The Larry Kane Report

Rush Limbaugh is a broadcast pioneer. He basically put conservative talk radio on the map. He has millions of listeners. Basically though there is a problem: If you disagree with him, you are dead meat. Rush has only one point of view and rarely entertains another. But sometimes even avid fans know when the King of Spin goes too far. This week he had such a day.

His attack on Michael J. Fox after Fox released commercials supporting candidates who favored stem cell research was as ugly as it gets, a growing sign that we live in a country where tolerance can be an ugly word.

Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, recorded these commercials for individual candidates. Limbaugh was unhappy with the commercials In his broadcast, he said, :He is exaggerating the effects of the disease…he’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act. . . . this is really shameless of Michael J. Fox…either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting.”

Later in the day Limbaugh apologized. But the uproar over his remarks was a thunderous reaction of disgust that a man of his influence could be so callous and mean spirited.

I want to jump on that bandwagon with no regrets.

This reporter has been involved with the plight of the disabled for a long time. I have been on the board the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for 35 years. My mother had MS. Multiiple Sclerosis clients often have balance problems, among many other challenges. At times they are victims of some of the most vicious personal attacks, especially when they walk without steadiness and are often labeled as intoxicated, when they are just trying to make their way from one point to another. Parkinson’s patients have different challenges that are difficult to live with.

Many Americans still have a hard time understanding people with disabilities, but yet more and more are showing compassion.

Limbaugh, who has had an addiction problem, should know what it is like to have your own personal nightmare. The fact that he attacked a man like Michael J. Fox who is not afraid to fight for what he believes, is something he should regret.

People with microphones can affect the views of many others. That is the sad part of this story.

When fighting for your own political agenda is more important than exercising control, something is dangerously wrong.

The FCC has a war against indecency. What Rush Limbaugh did was not only indecent; it was a disgrace to the industry he represents.

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I have never quite seen anything like the contradictory signals emerging from the government about the war in Iraq.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley suggests the U.S is flexible on a timetable for an Iraqi takeover of security operations. The White House Press office says there will be no shift in Iraqi policy. The President stops using “stay the course” in his remarks. General Casey, commander in Iraq, puts more pressure on the lame Iraqi government to get militias under control. In the same announcement, General Casey says he might need more American troops in Iraq.

All of this rhetoric leads me to the question: Does anyone know what our real policy in Iraq is? Second question: Might this be a pre-election ploy? I doubt that. But I do suspect that there is an internal struggle going on in the White House about what to do next.

Meanwhile, Republican senators are pushing for a change in tactics and a genuine policy discussion as the nation moves forward in this dangerous war. Death and casualty tolls are rising and we are all having a tough time getting a definitive policy statement from the government.

With so many soldiers on the ground, in the air , and on the seas, we need to demand a direct answer to the question: who speaks for the White House and why are the signals about future war policy mired in conflicting statements?

Again, I have never seen a government speak with such confusion and contradiction.

Democrats are doing their part with a call for a change in tactics. Leading the way is the only man with a plan, Senator Joe Biden, who has suggested a political division of Iraq, with real power sharing. The current Iraqi government looks the other way when murderous militias rule the streets. Without some visionary concept to deal with murder by all sides in the conflict, a plan with real peace potentialm Iraq will slide into anarchy with or without our troops.

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Through a number of reliable sources, I’ve been able to secure some of the final strategy in the heated race for the U.S. Senate between Republican Rick Santorum and Democrat Bob Casey. Much of it is about geography.

Rick Santorum, trailing in the polls but promising a tight finish, will try to shore up support in the central and southwestern parts of the state where he needs his conservative base to come out and vote. Casey has made major inroads in those areas and Santorum needs to get his vote out. From all the information that I can find, it is obvious that Santorum’s lead in central and rural Pennsylvania is not what it was six years ago, perhaps a lead of a few points over Casey. That is simply not enough to win and that’s why you’ll see organizational efforts increased in those areas.

The Casey campaign, insiders tell us , will continue to focus on all areas but especially moderate suburban voters in Eastern Pa. and Allegheny County. Casey’s ads are turning more positive but he still cites Santorum’s links with the White House and he takes Santorum to task for his visit to Terry Schaivo at the nursing facility in Florida. Casey’s organizational efforts are very extensive, with most of his resources being used in Philadelphia, its suburbs and Allegheny County where Santorum admits that he is behind.

The ad wars surprise me. Santorum keeps attacking Casey for his sympathetic view on immigration reform, which is less an issue in the East than it is in the central part of the state. Casey’s ads, which were fairly tepid in the early part of the race, are now blasting Santorum for some controversial remarks he made about working mothers.

At this point in the game, TV viewers and radio listeners must be emotionally saturated with these ads. So when I saw some positive spots for both men this week, I assumed that punitive ads were going to be stopped.

I was wrong.

In the end, this race, as expected, will become a referendum. more on Santorum’s record and the Bush White House. Casey, though, through the debates, has managed to come through the grit of this campaign in good standing against a Senator with accomplished communications skills.

The real question is whether the silky smooth debater, Santorum, can survive against the Casey name and popularity, and what appears to be a populist tide against Republican incumbents.

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STRANGE SIGNS

Now this is a sign of the times. On lawn signs throughout the area, the signs read Jim Matthews for Lt. Governor. That is all it says. Of course in Pa. when you run for Lt. Governor in the general election, you run as a team. In this case Republican Lynn Swann is running for Governor. So the ticket is Swann-Matthews, as it is Rendell –Baker Knoll on the Democratic side.

The signs for Matthews for Lt. Governor are interesting because no where is the top of the ticket mentioned. It is common to see signs just plugging the name of the candidate for Governor, but its most unusual to see signs just for the number two person.

I can only assume that these are leftover signs from the primary election, or perhaps the Republican party in Montgomery County, where I spotted the signs, wants to plug only the name of Matthews, who is a County Commissioner running on his own turf.

Maybe Commissioner Matthews is looking ahead to next year’s County Commission elections where Democrats may have a good chance of getting control of the courthouse. In any event, the Matthews for Lt. Governor signs are interesting.

If they disappear by tomorrow, you will know that something is up.

SENATE BATTLE

On the Santorum-Casey battle for the Senate: Both campaigns have about 2.9 million dollars in cash left. That guarantees that your favorite TV and radio programs will be peppered with mostly negative images over the next several weeks.

IN THE TRENCHES –

One of the more fascinating races in the Pa. Legislature is the 164th district where well-entrenched Mario Civera faces one of the youngest candidates in the nation. Democrat Casey Roncaglione just turned 21 years old. Heavily outspent, and facing a long time incumbent, Roncaglione, a student at Temple University, is running hard in this Delaware County District. In the coming days, I’ll be talking to both the incumbent and the young challenger. It is an interesting race in more ways than one.

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The above headline was prompted by a growing debate about the lack of on-sight overseas news coverage, a dilemma that places Americans in an unusual position. In an era filled with uncertainty over how events in other countries will impact on our lives. more and more news organizations are cutting back on foreign coverage.

In a roundtable debate on the subject on CN 8’s VOICE OF REASON, taped for tonight at 9:30 P.M., the verdict was unanimous: Americans are not getting the information they need to make proper judgments.

Chris Harper, former network and news magazine bureau chief in the Middle East blames declining overseas coverage for the fact that most Americans have limited knowledge of the forces in Iraq that are fighting each other. He calls it a real crisis of information. That view is shared by Robert Thompson, professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, who has strong words about the lack of foreign news events that are often overshadowed by fluff and puff on local news.

Bob Zelnick, former ABC correspondent told me that he finds it ironic that most young Americans are getting their news from Comedy Central when they should be reading more. And Michael Days, Editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, was candid enough to admit that readers are not coming to his paper for overseas coverage and that there are plenty of outlets for it.

Perhaps the voice of the future on this show is Amy Webb, editor in chief at Dragonfire, a most unusual and in depth news and information website. Amy thinks that the web with its platform and space will eventually be the premiere news site of the future.

I checked Dragonfire out. If you want depth and a special level of reporting expertise, I highly recommend it.

My view on the overseas coverage debate? If you look had enough you’ll find the information you need, but most Americans don’t have the time. Aside from the cable news networks, the major news organizations of this country are doing little to explain the real nature of our foreign challenges in a time when we need it most — when challenges overseas threaten us at home.

Beyond superficial headline summaries, American newspapers and TV outlets must do more to make things clear.

Amy may be right. In a vacuum of in-depth coverage, the internet may be the place to go for news that counts.

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