Folks, from election to election, the fate of the Susquehanna River ( as well as the rest of our Commonwealth ) is intimately connected to and dependent upon which way the prevailing winds are blowing in Harrisburg.
People in government – especially those appointed by a newly-elected governor at the beginning of their first term – usually start jumping ship sometime during the SECOND term – provided their boss gets re-elected. But just in case you haven’t been paying attention lately, quite a few high level folks are exiting Team Corbett a little more than halfway through Toxic Tommy’s first term, including former DEP Secretary Michael Krancer, DCNR Secretary Richard Allan, and, most recently, Corbett’s Chief of Staff Steve Aichele.
Why are all of these key people choosing (?) to leave during Tom Corbett’s FIRST term as Governor? Setting DCNR Secretary Allan’s “forced resignation” aside, for Messrs. Krancer and Aichele to be gone this early in term #1 is – from my perspective - a huge vote of NO CONFIDENCE. If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you know I am no fan of Tom Corbett. I did not vote for him for Governor, and so far, his actions have done nothing but completely validate my decision. Setting my personal opinion aside, these latest in a string of departures do not bode well for Governor Corbett if he is planning to run for a second term. If I were John Hanger and/or Alyson Schwartz – two early candidates for Governor – I would be leveraging this latest departure ( Mr. Aichele ) at every opportunity presented.
Along those same lines, it appears the recently-appointed "acting" DCNR Secretary is being targeted by some of the more vocal members of the fracktivist community. Check out the latest here. I truly hope Ms. Ferretti has a well thought-out exit strategy in the works...starting yesterday.
When I have time these days to surf the net for more than a few minutes, I notice that the vast majority of the established political pundits are predicting that Tom Corbett will be a one & done Governor. Even with the natural gas industry fully in his corner and ready, willing and able to contribute millions to bolster his fading reelection chances...I’m beginning to believe the hole he has dug for himself with the voting populace ( & media ) will soon become a sinkhole that will collapse upon itself, regardless of the money that will be poured into his campaign coffers in the upcoming election cycle. I cannot wait to see what unfolds on Team Tommy in the months ahead when his dwindling "poll numbers" truly crater...
BTW – I’m still digesting Gasland II. From day #1 in this whole Marcellus Shale Mess, one of my biggest challenges has always been how anyone, repeat, ANYONE who leased their land for drilling of their own free will can be presented and/or perceived as being a legitimate standard-bearer in the anti-fracking movement. Unless someone was holding a gun to their heads, they had a choice to sign…or not to sign. If they claim they didn’t know then…why should I ( or anyone ) believe they know any better now? I truly have a problem listening to anything they have to say. We all make mistakes, and we all deserve second chances…but on this particular subject matter, I have little sympathy, or empathy...or respect.
Anyway...Happy Friday & I hope you all have a great weekend.
Hello, i like that those u explain history of corbett river themes ,its desviable for likes.
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