Rendell flips wig over 4-year-old dig about his (lack of) hair
It's no secret that former Gov. Ed Rendell disagrees with now Gov. Tom Corbett on how to tax natural gas drillers in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. But people at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center's fifth anniversary fund-raiser Friday afternoon were surprised to see just how far Rendell would go to make that point.
Rendell flips wig over 4-year-old dig about his (lack of) hair
Chris Brennan
It's no secret that former Gov. Ed Rendell disagrees with now Gov. Tom Corbett on how to tax natural gas drillers in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. But people at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center's fifth anniversary fund-raiser Friday afternoon were surprised to see just how far Rendell would go to make that point.
Rendell, sporting what can only be called a "Moe" wig in the style of the one-time Three Stooges actor, explained that PBPC Director Sharon Ward did a presentation in December 2008 on state revenue. It included pictures of six governors from different states. Rendell was one of them. The presentation asked "What do these governors have that Ed Rendell doesn't."
The answer was what Ward calls "robust taxes on natural gas." But Ward added what Rendell called "a gratuitous shot" in the presentation, that the answer could also be hair. The governors, who included then West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, then Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, did indeed all have hair. Rendell? Not so much.
Rendell, who failed to get his proposal for a natural gas excise tax through the General Assembly, on Friday said it would have produced more than $2 billion in additional taxes for Pennsylvania that could have been used to fund education and other state issues.
Rendell told the crowd they should not be angry with Corbett, who has only followed through on promises he made when campaigning in 2010 for governor. Instead, he urged the crowd to work on the General Assembly to sway the votes of members there.
He offered a quick tutorial in democracy, asking the crowd to vote on whether he should continue the speech while wearing the wig. The crowd voted overwhelmingly for him to take it off.
"I will totally forgive you if you get the legislature to vote for a tax for education," Rendell told Ward.
Typical tax and spend democrat. Don't worry, if there is not enough money for democrats pet projects, they'll just tax more.— junethe4th- What did Eddie get paid for this? The guy won't use your bathroom unless he gets paid.— bobcitydoc
- The Governor wasn't paid a cent for his appearance. He appeared because he believes in the work of the PA Budget & Policy Center, he supports responsible governing with reasonable revenues to deliver services - and because he couldn't resist the chance to wear the wig and needle Sharon Ward of the Center. Mission accomplished.
- He should keep it on he never looked better.— 72Tiger
- He's taking time off from traveling with the Fix the Debt corporate hacks. The wig must be to cover the bruise where he fell on his head.— brinsley
- Wuss.— boroughboy
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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