Get Ready To "Go Deep"

So now it is official; Lynn Swann is going to run for governor of Pennsylvania.

Now for the next question; what makes him so special?

Yes, I know he’s one of the all-time great NFL wide receivers for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their Super Bowl teams. Yes, I know he’s established himself as a motivational speaker and sits on boards of directors for three companies and has also served as chairman on the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports.

(Actually, I didn’t know that, to be honest. I found it out from his slick-looking website which has a lot of nice-sounding boilerplate stuff on it, including “The Two-Minute Drill,” which is a combination questionnaire if you want to become a campaign volunteer and also an issues survey. I have to admit that that’s a cute idea, though the Repugs are nothing if not clever.)

However, the only thing I’ve heard from him that remotely resembles a policy position is something along the lines of Pennsylvania having problems because of government going back for 30 years or something like that (I’ll keep looking for a link). That is EXACTLY the sort of IDIOTIC CLAPTRAP that we DO NOT NEED TO HEAR! Also, from his website, he states the following:

(Swann’s) proposals would cost the state more than $2 billion in forgone revenue in the first years of (his) administration. He acknowledged that the cuts would force severe reductions in state spending in the short term, although he declined to specify where those cuts might fall. He contended that his proposals would spur economic growth resulting in higher revenues in years to come.

"Pennsylvania can't afford not to cut these taxes,'' Mr. Swann said.”In the first couple of years, our budget will be tight. It will require us to re-examine state government in order to make this historic investment in our economy, but it will pay off in the end."

(Where have we heard this before? Maybe from every other Repug who has ever existed for the last 30 or so years…)

This state has a lot of problems mainly due to idiotic provincialism from all of the guilty parties in state government (and by the way, $2 billion is a hell of a lot of revenue to lose in this state). That is made worse by the fact that these characters are continually returned to office by voters who don’t do their homework. I realize that I shouldn’t engage in generalities like that without evidence, but I could make this post exasperatingly long if I named everyone who falls into this category (both on the Dem and Repug sides). I also realize that this is probably true of most other states in this country.

The biggest problem is that we can’t afford for this status quo to continue. Partly because of high energy costs (and other reasons), we lose out on businesses who may want to set up operations here (as well as facing the distinct possibility of losing the ones we already have). Swann thus far has managed to charm the Repug-friendly business roundtable types, which I guess is a good start in addressing this issue, but in this state, there is a hell of a lot more to do in governing than that.

We need someone to bridge gaps and build partnerships. I definitely believe that Rendell has tried to do that, but there are two big problems, neither of which are his fault as far as I’m concerned: 1) He came from Philadelphia, which is an area hated by many in the state legislature along with Pittsburgh to a degree, and 2) The people he has to reach have NO REASON WHATSOEVER to go along with him.

Rendell is also truly caught in the middle, dealing with a Republican legislature and a Republican government in Washington. However, that’s the way the cards have been dealt, and he’s enough of a warrior to realize that and do the best he can.

I know the possibility exists that Swann could somehow possess leadership qualities, but so far he hasn’t shown me anything. Yes, I know the campaign hasn’t even really started yet, and other people I know have said I should take it easy on him and give him a chance to prove himself. Fair enough.

OK, then, Mr. Swann, I have some questions for you:

Can you discuss with account holders at the M&T Bank in Altoona the benefit of fixing student loan rates at 6.8 percent in the event that interest rates start sliding again at some point in a few years? (I should point out that fixing that rate was included in the Deficit Reduction Act passed by the U.S. Repug House last November; I know that legislation was enacted nationally, but it has local implications, and I’d like to know how Swann feels about that.)

Are you prepared to justify the fact, during a town meeting in Bensalem, Pa., that the PA legislature needs to act on any one of the three bills currently pending to raise the state minimum wage, especially since wage growth in this country is at its lowest rate in 40 years? (I GUARANTEE you that Swann will say that doing that would hurt small business, at which point I would challenge him to produce evidence in support of that claim.)

Here’s something else: Do you support the efforts of Gov. Rendell to bring casino gaming to this state for property tax relief? If not, what is your alternative plan?

I will be very interested to hear what you have to say about these and other matters affecting Pennsylvania beyond the feel-good rhetorical pabulum you have presented thus far.

If you, in fact, have no response, then you should reconsider your candidacy immediately and withdraw.