ATR’s own Patrick Gleason asks in The Daily Caller, “What’s the matter with Pennsylvania Republicans?” He notes, “Republican candidates for federal and state office across the country are espousing low taxes, limited government and free-market principles… yet in the Pennsylvania Senate, the only state legislative chamber controlled by the GOP in the northeast, the Republican majority is busy mucking up the message… lawmakers returned to the state capitol in Harrisburg this past week to pass a new tax on natural gas companies, the state’s most promising industry when it comes to job creation.”
Paul Jacob reveals his “10 Measures to Watch” in Townhall Magazine. Jacob notes, “As Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, points out, ‘One big difference between initiatives and elected representatives is that initiatives do not change their minds once you vote them in.’ ”
On September 16th, Grover Norquist and Patrick Gleason wrote about the damage that a new energy tax would inflict upon an already struggling Pennsylvanian economy. They argued, “Where many now see jobs and economic growth, Rendell… sees a politically easy target to shake down. He has been calling for a new severance tax on natural gas from the Marcellus Shale… This unwise tax would reduce job creation and hamstring a fledgling industry before it has had a chance to realize its full potential for the commonwealth.” Governor Rendell has responded in Politico and once again misses the point. He continues to choose to line the states pockets over providing the people of Pennsylvania with jobs.