First Santorum tosses out a charge he can't prove hoping it'll stick (and fails) -- and now Swann's doing it .. PA Republicans are starting to look desperate. On top of making this charge, Swann has handed conservatives two more reasons to be angry with him (those are toward the end).
Click here for the full AP story.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial hopeful Lynn Swann said Friday that some of his supporters are not contributing to his campaign because people in the Rendell administration or the governor's campaign have indicated it could jeopardize their state contracts or grants.
... A campaign spokesman for Rendell called Swann's allegation "a cheap political charge from a failing candidate."
"If Lynn Swann has any evidence, he should report it to the authorities right now. If not, he ought to shut up," said the Rendell spokesman, Dan Fee.
(Good pushback by the Rendell team!)
... Swann made the allegations near the end of a 90-minute interview with a group AP reporters and editors. Swann, who until recently had revealed little about his agenda, laid out his positions on a range of issues, including gun control, abortion and the minimum wage.
But he was vague about details of the Rendell camp's supposed interference, which he blamed as one reason he has had difficulty in raising campaign cash. As of May 1, Rendell had $13.6 million on hand -- more than five times as much as Swann.
Swann declined to identify any of the prospective donors who he said felt political pressure from state or Rendell campaign officials.
"I don't want to call those particular companies out and those individuals out," he said.
I think Swann's fundraising trouble might have to do with him being a lame candidate (empty suit) and the fact that a lot of conservatives are unhappy with him -- not just for sticking by the legislative leaders who just lost their primaries -- now Swann has given conservatives two more reasons to be angry:
1.
Swann, a former Pittsburgh Steelers star seeking to become Pennsylvania's first black governor, has proposed cutting the personal and corporate income taxes as part of a larger plan to reduce business taxes. But he said in the interview he could not rule out increases in the income and sales taxes in the future.
"I do want to win the campaign, but I'm not going to mislead you and make you promises and pledges" for political gain, he said. "I think we have to be honest about what we can do and what we can't do."
2.
Swann, who has criticized the legalization of slot-machine gambling in Pennsylvania as poor public policy but needs the revenue to help finance his proposed property-tax overhaul, said he did not call for repealing the slots law because the Legislature's 2004 vote of approval reflects popular support.
Advocating the repeal of slots would be "a waste of my time and energy," he said. "I'd like to win the election."
