PITTSBURGH: As part of their defense of Tom Corbett’s refusal to back a commonsense levy on the extraction of natural gas, his campaign argued that he opposed it because, the Associated Press reported, “a new tax might drive the industry out of Pennsylvania.”
That would be pretty impressive given that the natural gas deposits are located in Pennsylvania.
Where would the drillers who have literally invested hundreds of millions, if not billions, in Pennsylvania Marcellus shale go and still be able to get at the underground natural gas?
And wouldn’t they have problems drilling from another state – since every other major gas-producing state has an allegedly industry-chasing extraction tax in place already?
The Corbett campaign has yet to reveal their secret extraction process – perhaps they’re keeping the secret stored with the list of cuts Corbett will make to the Attorney General’s office budget this year – something requested by the Governor and that other independent agencies have agreed to, yet Corbett refuses to commit to?
But perhaps the Corbett campaign does not have a magic extraction process at all.
Maybe Corbett’s opposition is linked to the simple fact that Corbett is the state’s number one leader in accepting cash from the natural gas industry.
While it’s not quite as impressive as a magic extraction process, making taxes disappear for your benefactors is certainly a kind of magic.
9/1/10
HARRISBURG: Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato said today that Harrisburg Republican Tom Corbett is protecting big oil and gas corporations at the expense of the water Pennsylvanians drink and the safety of the state’s families.
Click here to see the web video.
“The Marcellus shale presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Pennsylvania – but it must be done right,” said Onorato. “My plan will create jobs for Pennsylvanians, enable the industry to grow and protect the environment.
“Tom Corbett wants taxpayers to foot the bill for protecting the environment, while I want the drillers to pay for it. He has made clear that his single goal is to prevent the oil and gas companies that are making hundreds of millions of dollars a year drilling in Pennsylvania from paying their fair share. That’s the difference between us.”
Onorato has issued a detailed policy paper calling for the successful and safe development of Marcellus shale resources in order to create jobs for Pennsylvanians, foster economic development and protect the environment. His plan includes environmental safeguards and a workforce development strategy to ensure that Pennsylvanians are ready for Marcellus shale-related employment.
Onorato backs a competitive severance tax on Marcellus shale drilling – just like all other major gas-producing states – and he would use the proceeds to fund enforcement by the Department of Environmental Protection, to help local communities address the impact of drilling on their roads and other services, and to pay for the renewal of Growing Greener – the state’s major environmental conservation and preservation programs.
A May report by Common Cause Pennsylvania revealed that Corbett is the #1 Pennsylvania recipient of contributions from the gas industry over the last decade. The oil and gas industry also helped save Corbett’s political career during his initial tight race for Attorney General in 2004. At the time, Corbett refused to reveal the source of nearly a half-million dollars funneled through the Republican State Leadership Committee, but campaign finance filings later made clear that the bulk of it was from the CEO of an Oklahoma oil-and-gas company.
Corbett opposes a severance tax, so that the oil and gas industry can evade its responsibility to taxpayers and force residents and other businesses to bear the costs of drilling. Even Corbett’s allies in the Senate Republican caucus have agreed to enact a severance tax, putting Corbett in the extreme wing of his party.
“Tom Corbett is taking an extreme stance against Pennsylvania taxpayers,” Onorato said. “He opposes policies that even the State Republicans and all of the major gas-producing states already support, just to help his major campaign contributors.”
Corbett has also called for “voluntary drilling standards” [Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 6/23/2010] based on “consensus” with the industry [Corbett public statement, 6/23/2010] – which would likely mean environmental regulations are even weaker than they are today.
And Corbett is against limits on new drilling in State Forests. [Associated Press, 5/12/2010]
“I will ensure that the Marcellus shale leads to new jobs for Pennsylvanians at the same time as we protect our environment, while Tom Corbett only cares about one side: the industry’s side,” said Onorato. “Tom Corbett is saying ‘no’ to oversight, ‘no’ to help for local communities and ‘no’ to environmental protection.”
Corbett has consistently chosen sides against average Pennsylvanians. His repeated comments that “the jobs are there” but unemployed Pennsylvanians would rather just “sit there” than go back to work has received broad criticism.
“Dan Onorato has a record of helping businesses grow while supporting good-paying private-sector jobs for workers,” said Onorato Communications Director Brian Herman. “Dan has proposed making business taxes more competitive and making the state more business-friendly, which he knows will make the state attractive for companies and for workers. Tom Corbett doesn’t have any experience turning around the economy – and it shows.”
9/1/10
PITTSBURGH: Harrisburg Republican Tom Corbett’s first television ad of the General Election is reinforcing what Pennsylvania voters are quickly learning: that the GOP nominee doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Here’s what independent observers are saying:
* “Attorney General Tom Corbett, the Republican nominee, seems to contradict someone surprising – himself, twice – in his first commercial…. Corbett touts in his ad the pledge he signed to not raise state taxes…. But Corbett last week said that that pledge does not apply to state fees, contradicting what he told a Pittsburgh radio station in March, when he said that the pledge counted for all taxes and fees.” – Philadelphia Daily News [9/1/2010]
* “[Corbett’s assertion about Onorato is] not true…. Corbett’s on-the-defensive TV spot about taxes comes just a week after Onorato blasted him for voting to raises Shaler Township property taxes by 20% back in 1988.” – WTAE-Pittsburgh [8/31/2010]
* It’s “an effort by front-runner Corbett to shore up his credibility after Onorato pointed out that Corbett had made contradictory statements about the scope of his no-new-taxes pledge.” – The Associated Press [8/31/2010]
* “The ad ignores two Senate Republicans who have also doubted if [Corbett’s budget] pledge can be kept: Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, and Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Rafferty, R-Montgomery.” – Capitolwire [8/31/2010]
* “What the ad doesn’t mention is that Corbett’s no-tax pledge has also been derided by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware)….” [PoliticsPA, 8/31/2010]
“Pennsylvania is facing a budget crisis, a deep recession and a Harrisburg culture that looks out for the special interests at the expense of the taxpayers,” said Onorato Communications Director Brian Herman. “We need real leadership and cannot take a risk on a Harrisburg insider like Tom Corbett, who doesn’t have experience and doesn’t seem to understand what his policies are or why what he says about them matters.”
The latest criticism is nothing new for Corbett, whose loose grasp of the issues has allowed him to make a stunning array of contradictory policy statements throughout the campaign.
Corbett – who cast one budget vote in his life and used it to hike property taxes by 20 percent – has tried hard to attack Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato on taxes, even though Onorato has balanced six budgets in a row without ever raising property taxes.
But asked by reporters to name a single tax that Onorato favors besides a severance tax on gas drillers like other states have (and which Corbett opposes on behalf of his major campaign donors, although even the Senate Republicans have agreed to enact one this fall), Corbett “struggled….. ‘I have to go look at my notes,’ he said. ‘I don’t have my notes here in front of me.’” [PoliticsPA, 8/27/2010]
And it has now been 2 weeks since Corbett was asked to take a 1.9% cut in his own discretionary spending, along with other state agencies, to help balance the current year’s budget. But “I am not making any pledge” to take that cut, said the candidate who had no trouble taking a no-tax pledge when it was politically convenient to do so. [PoliticsPA, 8/27/2010]
Corbett told reporters in January that raising taxes should be “a last resort” but that “you can’t rule anything in or out.” [Capitolwire, 1/9/2010] The next month, Corbett signed a strict no-tax pledge, which he has bragged about ever since.
Then, in March, KDKA-TV political analyst Jon Delano asked Corbett if the pledge prohibited him from raising fees. Corbett answered: “That’s right.” [3/8/2010] But now Corbett is saying that fees are not covered by the pledge. He told reporters on Friday: “…if there’s a misunderstanding, we apologize for that.” [Capitol Ideas, 8/27/2010]
Corbett has even called for a long list of tax cuts, from business taxes to the inheritance tax, without specifying how he would pay for them when the state is facing a multi-billion-dollar deficit. “Asked how many hundreds of millions of dollars it would cost to make his proposed tax cuts, Corbett declined to answer,” according to Capitolwire. [8/30/2010]
Earlier in the campaign, Corbett said that he “agrees” that “Pennsylvania should not incur additional debt.” [Commonwealth Foundation questionnaire] But Corbett then said: “There are going to be places where we need to use debt to build things.” [Capitolwire, 7/9/2010]
Corbett once said he wouldn’t have accepted any of the stimulus money when he was courting conservatives in the primary, but later backed Pennsylvania’s application for $400 million in stimulus funds for the education competition “Race to the Top.”
Corbett has requested an increase in his office’s budget every year that he has served as Attorney General – despite calling for “across the board” spending cuts for everyone else. [Harrisburg Patriot-News, 6/11/2010] He also says in a campaign policy paper that he will cut state administrative spending in all agencies by 10 percent if elected Governor. [Capitolwire, 3/22/2010] This year alone, Corbett requested a 12% spending hike – even as the state was facing a massive budget crisis.
It’s no wonder that experienced Republican leaders – like GOP Sens. Pileggi and Rafferty – are increasingly questioning Corbett's budget promises. As Corbett ally Majority Leader Pileggi said: “I don’t see how he can do it, frankly.” [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/28/2010]
8/30/10
PITTSBURGH: Tom Corbett, who has repeatedly made conflicting statements and policy reversals when discussing his own plans, last week proved he has no idea what he’s talking about when he’s discussing Dan Onorato’s record either.
On Friday, Corbett – who cast one budget vote in his life and used it to hike property taxes by 20 percent – launched his now-standard attack against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato, who has balanced six budgets in a row without ever raising property taxes.
Speaking in Palmyra, Corbett falsely alleged that Onorato supports raising taxes. But asked by reporters to name a single tax that Onorato favors besides a severance tax on gas drillers like other states have (and which Corbett opposes on behalf of his major campaign donors, although even the Senate Republicans have agreed to enact one this fall), Corbett couldn’t.
According to PoliticsPA’s Alex Roarty: “The attorney general struggled to name another tax Onorato supports. ‘I have to go look at my notes,’ he said. ‘I don’t have my notes here in front of me.’”
Corbett also whiffed at what should be a softball for a candidate who claims he’s committed to deep budget cuts. Asked by reporters whether he will agree to the 1.9% cut in discretionary spending to his own budget that Gov. Rendell has requested of all independent agencies in order to address the state’s current budget mess, Corbett “at first misunderstood” the question. [Capitolwire, 7/30/2010]
In fact, it has been nearly 2 weeks since Corbett was asked to take a 1.9% cut in his own discretionary spending. But “I am not making any pledge” to take that cut, said the candidate who had no trouble taking a no-tax pledge when it was politically convenient to do so.
Corbett’s loose grasp of the issues has allowed him to make a stunning array of contradictory policy statements throughout the campaign:
* Corbett told reporters in January that raising taxes should be “a last resort” but that “you can’t rule anything in or out.” [Capitolwire, 1/9/2010] The next month, Corbett signed a strict no-tax pledge, which he has bragged about ever since.
* Then, in March, KDKA-TV political analyst Jon Delano asked Corbett if the pledge prohibited him from raising fees. Corbett answered: “That’s right.” [3/8/2010] But now Corbett is saying that fees are not covered by the pledge. He told reporters on Friday: “…if there’s a misunderstanding, we apologize for that.” [Capitol Ideas, 8/27/2010]
* Corbett has even called for a long list of tax cuts, from business taxes to the inheritance tax, without specifying how he would pay for them when the state is facing a multi-billion-dollar deficit. “Asked how many hundreds of millions of dollars it would cost to make his proposed tax cuts, Corbett declined to answer,” according to Capitolwire. [8/30/2010]
* Earlier in the campaign, Corbett said that he “agrees” that “Pennsylvania should not incur additional debt.” [Commonwealth Foundation questionnaire] But Corbett then said: “There are going to be places where we need to use debt to build things.” [Capitolwire, 7/9/2010]
* Corbett once said he wouldn’t have accepted any of the stimulus money when he was courting conservatives in the primary, but later backed Pennsylvania’s application for $400 million in stimulus funds for the education competition “Race to the Top.”
* Corbett has requested an increase in his office’s budget every year that he has served as Attorney General – despite calling for “across the board” spending cuts for everyone else. [Harrisburg Patriot-News, 6/11/2010] He also says in a campaign policy paper that he will cut state administrative spending in all agencies by 10 percent if elected Governor. [Capitolwire, 3/22/2010] This year alone, Corbett requested a 12% spending hike – even as the state was facing a massive budget crisis.
It’s no wonder that experienced Republican leaders are increasingly questioning Corbett's budget promises. As Corbett ally Senate Republican Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said: “I don’t see how he can do it, frankly.” [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/28/2010] And Republican State Senator John Rafferty made similar comments just last week.
“We need real leadership and cannot take a risk on someone who doesn’t have experience and doesn’t seem to understand what his policies are or why what he says about them matters,” said Onorato Communications Director Brian Herman.
8/27/10
PITTSBURGH: With less than 70 days until the General Election, a portrait is emerging of Harrisburg Republican Tom Corbett as a candidate who says what the audience in front of him wants to hear, but whose experience and ability to deliver do not match his rhetoric.
Experienced Republican leaders are increasingly questioning Corbett's budget promises. As Corbett ally Senate Republican Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said: “I don’t see how he can do it, frankly.” [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/28/2010] This week, Republican State Senator John Rafferty made similar comments.
Consider:
* Corbett told reporters in January that raising taxes should be “a last resort” but that “you can’t rule anything in or out.” [Capitolwire, 1/9/2010] The next month, Corbett signed a strict no-tax pledge, which he has bragged about ever since.
* Then, in March, KDKA-TV political analyst Jon Delano asked Corbett if the pledge prohibited him from raising fees. Corbett answered: “That’s right.” [3/8/2010] But now Corbett’s spokesman is telling reporters that “fees are not included in that.” [Capitolwire, 8/25/2010]
* Corbett has even called for a long list of tax cuts, from business taxes to the inheritance tax, without specifying how he would pay for them when the state is facing a multi-billion-dollar deficit.
* Corbett’s own fiscal experience is extremely limited, consisting of a single budget vote in 1988 as a Shaler Township Commissioner. The one time he had the responsibility of enacting a budget, Corbett cast the deciding vote in favor a 20% property tax hike instead of cutting spending.
* And while Corbett has called for “across-the-board” budget cuts [Harrisburg Patriot-News, 6/11/2010] and said as recently as last weekend on the campaign trail that “We are going to have to cut and reduce our spending,” [Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, 8/22/2010] he has been publicly silent about whether he will agree to a 1.9% cut in discretionary spending to his own budget that Gov. Rendell has requested of all independent agencies in order to address the state’s current budget mess.
So it should come as no surprise that as Attorney General, Corbett has asked for more money for his own office every single year, and on the campaign trail he has proposed tens of millions of dollars in new spending for a range of state programs.
“The fact that Corbett constantly changes his positions lets us know a lot about him and his qualifications,” said Onorato Communications Director Brian Herman. “Our state faces major challenges – from a fiscal crisis to a disillusioned citizenry – and voters can’t afford to take the risk on a candidate who doesn’t have experience and doesn’t seem to understand what his policies are.”
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato has balanced six consecutive budgets without ever raising property taxes. Running Pennsylvania’s second-largest county, he reformed government, cut waste and patronage, and insisted on efficiency.
Under Onorato’s leadership, Allegheny County has withstood the national recession far better than much of the country, and its unemployment rate is significantly lower than both the nation’s and the state’s.
“It’s easy for a candidate to make a promise on the campaign trail, but voters need to take a look at our records,” said Onorato. “I have the experience to make the state live within its means and to grow our economy.”
PITTSBURGH: GOP gubernatorial nominee Tom Corbett, the only candidate who has raised property taxes, backed away from his “no-tax-pledge” yesterday – raising new questions about his ability to balance the budget and handle the economic crisis facing Pennsylvania.
See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ4T6xCA7j0
In January, Corbett told reporters that raising taxes should be a “last resort” but that “you can’t rule anything in or out.” [Capitolwire, 1/9/2010]
Under political heat from his primary opponent, Corbett soon back-tracked. The next month, he signed a no-tax pledge sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform, and he has consistently bragged about the pledge on the campaign trail ever since.
In an interview on KDKA-TV, Corbett then had the following exchange with political analyst Jon Delano:
Corbett: “…No tax increases whatsoever.”
Delano: “And that would include fees… use of services and things like that?”
Corbett: “That’s right.” [3/8/2010]
But not any more.
Yesterday, Capitolwire reported that: “Corbett spokesman Kevin Harley said Tuesday that in Corbett’s ‘taxpayer protection pledge, fees are not included in that, just taxes are.’” [8/24/2010]
And the Associated press said that “(Corbett) told The Associated Press in a July interview that the (no-tax-increase pledge) would not stand in the way of increase in fees – for such items as vehicle registrations and driver’s licenses – and other levies that are not called taxes.” [8/24/2010]
Also yesterday, another of Corbett’s Republican allies – State Senator John Rafferty – raised questions about whether Corbett would keep his promises if elected Governor. Earlier this Summer, Republican Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi had said that he doubted whether Corbett could keep his budget pledges, and challenged Corbett to provide evidence of what he would cut. Corbett has not done so.
“It’s easy for a candidate to make a promise on the campaign trail, but voters need to take a look at our records,” said Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato. “I have balanced the budget for six years in a row without ever raising property taxes. Tom Corbett was responsible for a budget just once, and he cast the deciding vote to raise property taxes by 20%.
“I’ve been asked why I’m talking about a vote that Corbett made in 1988. It’s because he has so little experience, you have to go back that far.”
The fee-hike flip-flop is just the latest example of Corbett’s shifting budget positions.
Earlier in the campaign, Corbett said that he “agrees” that “Pennsylvania should not incur additional debt.” [Commonwealth Foundation questionnaire] But Corbett then said: “There are going to be places where we need to use debt to build things.” [Capitolwire, 7/9/2010]
Corbett once said he wouldn’t have accepted any of the stimulus money when he was courting conservatives in the primary, but later backed Pennsylvania’s application for $400 million in stimulus funds for the education competition “Race to the Top” in the general election.
Corbett has also called for both limiting spending growth [Commonwealth Foundation questionnaire] and across-the-board spending cuts [Harrisburg Patriot-News, 6/11/2010], while also requesting additional spending for his own office.
So it should come as no surprise that while calling for across-the-board cuts, Corbett has also proposed tens of millions of dollars in new spending on the campaign trail.
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