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LEFTOVERS: Pileggi on Corbett, a gun rights win, an Onorato/Lentz presser

State Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi took the mic at the Pennsylvania Press Club Monday—and proceeded to take a nice, big bite out of his party’s gubernatorial nominee for pledging not to raise taxes. Attorney General Tom Corbett has made just that pledge, but Pileggi, who has just as much if not more control over the state budget than the governor, doesn’t see that as lying within the realm of possibility.

“I don’t see how he can do it, frankly,” Pileggi said, according to The Tribune-Review. He also said Corbett should specify exactly how he’ll keep such a pledge, considering that the Keystone State’s budget is perpetually bleeding red ink and that it will get worse once federal stimulus money fades away. “This year is really a walk in the park, compared to next year,” Pileggi said. Corbett campaign spokesman Kevin Harley told the newspaper that the state’s budget problems are on the spending side, not the revenue side.

Meanwhile, gun rights advocates in Pennsylvania and elsewhere were hailing a Supreme Court decision ruling that the Second Amendment also applies to state and local gun laws. The implications of the decision are still shaking out, but the group Pennsylvania Gun Rights heralded the ruling on its Web site with the headline “We Win!” The group also asked its supporters to thank lawmakers who had lined up on its side, an eclectic group that House Democrats like Jason Altmire, Chris Carney and Tim Holden, along with House Republicans like Charlie Dent and Jim Gerlach. Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) was also on that list, and in a statement he said the ruling “reaffirms that all Americans possess this right and have the freedom to own a gun if they choose.”

And speaking of guns, this so-called “Florida loophole” has been quite the issue in the gubernatorial race, precisely because Democrat Dan Onorato has been hammering Corbett with it. We haven’t yet delved into the issue in detail, but essentially, the loophole allows people with Florida-issued permits to carry concealed weapons in the Keystone State. Onorato’s campaign has taken to calling it the “Corbett loophole” in recent days, because Corbett’s campaign says it isn’t an issue. On this, the Onorato campaign has had just strong facts on its side with which to push back, including a few examples of alleged gun crimes perpetrated by Florida permit holders, examples cataloged by the group CeaseFire PA.

Anyway, Onorato took a new line of attack late last week, pairing up with state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware), the party’s 7th District congressional candidate who is also pushing legislation to close the loophole. The two had a press conference Friday afternoon in Upper Darby to push the issue. We couldn’t make it there. But the Lentz folks sent us some video of the event, which we’ve embedded below.

And in case you wanted a little bonus, insider nugget? Onorato and Lentz share both the same media consultant (Neil Oxman) and the same political strategist (Dan Fee).

June 28, 2010 at 7:52 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Bryan Lentz, Dan Onorato, PA-7, Pat Toomey, Tom Corbett

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