Now that Republican Gov. Tom Corbett no longer fears a primary challenge, he's ready to reinvent himself with a rush to the center. First step: a brazenly transparent
change of heart backed up by embarrassingly bogus reasoning:
Corbett said Tuesday that he would support legislation banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
Corbett, who has previously staked out conservative positions on social issues, told The Inquirer that he was "coming out in support" of the bill after learning that federal law does not cover discrimination in the state.
Corbett's been governor for three years, so he just figured out
now that Congress never passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act? Is
Wikipedia blocked by the servers at the state capitol? I mean, great that he's suddenly all for equality, but really, he could have worked harder on his excuses. "I used to serve as Pennsylvania's attorney general, but I know nothing about the law" pretty much sucks.
Of course, let's see if Corbett actually uses any of his non-existent political muscle to persuade his fellow Republicans who run the legislature to actually take action on the bill, which has gone nowhere for a decade. Somehow I doubt his heart is really in it; this is the guy, after all, who recently compared same-sex marriage to incest between brothers and sisters.
Ultimately, Corbett's belated conversion is just as likely to piss off his conservative base on account of his apostasy as it is to turn off liberal voters thanks to his insincerity. It's not a winning move, from a guy who, trailing in all the polls, doesn't have many winning moves to play. But it's pretty much exactly what you can expect from Tom Corbett.