Political Pennsylvania:

Political Pennsylvania: The New Decade explores Pennsylvania state politics in the first decade of the 21st century. It documents the major events, personalities and issues of these critical years in state history. The book’s opening chapter focuses on those three critical themes essential to understanding state politics in the new century. Chapter Two looks at Pennsylvania’s historical role in national politics. A solidly Republican state from the Civil War until the 1930’s Pennsylvania evolved into a competitive two party state by the 1950’s. Gubernatorial politics are discussed in Chapter Three: open seat elections for governor tend to be highly competitive between the two major parties, while since 1970, governors have always been reelected to a second term. Chapter Four covers U.S. Senate contests. The state's U.S. Senators generally have been elected as moderates despite party affiliation. Chapter Five emphasizes the long term competitive two party nature of state politics--while examining the advantage Democrats were gaining as the decade advanced. Chapter Six tackles corruption and reform. Once the bane of Pennsylvania’s executive branch, corruption in the new century was found more within the legislative and judicial branches. Chapter Seven reviews budgets and taxes. The adoption of the budget is the single most important annual state function, beginning with a February budget address by the governor to a joint session of the legislature. Chapter Eight explains why politics almost always informs policy and frequently determines it. Nevertheless, the real relationship between politics and policy is far more complex as several articles in this chapter attest. Chapter Nine surveys Pennsylvania’s key national elections in the first decade of the new century. Since the 1960's Pennsylvania has become a so-called “battleground state" in presidential elections. By decade end the state was considered crucial to the outcome of national elections.

Political Pennsylvania: The New Decade explores Pennsylvania state politics in the first decade of the 21st by Pennsylvania’s leading political analysts: G Terry Madonna and Michael L Young. Based on a selection of articles produced by Madonna and Young from 2000 to 2010, the book documents the major events, personalities and issues of these critical years in state history. The book’s nine chapters opens with an introduction that focuses on three critical themes essential to understanding state politics as the new century begins: the major characteristics of modern state politics dating from the Civil War period; the key characteristics of the state’s politics as the new century begins; and an exploration of where state politics were heading as the new century gets underway. Chapter Two adds to this framework with a look at Pennsylvania’s historical role in national politics. A solidly Republican state from the Civil War until the 1930’s, Pennsylvania evolved into a competitive two party state by the 1950’s. Despite its large population, has often played a modest role in national politics, electing just one president while its leaders often played a kingmaker role behind the scenes. Gubernatorial politics are discussed in Chapter Three showing that four essential facts are important in Pennsylvania's gubernatorial politics. Its governors are given considerable constitutionally provided powers making them the central figures in state politics. Pennsylvania governors are term-limited--they can only be elected to two consecutive terms. Open seat elections for governor tend to be highly competitive between the two major parties, and for more than sixty years a strange but reliable “eight year cycle” has existed-- in which the two major parties trade the office every eight years. Chapter Four covers U.S. Senate contests in the Keystone state, emphasizing three major constants in contemporary senate politics: those contests are usually hard fought and costly battles between the two major parties; Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators generally have been elected and re-elected as moderates despite party affiliation; and until mid-decade (2006) Republicans had dominated the state’s U.S. Senate delegation. That domination would briefly give way late in the decade with Democrats holding both seats for only the second time since the Civil War. Chapter Five focuses on political parties emphasizing the long term competitive two party nature of state politics--while pointing out in some detail that Democrats gradually gained advantage both in statewide elections and presidential elections. Chapter Six tackles the ubiquitous topics in state politics of corruption and reform. Once the bane of Pennsylvania’s executive branch, corruption in the new century was found more and more within the legislative and judicial branches of government. Pennsylvania’s long history of political corruption has been accompanied by an equally long tradition of anti-reformism, one that showed little sign of abating in the new century. Chapter Seven follows the money literally by reviewing budgets and taxes. Unlike the federal government, Pennsylvania, as most other states, must adopt a balanced annual budget. The adoption of the budget is the single most important annual state function. That adoption process begins with a February governor's budget address in which spending and programmatic goals are spelled out. Chapter Eight looks at state policy arguing that politics almost always informs policy and frequently determines it. Nevertheless, it is a serious oversimplification to argue that policy is simply the long shadow of politics. The real relationship between politics and policy is far more complex as several articles attest. Chapter Nine surveys Pennsylvania’s key national elections. Since the 1960's Pennsylvania has played an important role in presidential elections, becoming for the first time in history a “competitive” state--a so-called “battleground state."

G. Terry Madonna, Ph.D. is Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs, Professor of Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College. He also directs the Franklin and Marshall College Poll. He joined F&M in May, 2004. For more than 30 years, Madonna has taught and written about his two academic specialties: the American presidency, and American political parties and political behavior. As a pollster in recent years, he has written extensively about voters and voting behavior. He holds a Ph.D. in political history from the University of Delaware. Before joining the faculty at Franklin and Marshall, Dr Madonna was Professor and Chair of the Government Department and headed the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Millersville University. Madonna founded the Keystone Poll in 1992, the oldest survey produced exclusively in Pennsylvania. In 2008, the Keystone Poll was renamed the Franklin and Marshall College Poll. In this capacity, he is the pollster for the Philadelphia Daily News, Times-Shamrock Newspapers, WPVI-ABC6 (Philadelphia), WGAL-TV (Lancaster), Harrisburg Patriot News and The Lancaster New Era. The Pittsburgh Tribune Review, and WTAE-TV (Pittsburgh)--media partners for the poll. He has also polled for KYW-TV (Philadelphia), Fox, 29-TV (Philadelphia), CN8, The Comcast Network, WITF-TV, (Harrisburg). He writes (with Michael Young) a bi-weekly political commentary column, “Politically Uncorrected,” which is distributed nationally. He is a regular analyst for WGAL-TV (Lancaster/Harrisburg). Madonna is a regular panelist on WPVI’s-TV (Philadelphia) commentary program, Inside Story. He is a frequent guest on many talk radio programs throughout the state and nation. He has also provided election coverage for WHYY-TV, public television in Philadelphia, WPVI-TV (Philadelphia), and WITF-TV. Madonna was also a regular panelist on The Peoples’ Business, a weekly news and commentary show broadcast throughout Pennsylvania on public television during the 1990’s. A frequent political analyst and public affair's commentator, Madonna has also provided analysis to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, U.S.A. Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, CNN, ABC News and CBS News, to name a few. Madonna has appeared on CNN's Inside Politics, CBS News, ABC News, C-Span, Fox News, MSNBC and NBC News. He has also contributed to political web sites for MSNBC, the Hill Newspaper, Real Clear Politics, Stateline, and Fox News. The author of numerous publications in the fields of American history, American government, and American politics, Madonna has written Revolutionary Lancaster: The Leadership (1976); Reapportionment: A Primer for Pennsylvanians (1993); Merit Selection of Appellate Judges: Why Its Time Has Come (1994); Pennsylvania Votes, 1994, (1995) (with Berwood Yost); and Pennsylvania Votes: Presidential Primaries, 1972-1992: A Sourcebook (1996) (with Berwood Yost); Pivotal Pennsylvania: Presidential Politics from FDR to the Twenty-First Century (2008) as well as chapters in books and articles in specialized publications. His writings have appeared in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, The Polling Report, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Pennsylvania History, Intellect, Academe, The Journal of Practical Politics, and the Fox News and The Hill Newspaper, as well as in many other places. Madonna delivered the Jefferson Educational Society lecture in 2014, and in 2012 delivered the annual Edmund Notebaert Lecture at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2010, he delivered one of the Jefferson Global Initiative lectures, and in 2008 delivered the annual Chautauqua Lecture at Gannon University, entitled “The Road to the White House.”