So-called Republicans Endorse Shapiro over Mastriano

[ImminentDanger]

Shades of Specter and Toomey ----


Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers back Democrat Shapiro for governor over Mastriano
by Kate Scanlon - July 07, 2022

A group of prominent Pennsylvania Republicans broke ranks with their party this week to endorse Democrat Josh Shapiro in his gubernatorial bid over their party's nominee, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who many fear is too extreme to win independent and mainstream Republican support in November's election.

Shapiro, Pennsylvania's attorney general, rolled out endorsements from former Reps. Charlie Dent and Jim Greenwood, ex-Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Ken Davis, and one-time state Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman. Also endorsing Shapiro over Mastriano were former Lt. Gov. Robert Jubelirer, ex-state House Speaker Dennis O'Brien, Lawrence County Commission Chairman Morgan Boyd, and a pair of former state representatives, Dave Steil and Lita Cohen.

The group constitutes a notable fracture among Republicans, with prominent elected officials and political operatives encouraging voters to split their tickets to back Shapiro but support Republicans in other races, including the Republican Senate nominee, television personality Dr. Oz.

Craig Snyder, a former chief of staff to the late Sen. Arlen Specter, who will run the political operation for the group Republicans for Shapiro, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that "Mastriano is unacceptable."

"You can withhold support from Mastriano without declaring yourself to be a progressive," Snyder said.

Mastriano won Pennsylvania's Republican gubernatorial nomination earlier this year despite a last-ditch effort by some state Republicans to coalesce the field around a different candidate they felt would fare better against Shapiro.

Mastriano, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, backed baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Mastriano attended both a QAnon-linked event in Gettysburg and the Washington, D.C., rally that took place before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, using campaign funds to bus supporters to Washington that day. Mastriano also frequently barred media from his campaign events in the final days of the race.

After he secured the nomination, nonpartisan election analysts changed the race's rankings from toss-up to lean Democrat. The Republican Governors Association in May offered a tepid statement about Mastriano's win that said the group "remains committed to engaging in competitive gubernatorial contests where our support can have an impact in defending our incumbents and expanding our majority this year," without specifying whether Mastriano would be one of those candidates it works to support.

Pennsylvania is a key battleground state, and its open gubernatorial seat will soon be vacated by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who is term-limited.

The state is full of RINOs...

...

[Gman106]

Yeah, said it in another post. These idiot repubicans are a circular firing squad. The democrats never do this shit.

[STBear]

Yeah, said it in another post. These idiot repubicans are a circular firing squad. The democrats never do this shit.

Too many RINOs. Not enough DINOs.

[Krichardson]

Yeah, said it in another post. These idiot repubicans are a circular firing squad. The democrats never do this shit.

Nope they sure don't Republicans could learn a lot about party loyalty from the dems.

[ImminentDanger]

I don't care for Party Politics - But I do care about whether our government is oriented to Conservative Principles or Democratic Demolition Goals.

No candidate is ISSUE PURE - all have blemishes. But the overall direction this state needs to pursue is better served by an imperfect R-party candidate than an imperfect D-party candidate.

My nose is hurting after holding it for so many years --- But I can't contemplate the suffering of releasing it and taking in the full STENCH of the D-party goals.

How can anyone who is supposedly aligned with Conservative Principles, after seeing the TOTALLY DESTRUCTIVE POLICIES of the current WH & Congress, embrace anyone who is staunchly for the D-party goals???!!!???

...

[Gman106]

So enough about these traitorous douche knuckles. How are we going to broaden Mastriano's appeal? Obviously, the key is "the economy, stupid." The vast majority of Pennsylvanians are way more worried about the prices at the pump and at the grocery store and crime in the streets than any made-up Jan 6th nonsense or the infinitesimal possibility they may one day have to make the short drive to New York or New Jersey or Delaware or Maryland to murder their baby.

Thanks to FJB that's all the dems have. The wind is at our back if we can just manage not to fuck it up.

[TSimonetti]

These RINOs have never met an extreme democrat I guess.

[EFK]

It's an effing embarrassment is what it is. Circular firing squad is a very apt description.

I'm not really a fan of the 'team' mentality but sooner or later these pompous pricks need to realize that trying to be magnanimous and "reasonable" is going to get ALL of our teeth kicked out. These morons are showing up acting like they're about to sit down to a game of canasta and meanwhile the entirety of the left is ready for a bare knuckle fight club, willing to bite, eye gouge and knee your groin too, whatever it takes.

[PocketProtector]

They are all D false candidates. They lie until elected

[RockIsland]

"Craig Snyder, a former chief of staff to the late Sen. Arlen Specter..."

With him and Charlie Dent being involved, that's really all I need to know.