What did Pa. really think of Tom Ridge when he was Governor?

[napi21]

There seems to be some pretty strong rumblings in the McNut camp about picking Ridge as his VP. The fundies are upset because he's pro-choice, but the story from the Camp is that it would help him win Pa. I grew up in Pa. but moved before Ridge was elected. I seem to remember my Pa friends & relatives not being very thrilled with Tom as their Governor, even thogh he was elected twice! I know I really disliked him as Dir. of Homeland Security. I thought he had really stupid ideas (like the color code system) and he wasn't in control of that department at all!

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. The notion that the VP pick will win you a state is ridiculous these days

I can't imagine anyone actually believes it.

McCain will lose PA by 8-10 points.

[napi21]

2. Actually, I think it CAN make a diff. if the VP is a current Gov. who

is very popular in his State! IE: Schweitzer of Mt. or Richardson of NM. Former governors...not so much.

[cap]

3. except Rendell will work hard for the Dems in this election

the current governor will have more levers of influence in the state than an ex-governor, Tom Ridge, ever will.

Rendell is very popular.

[MrsT]

6. Edwards got a little boost in NC in 04, Cheney got a huge boost in WY in 04 and 00,

Lieberman got a boost in CT in 00, Kemp didn't get a boost in NY in 96, Gore got a boost in TN in 92 and 96 compared to previous years. Look at the trends. VPs usually get a 3 or 4 percent homestate bump.

[JVS]

4. I don't remember people having strong feelings about him. He was one of those PA unorthodox types

Catholic but strangely pro-choice and pro-death penalty. A little bit law and order oriented. Supported CHIP, supported electric derregulation. Cut taxes yet kept a portion of the budget surplus in case of problems later. Not brilliant, not evil, reliable and probably chosen for H-sec because he's a generally non-threatening guy.

[Cosmocat]

10. Yep ...

I would say he would rate as being neutral ... Not someone loved or someone hated ...

Again, BO has had a stable and consistent 6ish point polling lead in Pa for months now over McCain ... Even polls that have come out in the last couple of weeks, and this after McCain has poured a BOATLOAD of money into PA ...

As others noted, a governor or ex governor is going to help, but I don't think he can swing PA as far as it will need to swing ... IMO, if BO were to lose Pa, something really bad will have happened and he will have gotten blown out full scale ...

Even with Ridge on McCain's ticket, BO will still have:

* That initial 6ish point polling lead ...
* As someone else said, Rendell, a democratic machine style pol as the SITTING governor ...
* A state that has gone D in the presidential for the last four or so cycles at least, and just two years ago saw one of the biggest R powerhouses, Rick Santorum, lose to Bob Casey in an election where Santorum outspent Casey 2-1, and he got SMOKED ...
* BO built up a VERY strong ground game here in the primary, and McCain is just going to wire into the traditional party roots ... Rs DO have good GOTV here, but Obama's is on a level I haven't seen ...

IMO ... That he is floating Ridge indicates that he KNOWS he has no chance of winning here without that help, if at all AND that he is considering on doubling down on his candidacy being about keeping all of us weak A pathetic americans safe from the big bad world ...

[WinkyDink]

5. As JVS says: Supported electric dereg. THAT IS THE BIG STORY in PA! Rates going up minimum 33% !!

http://www.pulp.tc/html/shocking_development_-_electri.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/06/30/daily18.html

http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-a16_5caps.6534938aug06,0,5017542.story

Ridge is TOAST here.

[Divernan]

7. Here's what the Dem AND GOP staffers in state capitol thought

Ridge wanted to be president since he was a kid - it is his stated goal in his high school yearbook. He knew Congressmen don't get the nod for presidential races, so he figured being the PA Governor was the shortest route to the Oval Office. He came into Harrisburg (state capitol) like God's gift to the political world - complete with a bodyguard of four state troopers duded up like Secret Service in dark suits, shades and earpieces. They were with him everywhere. A real Men in Black operation. I worked in the Capitol and never saw him without his troopers in civilian dress. Rendell on the other hand would come into the Capitol cafeteria and sit down with a table full of young staffers - anyone could go up and talk to him.

Ridge rammed through lots of special interest legislation, for which he collected BIG donations from lobbyists for the most powerful special interests. For example, he opened up the state for huge dumpsites/landfills for other states' garbage/trash. Then there was the aforementioned electric deregulation. Our motto could have been: "Pennsylvania - America Dumps Here!" rather than the actual motto: "Pennsylvania - America Starts Here". He was well known to be trying to build up a record amount of campaign funding with which to impress the national GOP - bringing the big bucks to the pres. campaign. In fact, he did achieve a record amount over any other previous GOP candidate - but then along came W who had an incredible amount of funding which blew Tom Ridge out of the water.

Ridge hoped to get the VP slot under W, but W's organization did their due diligence in vetting Ridge and found that Ridge had a major personal scandal in his then-current life - involving female staffers he brought with him to Harrisburg from his Congressional office. However, W must have let Ridge down easy, because Ridge still hoped to get the VP slot in W's second run - remember how everyone thougth Cheney would not want to run for a second term? When 9/11 happened, Ridge left the Governorship early to take over as Director of Homeland Security. We all thought at the time that he had been promised that VP slot for Bush's second term. And it was well known that he considered Harrisburg "the sticks" and yearned to get back to DC where the action was. It could be he thought that with all the attention on 9/11 that no one would drag out his closeted skeletons, should he be nominated for the VP slot.

Meanwhile the personal scandal morphed into a fund raising scandal and a jail term for one of those female Congressional staffers who had been appointed chief fund raiser for Ridge, and was caught in a standard bank audit by PNC Bank to have been siphoning off funds for her personal use. She did time in federal prison - Ridge did not come to her defense. There's some very dark stuff involved, and the state capitol press sat on it. Cheney kept his tight hold on the VP slot, and Ridge left DHS to make big bucks in the private sector.

McCain's inept staff may just be negligent enough to pick Ridge and in the current atmosphere, the whole ugly story will come out. That would be too bad. The American public has heard enough ugly stories about egotistic, entitled politicians.

[napi21]

9. WOW! I never heard about the scandals! That makes me feel much

more relaxed about him being chosen! My husband has relatives who live in the central mountains of Pa. They are all Pubs, BUT they would just stay home if there were scandals associated with a McNut Ridge campaign, and of course they'd stay home anyway becaue he's Pro Choice!

[darius15]

8. VP will have little effect on a big state like PA

maybe 1-2 percent. Now, if Obama was to choose someone like Schweitzer of Montana, it would have a nice 5-6 point bump because Montana is small.