Should Toomey Challenge Corbett in GOP Primary?

An apparent April Fool's joke puts Sen. Pat Toomey in the running. What do you think about a GOP primary gubernatorial challenge?

Editor's note: This story has been edited to clarify an apparent April Fool's Day posting. In an apparent April Fool's joke, PoliticsPa reported that U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Zionsville, Lehigh County, told a group of conservative activists Saturday that he is considering a primary challenge to fellow Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Toomey's office said the PoliticsPa post is an April Fool's joke and that the video posted there is actually several years old. Toomey tweeted: "To paraphrase LBJ, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for governor…" and linked to the post. Nonetheless, some see Corbett as vulnerable as he prepares to run for his second term. Corbett's approval rating was at the lowest point of his two…

•  47 Comments
• Photos (1)

Tony

9:19 pm on Thursday, April 4, 2013

Toomey can be found here as well or a simple google search if Corbett's comments were sick enough and big government enough....Here are Toomey's big government comments http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/pat-toomey-says-if-elected-he-would-end   more ›

Tell Us: Do You Support Privatizing PA Liquor Stores?

Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett unveiled a plan Wednesday to privatize the state's network of wine and spirits stores. We want to know if Saucon Valley residents think that's a good idea.

The way Pennsylvanians purchase liquor could change forever if a plan presented Wednesday by governor Tom Corbett is ultimately implemented. Plans to abolish the state-run monopoly on liquor sales have been debated by many politicians in the past, but popular opinion now appears to support the idea. We wanted to know how Saucon Valley residents feel about this issue, so we posed the question on Facebook yesterday. Local resident Mary Anne Looby said her experiences living outside the commonwealth have influenced her opinion on the subject of privatizing liquor sales. "We are definitely for it," she wrote on Hellertown Patch's Facebook page. "It will allow for a greater selection of wines coming into PA. Competition means better prices. We …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Barbara Scherer

12:59 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

For now I believe the proposal is just for state stores but not the sale of beer. I agree the small distributors should be allowed to sell beer; keep the government out of these things. They control enough of our lives.   more ›

Corbett: State Can't Absorb Medicaid Expansion Costs

Gov. Tom Corbett says that expanding Medicaid in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would cost the state millions of dollars that it doesn’t have.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett said that expanding Medicaid in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would cost the state millions of dollars that it doesn’t have. “I don’t think there’s any way we can absorb this,” Corbett said of the expansion costs, while speaking to the Pennsylvania Press Club recently. As multiple states make their announcements on whether or not to expand Medicaid to more residents, Pennsylvania has yet to come out one way or the other. But Corbett was specific in citing associated costs, adding that Pennsylvania may not have room in the budget to cover them. Kevin Harley, Corbett’s press secretary, said later that the state is still waiting to hear back …

•  11 Comments
• Photos (1)

Amend Wun

6:28 pm on Monday, November 26, 2012

@Crestor- it's more accurate to state that the expansion of the welfare state is due to the ineffectual nature of our criminal justice system. Anyone who doesn't question a 500% increase in incarceration rates over the past 30 years is either blind or a fool.   more ›

Corbett's Approval Rating Up Thanks to Hurricane Sandy

Gov. Tom Corbett has seen a boost in his approval ratings after Hurricane Sandy

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – A new poll from Quinnipiac University shows Gov. Tom Corbett with a positive approval rating for the first time since March. Corbett’s approval rating in the poll is 40 percent among registered voters, with 38 percent of those voters disapproving. The governor has struggled with low approval ratings for most of the year, but pollster Tim Malloy said he won points with both Democrats and Republicans for his handling of Hurricane Sandy, which struck Pennsylvania in late October, causing flooding and widespread power outages that left 1.3 million Pennsylvania homes without electricity. “We would call this a Sandy bump,” Malloy said. “People like the way he handled everything recently during the …

• Photos (1)

Attorney General Candidates Promise Sandusky Review

On the hot-button issue of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case, Pennsylvania's attorney general candidates say they will look into how then-attorney general Corbett handled that case, which was opened under his watch before he was elected governor in 201

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP — Attorney General hopefuls David Freed and Kathleen Kane sparred over their independence and experience on last week during the only scheduled debate in the hotly-contested statewide race. During a snappy 50-minute exchange hosted by Widener Law School just outside of Harrisburg, the two candidates faced questions about their qualifications for the top law enforcement post in the state, their independence from state politics and their plans for the office, if elected. Kane, a Democrat, repeatedly attacked Freed as the “hand-picked” candidate of Gov. Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania Republican Party, which has controlled the attorney general’s office ever since it became an elected office…

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Pa. Steps Up Sales Tax Collection

Pennsylvania will collect sales tax from online retailers who maintain a physical presence in the state.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett‘s administration claims it will create no new taxes, but Pennsylvania wants to collect tens of millions of sales tax dollars from online shoppers this year. As of Sept. 1, the state’s Department of Revenue requires certain online retailers to collect state sales tax. The deadline stemmed from increased enforcement the administration announced in December. It wasn’t the law that changed, but how the state treated it. But some say the state overstepped its boundaries. On the flip side, others say the state’s law doesn’t go far enough. The sales tax applies to consumer transactions with online businesses with a “physical presence” — or nexus — in Pennsylvania. The physical …

• Photos (1)

Corbett Admin Warns of Cost Hikes and Fewer Federal Dollars

The Corbett administration warns that government programs cannot count on the state to replace declining federal dollars.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – An annual set of budgetary guidelines issued by the Corbett Administration to all state agencies and departments this month spells out the fiscal challenges facing Pennsylvania and warns that government programs cannot count on the state to replace declining federal dollars. Though the 2012-13 fiscal year is less than two months old, the recently published administrative circular is already looking ahead to expected cost increases in next year’s budget, forcing many parts of state government to tighten their belts even further. The document warns that budget planning for 2013-14 should be predicated on the fact that Pennsylvania’s economy is still in a period of recovery from the “Great Recession…

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

John Fox

2:41 pm on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

I think the reason incarceration rates are up, yet crime rates stay consistent has to do with the fact that you stay in jail for longer then just a few days. Someone who is in jail for 20 years contributes to the incarceration rate for 20 years, but the crime rate for only one of them... just saying   more ›

Corbett Less Popular After Second Budget

Gov. Tom Corbett signed Pennsylvania’s second consecutive on-time, no-tax-increase budget on June 30, but his approval rating with voters continues to slip in August.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent   HARRISBURG — Following the passage of his second state budget, Gov. Tom Corbett’s approval rating slipped again, according to a new Franklin and Marshall College poll released Thursday. The poll shows 28 percent of voters think Corbett is doing a good or excellent job, while 66 percent believe he is doing a fair or poor job. Corbett visited the Lehigh Valley last week to tout the creation of more than 500 manufacturing jobs at a Breinigsville plant. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was up slightly in July. Terry Madonna, a professor of political science and the director of the poll, said Corbett’s low ratings are largely based on his support for budget cuts in higher education, basic education and human …

• Photos (1)

Pa. Leads Nation in Federal Lobbying Despite Cutbacks

Pennsylvania has decreased its taxpayer-funded lobbying under the Corbett administration, but it still tops the nation in spending.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent   HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania may have trimmed some pork, but it still leads the nation in federal lobbying spending. Records show that Pennsylvania spends a fraction of what it used to on lobbying Washington, D.C., lawmakers and federal agencies, reflecting a change in earmark culture in D.C. and the state’s own fiscal restraint. Data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a research organization that tracks money in politics, shows Pennsylvania government and associated agencies spent $320,000 on federal lobbying so far this year. Of all the states, the commonwealth’s spending is the highest amount as tracked through federal disclosure forms, according to CRP figures. The figure includes $120,000 in …

• Photos (1)

Politically Uncorrected

If Romney Wins, Does Corbett Lose?

Political analysts speculate that a win for Mitt Romney could pose trouble for Gov. Tom Corbett if the economy continues to falter under a GOP administration

By G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young   Ironies abound in politics. Some are amusing; others are just bizarre. But few top the one now brewing in the Keystone State. Paradoxically enough, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett  seeking to banish Barack Obama from the White House, may instead be sowing the seeds for his own re-election defeat two years later. In short, if Romney wins in 2012, Corbett could lose in 2014. Understanding this peculiar electoral enigma requires familiarity with Pennsylvania’s famous (or infamous) “eight-year cycle.” This is the sixty-year pattern in gubernatorial elections that witnesses the Republican and Democratic parties switching control of the governor’s office every eight years. From 1954 through (at least) …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)