From the time I woke up this morning until late this afternoon, I’ve been chasing rumors and trying to confirm or deny information I’ve received from GOP activists around the state about a possible major shakeup in the 2014 Pennsylvania Governor’s race.
Late last year, Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor shocked the Pennsylvania political world when he announced he was considering challenging his former rival, Governor Tom Corbett in the 2014 GOP Primary. After months of speculation, Bruce announced that he “saw no cracks in the establishment support” for the Governor and he had decided not to run.
Fast forward a few months: Governor Corbett’s approval ratings are in the tank with even a majority of GOP Primary voters opposed to giving the Gov. a second term. Multiple sources say that if Corbett is the nominee, longtime GOP Money-man and Republican National Committee member Bob Asher will stay out of what is almost certainly a hopeless race.
For Pennsylvanians, the spectre of Democrat Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (an early favorite for the statewide Democrat nomination) as Governor should be terrifying. She would push Colorado style gun-ban measures, destroy the fledgling PA Fracking industry, and raise already sky-high taxes that make the Commonwealth among the most unfriendly states to do business. She leads Governor Corbett by a healthy margin in the early polls.
Tom Corbett has wasted his first term in office. He failed to pass any measures to curtail public sector Union power and only gave lip service to workplace freedom and Right to Work for the private sector. He failed to privatize state liquor sales, failed to push for property tax elimination, and instead, engaged in one voter-alienating gaffe after another.
Corbett, while pushing for mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds for any woman considering an abortion, advised women to “just close their eyes” if they objected. I consider myself Pro-Life but a statement like that certainly crosses the line. Recently, the Governor channeled his inner Rick Santorum and compared same-sex marriage to incest.
A few weeks back, I emailed Bruce Castor to see if he had any interest in reconsidering his decision to not run for Governor in 2014. Castor said that if I “wanted to start a groundswell”, he would make a final decision later on. I responded that fortune favors the bold and again encouraged him to make the leap.
This morning, a Philadelphia GOP Ward Leader sent me a text saying “have you heard the rumor?” I had no idea what this individual was talking about. I was told that a Harrisburg-area lobbyist disclosed the statewide GOP powerbrokers had decreed Governor Corbett will drop out of the 2014 race, not seek re election, and announce his support for Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley, a former Bucks County Commissioner.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Mr. Cawley but, unlike the Governor, he occasionally takes bold stands. At a 2010 campaign event, he told me “the time has come for Right to Work in Pennsylvania”. His ticket-mate had much less strident support for RTW legislation. The Governor told me personally that “if Right to Work comes to my desk, I’ll sign it”. Corbett had no intention of pushing for such legislation.
Unlike the GOP Governors of Wisconsin and Michigan who took bold steps to reform the way their states did business, Corbett has frittered away his four years in office and leaves his party badly weakened and his state in danger of having a Governor who is to the political left of Barack Obama.
The final rumor sent my way today is Senator Toomey is being courted to run for Governor and if he does, Corbett will drop out. Failing that, Lt. Gov. Cawley is considered the backup. Another activist (a former County Party chair) associate of mine told me that story is 100% false. For the sake of my State, my community, and my Liberty, I hope these rumors have a grain of truth.