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WEEKEND LEFTOVERS: Wagner talks HOPE, Biden talks Specter & Matthews is out

A few items important items slipped by us last week at pa2010.com Central.

State Auditor General Jack Wagner made his first formal policy pronouncement of the gubernatorial race Saturday, when he called for a scholarship program targeted at Pennsylvanians who stay in state for their college education. Calling it HOPE (Helping Our Pupils to Excel), Wagner said in a statement:

“As the father of two children, I share the concerns of many hard-working parents who struggle with the burden of how to provide their children with the educational opportunities that are necessary for a brighter future. Making higher education more affordable for all Pennsylvanians is vital to the economic future of our commonwealth, and it is a cornerstone of my plan for restoring hope for all Pennsylvania families and students.’’

The Tribune-Review has a nice breakdown of the policy here, but as we focus on the politics at pa2010.com, the thing to note is that Wagner is beginning to campaign in earnest. This was only the second or third formal e-mail to reporters from his campaign account, at least by my count. We covered back in August that some wonder whether the business of raw politics might be one of Wagner’s biggest challenges, so here’s an early indication that he plans to run a very issues-based campaign.

It’s a start. But someone might want to remind the Wagner folks that releasing stuff to the press on a Saturday is a sure way to make sure it gets almost no attention. If you want to read his full release, click here.

Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden was in Bucks County Monday to campaign for Senator Arlen Specter, keeping up the Obama administration’s commitment to campaign for the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Democrat.

“You’ve all been closeted Specter supporters and now you can do it openly, you can do it enthusiastically,” Biden told local party faithful, according to The Bucks County Courier Times. “You don’t have to deny at the barber shop you’re a Democrat and you didn’t vote for him, you did vote for him, so do it twice this time – in terms of your degree of energy and effort.”

We wanted to be there, but, alas, you don’t get everything you want in politics.

And lastly, it’s been confirmed that Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Matthews will not run for Lieutenant Governor.

“When you are in your 50s or 40s, any intelligent person who looks at the lieutenant governorship looks at it as a path, a bridge to another destination,” the Republican told The Intelligencer last week. “When you are in your 60s, you have to look at it as a destination and I have to tell you that, as a lieutenant governor, there is not a whole lot to do.”

So much for taking that Montgomery County GOP feud statewide like we forecasted a few months back.

Stay tuned for more, political junkies.

October 4, 2009 at 10:11 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

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