News & Brews October 9, 2023
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Pa. officials react to Hamas attack on Israel
In the wake of the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists, many Pennsylvania leaders were swift in condemning the terror attacks. Gov. Josh Shapiro stated, “I condemn the horrific acts of war in Israel by Hamas and their enablers. These attacks on innocent Israeli civilians are abhorrent and warrant world condemnation and outrage. Our family has shared many special moments in Israel and our hearts break for those living this horror now. We stand in solidarity against terror and are praying for all people in Israel.” Unfortunately, not all of Pennsylvania’s elected officials were unequivocal in their statements. Democrat U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, who has voted against Israel in the past, issued a statement that condemned the attacks but also criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response. Read reactions here.
Op-Ed: ‘The myth of Josh Shapiro collapses’
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial Page Editor Brandon McGinley doesn’t mince any words accusing Gov. Josh Shapiro of making Mike Vereb—who resigned in the wake of sexual harassment allegations—”one of the most powerful men in Harrisburg.” McGinley writes, “The most chilling part of the sexual harassment scandal … is that Gov. Josh Shapiro had his chief of staff, a woman, put her name to an official statement praising a man she must have known to be a serial sexual harasser…. Mr. Shapiro’s defenders will claim he didn’t know about Mr. Vereb’s predilection for degrading women. This is not credible, given the brazenness of his conduct in professional settings, as reflected in both the complaint and common knowledge.”
Hey, Pa., Check out your union contracts
As public sector unions spend oodles on political activity (often to the detriment of their members), our friends at Americans for Fair Treatment have compiled a working database of collective bargaining agreements from across Pennsylvania. This is no quick read, as there are more than 3,000 entries. Three cheers for transparency.
Op-Ed: ‘GOP must build a bench for the future’
Our president and CEO, Matt Brouillette, writes in RealClear Pennsylvania, “While one candidate with the background and appeal of [U.S. Senate candidate] David McCormick is great, only one candidate with such a biography is cause for concern.” The GOP, Matt notes, needs to focus on building a bench for the future. To do so, “Republicans must focus on recruiting quality candidates to run, and win, competitive seats down ballot. And entrepreneurs and business leaders whose bread and butter is something other than politics must continue entering public service. Thankfully, all of this has begun.”
Op-Ed: ‘Public education should be about results, not money’
GOP Sen. Greg Rothman (Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry counties) writes that as the Basic Education Funding Commission—on which he serves—”pass[es] the halfway point of the public hearing process,” he’s “disappointed that focus has strayed from the real purpose of the Commission – reviewing the formula … we use to send out education funding across Pennsylvania. Instead, it has been minimized to repeated calls for billions in more spending and higher taxes.” He continues: “The problem is not how much money we spend, but how we spend it.”