We have never met Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, but we understand he, like so many others, wants to be the next governor of this commonwealth or at least what is left of it after Gov. Tom Wolf finally leaves office.

Pro tempore means “for the time being” in Latin. Pretty fancy way to say things like “until he seeks another office” or maybe “until he gets all he wants from his power chair.” We shouldn’t be too hard on him about his probably not caring about Butler County because that is the norm, rather than the pro tempore for people from central or Eastern Pennsylvania, particularly if their backsides are pro tempore in Harrisburg.

We know of the senator because he is in the state headlines — first, for being the 217th person to announce as a candidate for governor and then his picture and bio jumped out again for his opposition to block the continued abuse of lobbyists showering him and his cronies with gifts to garner the support for the “causes” the lobbyists represent. The good president pro tempore has refused to back the new restrictions offered into discussion by his own party, which happens to be Republican.

The Republican Party (pro tempore again) controls the House in Harrisburg and is able to decide which bills have any chance of reaching the floor for a vote, and it appears this future candidate prefers that limits (basically none) on gifts he can receive remain pro tempore too. The vast majority of this writer’s hate mail normally accuses him of being too conservative and Republican slanted. Maybe so, but here is a great example of our believing that once in a great while an elected official should do the right thing for the people instead of taking care of special interest groups and his longtime friends he relaxes with in Harrisburg.

Currently, almost anything is acceptable by Harrisburg officials and their employees as long as it is reported. Unfortunately, the new bills being introduced don’t ban accepting gifts completely, but only set some limits, which would include those from Sen. Corman’s special friends in the hospitality and travel industry. There is a great deal of pressure being put on him now to at least take an official position on the issue, but thus far he refuses.

We would have at least a slight bit of respect for him if he took one side or the other, but now that he is “candidate” Corman he must exercise extreme caution in letting the voters know if he stands for something, anything or nothing. Other than believing in lifetime positions for himself and his family, we know so little about him. He replaced his father for his Senate seat in 1999. He considers that chair in Harrisburg to be a birthright. The only thing that would get him out of it seems to be a seat with more influence and fewer limitations on gifts. That doesn’t seem likely to happen, so the best thing for him is to hold onto the seat that is so well broken-in for him now and guard against anyone daring to block his ability to receive gifts from outsiders who just might want to try to influence his positions.

But that really isn’t possible since he doesn’t seem to have any positions. President Pro Tempore Corman isn’t the only one being criticized for involvement with this issue, but he is the key person blocking making the issue correct in Pennsylvania. You want to be our governor, our leader, our statewide example of honesty and integrity, sir? This would be a great time to start.

— RV