Onorato

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Tom Corbett, who put Pennsylvania among the 20 states that have sued to block the national health-care overhaul, recently acknowledged in his gubernatorial campaign literature that the law represents "a great opportunity" to extend health coverage to thousands of residents.

Corbett's Democratic rival, Dan Onorato, said Wednesday that the Republican nominee was being inconsistent. Corbett's campaign disagreed.

After he won the GOP nomination in May, Corbett sent out a fundraising letter that underscored his disdain for President Barack Obama's sweeping initiative, which Congress approved six months ago.

"As Pennsylvania's attorney general and soon-to-be governor, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will I go along with this unconstitutional, big-government, special interest takeover of our health care," he promised in the undated letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

In an update of his health care platform on his campaign website earlier this month, Corbett said the federal law "offers great opportunity to extend coverage to thousands more people throughout Pennsylvania, but that goal can be thwarted if it is not implemented properly by state government."

Onorato campaign spokesman Brian Herman said Corbett is trying to have it both ways.

"It's bad enough that Tom Corbett has consistently politicized his office, but to now speak about how he will implement the same law he's suing to stop is stunning," Herman said.

Corbett's campaign spokesman, Kevin Harley, said his boss stands behind the lawsuit.