Keystone Today

Democrat Sen. Bob Casey phoned it in at last week's Shale Insight Conference in Erie where hundreds of oil and gas workers gathered to discuss the future of fracking. 

In a video presentation that ended without applause, Casey "paid lip service" to the industry for "creating good-paying jobs and promoting U.S. energy independence," according to a Sept. 27 article in the New York Post.

The article quoted several attendees, including Curt Brooks, who works in oil and gas marketing in Monroeville, Pa.

“He didn’t seem genuine," Brooks was quoted. "He definitely was reading. He was swaying back and forth."

The article also quoted Nick Hannan, who works in designing oil and gas rigs in central Pennsylvania.

“I viewed his speech and his support of the industry as mainly a façade,” the article quoted Hannan. It also stated that Hannan "didn't think highly" of Casey before the video.

Failing to show up in person at a fracking conference in a state where the industry employs more than 100,000 Pennsylvanians and has a $40 billion-plus economic impact could be risky for a competitive Senate race that could go either way.

Trafalgar Group polling released on Sunday showed Casey, seeking a fourth term, was up by 1 point over Republican challenger Dave McCormick, in a survey that had a 2.9% margin of error. 

The same pollster also showed that in Pennsylvania President Donald Trump was up by 3 points over Vice President Kamala Harris, who's famously flip-flopped on fracking. In 2019, as a presidential candidate, she said there was "no question" she would pursue a federal ban on fracking. In the Sept. 10 debate with Trump, she said, “My position is that we have got to invest in diverse sources of energy so we reduce our reliance on foreign oil."

McCormick's promotion and expansion of fracking have been central to his campaign. With the fourth largest reserves of natural gas in the world, he believes the U.S. could be an energy superpower.

Last Thursday, the businessman and combat veteran seized the opportunity to address the Shale Insight Conference in person.

“I had the opportunity to see Senator Casey phone in, and I am happy to see him making an energy transition,” the New York Post reported. "Don't believe it."

The Wall Street Journal's William McGurn also cast suspicion on Casey's sincerity as a pro-fracking candidate in a Sept. 23 op-ed titled "Bob Casey's Facade of Moderation." 

"Given the importance of fracking to Pennsylvania’s economy, the senator isn’t stupid enough to endorse an outright ban," McGurn wrote.

"But Mr. Casey’s moderation on fracking is a facade. An outright ban isn’t the real issue. There are, Mr. McCormick says, many ways to strangle the industry, notably through regulation and subsidies to competitor fuels. Mr. McCormick wants permitting reform to make it easier to drill for and extract natural gas. Mr. Casey wants it tightly regulated."

Casey and McCormick face off in debate Oct. 3 in Harrisburg and Oct. 15 in Philadelphia. Plans for a third debate in Pittsburgh are in the works.