Post by mikekerstetter on Mar 9, 2011 9:25:15 GMT -5
www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/commentary_ye_olde_soliloquy_f.html
Commentary: Ye olde soliloquy from Tom Corbett belies any vision of state's future
Published: Wednesday, March 09, 2011, 7:00 AM Updated: Wednesday, March 09, 2011, 7:15 AM
Laura Vecsey By Laura Vecsey
The brave new world of fiscal conservatism has dawned in Pennsylvania. And lo and behold, it sounds a lot like 1950s America, with a little Faulkner, Wordsworth and Shakespeare tossed in for that truly archaic touch.
How do you say “shared pain” in ye olde English?
Hint: Don’t ask the Marcellus Shale Coalition.
Introduced to the General Assembly as “His Excellency,” the reclusive Gov. Tom Corbett finally stood before all the people of the commonwealth, acting a lot like the venerable actor Robert Young. In short sentences for easy recitation and digestion, Corbett spouted cliches that appeared to have been unearthed from scripts of “Father Knows Best.”
(For those readers under the age of 60, “Father Knows Best” was the precursor to “The Simpsons,” or, for a more current cultural reference, “Big Love.”)
Based on Corbett’s highly anticipated budget address Tuesday at the Capitol, we’re no longer sure if we really do have a clash of political ideologies here in Harrisburg. Maybe it’s just a good, ol’-fashioned generation gap.
Corbett’s speech was indeed riddled with so much arcane language and imagery, even the metaphors yearned to go gently into that good night.
No, this wasn’t the “Straight Talk Express” material of a political maverick. Corbett did not sound anything like conservative “darling” Chris Christie. The governor of New Jersey knows how to sling his rhetoric and insults as if he actually dwells in the 21st century.
Instead, Corbett unleashed a collection of Cliff Notes from classic lit that belied any vision for the future for Pennsylvania, other than giving E-ZPasses to corporations and gas drillers for the purpose of creating profits ... oops ... sorry ... jobs.
In fact, Corbett’s speech reached so far back into history, he seemed to reference Shakespeare’s King Richard II — a play that Pennsylvania teachers who’ve been asked to take a pay freeze may or may not be able to teach in the new austere era of public education.
“In many ways, what we need to do is the same as reviving an abandoned apple tree,’ Corbett said.
“If the tree isn’t tended and the branches pruned, that tree will grow into a tangle of limbs and leaves. But it will bear no fruit,” Corbett said.
“We need to take this tree, so long overgrown, and cut back what isn’t fruitful. And we need to do that essential pruning on all branches of government. We need to do the hard cutting so the tree can once again bear fruit. And that fruit is jobs.”
That wasn’t an extended metaphor. That was a soliloquy. And there was much more.
Stuff about windless spots on oceans.
Stuff about old radios with wires sticking out.
Stuff about business owners who need Sherpas to lead them through mountains of financing rules.
There was even some reference to the way Pennsylvania should become the new Texas, thanks not only to the natural gas boom in the Marcellus Shale, but the bonanza waiting in the underlying Utica Shale bed, too.
“Just as oil companies decided to headquarter in one of a dozen states with oil ... “ Corbett said.
He did not say whether that meant a future title change from “His Excellency” to “Sultan,” but that’s something former Gov. Tom Ridge, front man for the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, can probably help out with sometime down the road.
Normally, one wouldn’t attempt a kind of literary criticism of a gubernatorial budget address, but Corbett opened himself to it. A very deliberate decision was made by the new administration to soft-sell the “day of reckoning” with homespun language that aimed to appeal to everyday folk looking for the truth.
“The electorate, its trust scraped to the bone by lies and half-truths, isn’t going to stand for another broken promise,” Corbett said, earning praise from tea party activists and other conservatives.
They said they hope Corbett’s message is only the beginning of a recalibration of government and a recalculation of government’s core functions. Whether Corbett goes the whole road or just opens up a few for his campaign contributors and other corporate interests remains to be seen.
“Government will never be cost-free. But it must be freed from the culture of churning through cash that farmers and clerks and mill hands and nurses earned dollar by dollar,” Corbett said.
The rhetoric was meant to evoke old-timey American ingenuity and resourcefulness — both excellent national characteristics. But are there really a lot of mill hands left to appeal to?
“Let’s sit down and deal with the present so we can build the future in a way that respects our past,” Corbett said.
“Let’s build a new Pennsylvania.”
With gas rigs and rubber-stamped permits for drilling on state land.
With education cuts that towns and boroughs will have to deal with.
With corporate tax relief.
With higher salaries for the governor’s top staffers.
With pruning shears for the apple tree.
Without cuts to General Assembly salaries or budget.
© 2011 PennLive.com. All rights reserved.
Commentary: Ye olde soliloquy from Tom Corbett belies any vision of state's future
Published: Wednesday, March 09, 2011, 7:00 AM Updated: Wednesday, March 09, 2011, 7:15 AM
Laura Vecsey By Laura Vecsey
The brave new world of fiscal conservatism has dawned in Pennsylvania. And lo and behold, it sounds a lot like 1950s America, with a little Faulkner, Wordsworth and Shakespeare tossed in for that truly archaic touch.
How do you say “shared pain” in ye olde English?
Hint: Don’t ask the Marcellus Shale Coalition.
Introduced to the General Assembly as “His Excellency,” the reclusive Gov. Tom Corbett finally stood before all the people of the commonwealth, acting a lot like the venerable actor Robert Young. In short sentences for easy recitation and digestion, Corbett spouted cliches that appeared to have been unearthed from scripts of “Father Knows Best.”
(For those readers under the age of 60, “Father Knows Best” was the precursor to “The Simpsons,” or, for a more current cultural reference, “Big Love.”)
Based on Corbett’s highly anticipated budget address Tuesday at the Capitol, we’re no longer sure if we really do have a clash of political ideologies here in Harrisburg. Maybe it’s just a good, ol’-fashioned generation gap.
Corbett’s speech was indeed riddled with so much arcane language and imagery, even the metaphors yearned to go gently into that good night.
No, this wasn’t the “Straight Talk Express” material of a political maverick. Corbett did not sound anything like conservative “darling” Chris Christie. The governor of New Jersey knows how to sling his rhetoric and insults as if he actually dwells in the 21st century.
Instead, Corbett unleashed a collection of Cliff Notes from classic lit that belied any vision for the future for Pennsylvania, other than giving E-ZPasses to corporations and gas drillers for the purpose of creating profits ... oops ... sorry ... jobs.
In fact, Corbett’s speech reached so far back into history, he seemed to reference Shakespeare’s King Richard II — a play that Pennsylvania teachers who’ve been asked to take a pay freeze may or may not be able to teach in the new austere era of public education.
“In many ways, what we need to do is the same as reviving an abandoned apple tree,’ Corbett said.
“If the tree isn’t tended and the branches pruned, that tree will grow into a tangle of limbs and leaves. But it will bear no fruit,” Corbett said.
“We need to take this tree, so long overgrown, and cut back what isn’t fruitful. And we need to do that essential pruning on all branches of government. We need to do the hard cutting so the tree can once again bear fruit. And that fruit is jobs.”
That wasn’t an extended metaphor. That was a soliloquy. And there was much more.
Stuff about windless spots on oceans.
Stuff about old radios with wires sticking out.
Stuff about business owners who need Sherpas to lead them through mountains of financing rules.
There was even some reference to the way Pennsylvania should become the new Texas, thanks not only to the natural gas boom in the Marcellus Shale, but the bonanza waiting in the underlying Utica Shale bed, too.
“Just as oil companies decided to headquarter in one of a dozen states with oil ... “ Corbett said.
He did not say whether that meant a future title change from “His Excellency” to “Sultan,” but that’s something former Gov. Tom Ridge, front man for the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, can probably help out with sometime down the road.
Normally, one wouldn’t attempt a kind of literary criticism of a gubernatorial budget address, but Corbett opened himself to it. A very deliberate decision was made by the new administration to soft-sell the “day of reckoning” with homespun language that aimed to appeal to everyday folk looking for the truth.
“The electorate, its trust scraped to the bone by lies and half-truths, isn’t going to stand for another broken promise,” Corbett said, earning praise from tea party activists and other conservatives.
They said they hope Corbett’s message is only the beginning of a recalibration of government and a recalculation of government’s core functions. Whether Corbett goes the whole road or just opens up a few for his campaign contributors and other corporate interests remains to be seen.
“Government will never be cost-free. But it must be freed from the culture of churning through cash that farmers and clerks and mill hands and nurses earned dollar by dollar,” Corbett said.
The rhetoric was meant to evoke old-timey American ingenuity and resourcefulness — both excellent national characteristics. But are there really a lot of mill hands left to appeal to?
“Let’s sit down and deal with the present so we can build the future in a way that respects our past,” Corbett said.
“Let’s build a new Pennsylvania.”
With gas rigs and rubber-stamped permits for drilling on state land.
With education cuts that towns and boroughs will have to deal with.
With corporate tax relief.
With higher salaries for the governor’s top staffers.
With pruning shears for the apple tree.
Without cuts to General Assembly salaries or budget.
© 2011 PennLive.com. All rights reserved.
