Discussion for article #222986
Millionaire Tom Wolf?
Since when is it news that a candidate is a millionaire?
As reported by ABC News…47 percent of the members of the U.S. House and Senate are millionaires.
http://archive.11alive.com/rss/article/213220/40/How-many-millionaires-in-Congress
P.s. Congratulations!
Rep. Allyson Schwartz must be miserable. She gave up her House seat to compete in a primary for gubernatorial candidate, only to lose primary by 20+ points!
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Philadelphia was hers to lose, and she did it. She did not really start any type of ad campaign until about 5 weeks before the election, by which time everyone in the state knew Wolf through a bunch of unbelievably effective and positive TV ads (I had never heard of him until the first ad, and I immediately liked him after it even though I realized i knew little about his ability to govern). Philadelphia needs to be loved if it is going to come out and balance the rest of the state vote. I voted for her, although I do not know how well she would have handled a Republican legislature at war with itself (Tea Party Repubs vs. Repubs just in it to make sure they stay rich and get richer) and a small but powerful group of D’s that care little about anything but their own narrow interests. Rendell was not too good at it, for all of the hoopla— he left highway and transit funding in a mess, and Corbett easily dismantled his educational reforms. I don’t know if Wolf will do any better, but fortunately for him everyone hates Corbett, who has done nothing but destroy state funding for public schools and colleges, allow fracking with taxes lower than even Texas, ticked off everyone who you would expect to be his friend, and, just this year, increased gasoline taxes by 30¢-40¢/gal.
A year ago, when I saw Rachel Maddow interview Rep Schwartz, i turned to my wife and said: “She’s not ready for prime time.” No gravitas and what appeared to be only a superficial understanding of policy. Glad we went with someone else, as this is a prime pickup opportunity.
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Well, one thing about the rest of the state, we are wary of all things Philadelphia. So that’s a fine line to walk there. Rendell is widely recognized as a gangster out here.
I didn’t like the tone of Schwartz’ ads: they seem desperate and stretching to the point of being misleading. McCord turned into something vile. As DEP head, McGinty approved Rendell’s contributor-buddy’s coal waste fired power plant the day before new more stringent emissions rules were to go into effect so she was disqualified. So Wolf it is.
If we can get a severance tax on all this fracking that’s ruining our lives, it’ll be a small victory.
Oh, and Mike Stack defeated the extraction industry stooge Mark Critz for Lt. Gov. His positions on the issues are great, and according to him he earned a “0%” rating from “a conservative organization” (whatever that means.) So far, so good.
Now, if we could only figure out what his responsibilities are aside from presiding over the Senate…
It’s certainly true he had a prolific and effective ad campaign. Very positive messages, if vague, and so many you really wouldn’t have known anyone else was in the race. He’s a blank slate but winning certainly has to be in your skill set; otherwise you’re Adlai Stevenson.
Well, having written a few myself, I’ll say headlines for relative unknowns can seem a little undressed without an epithet like that. It needs something, and “Some guy named Tom Wolf” doesn’t add much information. ; ) It’s true that being a millionaire isn’t very remarkable in politics. I guess non-millionaires should mostly just stay home these days.
“Corbett is generally considered to be one of the most endangered Republican governors in the country.”
Endangered leading to extinction. There’ve been multiple issues over the years with PA politics, but the election of Corbett will go down as one of the most destructive low points in the history of the State. I am having difficulty thinking of one thing the guy did that actually benefited the State. Not one thing comes to mind.
There’s a time in every political cycle where someone like Wolf comes along and, as neutral as he may appear, he may be in the right place at the right time. I was working in south New Jersey earlier in the year when is campaign commercials were just getting going and I really, honestly liked what I saw with this guy.
I hope PA turns out in November and puts Tom to work. It could be just what the doctor ordered.
True, but I’m sure she knew what she was getting into. She needed to get her ads up on the air sooner before Tom Wolf had the chance to define himself and the other candidates.
Tom Wolf is probably the favorite for now, given how unpopular Tom Corbett is. But Wolf has several things from his time as PA Secretary of Revenue that Corbett and his outside groups can exploit. Plus it remains to be seen if a middle-aged white businessman from York will be compelling enough to young and minority voters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to show up at the polls in November. Corbett’s unpopularity alone may not be enough.
Sure, millionaire is sexier than some guy. It just seems out of place, or over the top…and too bad that more non-millionaires don’t run–campaign finance reform could change that forever. Someday?
They use “businessman” in the same way in the body of the story. “Millionaire” is weird, I guess because it doesn’t tell you anything about him really, just about his bank account, nor is it all that remarkable these days.
I would love to see campaign finance reformed. Again.