It is the tree killing season. Politicians stuff our mailboxes hoping we will come to their aid as they save the planet.
I live in Pennsylvania, where Tom Wolf has obliterated forests for flyers. His entire campaign has been promising to tax the fracking industry to fund the schools. (I would rather tax them into extinction and get some school bucks along the way.)
Here is the thing -- if you are a Democrat and think fracking is safe, I got no beef with you. Go work for Wolf to your heart's content. I think you are wrong, but it is a free country.
If you are supporting Wolf and believe fracking is dangerous I have to ask:
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
The definition of cognitive dissonance is believing in preserving the environment then supporting someone who is hell-bent on destroying it.
If you think this is all about winning an election, and you may win, it would be a Pyrrhic victory; a successful surgery that kills the patient. Winning for the sake of winning. So what if the guy has a "D" next to his name? Aren't you practicing the same type of politics those on the Right practice when they will blindly vote for their "R"? Are you a lemming? Are we not men? Are we DEVO?
Does mean I will vote for Corbett? NO.
But, I hear the old chestnut of, "If you don't vote our guy you are voting for the other guy" all the time. The simple response is, why would I vote for your guy if he is working directly against my interests as someone who likes to drink water? The Democrats have not earned my vote -- I am not giving it to them as a default position.
If Governor Wolf succeeds in keeping his campaign promise of using taxes on frackers to fund the schools he will be doing more harm than good. How do we get rid of the fracking industry in Pennsylvania if fracking is institutionalized?
Do you still want to stop the frackers? That means you are fighting parents trying to get their kids an education. The fracking Industry has taken kindergartners as hostage.
If I were running the fracking industry I would be ecstatic. Wolf's proposed 5 percent tax is nothing to this industry -- it is a cost of doing business. Balance that 5 percent against the cost and hassle of political ads.
Democrats have challenged me on this issue in different ways. A Jedi mind trick used: "Governor Wolf will go after the health risks of fracking once he is elected." Then how cynical would the entire excursion of 2014 be if Wolf's main campaign promise were breached within a month of taking office. He just got elected to cash in on the frackers -- now he is turning off the spigot?
Other Democrats use the 'Corbett is evil' mantra. Yes, as a cognizant person I recognize the absolute failure of Tom Corbett as a Governor. However, Corbett is not making any moves to worsen the fracking situation.
What I am surprised at is that Corbett has not exploited the rift in the Democratic Party on fracking. He is down in the polls, but if he can peel off Democrats and others disgusted with this situation he can make it a race in the final lap.
Last year the Democratic Party's State Committee voted not to support anyone who was for fracking.
If Corbett can get close, I hope those Democrats who voted against the frackers last year can convince Tom Wolf that they want to keep our water next year.
As for me, unless there is a real change of heart by Tom Wolf to fight for the environment then I will be writing in a Green or Independent candidate. I don't even know who he or she is, but they gotta be better than the choices offered by the two parties if they will try to stop fracking. And THAT is a worthy vote.