 with more than 10% of the population living below the poverty level! The popularity of this page indicates how many residents get it. “Greatest state in America”? Get real. The financial and educational reality only gets worse between here and Pittsburgh.
“Of course the $2.3 billion deficit Governor Wolf inherited along with a middle class that is burdened and schools that are suffering as a result of his predecessor’s cuts are the greatest challenges Pennsylvania faces,” Sheridan said.
Funny how he doesn’t say Corbett was put in $4 billion budget hole by Rendell and he manged to deal with it, without constantly crying about it. Wolf sounds a lot like Obama…keep blaming your predecessor, even when the issue was about a comment Wolf himself made (not about the budget). How stupid does this clown (Sheridan) think the state’s voters are?
Being a Republican, albeit a very independent-minded one, I don’t see any indication of criticism towards Pennsylvanians individually upon listening to Gov. Wolf’s comments, which is what I had initially suspected I’d hear, but rather a personification of what he sees as Pennsylvania’s economic situation. I found the PA GOP’s response particularly scathing. Yeah, I might not agree with him on everything. But give the guy a chance if he’s acting in good faith; he’s been in office for a month.
I’m proud to be a Pennsylvanian, and I’m sure the Governor is too. It’s not really a partisan thing.
JayT-
Wolf doesn’t want to tax them out of business. The proposed tax is less than what they pay in other states, and the oil/gas companies have been falsifying the meter readings for years about how much they’ve been extracting (and leaking into the atmosphere).
No, what Wolf wants to do is sacrifice the health and welfare of rural residents to pay for the whole in the education budget.
He recently stated that he was willing to put in a moratorium (ala NY) if he didn’t get the tax.
But, the point is that NY banned fracking because to the health and environmental issues and harm in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t an economic argument over taxes.
But, Wolf is willing/eager to ignore the key findings: “Fracking is inherently unsafe”
in order to plug a budget hole, regardless of the suffering of local rural residents.
But, this is going to bite him in the ass very soon. Corbett actively suppressed DEP reports, testing and investigations. The local residents have begun their own tests with recently available equipment/devices. The levels of toxins, leaks, etc. consistently exceed EPA and health guidelines, and the medical problems keep piling up. The industry has managed to pay-off, suppress and gag some of the health complaints, but that information is leaking faster than their wells.
Soon, the evidence will mount to the point where Wolf and his industry-friendly advisers can no longer ignore the harm being caused, nor the lies of the industry and their falsified studies and reports.
Wolf wants to boast more about our natural resources? I thought he wanted to tax them out of business and cheer “Go OPEC!”