The Larry Kane Report

What an irony. The man who was famous for short bursts of violent moves against would-be-tacklers takes to a new playing field. Across the political line from him is John Adler, the Democratic Congressman from New Jersey’s Third district. Adler passes and kicks and throws lightning-fast blocks against the famed Jon Runyan, his Republican opponent in November. Runyan, the tough blocker, is soft-spoken, sometimes almost to a whisper as he debates the veteran politicians.

This debate was so good that at what point I just listened to the two go at each other. Who needs a moderator with this kind of action? Adler accused Runyan of changing his mind about bailouts. Runyan, low-key of course, tried to link Adler to Nancy Pelosi, a favorite Republican tactic these days. The two agreed on most issues, but disagreed on offshore drilling. Runyan thinks the states should decide. Adler opposes any offshore drilling. The Tea Party never came up in this debate, and that’s because Runyan is hardly an extreme right-winger or libertarian. Ironically, the toughest criticism of President Obama came from his fellow Democrat Adler, who said he wished the President were more friendly to business.

Behind the scenes, there was something unusual in this day of extreme partisanship. Both Adler, a first -termer, and Runyan were extremely friendly and cordial. It is nice to see civility emerge every so often on the political gridiron.

The biggest surprise – watching the giant and broad blocker speak so softly, and witnessing the much shorter Adler come out so aggressively.

If you want to see refreshing political drama, tune in to the debate 9:30 Sunday night on the Comcast Network. The show  Voice of Reason, and I host it. The program repeats Wednesday at 5;30.

The next debate, on September 12th,  features Bucks Congressman Patrick Murphy, and Republican challenger Mike Fitzpatrick. This one could get rough. It was Murphy who defeated Congressman Fitzpatrick  in 2006.

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It’s getting close to a cartoon festival – a bunch of characters that a comedic cartoonist couldn’t create.

This week you have Super Mama Grizzlie,  Sarah Palin defending the ill-mannered Dr. Laura for using the N word. Palin is one provocative leader, a real intellectual. Palin has walked the racial tightrope ever since she emerged from obscurity to ruin John McCain’s chances to be elected. She fits into the cartoon stereotype.

Then of course, you have Dr. Laura. Always a hate-filled commentator of questionable integrity, the Dr. is leaving her gig, she says. I used to respect her candor, but she has lost credibility by putting her foot into her mouth too often.

Enter Nancy Pelosi. Sources tell us that the Speaker has refused to back down on her legislation to force all CIA covert operations to be approved by members of the intelligence committees, even though the President promises a veto. With friends like that……

America’s enemy,  Julian Assange was in trouble, not just for releasing sensitive documents imperiling NATO forces in his leak-0-gram website, but because he was reportedly  sought on rape charges in Sweden. The charges were dropped, Sweden says hours later. They were not true.

The Mosque controversy is getting interesting, with word that the Saudi government, which  stood by while hundreds of its citizens turned into killers, is solicited for even more money to help build the mosque near Ground Zero.

And there are cartoon figures in sports. The Fools of Golf used the Rules of Golf to spoil the finish of the PGA Tournament. Whatever you do, do not put a golf club golf down in any kind of sand, even in miniature golf.

In baseball, the Met’s K-Rod may be done after hurting his hand in a domestic dispute. K-Rod is to baseball’s bad list what Roger Clemens is to federal investigators. For the cartoon characters in the news, words are as dangerous as fists.

Lohan gets more press than people who make good news every day, which is a blatant encouragement for young people to act out as a way of life.

Now, moving on to real news.

I moderated a debate between Republican Pat Meehan and Democrat Bryan Lentz for the 7th district Congressional race that encompassed Delaware County and small pieces of Montgomery and Chester counties. It was a refreshing moment. Both candidates were sharp and candid and avoided petty personal attacks. Message to Palin: Watch the debate. It is what a politician should stand for in  2010.

The program airs at 9:30 tonight on the The Comcast Network, and again at 5:30 P.M. Wednesday.

For those crude and belligerent writers who use the blog space here, and who accuse me of plugging my show, I say this: You are absolutely on target. Thanks for the praise.

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The hints are there. The chaos. The confusion. The horrid handling of the attacks on Asian-Americans at South Philadelphia High School. Unexplained resignations. A failure of the school’s boss to allow transparency in key public records. A huge bonus that she took, and for what? An arrogance toward the media. A respected communications professional who goes to work for her, and quits two weeks later. A career cop, with impeccable credentials, who resigns as school’s security chief, with insiders telling us that the superintendent didn’t communicate with him. A School Reform Commission that refuses to fess up to the mess.

Is Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Dr. Arlene Ackerman a flawed genius? Insiders in the school district give me a mixed picture: a frenetic regime ruled by secrecy and poor communication, but a leader with a decisive and determined strategic plan for the city’s schools. Let’s hope that the latter prevails. There is too much at stake. I’ve been around for school administrations going back 44 years. I’ve never seen such a mixture of hope and despair coming out of the district headquarters. One thing is certain – Dr. Ackerman needs to explain why so much chaos and controversy surrounds her tenure. And she needs to heed an age-old recommendation: be clear and candid with the media, and certainly,  not defensive. And Dr. Ackerman, blaming the news media for problems, like the one at South Philadelphia High, is an old and flawed technique. You need some straight advice, and if your lieutenants won’t tell you how to communicate in this town, I’ll be happy to.  Two Mayors (not the current one) had their administrations damaged by a lack of communications skills. You could learn from their history. You could learn a lot.

DRPA – The Delaware River Patronage Authority

Here’s why the DRPA is in trouble. The Inquirer’s reporting of the patronage excesses were sourced by leaks from both sides of the river. You see, there are really two different agencies within the agency – the Jersey side and the Pennsylvania side – both fighting for the contracts and jobs of the patronage-laden agency. The competition between the two is fierce and costly. The problem with DRPA goes back decades. In 1971, during my tenure at Channel 6, we produced an award-winning special called “Public Bridges – Private Riches.” The broadcast outlined the excesses of power as the agency was planning the Betsy Ross and Commodore Barry bridges. There were revelations that planning for the PATCO high speed line was engineered by politicians who owned land near the end of the planned commuter line.. It was truly Public Bridges – Private Riches, and it remains that way today. Awarding contracts to friends is not illegal. But the greed for political patronage has exceeded the political normal. That’s why the DRPA crisis will end in a long running feud that will be eventually settled by the Governors.

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Just an update on the story below. In remarks today, the President said he was commenting on the right of freedom of religion, when he announced last night that he supported the right of members of the Islamic faith to build a mosque near Ground Zero.

Today he said he was “not commenting on the wisdom of the project.”

Interesting comment.

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Before you read this, one thing should be clear. I take no position on the mosque at ground zero. That’s for the people of New York to decide. What I do oppose is absurdly hate-filled politics. I despise the world’s haters who take off on Blacks, Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Hispanics, Native Americans and all people who are “NOT LIKE THEM.” It is true that the tragic mass killings of the last one hundred years, including the Holocaust and the Rwandan massacres, began with words of hate and division. Did the people of those times think that organizational hatred would lead to killings? No. And that’s why I’ve been watching the political trends carefully.

Now, if you approve of the mosque, or despise the idea: no problem. So many emotional scars remain from 9/11 that both sides are easily understandable. Islamic terrorism, now, unfortunately makes up most of the world’s terrorism, and has put a shadow over America’s views of Islam. While there is no way to rationalize radical Islam, there is also no way to limit freedom of religion in this country. Building a mosque so close to the murderous act of radical Islam, can be viewed with terror and rage, and to those with a bigger picture, it may serve Islam well. But it also rubs a lot of people the wrong way. So much for analysis. Let’s get to the problem.

Sarah Palin probably can’t help herself today, sleepless somewhere, figuring how next to portray Barack Obama as an outsider. For his part, Newt Gingrich, a much more creative person than Ms. Palin, is trying to figure out what to do next. The two Republican White House hopefuls have vigorously opposed the building of a mosque near ground zero in New York. Now that the President, along with Mayor Bloomberg, has embraced the building of the mosque, there is no telling what the frontline Republicans will do. Surely, there will be even more demands to see the President’s birth certificate. That story still has no legs. Maybe Palin will charge again that he’s “palling around with terrorists”, as she disgracefully did during her failed 2008 campaign. Gingrich , in his opposition to the mosque, has his rights, but he’s got to offer logic along with his emotional reactions. That’s what real national leadership is about. The President didn’t have to embrace the controversy, but he did, in a time when 70 percent of Americans disagree with his viewpoint on the subject. Obviously, he didn’t do it for political reasons , because this view , believe me,  will not help his job approval ratings, especially in the current climate. To Palin, who blasted him for a lack of “cojones” a few weeks back, the President’s guts on this issue, will no doubt be an electric shock to her political brainpower.

It is easy to spark the flames of division. It is much harder to take a principled stand without causing people to hate. It is important for proponents and opponents of the controversial project to conduct themselves with responsibility. Other respected conservatives have joined the opposition to this project with class, dignity, and respect. The front-runners should try to do the same. Don’t you think so?

GAY MARRIAGE -

California will, sometime this week, allow gay marriages after a Federal judge struck down Proposition 8, which bans some unions. Before the rings are exchanged and the champagne flows, it’s a good idea to debate the issue. That’s what happens Sunday night at 9:3o on my Voice of Reason show on the Comcast Network. I was surprised at the candor, during the taping, from both sides. It got hot and heavy, but it was civil, the kind of debate that Palin, Gingrich and some leaders on the left should think about in Congress. I think you may learn a thing or two about why both sides feel so fervently about the issue.

PELOSI’S THREAT TO DEMOCRATIC CONTROL–

It is time for the House Speaker to drop her legislation requiring the CIA to get prior approval for covert operations from all members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees. In a town like Washington, leak-o-grams are a way of life. We are at war. This legislation would weaken the country. The President has threatened to veto it. Her bill might be the tipping point that diminishes her party’s influence in Washington.

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