News & Brews March 23, 2022
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Leading GOP gubernatorial candidates agree to debate criteria
Four of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination for governor—Bill McSwain, Lou Barletta, Dave White, and Jake Corman—agreed to a list of debate criteria for the primary (not general) election that immediately had the liberal media going apoplectic (which, admittedly, was fun to watch). The list is:
- Moderators must be registered Republicans and live in PA
- Moderators must not have spoken negatively about any of the candidates on stage or work for an organization that has maligned one of the candidates.
- Moderators have not endorsed or donated to one of the candidates on stage.
- No questions with answers shorter than 30 seconds
Some remaining GOP candidates also took issue with the list, accusing the frontrunners of being afraid to debate.
How to watch tomorrow’s GOP gubernatorial forum
Speaking of debates, tomorrow evening from 7-9 pm, seven of the Republican gubernatorial candidates will participate in a forum sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute and Talk Radio WPHT 1210 Philadelphia. The forum will be co-hosted by WPHT’s Rich Zeoli and PA Family’s Michael Geer. Click here for details on how to attend in-person or watch online.
How taxpayer-funded lobbying blocks education reform
The Commonwealth Foundation’s Kevin Mooney explains how taxpayers fund lobbying efforts aimed at blocking the very education reform that parents want. He writes that groups like the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), and others have made it a priority to oppose school choice and have used taxpayer dollars to lobby against it. Read Kevin’s full story here.
Op-Ed: Tax holiday is bait-and-switch as fiscal crisis looms
Commonwealth Foundation Vice President Steve Bloom has an op-ed at PennLive, explaining why one-time “tax holiday” proposals do nothing to address the root cause of high prices. Instead, Steve writes, there is a long-term solution: the Taxpayer Protection Act. Read his piece here.
New ranking puts Gov. Wolf among bottom 10 U.S. governors
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has released the 2021 Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom, Grading America’s Governors, and Gov. Wolf came in 43rd in the overall ranking. In the individual components of this ranking, Wolf came in 40th in Executive Policy, 42nd in Economic Performance, and 43rd in Fiscal Policy. Check out the full rankings, along with further explanation of the process, here.