Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro won election on a theme of “getting in the game.” But since taking office, he’s been sitting on the sidelines during game-changing plays — not simply a bench warmer but a silent one.
From energy to education to elections to executive-office scandals, Shapiro, for all his talk, has embraced a strategy of silence.
This silence glaringly came to the fore this week, as Democrat county election officials voted to openly violate two Supreme Court orders so they could count (and now re-count) undated mail-in ballots in the close election between Republican Senator-Elect Dave McCormick and incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr.
Days after the news of the violation broke — first locally and then nationally — Shapiro has said not a word about the election lawbreaking happening under his watch. Media outlets from the Left and Right have condemned the open disdain for the rule of law. But Shapiro has been silent, his rhetoric on protecting democracy notwithstanding.
His silence is all the more stunning given his former role as Pennsylvania Attorney General—the top law enforcement officer in the Commonwealth. In that role, he went to court supposedly to fight for election integrity.
But now when two very clear rulings by a Democrat majority on the state Supreme Court offend his partisan ideology, Shapiro’s silence is deafening.
Unfortunately, silence isn’t new to Shapiro. Just over one year ago, scandal erupted in his administration after his then-secretary of legislative affairs, Mike Vereb, resigned after being accused of sexual harassment.
The story of Vereb’s resignation flooded the news, but it would be eight days before Shapiro spoke publicly about it. Worse, questions still abound as to whether Shapiro knew of the allegations months earlier when they were first made. But the response from Shapiro: silence.
This cacophony of silence dogs Shapiro’s campaign promises, too.
Who can forget his famous statement on national television that “every child of God” deserves a good education. This came just months after his campaign platform included support for school choice.
But despite his pretense as a school choice advocate, when it came time to play the game, Shapiro didn’t even suit up. Not only did he stay silent on school choice in both his first and second state budget addresses, but when handed school choice as part of a budget deal, he vetoed it.
On energy production, Shapiro stayed silent for more than two years regarding his true position on Pennsylvania’s joining the controversial Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGG), a carbon tax-and-trade scheme. Only when he sued to stay in RGGI did Pennsylvanians finally learn his real stance. On this issue, forget “getting in the game.” Shapiro wouldn’t even say what team he was rooting for.
And despite his campaign words on accelerating the reduction of the Pennsylvania corporate net income tax (CNIT) rate, his budget plans have been silent here as well.
Notably, there’s a pattern to Shapiro’s silence. On issues where he feels he is winning, he will capture any podium, camera, or limelight. Just recall I-95 (and his endless references to it).
But on issues that could paint him in a bad light — the Vereb scandal, issues that could work against his political interests — Dave McCormick’s victory, or issues that could earn him criticism from constituencies he’s desperate to please — RGGI and the energy industry, CNIT and Pa. businesses, or school choice and teachers’ union, Shapiro’s game strategy is silence.
It’s rare to accuse a politician of saying too little. And, to be sure, Shapiro offers many words. But when it comes to getting in the game, Shapiro prefers silence to actually “getting stuff done.”
Matthew J. Brouillette is president and CEO of Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(6) membership organization dedicated to improving the economic environment and educational opportunities in Pennsylvania.
