Denny Bonavita, the editor and publisher of Northwest Pennsylvania's Tri-County Courier-Express, published an editorial today urging partisan Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett to drop his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination next year.
Bonavita cites concerns that the prosecution appears partisan and that the entire investigation "is going nowhere."
Here's the editorial in its entirety:
Corbett should drop unannounced bid
Attorney General Tom Corbett should "take one for the team" and abandon his all-but-announced campaign for the Republican nomination as Pennsylvania's next governor.
The "team" is not Pennsylvania's Republicans.
The "team" is - us. Republicans. Democrats. Independents. Unregistered residents.
Two years - and probably $10 million - ago, Corbett announced an investigation that produced charges, but no convictions, against a dozen staffers and one former lawmaker from the House Democratic caucus.
The investigation is going nowhere.
Even fellow Republicans sense the frustration. State Sen. John Eichelberger last week labeled the investigation a "joke," because its going-nowhere status leaves Corbett vulnerable to the charge that he is playing political games, not prosecuting criminals.
That could be bad for Corbett next year, either in the primary election - if Republicans field credible opponents - or in the general election.
But it could be worse for the rest of us.
Suppose that next year, you are a juror in one of the trials spawned by Corbett's investigation. Suppose you add 2 plus 2 in your head, court testimony notwithstanding, and you get 5 (or maybe 4). You think the prosecution was unfair to begin with. How impartial will you be? How honest will a verdict be?
Corbett is a big boy. He knew what he was getting into when he sought the attorney general's job. He knew that some aspects of that job could boost his political career afterward - or damage it.
We think Corbett owes it to the taxpayers who have paid his salary to stay with the investigation until it concludes, or until his term ends.
And, to make it clear that the investigation was not political in nature, Corbett should withdraw his name from consideration as a candidate next year for governor.
16 comments:
This will not change any indictements. I see no reason for Corbett to drop his candidancy for Governor.
The big problem is what Corbett starts he may not able to finish as Attorney General.
Tom Corbett is right to follow his heart and he should be given respect for what he is doing, not ridicule.
Corbett should do his job promptly too.
No person should have charges and possible charges hanging around 3 years.
Government needs to operate and cooperate, it is taking way too much time.
Anonymous #2: Problem is, Corbett was eyeballing governor before he was even elected Attorney General in 2004. He isn't following his heart, he is following his ambition. The only reason he even indicted a handful of Dems over bonusgate is because the Patriot-News reported so thoroughly and heavily on the bonuses, that he had no choice politically but to scapegoat a few politicians. But as Senator Eichelberger pointed out in an interview with the Pittsburg Tribune Review, Corbett did the minimum, at best, and certainly is turning a blind eye to Republicans.
Courier Express is Senate Pro Tem Republican Joe Scarnati's home town newspaper and these are voters in three counties that Tom Corbett needs to win both the Republican Primary and the General Election.
John Eichelberger's Senate district is below the Courier Express's distribution area and includes Blair, Bedford, Huntingdon and Fulton Counties.
The negative comments in theses mid State, conservative, Republican and Red districts inflicts real damage on Corbett for Gov campaign, in my view.
All this will do is cause Corbett to make sure he indict and convicts all that will be caught up with his investigations.
Once he has convictions under his belt, and many Guilty Pleas that will follow a few convictions, his path to the Governor's House is made of black and white convict colors.
The people will love him, and right now, they hate all politicians within the state over the budget boiling pot.
The Democrats have sealed their fate on Climate Change, Car Check Union Cards removing the time honored secret ballot, and Health Care fiasco, NOT TO MENTION THE DEBT AND ECONOMY.
Corbett will walk into the Highest House in Harrisburg off the use of Public Money for Private gains.
Once prosecutions start and trial are won, many will be pleading guilty just to avoid the trials and costs. In return, many more will be indicted.
No one will escape him now; it is no longer a matter of if but only when.
Tom Corbett is the next Governor and nothing can stop him!
The newspaper editorial, while perhaps modest in influence, is still a sad commentary for Corbett, the proverial talk big and dc nothing. He has a handful of trials coming up. He should work on them and junk everthing else. At the very least, he should fish or cut bait because quite a few of us are getting tired of the wait.
Is George Buddy a clever way to say Bud george, or is it Billy George.
Bud George brought Mike Manzo into the HDC, while Billy George brought Mike Veon into elected office.
Is this an Arab Kabal, or did they just have poor judgment?
First of all, idiot, spell "cabal" right...I know its tough. But I guess a racist poster should never be bothered to worry about that kinda stuff. Second of all, George Buddy is a real man named George Buddy. He worked at the capitol for years, and did a great job.
People like you, who begin trying to link peoples' last names with buzz words like "Arab" should really not post anywhere. You should probably stick to finger painting, going to health care town hall meetings and screaming "NAZI!", carrying guns to Obama events and pining away for Palin. You are outta your depth, sunshine.
THE VEON PAPERS
EXHIBIT F
Attachment 6
E-Mails showing TODD EACHUS organized and supervised the House Democratic Campaign Committee's efforts to place Rendell Cabinet secretaries in targeted districts for campaign purposes.
PAGE 4
FROM: DAN WIEDEMER
SENT: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 7:17 PM
TO: EACHUS, FRANKEL, VEON
Copies to: MANZO, COTT, WALL, EDWARDS
Subject: CAMPAIGN VISITS
Here, it is discussed how TODD EACHUS met with GOVERNOR RENDELL'S Secretary Crawford for Governor's Surrogates to be used in vulnerable Democratic districts; using SHARED ACCOMPLISHMENTS and COORDINATED POLLING all under SECRETARY CRAWFORD and REP. EACHUS'S direction.
It even shows how they pull in other legislators by calling them and telling them the Governor expressed an interest to do it, even though Eachus and the Governor actually wanted this kind of campaign activity.
Apparently, the Governor's surrogates willing to WORK on STATE TIME ON CAMPAIGNS
ARE: YABLONSKY, VITO, WRIGHT, JOHNSON, ZAHORCHAK, SCHMERIN, DOWD, and BEILER.
And the following and legislators would join in campaigning on state time with the above Governor's Surrogates:
DERMODY, FLAHERTY, GOODMAN, SIPTROIL, SANTONI, STURLA, GEORGE, MARKOSEK, HARHAI AND LEACH.
I WONDER, IS THIS THE SAME GOVERNOR RENDELL THAT TESTIFIED AS A CHARACTER WITNESS FOR CONVICTED FELON FORMER SENATOR VINCE FUMO?
The AG has the evidence right here to indict all that worked on campaigns on state time, he would be doing every Pennsylvanians favor, by taking out these Cabinet Secretaries and Rendell.
Governor Rendell's Cabinet are the ones that overspent the budget and removing them along with Rendell would cause the budget as soon as all of them are gone.
Frank LaGrotta is right about Rendell and Eachus and their Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania Connections to Hazelton, two of the most corrupt cities in Pennsylvania history.
LOOKS LIKE THE AG OFFICE SHOULD BE INVESTIGATING AND INDICTING MOST OF RENDELL's cabinet. we would get a quicker budget without them.
Dear Anonymous regarding George Buddy,
When people like you talk about Nazi's, Palin, and Gun Carriers, I look to my throat.
People have a right to go Town Hall meetings and protest and say anything, it is called America.
People have a Right to Carry a Gun, it called the Second Amendment.
The only thing Nazis ever did was call people names like you just did.
I will pray for you, my lost, cold soul friend, and may you change your ways by a Saint Paul Revealation.
Oh by the way my uneducated friend, Kabal, is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. If you played that game you would understand, Bud!
God Bless!
Attachment 6 just shows that lawmakers care about citizens before elections.
There is nothing wrong in having Department Heads come to Districts to talk about policies, procedures, and concerns that people want to know about.
This getting ridiculous but there are real lives involved already that have lost jobs, are paying Attorney Fees, and living in hell as they wait for a never-ending investigations.
I disagree with George Buddy on one thing; Corbett should not have any trials on these events.
Corbett should use great judgment and find an effective way to just payback bonuses and expenses and expunged any and all arrest records.
Or he will have to indict so many it will takes to resolve, like George Buddy is saying, too long of wait is just wrong.
I agree!
Dear Video Game guru:
"The only thing Nazis ever did was call people names like you just did."
Really? The Nazis were just a bunch of name-callers, huh? If that is all they ever did, I must have been hallucinating during 6th grade history class.
Sorry, I am uneducated about the world of video games. Instead of praying for my soul, maybe you should read up on the Third Reich. My soul is fine, thanks.
Anonymous said...
Dear Video Game guru:
"The only thing Nazis ever did was call people names like you just did.".....Really? The Nazis were just a bunch of name-callers, huh? If that is all they ever did, I must have been hallucinating during 6th grade history class. Sorry, I am uneducated about the world of video games. Instead of praying for my soul, maybe you should read up on the Third Reich. My soul is fine, thanks.
Response:
Let me educate you even more, since you revealed you need it.
First off, you called others Nazi's no one else in you own words in your own posts.
The Nazi began their quest for power by labeling other cultures, and religions starting with name-calling, moving to scapegoat, then personal attacks along with violence that led to concentration camps of any citizen they wanted to silence.
Nazi's then moved on by disarming its citizens saying it was their own good, and when it came time to remove the Nazi's no one could do it without a weapon. It had to be done by weapon carrying Allies.
Only Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and YOU called American Citizens Nazi's for speaking at Town Hall Meetings. This says more about you and them, not the citizens, or me.
Now you have been educated further, perhaps you should repeat the 6th grade, and cut the hate speech within you towards others, only you can save your soul!
Go ahead and try to respond again, make my day!
Mike Manzo. in my opinion, did far more right with his total public service than the few negative actions he has been charged and pleaded guilty to in Bonusgate. If Bud George brought him into politics, he was trained well and deserves commendation not denunciation.
Mike Veon has a stellar record as a Representative and he did many things that benefited citizens of the commonwealth, If Billy George brought Mike into politics, he should be more pleased than any embarrassment.
I have no problem admiring all 4 men of substances and compliment all 4 too.
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