The Larry Kane Report

Donald Trump will not be the Republican candidate for President – not a chance. He has the money, the notoriety, and the ego for it. Let’s face it -you have to have an ego in national politics. It comes with the territory, just as it does quite often in broadcast journalism (read DEATH BY DEADLINE for more details.) Trump’s “birther” hysteria has really hurt him. There is a hateful undertow in the  movement. Whether he admits it or not, any real chance to run has vanished.

Americans, and Republicans looking for an alternative, will not nominate or choose Trump. With that not-so-fearless forecast in mind, something else is clear. If the Republican party gets a crushing defeat in 2012, it can forget all the progress it made last year. So, the GOP must find a candidate, not necessarily to win, but to make a good enough showing so that the party can win in the Senate and House.

Paul Ryan will not be running for President. Although the most interesting person in the field, Paul Ryan wants to dismantle Medicare as we know it. No individual who wants to take apart Medicare can win the Presidency. That is a fact!

Mitt Romney is an attractive candidate, attractive as in good-looking. Newt Gingrich and Mitch Daniels are all over the place on the issues. In fact the only true conservative in the race is Rick Santorum. Say what you want about Santorum, but he says it like it is, never backs off on his views, and is electrifying on TV. That’s a good thing.

But if the GOP really wants to compete against Barack Obama, it should pick ex Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, or Mike Huckabee.  Pawlenty appears moderate, has fascinating views on energy, and is, compared to the others, a more “contemporary” face in a crowded field. If I were Pawlenty, I would wait till 2016. Huckabee should run now. He is quite conservative but has a real appeal to moderates with his personable style.  With all of his challenges, Obama will be hard to beat, unless the Republicans can come up with a real, certifiable moderate. In the last ten Presidential elections, the candidate who appeared  moderate, won the Presidency. That includes alleged liberals Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Carter lost in 1980 to a moderate (by today’s standards) conservative – Ronald Reagan.

So you have three weeks and a day to really do your thing in Philadelphia and the suburbs. Doing your thing is more than just planting the seeds, fertilizing the lawn, cheering on all three Philadelphia teams now playing, and remembering Mom on Mother’s day.

Doing your thing is checking out the candidates in the Pa. Primary. Why? Well, some will consider this a boring primary election, especially after last year. But from a personal standpoint, this election could be bigger.

You’re living in a town where zoning will decide the price of your home or apartment. Your township commission may raise taxes. Now, raising taxes these days is political suicide, unless it’s done when you are simply not paying attention. Upset about crime? Many people in Pennsylvania are electing judges this year. Why vote in a Primary for judges? Because many candidates cross file which means they are automatically elected on primary day. Don’t complain about repeat criminals when you have elected a Judge who is too lenient. Don’t complain when a Justice Of  The Peace makes a mistake. Are you nervous about pollution and your environment? The first line of defense is the community you live in. The law gives tremendous power to municipalities.

I would venture to say that this election could affect your local life in a big way. School boards, councils, commissions, judges, justices of the peace. Find out who is running, what their positions are. Ask questions before you find your taxes are higher, your local education values are vanishing, and someone wants to put a highway in your backyard.

Does this make sense? Will you vote on May 17th?

Two nationwide surveys show that the White House and the Republicans are headed for big trouble, depending on which election you are looking at. In both surveys, 70 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, the worst numbers since the President took office. BUT wait a minute. The Republicans have a disapproval rating of 84 percent. The President’s approval rating is about 46 percent. And this is the most important figure – two thirds of Americans DO NOT WANT the debt ceiling to be increased.

These surveys show a general distrust of government’s ability to do the job. Politics aside, it’s a warning sign to both parties that its time to REALLY get things done – not just cosmetics.

There is one item in the CBS and ABC surveys: Americans of all age groups don’t want Congress to mess with Medicare. That could mean that the Ryan deficit reduction plan could be the issue of campaign 2012. Americans want the government to stay in the Medicare business.

John Street has registered as an Independent, meaning he might take another try at City Hall? Maybe. But Street knows the odds are not in his favor. Although he’s got a name, it would be a challenge to break up Michael Nutter’s Democratic vote in November, unless the big money people abandon Nutter. Now that the former Mayor has gone indie, he won’t be able to vote for his bother Milton in the Democratic Primary.

ANOTHER “ANCHOR AWAY”-

I don’t understand about news people who let their own careers flame out.  We are lucky and blessed to be in this business. But there are those who become gluttons of power and fame as some of the characters do in my new E-BOOK novel, “Death By Deadline.” The people in this book are fictional, but many anchors and reporters mirror them in real life.

The latest casualty,  anchor Paul Mueller. Paul had to  resign from WGGB, an ABC-affiliate in Springfield, MA. after giving what appeared as an alcohol-soaked and rambling speech at  dinner honoring people involved in an anti-bullying program. It’s too bad. The business is full of self -destructive people. Some of them use their power to lead news coverage. I hope some of these people are more concerned about accuracy in coverage, than their own personal lives.

THE JOKE IS ON CUBA -

Raul Castro has called for term limits in Cuba. This from a man who murdered his way to power along with brother Fidel. Raul Castro, who has been in power with Fidel for 53 years, is asking for term limits? That’s actually funny, but it’s no joke on the families of thousands whose loved ones vanished in the Castro years, when time and progress stood still for Cuba. People forget. People forget when they gloss over real history. And history will show that Fidel and family have run a self-serving dictatorship for a very long time.

So far this has been the most boring primary election in many years in Philadelphia. Mayor Nutter’s only challenger is Milton Street. Grant it: Milton is providing some excitement in this non-starter, but is that all there is? This is so quiet that pundits are already talking about who will be elected by the Democratic majority as the next Council President. That, my friends, is a long way off.

So what we need is a REAL debate, something to enliven this boring election season. Therefore, I invite Mike, Milton and the two candidates for the Republican nomination , Karen Brown and John Featherman, to join me on Voice of Reason. Our Comcast Network coordinating producer Kevin Donahue will be reaching out this week to make the invitations.

We need this program to break the boredom and liven things up. We need a debate. Right now this is a city starved for a debate, any debate about the future. We will attempt to provide one. It could be a circus, but a circus is better that nothing. Come on down!!!

Until the epic race for Montco Commissioners in November, we need some election season heat.