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Excellent Book on Recent Decades of
Pennsylvania Government and Politics,
January 4, 2006
Vince Carocci, a longtime reporter who
served as an aide to Governor Casey, has
written his professional autobiography. This
intertwining of remembrances with keen
analysis of events makes this a superb book
for those interested in recent Pennsylvania
government and politics. Readers learn how
Capitol reporters in the 1960s were an
assortment of grouchy men (there were no
female Capitol reporters) ranging from those
who sought quotes to verify angles on
stories they had already written to those
who pretended to write about things they
heard secondhand. The press then could be
vicious, as noted by the famous "Shapp
Denies Rumor He Had Psychiatric Treatment"
headline.
The author also worked as a State Senate
staff aide, where he observed that political
alliances were flexible and changing.
Readers learn some Senators believed in the
politics of revenge. The book also proposes
an interesting theory that the defeat of Joe
Ammerman for Majority Leader led to the
decline of the Democratic Party. The claim
is Ammerman would have objected to
activities by then-elected Democratic
leadership that led to the Republicans
taking control of the State Senate in 1974.
He believes the party drifted from
leadership that sought to do what was the
best to one that sought to do what was best
for themselves. Democratic leaders even
worked to defeat other Democrats.
Republicans have had a near-dynasty of
Senate control ever since.
The 1970s, though, were a critical decade
for the legislature. During that decade, it
moved from a part-time office to a
professional branch of government whose
policymaking role became equivalent to that
of the Governor. The author notes that
professional legislative staffing became
more important in shaping policies and
subsequently the abilities of political
parties to guide policies diminished. With
the weakening of political parties, the
legislative leaders lost some of their
political clout while rank and file
legislators increased their political
strength. The author notes that Sen. Craig
Lewis's taking the Appropriations Committee
Chairmanship from the incumbent Joe Smith
would have been unthinkable a few years
earlier.
Among important changes the author notes was
the removal of the one term limitation for a
Governor. Allowing a Governor a second term
gave a Governor a longer period of time to
work on goals plus the likelihood of such an
extended presence gives the Governor greater
political clout to achieve those goals. It
is noted every Governor since this law was
changed has been elected to two terms, thus
allowing Governors to take advantage of
these extended abilities. Ironically, both
the legislative and administrative branches
of government have become more influential
in recent decades.
In 1962, Rep. Bill Scranton then disavowed
any interest in running for Governor. Yet,
Republican political leaders (who included
Scranton's mother, Marion Margery Warren
Scranton) were leery of their likely
nominee, Judge Robert Woodside. Scranton
told party leaders he would run for Governor
if all 67 Republican county chairmen would
unite behind his candidacy. To his surprise,
66 did, which was close enough. Scranton ran
and was elected Governor.
Scranton used a clever ploy during his
campaign. His Democratic opponent,
Philadelphia Mayor Richardson Dilworth, has
been making an issue of being unable to
debate Scranton and thus would debate an
empty chair. Dilworth bought television time
to debate his empty chair, only to be thrown
off and lose his composure on television
when Scranton appeared at the last moment.
Scranton was followed by Raymond Shafer as
Governor. Shafer was a Republican who fought
with the Republican legislative leadership,
leading to the creation of an eight month
budget where many budget issues were left
for the next Governor. Shafer was followed
by Democrat Milton Shapp, the first
candidate to broadcast television ads every
night for the ten nights prior to the
primary and whose ads helped him be an upset
primary victor twice and eventually Governor
in his second attempt. The author notes that
Shapp, who ran as a candidate against the
Democratic Party machine, ran afoul of that
same machine as it dispensed patronage to
people loyal to the party but not
necessarily to Shapp. The Democratic Party's
image took a sharp blow with the public as
almost 400 politicians were indicted during
the Shapp years.
The author notes the selling of patronage
jobs appears to have never been traced to
Shapp, but that it did exist and seems to
have been fairly widespread. Republican
legislative leaders took advantage of these
scandals to advance their party. When Shapp
willingly appeared to testify before a
legislative committee, and was then handed a
subpoena to testify, it was many observers'
opinions, including the author's, that Shapp
defended himself rather well against
Republican efforts to gain political mileage
off the scandals and in fact emerged
political stronger.
The author sees Shapp as a Governor who had
good intentions who truly cared about those
with economic disadvantages. Shapp may have
survived the scandals, but the Democratic
Party did not (and to this day has yet to
totally rebound.) Republican Dick Thornburgh
was the next elected Governor.
The author views Thornburgh as a paradox as
a Governor who expressed integrity yet was
as manipulative as the very type of leader
Thornburgh claimed to despise. He criticizes
Thornburgh for opposing the bipartisan
legislative efforts to create a prescription
drug program for the elderly and then
embracing the program as if it were his own.
The author also believes Thornburgh
supported abolishing the liquor control
system less for reasons of policy but in
retaliation for having his nominees to the
Liquor Control Board blocked by State Senate
Democrats. Further, his administration
awarded a weatherization contract to a
Democratic State Senator, Milton Street, who
switched to the Republican Party. Finally,
as the only Governor to use the official
Governor's Mansion for a political
fundraiser, the author disbelieves claims
that Thornburgh was a Governor above
politics.
The author served as Deputy Legislative
Affairs Secretary, Government Operations
Secretary, and then Press Secretary to the
following Governor, Democrat Bob Casey. The
author helped Governor Casey transfer
responsibility of liquor law enforcement to
the State Police and create liquor control
administrative judges. Economic times were
difficult, and budget negotiations with the
legislature once took eight months when
three billion in new taxes had to be found.
Fortunately, the Casey Administration was
able to leave the next Governor, Tom Ridge,
with a $500 million surplus.
This book is a fantastic account of state
government from someone who observed it both
from the outside as a reporter and from the
inside as a key aide. The personal
observations and accounts make this one of
the most insightful books on state
government operations. Readers will learn
and appreciate much from "A Capitol
Journey."
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