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.

The bailout controversies have missed a key point. Who really got the money and how did they get it? Example: Battered AIG pays money owed to Goldman Sachs. Geithner, Liddy (AIG boss), Paulsen are all Goldman Sachs guys. Goldman Sachs wants to pay back the money to the government but the government says “no.” One day, the books on the bailout will expose a scheme to protect the insiders, and nothing else. Check out this months article at Rolling Stone magazine. And don’t read it after eating. You might get sick.

Michael Nutter is between a rock and city council. I have many friends on council. Some of them are useful. Others are hardly full time. Council  needs to find alternatives to Nutter’s various plans to stop the city’s financial bleeding. For years, council has been a less than exciting place to be, a place where turf and protecting it, is more important than good governing. Where are the ideas from Council? The feud between Nutter and council will intensify until the 17 members find a real leader who can seek compromise. In the meantime, council would be wise to work over portions of the summer or however long it takes to find funding for appropriate recreation for the children of Philadelphia!  Council’s summer vacation is joke.

On the subject of money. The Pa. Legislature should meet for 60 days a year and get its work done, a model followed by many legislatures in the nation. Governor Rendell should take a look at proposing a Constitutional Amendment to create a once-a-year-session. That’s a great way to heal the budget crisis in Pa. Save millions on the legislative sessions.  PS on this one. Good move by Rendell to form a commission to watch over stimulus spending. With Pennsylvania’s history of corruption, Rendell wants to ensure that the money is spent wisely and honestly.

Why Is Pat Toomey hesitating a bit on his plans to face off against Arlen Specter? I can tell you why? The former Congressman and conservative darling is afraid that pro-lifer Peg Luksik, who will enter the race, will siphon votes away from him. That’s a real possibility. The second reason, which I believe is far fetched: Toomey’s advisers think that Specter might switch parties. That won’t happen. But if it did, Toomey would not want to face off against Arlen Specter in a general election. He would get crushed.

That’s all for now. Keep writing.

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One of the casualties of the current recession is an industry on the brink of disaster. The following item from the Taunton Ma, Daily Gazette is part of a pattern across the country.

Customers of the Waldenbooks in Lexington, Mass., are protesting its January 24 closing and have begun a letter-writing campaign to Borders headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich. “It is a centerpiece of [Lexington] Center,” Patricia Manhard told the paper. “This isn’t a restaurant–this is an intellectual center in town.”

Borders, which has closed many Walden outlets in recent years and whose top executives were replaced this week, says the decision is final.

Beyond the headlines of recent days is the sad fact that more and more bookstores are closing down, bookstores that serve as cultural centers for many communities. Add to that the sorry state of American publishing and you have a recipe for cultural meltdown. This is a time, a time of difficulty, when people flock to books for diversion, for entertainment and information.

Look for more closings, and a deep recession for the companies that print and publish America’s books.

DEMOCRATS ON THE WARPATH

Even before he takes the Oath of Office, Barack Obama is getting heat on the tax cut plan from, of all places, the Democratic Party. It seems the middle class tax cuts are not going over well with moderate Democrats. Besides the tax issues, Democrats are providing a circus in Illinois, embarrassment with the Bill Richardson pullout from Commerce, and then of course, there is funny man Al Franken, who may wind up in limbo for months. Who needs the loyal opposition when your own party becomes it!

HARDBALL

Chris Matthews’ decision not to run for the U.S, was based on this question: Why give up a multi-million dollar bully pulpit stronger than a U.S. Senator, to sit in the back bench of the Senate? Besides there was another factor: the possibility of losing. Giving up your job, and possibly losing, would be a huge loss, wouldn’t you agree? Chris is a great guy, but he’ll have more influence on American life playing Hardball.

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I want to tell you about a book that is one of the most unusual I’ve read in many years….

It comes to us from the grave as a poignant literary reminder of a time of yesterday that is relevant to the news of today

Irene Nemirovsky is the author. In the 1930’s this captivating young russian emigrant to france became a best selling novelist, but her masterpiece was hidden away for over 50 years. Irene, who had two daughters, was murdered by the Germans in a concentration camp in 1942, the year I was born.

Her daughters survived with the help of a good and righteous family. Years ago.. They found a manuscript… Much of it handwritten that is fiction based on reality, her insightful account of how the french reacted to the German occupation of their country. The stories are of love, hate, understanding and ignorance during a time of national and personal humiliation.

I have rarely been drawn to fiction like this but suite francaise is a study of human nature under duress that could well be situated in areas of our world today that are filled with genocide, homocide and episodes of human courage in the midst of it all.

It is highly recommended…

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If you want to read great non fiction, buy Mark Bowden’s “Guests of the Ayatollah”. The author of Black Hawk Down has outdone himself.

Bowden’s account of the 1979 takeover of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran is a riveting account of what is considered to be the first major political action of the Islamic Revolution that continues to haunt American diplomacy around the world. Bowden is a people guy. And nowhere is this is more evident than in the descriptions of the 52 hostages that survived over a year in the dungeon of horror that was the first regime of the new Iran.

As a fan of history, I was stunned by this page turner and how it is so critical to a contemporary understanding of the Islamic rage.
“Guests” is must reading. Bowden is an author who brings it alive!
LK

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