Brews & Views

Are Pennsylvania’s public schools underfunded? Commonwealth Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Colleen Hroncich joins Commonwealth Partners President and CEO Matt Brouillette to take a hard look at several myths surrounding public school funding and to set the record straight.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, founded by former President Barack Obama and his former Attorney General Eric Holder, claims to want fair congressional maps. But that claim is far from accurate. Here’s the story of how this committee is working not for fairness but for pure Democrat control—and how they’re willing to use even the most undemocratic means to get there.

Tune in as Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs Political Director Jeremy Baker outlines our endorsements in the Pennsylvania judicial primary elections and why we are recommending "YES" votes on two proposed constitutional amendments to restore a legislative check and balance on a governor's emergency powers.

In late April, 2021, Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf abruptly withdrew all his pending nominations to lead key state agencies. In a recent op-ed, Commonwealth Partners President and CEO Matt Brouillette explored the implications of Wolf’s move, which canceled Senate confirmation hearings, shielding his appointees from public questioning. This episode is an audio version of that op-ed.

CHANNELLOCK® President and CEO Jon DeArment, who is also on our board of Trustees at Commonwealth Partners, recently wrote an op-ed on how Gov. Wolf shutdown his business last year and why he’s urging Pennsylvanians to vote yes on two proposed constitutional amendments so no one’s livelihood is again deemed non-essential. This episode is an audio version of that op-ed.

If you work with hand tools, you probably have a pair of CHANNELLOCK® pliers. CHANNELLOCK® President and CEO Jon DeArment joins Commonwealth Partners President and CEO Matt Brouillette to discuss how Gov. Wolf shut down his business last year and to encourage Pennsylvanians to vote yes on two proposed constitutional amendments that would protect businesses against future shutdowns by restoring a legislative check and balance on a governor’s emergency powers.

In the past three years, a left-wing group called Pennsylvania Fund for Change has raised $9.8 million and spent nearly all of it trying to defeat state legislative Republicans. They're particularly fond of targeting Republicans who side with government unions. This is ironic, given where Fund for Change gets its money; namely, from government unions and trial lawyers. We take a look at how politicians are betrayed by their union "friends."

Commonwealth Court Judge Kevin Brobson is running for Pennsylvania Supreme Court this year. Judge Brobson recently sat down with Commonwealth Partners President and CEO Matt Brouillette to share more about his background, how he became interested in public service, and why he’s running for the state’s highest court.

As the COVID pandemic emerged last year, Gov. Wolf promised his decisions would be “data-driven”. But his Department of Health recently revealed that Wolf’s travel restrictions were unsupported by any data. This episode is an audio version of an op-ed by Commonwealth Partners Public Affairs Director Gina Diorio detailing this latest revelation.

From Gov. Tom Wolf's administration's policy requiring nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients, to Pennsylvanians' inability to reach the Department of Labor for months on end, state Rep. Natalie Mihalek has been asking public officials the hard questions. Are they giving her good answers? Listen to find out.