They say charisma is two-thirds of the battle won in modern politics. If we put Presidents Harry S Truman and Dwight D Eisenhower in a time capsule and had them represent their parties today, both would probably be defeated since public speaking wasn't their strong suit yet they were two of our best Presidents in recent times. It's true Governor Corbett was doggy paddling at the shallow end of the pool when it came to oratory prowess but then governor-elect Wolf wasn't exactly a William Jennings Bryant either. In duking it out on the campaign trail, both candidates reminded me of two Palookas in a warm up bout before the main event. Charisma was a wash in the Pennsylvania governor's race so let's look elsewhere for Corbett's defeat.
When you look at the color coded map results for governor races across the country it reminds me of a thick red sash worn by a stout Uncle Sam. Even liberal Maryland decided to jettison wishful thinking and take a stab at fiscal responsibility. Why then does our Commonwealth of Pennsylvania defy the trend with a blue emblem on that red sash? Good question. Let this old farmer give one man's answer. They say charisma is two-thirds of the battle won in modern politics. If we put Presidents Harry S Truman and Dwight D Eisenhower in a time capsule and had them represent their parties today, both would probably be defeated since public speaking wasn't their strong suit yet they were two of our best Presidents in recent times. It's true Governor Corbett was doggy paddling at the shallow end of the pool when it came to oratory prowess but then governor-elect Wolf wasn't exactly a William Jennings Bryant either. In duking it out on the campaign trail, both candidates reminded me of two Palookas in a warm up bout before the main event. Charisma was a wash in the Pennsylvania governor's race so let's look elsewhere for Corbett's defeat. Although voter fraud is alive and well in Pennsylvania, it didn't play a significant role in the governor's race. It didn't have to. Early voter polling predicted an easy Wolf victory. Chicanery wasn't necessary. Only a few Philadelphia dead persons showed up at the polling places at the eleventh hour. Voter fraud had little impact on the outcome of this race. One factor that had a significant impact on the outcome was Governor Corbett's political courage to take on the 600 pound gorilla: public sector unions. Unlike his Republican and Democratic predecessors (Tricky Tom Ridge and Fast Eddie Rendell), Governor Corbett faced and tried to correct the fiscal madness of out of control public pensions. This fiscal time bomb has been abetted by the union bosses of the teachers' unions and the public employees unions. Those union leaders pulled the stops with campaign contributions and donated manpower to punish a politician who had the audacity to challenge their “Happy Times.” LEFTY'S LOGIC Stratton "Lefty" Schaeffer But wait! The same can be said for other governors like John Kasich of Ohio and Scott Walker of Wisconsin who survived the all out effort of the public sector unions to end their governorship. Therefore, Corbett's political courage in taking on third rail issues was not the coup de grace that caused his defeat. In my not so humble opinion , the Corbett defeat was inevitable, created by the inept campaign strategy of the Corbett team. First, early in the campaign the Governor's team decided to go negative based on the foundation of modern Liberalism: Two wrongs make a right. Unfortunately for Corbett, this strategy may work for a liberal Pol but when practiced by a conservative it appears awkward and counter productive. Second, and by far the largest category leading to Corbett's defeat, was the failure of his team to clearly, in simple terms, refute the questionable accusations made by Wolf's campaign. Two examples: Corbett failed to counter the claim that he was giving the natural gas drilling industry overgenerous tax breaks. His generalized counter statement that other states had different taxes was grossly inadequate. Governor Corbett was permanently painted as a politician in bed with the gas industry at the expense of the taxpayer. Also, The accusation of public school funding cuts by Corbett was probably the most devastating single issue leading to his defeat. Why his team didn't effectively counter that claim and turn the misapplication of Federal funds to temporarily “band-aid” out of control public pensions and salary, is still a mystery to me. Thus concludes my anatomy of an election. We have a new Progressive governor-elect. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, until evidence proves otherwise, that he will utilize his business skills to get our financial house in order. However, don't count on the Republican controlled legislature. They didn't come to the aid of one of their own as profiles in courage. Covering their own career-oriented anatomy has always been their M.O.
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