Gov. Tom Corbett has decided to go to war.
But not against Tom Wolf, the York businessman who is sitting on a double-digit lead in the polls over the incumbent in the November general election.
Yesterday a peeved Corbett signed off on a $29 billion dollar spending plan, but not before taking out his veto pen and slashing items near and dear to the hearts of state legislators.
Here's where things get interesting.
Last time we looked, both the House and Senate were controlled by the GOP. With friends like these, who needs enemies, eh Tom.
Corbett is irked that his fellow Republicans failed once again to follow his lead as he urged them to address what he often has referred to as the "ticking time bomb" in the state budget. That would be the sea of red ink in which swims the state's two large public employee pension plans.
So yesterday the governor took out his pen and added a few exclamation points in this simmering feud.
He slashed $31 million in Senate operations and expenses, and another $20 million from the House.
Then he really got serious, slashing $5 million for legislative parking expenses, among other things. In total he cut out $65 million, including a lot of pet projects.
He wants the pols to come back to Harrisburg to address the pension issue. He is not ruling out calling a special session of the Legislature to tackle the issue.
It's interesting that two of the most powerful Republicans in the state hail from right here in Delco.
Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester, is Senate Majority Chairman. Rep. Bill Adolph, R-165, of Springfield, is the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Pileggi and other GOP senators are not amused, saying the governor did not do a very good job of explaining his priorities. It's not the first time Corbett has come under fire from his own party.
This could blow up in Corbett's face. The Legislature could return to Harrisburg and, instead of taking up pension reform, vote instead to override the veto.
Probably not what Corbett, who already is facing a bruising re-election fight, needs right now.
In the meantime, Wolf must be sitting back and chortling as state Republicans lob grenades at each other.
I was one of the few people who believed Tom Corbett would be re-elected come the fall.
But even I'm starting to have my doubts.
I think the governor is right on the pension crisis, but as usual, he seems to have no clue how to go about getting things done. He controls both the House and Senate, and yet consistently fails to get approval for his agenda.
Pension reform? Uh, no.
Liquor privatization? Don't hold your breath.
He did manage to push that transportation bill through, only to take heat from conservatives in his own party for what they perceived as a betrayal of his no-tax pledge.
Now he seems to be in a full-blown war with members of his own party.
Maybe Corbett took a look at the numbers and decided his only path back to Harrisburg was to declare war on it.
We're about to find out if it will work, or if it will become the governor's Waterloo.
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