Republicans rallied for Gov. Tom Corbett’s re-election today in Dunmore, but his visit to Sherwood Freightliner also felt like an audition.
The speakers before Mr. Corbett included three potential Republican candidates for governor in 2018. About 100 local party loyalists looked on, many probably hoping one of the three steps forward in 2013. The audience applauded more enthusiastically for them at times than the governor.
— Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley. State Republican Party chairman Rob Gleason called the former Bucks County commissioner “the finest lieutenant governor in the whole United States.” (Mr. Cawley called Mr. Gleason “the best state chairman in the entire country.”) The compliment is meaningless because almost no one knows what an LG does unless the LG screws up. (See former Lt. Gov. Mark Singel.)
Mr. Cawley seemed a whole lot more comfortable and animated behind the microphone than Mr. Corbett often does. (They all did actually.) He said Mr. Corbett had eliminated an inherited $4.2 billion budget deficit, cut the unemployment rate from 8.2 percent when he took office to 5.7 percent and increased state spending on education.
“And most importantly we did not raise your taxes,” he said.
Notice the “we.”
He also got off one of the best lines at the expense of Democratic governor nominee Tom Wolf.
“But my friends there are Pennsylvanians who don’t get it,” he said. “They don’t quite understand. In fact there is one Pennsylvanian in particular who doesn’t quite get it. He is a wolf at the door, and he’s wearing sheep’s clothing.”
If he runs for governor, Mr. Cawley’s main shortcoming might be serving under Mr. Corbett. Time could soften voters’ views of Mr. Corbett, but it usually takes a lot longer than four years.
His big plus: he’s from the southeast where Republicans have struggled to hold on to their base in the face of growing Democratic numbers.
— Former Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton. Though his enthusiasm for running for the office his father, Gov. William W. Scranton, ably handled has ebbed, he’s never said never. His eloquent eulogy at his father’s funeral signaled someone really comfortable in his own skin, which wasn’t true when he lost to Robert P. Casey for the state’s top office in 1986. When I heard him speak that day, I thought that if Mr. Corbett could talk like that, he would breeze to re-election.
Standing this morning in front of four diesel trucks parked behind the podium in a garage, Mr. Scranton asked the audience to take a deep breath.
“What you’re smelling is doughnuts, coffee, motor oil and diesel fuel. Folks, that’s what runs America,” he said. “That’s what Republicans understand, and Democrats do not. They think America runs on sun beams and cauliflower and rainbows. If Michelle Obama walked in here this morning, she’d probably faint.”
“Good,” a woman shouted.
He likened Mr. Wolf to President Barack Obama — a candidate promising hope and change with “a very thin resume” when it comes to government.
“He’ll not tell you what he wants to do and folks, let’s not get fooled again,” Mr. Scranton said.
My take on Mr. Scranton: if he ran only U.S. Sen. Bob Casey could hope to beat him.
— U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. He’s often asked to run for governor, but never shown a burning desire. If he wanted, he could have won the nomination from Mr. Corbett in 2010 because he’s more conservative, but he chose to run for the Senate instead.
First up for him: getting re-elected in 2016. If he knocks off former Democratic congressman Joe Sestak – yeah, I’m betting on a rematch – he probably wouldn’t run for governor. To me, he just seems more concerned with solving the nation’s huge financial problems. Governor seems like small potatoes.
A loss would damage his profile, but plenty of statewide election losers have returned to win – both Bob Caseys, Ed Rendell, Milton Shapp and quite a few judge candidates.
“We can’t afford Barack Obama in the White House, we can’t afford Tom Wolf in Harrisburg,” Mr. Toomey said. “Tom Corbett gets it. He understands that the solutions to our challenges, a stronger economy, doesn’t depend on another layer of bureaucrats in Washington or Harrisburg, doesn’t depend on giving politicians more power, doesn’t result, when you raise people’s taxes and diminish their freedom. He understands that prosperity and opportunity and growth and more jobs comes from the private sector when you let it happen.”
One obvious potential candidate missing from the crowd: state Sen. Lisa Baker, who was said to have another appointment. (Stop rolling your eyes.)
A long time ago, Gov. Tom Ridge predicted Ms. Baker would run for governor someday. It doesn’t hurt that failing to show up means no photos later of her and Mr. Corbett together, though I’ll take it as gospel for now that she had another appointment.
— BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
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Corbett rallies the troops, who include guys who might want his job someday
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