Remembering former Governor Bill Scranton--- He was a "Kennedy Republican"

[femmocrat]

Former Pennsylvania governor William Scranton Jr. dies
July 30, 2013 9:46 am
Post-Gazette

By Timothy McNulty / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Bill Scranton, a moderate Republican governor and presidential hopeful in the mid-1960s who remained a national presence in public and business life, died Sunday of a cerebral hemorrhage at an assisted-living facility in Montecito, Calif. He was 96.

Pennsylvania Republicans were despondent in 1962. They had lost the past two major statewide elections to Democrats David L. Lawrence and John F. Kennedy in the gubernatorial and presidential races of 1958 and 1960, and for the first time they were out-registered by Democrats by nearly 200,000 votes. With reluctance, Mr. Scranton -- a freshman congressman representing the city named after his family -- met with former President Dwight Eisenhower at his farm in Gettysburg.

The patrician World War II veteran was seen as a "Kennedy Republican" who voted with the administration on urban renewal projects, the Peace Corps and the minimum wage. As governor he would later raise sales and liquor taxes, build the community college system and cut the state's unemployment rate in half, but first he had to be persuaded to get into the race.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-state/former-pennsylvania-governor-william-scranton-jr-dies-697325/#ixzz2aZFVEGOZ

[Freddie]

1. Wow, a politician who actually did things to help people!

And a Republican yet. I vaguely remember him losing to Goldwater for the Repug nomination in '64. I was 7 and my folks watched the convention because our governor was in the running.
A truly good man. Rest in peace Gov. Scranton.

[JPZenger]

2. A really decent gentleman who was liked and respected by everyone except the ultrarightwingnuts

[Number9Dream]

4. Scranton Commission - Kent State shootings

snip> On June 13, 1970, President Richard Nixon established the President's Commission on Campus Unrest, which became known as the Scranton Commission after its chairman, former Pennsylvania governor William Scranton.

snip> The Commission issued its findings in a September 1970 report. It concluded that the shootings at Kent State were unjustified. The report said: Even if the guardsmen faced danger, it was not a danger that called for lethal force. The 61 shots by 28 guardsmen certainly cannot be justified. Apparently, no order to fire was given, and there was inadequate fire control discipline on Blanket Hill. The Kent State tragedy must mark the last time that, as a matter of course, loaded rifles are issued to guardsmen confronting student demonstrators.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scranton_Commission

[Counterpoint PA]

5. As I said in the comments sections of the Politics PA article on this:

Why can’t we have Republicans like that today? Today’s GOP would likely label this guy a socialist based on how he expanded the government. As a former Northampton Community College student this man has my great respect.

(Scranton was responsible for the state's community college system, among other things.)

http://www.politicspa.com/former-governor-william-scranton-dies-at-96/49752/