Nobody likes Governor Tom Corbett (R. PA) but there's one particular group of voters that really, really don't like him:
http://www.philly.com/...
The first public poll since last week's Primary Election shows Gov. Corbett still facing an uphill path to a second term.
The poll, conducted for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by the Robert Morris University Polling Institute, shows fewer than one in three likely voters (30.8 percent) hold a positive view of the incumbent Republican.
The, um, "good news" is that number's up since the last Morris poll in February when just 29.4 percent of voters held a favorable impression of the Guv.
This comes one week after York County Democrat Tom Wolf won every county in the state to capture his party's nomination for governor, far out-distancing three opponents.
The Tribune-Review does not report any head-to-head numbers between Corbett and Wolf but says the new poll shows bad numbers for Corbett consistent regardless of voters' age, gender or marital status.
Worse, the Guv's support among senior citizens, a vital voting bloc in an aging state, actually dropped since February: then, 48 percent of seniors held an unfavorable view of Corbett; the new poll puts that number at 57 percent. - Philadelphia Daily News, 5/27/14
Why have Seniors royally soured on Corbett? RMU political scientist Philip Harold, associate dean of the School of Education and Social Sciences, explains why:
http://triblive.com/...
Forty-eight percent of seniors had an unfavorable opinion of Corbett in an RMU survey in February, and exit polling in the 2010 election showed seniors supported him 63 percent to 37 percent, Harold said.
Harold said the issue of taxing natural gas extraction and drilling, in general, could be turning the table.
The poll asked respondents why they had the impression they did. About 29 percent of those with a negative impression of the governor cited education. The second most-mentioned issue was taxing natural gas at 13 percent, up from 7 percent in February.
“The issue of natural gas drilling has gotten more public awareness with the Democratic gubernatorial primary race. So one theory could be that Democratic seniors gained more familiarity with this issue in recent months and, as a result, their opinion of the governor worsened correspondingly,” Harold said.
“Seniors are a demographic that would stand to benefit from an extraction tax ... without paying any of the costs, if the costs include harm to job creation as Republicans claim.”
Harold said seniors support natural gas extraction, or severance, taxes by 74 to 18 percent. Voters younger than 50 do by 51 to 30 percent. Corbett opposes any new taxes on drilling. Wolf has argued for an extraction tax. - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 5/26/14
Yep, and Wolf is wasting no time going after Corbett for not taxing the gas drillers more:
http://www.bizjournals.com/...
Gov. Tom Corbett and challenger Tom Wolf, a businessman and former Revenue Secretary, wasted no time after their primary wins May 21 to attack each other on energy policy. And another wrinkle was added last week when a billionaire environmentalist's political-action committee announced it was targeting Corbett in November's election.
NextGen Climate, a PAC founded by Tom Steyer, focuses on races where it said climate change is at issue. That includes a handful of governor, Senate and House elections, including Pennsylvania. NextGen Climate's website adds several points against Corbett.
"Gov. Corbett cut education spending, then suggested colleges put gas rigs on campus to make up the difference," NextGen Climate's website said.
In the past several decades, energy hasn't been much of an issue in a Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign. And even this year, with both Corbett and Wolf supporting natural gas drilling, it shouldn't be an issue. But it's education spending — and a severance tax to pay for it — that's causing waves six months before the election.
Wolf has campaigned on a 5 percent severance tax. Corbett has steadfastly resisted calls, including some from his own party, for a severance tax. Oil and gas companies instead pay an impact fee that has totaled about $630 million since it was enacted in 2012 with the approval of Act 13. Parts of Act 13, the controversial oil and gas zoning law, has been ruled unconstitutional after a Supreme Court ruling late last year.
There are definitely bigger issues looming in the governor’s race, with an incumbent who is ranked among one of the most vulnerable in the U.S. and a well-financed challenger who walked away with the nomination. Key among those issues are the economy and education funding, said Christopher Borick, a professor of political science and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Allentown.
Economic indicators have been improving in Pennsylvania during Corbett’s term, with the state unemployment rate below where it was when he took office in 2011 and indeed before the beginning of financial downtown in 2008. But Corbett has been hit hard by cutbacks in education funding. It’s those two issues that are much more important in voters minds than energy issues. But all four Democratic candidates, and now Wolf as the nominee, were proposing a severance tax that would be used to fund education. That has resonated with voters, Borick said.
“The issues have now become intertwined in the minds of voters,” Borick said.
Wolf has capitalized on this with commercials, and it’s likely to continue throughout the campaign.
“I think you’re going to hear an awful lot from Wolf about the severance tax because it’s a popular tax and because you’ve got a way to use it in a way that voters find important, which is use it for education,” said Terry Madonna, a professor of public affairs at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster and director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. “That aspect can be very important.” - Pittsburgh Business Times, 5/27/14
And with this latest polling news, Wolf knows exactly how to go after Corbett:
http://triblive.com/...
Though polls show “a solid majority of Pennsylvanians believe that global warming is occurring,” Borick said, “I don't see the issue being particularly salient in the governor's race. Pennsylvania voters generally view shale gas as a positive for the state but do oppose many of the approaches that Tom Corbett has taken, particularly his refusal to support a severance tax.”
The more Wolf can keep the campaign's focus on a severance tax and not the more polarizing issue of climate change, the better off he will be on the issue, Borick said.
Though Wolf provided $10 million to his campaign through donations and a loan, he ended his primary run with $1.6 million, state records show. Corbett's campaign has $6.3 million on hand.
Wolf campaign spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan was not surprised that Steyer has Pennsylvania in his cross hairs, given Corbett's decision not to tax oil and gas companies — something Sheridan said Wolf supports.
As governor, Wolf would “promote policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean energy alternatives and invest in green energy technology and infrastructure,” he said.
Wolf would appoint “qualified” individuals to lead the departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources, not people who care about special interests, Sheridan said. - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 5/25/14
That might explain why Corbett recently made this move:
http://www.philebrity.com/...
In his executive order, Corbett said “I am directing that the commonwealth maintain a moratorium on any additional gas leasing of [Department of Conservation and Natural Resources] lands that involves long-term surface disturbance, such as placing well pads, roads or pipelines in the newly-leased areas.” According to State Impact:
Corbett expects the new leasing to raise $75 million immediately, in leasing bonus payments. In the order, he also directs DCNR to spend future royalty revenue on upgrading park and forest infrastructure and acquiring land.
However, it’s not clear he has the legal authority to do that.”
It goes without saying that environmental groups are not on Corbett’s side here, and PennFuture president Cindy Dunn said “It’s a disappointment. We think it’s a big mistake to go forward with this. As with the past leases, this was driven by budgetary needs, not by the sound management of the public trust.” Say what you will about Tom Corbett, but when he does things that some may see as trying to come to the middle to help his re-election chances, he goes and does some shit like this. - Philebrity, 5/27/14
The gas drilling tax will be a big issue but expect other issues to surface as well. I'm thinking Jerry Sandusky might be one. In the mean time, lets help Wolf get ready to take on Corbett. Click here to donate and get involved with his campaign:
http://www.wolfforpa.com/