Wolf Takes the Title

May 20, 2014

Tom Wolf Easily Wins Democratic Nomination for Pennsylvania Governor

The Washington Post Sean Sullivan

Find the article by clicking here.

In advance, please excuse the brevity of this post (as there's little to report without becoming to subjective).

Tom Wolf won the Democratic nomination for governor in the Pennsylvania Dem. Gubernatorial elections today (May 20), and in doing so, Wolf will go on to face Gov. Tom Corbett (R) in the Fall.

The victory was reported to be a landslide - with Wolf receiving 55 percent of the votes, while the Schwartz, McCord and McGinty received 23, 15, and 7 percent, respectively.

Tom Wolf did what everyone cannot seem to wrap their minds around - he used $10 million of his own money to fund his campaign, instead of getting the usual sponsorship and what-not.

Along with the election being at stake in the Fall, if Corbett gets defeated by Wolf, he will be the first Pennsylvania governor in history to lose re-election.

In regards to the tone of this article, it's as objective as an article reporting a victory can be - simply stating the facts of the victory and not certain feelings towards to victor or the defeated.

McCord Strikes Back

May 3, 2014

Democrat Rob McCord Fires Back at Critics of His Attack Ad on Gubernatorial Rival Tom Wolf

The Patriot News Charles Thompson

Find the article by clicking here.

Rob McCord refuses to revoke his use of a controversial attack ad on his democratic rival Tom Wolf, regardless of the fire he is being put under because of it.

The ad is a direct attack on Tom Wolf's support of former York Mayor Charles Robertson's re-election in 2001, who was accused of having ties to the death of an African-American woman in a race riot. The ad states that Tom Wolf has "no good answers" to rebuttal.

Most critics (including Wolf's African-American supporters and current York mayor, Kim Bracey, who is also African-American) exclaim that the ad is unfair towards Tom Wolf, and that the ad is "misleading." The ad makes it appear as if Tom Wolf had a connection to the death of the woman.

However, Rob McCord shows no remorse for the ad that he approved, saying that he is proud to be pushing the conversation of fighting racism forward; but, does his ad have a valid connection?

Some critics are even calling the McCord ad a desperate attempt to bring down the front-runner.

However, McCord responded by saying, "there’s nothing desperate about raising issues of judgment and leadership ... in a campaign for what should be the most important office in our state."

In regards to the tone of the article, I cannot pinpoint a bias. Although the article itself appears to demean McCord (simply by the construction of the text), the author did not present a clear view of his own beliefs. Kudos to him, as news should be unbiased (that's kinda why it's called news).

Tom, Wolf or Prey?

May 1, 2014

Democratic Front-Runner Tom Wolf Blasted in Debate

The Morning Call Steve Esack

Find the article by clicking here.

Is mud-slinging and attacks the effect of being in first place? For Democratic candidate, Tom Wolf, the answer is "yes."

In one of the last debates before the election on Tuesday, May 20, Democratic candidates Allyson Schwartz and Rob McCord called for an all-out attack on Tom Wolf.

Just 20 minutes into the 90-minute debate, Allyson Schwartz was on the prowl, explaining that Tom Wolf has some "questionable friends," referring to former state Rep. Steve Stetler, who was accused of fraud in 2012. Wolf defended himself as such.

A few minutes later, Rob McCord went on the attack, referring to Tom Wolf as the lovable Mr. Rogers - a means to say that "nice guys know when to break ties with questionable friends."

McCord also attacked Wolf for backing former York mayor Charles Robertson, who was accused of having a connection to the death of an African-American woman back in 2001 (dirt from 13 years ago?). Wolf responded to this blow by showing his support for the current mayor of York, who is African-American, and who was in the audience.

The hilarity of the article lies in the fact that after doing all this attacking on Tom Wolf, both Allyson Schwartz and Rob McCord struggled to answer questions that were thrown their way (one would think that someone with such a big bark would have the bite to back it).

In regards to the tone of this article, I cannot determine a specific supportive view-point - a very objective report.

In one final statement, all four Democratic candidates took shots at Tom Corbett, current Republican governor of Pennsylvania.

All Four Candidates

May 10, 2014

Minimum Wage, Death Penalty, Pension Reform: Where the Democratic PA Gubernatorial Candidates Stand on Issues

The Patriot News The Associated Press

Find the article by clicking here.

All four democratic candidates in PA's Gubernatorial
Democratic Primary Election

This article is very confusing for a Democrat trying to make a decision regarding who to vote for in the upcoming Democratic Gubernatorial elections in Pennsylvania.

The topics touched upon in this article are: abortion rights, health care, education, minimum wage, public pensions, natural gas policy, gay rights, gun rights, taxes, marijuana, and the death penalty.

One would think that this article would clear things up that are in the air regarding the views of the four Democratic candidates; however, this article may just make the decision even more difficult and confusing.

Most (10 of 11) of the descriptions of the views on a certain topics start with the phrase "All four candidates." If a website talks about specific topics and how all four candidates support the same strategy of dealing with those topics, how can a Democrat possibly choose just one? No differences are really made that way.

To this author, the article seems extremely ineffective - and if I had to make a decision regarding who to choose, this article would not help me.

It almost appears as though the writer supports all four candidates running for the position of the Democratic nominee for the upcoming PA Gubernatorial election in the Fall.

All-in-all, this article would make me feel confused to be a Democrat.

Wolf Shows No Sign of Stopping

May 17, 2014

PA Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Wolf Visits Upper Merion

Mainline Media News Oscar Gamble

Find the article by clicking here.

Tom Wolf speaks to constituents at the
Upper Merion Farmers' Market on
Saturday, May 17.

Tom Wolf shows no sign of slowing down when it comes to winning the Democratic Gubernatorial Election, with voting opening on Tuesday, May 20. Tom Wolf visited the Upper Merion Farmers' market, located at the Township Building. Tom Wolf had a great time and experience strolling through the market greeting potential voters.

Tom Wolf's campaign spokesman, Mike Nicastre, explains that the final home-stretch of visiting suburban counties (including a stop in Philadelphia) is a strategy to swing undecided voters to vote for Wolf on Tuesday. Along with swaying undecided voters, Wolf also got out to talk to people who would not normally vote, explaining to them its importance.

The latest poll information shows that Tom Wolf has a far lead over the other candidates running, but this won't stop Wolf. Tom Wolf is taking these last few days as an opportunity to really make sure that he truly has the election "in the bag."

“We’re all seeing the same (poll) numbers, but I’m working hard right through the end," says an excited Wolf.

In regards to the overall tone of the article written on Mainline Media News's website, it shows positive energy emanating towards Tom Wolf. The article doesn't openly support Wolf, but if one had to make a decision, it's more supportive of Wolf than it is downplaying.

Wolf Picks Up Support of 14 Public Universities

April 26, 2014

Tom Wolf Picks Up Education Union Endorsement for Governor

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette McClatchy Newspapers

Find the article by clicking here.

Can Tom Wolf extend his Democratic lead by picking up a public education endorsement? Polls show "yes." Recently, Tom Wolf accepted an education endorsement from the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. The union believes that, out of all the candidates running for governor in the fall, Tom Wolf best represents the views of the association. The endorsement was accepted this past Friday, April 25, 2014, at Toftrees Resort. Because of this endorsement deal, Wolf now has the support of over 6,000 employees and 14 publicly-owned universities. Wolf pleased the association by stating that the "colleges and universities must be an integral part of building a 21st century workforce." 

Surely, predictions can be made from these results. With the backing of new employees and universities, Tom Wolf will be more known throughout the entire state in the Gubernatorial Primary.

Taking into regard the tone of the article, it is somewhat difficult to decipher the viewpoint of McClatchy Newspapers; however, the tone is more supportive than rejective. McClatchy Newspapers writes the article in a well-enough manner to keep the article objective (for the most part).

With the new endorsements and recognition that comes with it, Tom Wolf is almost sure to extend his lead within the democratic party and face Gov. Tom Corbett in the fall.