Michael Nutter - Mayor of Philadelphia

Michael Nutter, after a long stint as a Councilman in the city of Philadelphia, won election as Mayor of the same city last year.  After 8 years of John Street’s reign of terror, Nutter is a breathe of fresh air.   If his first year is any indication, he is more than willing to address the problems that face the city in a direct and honest fashion.   Whether or not he can resolve the issues remains to be seen.

He has worked hard with the police department to implement policing techniques to reduce a murder rate that skyrocketed during Street’s term.  He has taken the cesspool of DHS (Department of Health Services) and completely changed the direction of the division with the courageous hiring of Anne Marie Ambrose.   Also, I have long admired Nutter for his fighting spirit.   Over and over again Nutter pushed for a smoking ban in restaurants and nightclubs.   Time and time again he was defeated due to a lack of support from Mayor Street.  Finally, Nutter (partially) won the battle and now there is a smoking ban (with exemptions) in Philadelphia.   He is also clearly a man of the people, which is the direct opposite of John Street whose style was autocratic to say the least.  Not that he is perfect, mind you.  After the Republican National Convention, Nutter, in a televised press conference called it the “Repulsive National Convention”.    If a Republican mayor of a large city made such a comment about the Democratic National Convention, the main stream press would have called for his/her resignation.  Of course, it is hard to find any Republican mayors of large cities these days.  

Mayor Nutter must address huge challenges facing the city of Philadelphia.  Hopefully, he will be up to the task.  It is in the best interest of the city and state that he succeeds in tackling the obstacles ahead.   Let’s examine some of the issues facing the city today.  I won’t pretend to have solutions for every problem.  If easy solutions to the cities problems existed, they would have been implemented by now.

Nutter is faced with a budget crisis that is making the one Ed Rendell had as a new Mayor in 1992 look like a tea party.  In short, the city is broke and there is no help on the way from either state or federal government.  The press, who has given Nutter almost 100% positive coverage thus far in his term, is now beginning to turn on him.  The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News have not taken well to Mayor Nutter’s secret negotiations with City Council regarding the budget.  

I cannot blame Nutter for keeping the negotiations under wraps.   The only meaningful budget cuts that will help Philadelphia’s fiscal crisis will have to come from the unions, specifically the union’s pension plans.   In Philadelphia, unions still hold great influence over the city and politicians, much more so than any other city in the country.  These plans have been overly generous for decades and are one of the main reasons why the city is in dire straits.  Given the unions influence, the necessary changes will not come easy.   The pension plans will be discussed in detail in a future post at All Things Pennsylvania.

Mayor Nutter cannot simply raise taxes to alleviate the crisis.   Although the wage tax has decreased over the past 15 years, at 4.2%, it is still the highest amongst the major cities.   Since 1980, Philadelphia has lost approximately 20% of the cities population and hundreds of thousands of jobs.   Raising taxes will only serve to drive the remaining tax base out of the city.

The fiscal crisis is far from the only issue affecting Philadelphia.   The public schools showed some minor improvement over the past 10 years, however they are far below any standards are considered to be proficient.  Paul Vallas, who held the position of CEO of Philadelphia schools, left his position after being continually thwarted in his attempts to reform the system.  It remains to be seen if the meager gains will be held without Vallas, who is now the head of schools in New Orleans.

Nutter must also address the rampant crime taking place in some parts of the city.  The murder rate, which rose dramatically under Street, is still too high.   Good people are intimidated by thugs and remain afraid to help the police rid the city of the vermin who commit these murders. 

DHS, although under new leadership, has long been a problem area for the city.  It has also served as a useful political tool for political hacks like Lynne Abraham, who use DHS to distract the citizens from their own failures.   Nutter is going to have to be patient with the new leadership at DHS and not succumb to the easy temptation of using Anne Marie Ambrose as a convenient scapegoat.   Ms. Ambrose needs, at minimum, 2 years to turn around DHS.

They are numerous other issues that Nutter will have to deal with for the next 3 (and probably 7) years.  For the good of Philadelphia and the region, we should hope that the Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, is successful in his efforts.

Heart Breaking Loss

As a 1988 alum of Penn State, the loss today to Iowa hurts.   All hope of bringing a national championship to happy valley were dashed today by the scrappy kids from Iowa who played well and deserved to win.   Additionally, I do not think that the Nittany Lions were as good as at least 6 other teams in the top 10.  Today’s loss proves that, I guess. 

Still, there are some questions that need to be answered:

Why did Galen Hall call 3 straight pass plays to start the game in the face of a 25 mph wind?  That decision cost Penn State 7 points at the beginning of the game.

Why did Joe Paterno, who is supposed to be the head coach, allow that to happen?   The Paterno I know would have been adamant about pounding the rock in that situation.

After having great success with the run, why did Penn State seem to move away from the run in the 2nd half?  From what I could see, Iowa did not have 8 men in the box for most of the day.

Is it time to address the issue of Joe Paterno?  We will discuss that in detail on another day.

In the end,  Iowa defeats Penn State and ends any chance of bringing home a national championship.

Danny Bonaduce - WYSP Mornings

Danny Bonaduce, originally a native of the borough of Folsom in southeast Pennsylvania, is making a return to the Philadelphia airwaves as the new morning man for 94.1 WYSP beginning this Monday.    Bonaduce, whose troubles with alcohol, drugs and law enforcement are well documented,  previously worked in Philadelphia during the late 1980’s as a side-kick on the morning show for 106.1, then called The Eagle.  

While Bonduce has been the lead on radio programs in other markets, his employment with 94.1 WYSP marks the first time for Bonaduce as a headliner in his hometown.   As with everything else for the artist formally known as Danny Partridge, the real question is can Danny Bonaduce stay out of trouble long enough to build to rebuild his tarnished image?   The trans-gender community (are you reading this New Hope?) is now on full alert as Danny Bonaduce returns to Philadelphia as the new morning man for 94.1 WYSP.

Rendell - Senate Run in 2010

Reliable sources report that Pennsylvania’s Governor, Ed Rendell is seriously considering a run for the United States Senate in 2010.   Anyone who has followed Rendell’s career certainly is not surprised that he is already thinking about what comes next when his second term as Governor ends in 2010.  In Pennsylvania, the term limit for a Governor is set at 2 terms.   Therefore, it makes sense that someone like Rendell, whose love of publicity knows no end, would consider the high profile position of United States Senator.  However, they are some variables in play that make a Rendell run for Senate in 2010 very interesting.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of a Rendell Senate run in 2010 is that his opponent in all likelihood would his mentor,  Arlen Specter, the 5-term senior Senator.  Rendell’s first job of any significance was in the 1960’s when he worked for the Philadelphia District Attorneys office.  The DA at that time was none other than Arlen Specter.   While Rendell has worked with Specter over the years on various issues and claims to maintain a friendship with Specter, that would not stop him from running against Specter in 2010.   

Sources state that Rendell would prefer that Specter, 78 years old,  retire and not run against him.  If need be, Rendell will be more than happy to force Arlen Specter into retirement.   Anyone who knows Rendell understands that he would not allow a personal friendship to get in the way of ambition.   The current junior Senator from Pennsylvania, Robert Casey Jr. discovered that part of Rendell in their 2002 primary for Governor of PA.   Despite his hoagie eating, football loving, snowballing throwing, everyman persona, Ed Rendell can be downright ruthless when necessary.  

Also, I suspect the “friendship”‘ between Specter and Rendell may be somewhat exaggerated.  All accounts of Specter’s management style as DA of Philadelphia make  Atilla the Hun look like Mr. Rogers by comparison.   This may turn out to be Rendell’s final act of revenge against a “mentor” who made life very difficult for him at one time.   Should this happen, Rendell will say all the right things about Specter during his victory speech and even become a little choked up describing how Specter gave him his first break.  He will go on to state that we should all admire Specter for all of the great things he has done for the state of Pennsylvania.  This will be after his spends an entire campaign depicting Specter as a doddering old fool.  Come to think of it, that may be an accurate description of Specter. 

Rendell will win election to the Senate no matter who his opponent is in 2010.   He may be the most popular politician in the state of Pennsylvania since Benjamin Franklin.  Come to think of it, Franklin was very unpopular in the late 1760’s and early 1770’s when he was thought to be a loyalist to the Monarchy of Great Britian.   Rendell is absolutely worshipped in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs by Democrats, Republicans and Independents.   His margin of victory was so large in that region that he hardly needs to receive any votes from other part of the state although he is popular across the entire state.   As a matter of fact, if for some odd reason Rendell decided to skip the 2010 race, he would handily defeat Robert Casey in the 2012 Primary.   In their 2002 primary contest, Casey won 3 times as many counties as Rendell but Rendell won Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties by a 85 to 15 margin leading to a 13 point victory over Casey.   One can picture Robert Casey having nightmares over the prospect of having to run against Rendell again.

Ed Rendell’s personality is not exactly suited for the Senate.  It is hard to picture Rendell sitting in the Senate chambers listening to his colleagues debate endlessly on procedural rules and regulations.   Rendell’s temperament does not lend itself to drafting legislation after a lengthy period of compromise.  Rendell sees himself as more of the benevolent dictator type.   I highly doubt that he will make his mark in the Senate through legislative accomplishments.   Instead,  Rendell will use his position to make regular appearances on all the cable TV news programs.   Unlike other Democrats, he will have no problem appearing on Fox News.  Rendell enjoys a good debate because he is an expert at the art of “mirrowing” a person’s emotions (very similar to Bill Clinton), and can oftentimes disarm an opponent through sheer charm.   Of course, he will also make appearances on MSNBC and CNN.   Rendell’s job will be to sell the brand of the Democratic party.  By 2010, in preparation for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, the Democrats may need someone out front who can project a centrist image to the voters of the country.  There would be no better choice for this than Ed Rendell.  He has the unique ability of appealing to Democrats, both liberal and centrist, moderate Republicans and Independents.   The national GOP would do well to respect the skills of Ed Rendell.
In short, if Rendell wants the job of United States Senator in 2010, then it will be his.   If Specter does not retire, he will lose in a landslide.

Kendra Wilkinson - Hank Baskett

Did you really think I was going to insert a photo of Hank Baskett?  Heh.   Kendra Wilkinson, one of the stars of the E channel’s reality series, “Girls Next Door”  has announced that she is going marry to Eagles wide receiver, Hank Baskett.  Personally, I would have thought she would be more attracted to a tight end.  Relax, I am just kidding.

The amply endowed Ms. Wilkinson served as one of Hugh Hefner’s 3 (yes 3) live in girlfriends on the show.   Word has it that the other 2 hotties are no longer with Hugh Hefner either.  Shed no tears for Hugh.  It is reported that twin 19 year olds have moved into the playboy mansion.  You have to love Hef! 

Kendra Wilkinson is probably the reason why Hank Baskett has only 19 receptions in the Eagles first 8 games.   Looking at the above photo, I can see why he would be, shall we say, distracted.   Marriage should take care of that problem.   Again, Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett to marry, date still to be determined.

***Update***

It has been announced that Baskett and Wilkinson will marry in June at the playboy mansion.  My respect for Hugh Hefner grows by the minute.

Obama Cabinet Pick

Now that the Obama transition team is in full swing,  it is rumored that Pennsylvania’s Governor, Ed Rendell, is in line as a possible Obama cabinet pick.    Specifically,  sources state that Ed Rendell is being considered as a possible Obama cabinent pick for  Secretary of Transportation or Energy.   While these types of rumors may give the “journalists” at the Philadelphia Inquirer or Daily News something to write about now that their candidate, Barack Obama, has been elected, it is impossible to imagine Ed Rendell being part of an Obama administration.

It is unimaginable that Ed Rendell would be an Obama cabinet pick for the following reasons:

1.  Ed Rendell was a huge supporter of Hilliary Clinton’s during the primary season.   On several occasions, Rendell commented that Fox News was the most objective news outlet during the primaries.  Considering Barack Obama’s overt hatred of Fox News, that alone should disqualify Rendell from real consideration.

2.  Even if the above was somehow overlooked by President-Elect Barack Obama, it is hard imagine Rendell accepting what amounts to a demotion for him not only in job title but in visibility.   If there is one thing that Ed Rendell truly loves, it is the love of a crowd of supporters and having the opportunity to opine on every issue under the sun.  Being the Secretary of Energy or Transportation would vastly limit Rendell’s exposure.  Trust me, that is the last thing he is looking for in his next job.  It does not fit with his personality. 

3.  What does Ed Rendell really know about energy or transportation?  Of course, true knowledge of a subject matter, is the least important requirement for a cabinet position. 

In the end,  Ed Rendell will not be an Obama cabinet pick.  The Ed Rendell lovers in Pennsylvania can rest easy.  Your ”Gov” is going nowhere until the end of his term which expires in 2010.  In a future post,  Rendell’s most likely next career choice will be examined in detail.   One hint – there is another important position in PA that will be up for grabs in 2010.  Stay tuned.

by MDefl

As a resident of Philadelphia or the greater metropolitan area, unless one has been in a coma or Obama induced stupor for the past month,  you have been celebrating the Phillies unexpected trek to the World Series championship.   For those of you who may not be aware of the pain suffered by Philadelphia’s sports fans, it had been 25 years since one of the professional sports teams in Philadelphia had won a world championship.   The definition of “professional” in this case includes only the major sports – baseball, football, basketball and hockey.   Sorry, as much as some people enjoy lacrosse and arena league football ( I am a big Soul fan myself), they just don’t qualify as major league sports. 

What has been our shining moment,  a time when the shackles of being labeled perennial losers have been discarded to the trash can of history,  Sports Illustrated decides to publish a cover on the World Series that is decidedly negative. 

In short, Sports Illustrated made a decision to air their grievances with major league baseball on the cover with a bright yellow banner that diminished the picture of the Phillies celebrating the cities long awaited championship.    While I agree with the sentiments expressed by the author of the article, Tom Verducci,  what factor(s) made Sports Illustrated determine that it was OK to list these concerns on the cover?   The negative cover from Sports Illustrated only serves to perpetuate the myth (yes, myth) of Philadelphia as “negadelphia” when in reality our fans have a deep knowledge of sports that is equaled by no other city.   Thanks to Sports Illustrated, our shining moment has now been diminished in the eyes of the rest of America.

Perhaps Sports Illustrated was affected by all of the negative ads during the election season and made a decision to stick with that them.  Regardless, a big thumbs down to Sports Illustrated for going negative with their cover.

by MDefl

If you happened upon this site, then I welcome you!   This will serve as the inaugural post for this blog.   If my handle, MDefl, looks familiar, then you have probably read my rantings at Right Pundits or in the comment threads at The Hedgehog Report.   The purpose of this blog will be simple and straightforward.  I will be commenting on anything and everything (that appeals to me) regarding Pennsylvania.   A large part of this blog will be focused on politics but I will not hesitate to deviate and discuss any other issue of the day. 

As I type this, it has been approximately 45 hours since it became apparent that Barack Obama won the election to be President of The United States.   As a Republican, I was less than thrilled.  However, I do understand why this is such an important event in our history given the racial strife that has existed for centuries in our country.    If Martin Luther King were alive today,  I hope he would be warmed by the fact that enough Americans judged Barack Obama by the content of his character for him to be elected to the most powerful position on the face of the earth.   The fact that his brand of politics and cult of personality are exactly what this country does not need will be discussed on another day. 

John McCain’s campaign spent an incredible amount of time and money in Pennsylvania.  For some reason, they seemed to believe that he had a chance to win.  How they came to that decision is unclear.   In the end, despite the monumental effort from John McCain’s campaign,  Barack Obama bested John McCain by 11%, which represented an increase of 7.5% from John Kerry’s performance in 2004.  This is quite a feat when you consider how hated Bush was in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs in 2004.  Let’s take a look at exactly what happened.

First, this was going to be a hard year for any Republican to win in a general election.  The country has had 8 years of a Republican in the White House whose favorability ratings are on a par with Richard Nixon and Harry Truman’s last days in office.   In both cases, members of the opposing party won election to the White House.  Second, the economy turned sour earlier in the year.  A sluggish economy certainly would not have favored John McCain but when the credit crisis blew up in September, his bid for the Presidency was doomed.   Pennsylvania, already trending blue for the last 4 general election cycles, certainly would not be immune from those issues.   A loss in PA would be expected but it is surprising that John McCain lost by a % margin that was 3 times that of George W. Bush in 2004. 

One might conclude that it was all about the city of Philadelphia.   Barack Obama won 83% of the vote in the city of brotherly love.  However, this only represented a 3% increase over 2004.   The real story is the  dramatic shift in the suburbs of Philadelphia, not just the first inner ring but the second ring as well.  In fairness to John McCain, the first ring of suburbs - Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery counties had already turned blue in previous elections.    Bush is a hated figure in the suburbs and I am talking about both Democrats and Republicans.  What is surprising is that McCain actually did much worse in each county than Bush in 04 or 00.  That is not surprising for Delaware county since Chester, the largest city in Delaware county is 98% African American.  It is my understanding that the turnout was triple what it was for any other election – ever.   Montgomery county is no shocker either since it is becoming the land of the limousine liberals and country club republicans who are easily manipulated by the main stream media.  Bucks county is a surprise in that half of the county is rural.   That should favor McCain, yet he lost the county by almost double digits. 

The true stunner of this race however was the 2 second ring suburbs, Chester and Berks counties.  Both have been red since the beginning of time.  It never entered my mind that Barack Obama could win either county.  He won both by almost double digits.   Simply put, the GOP has lost the state of Pennsylvania because of their inability to communicate a message that resonates with these voters.  While this is just my opinion, the social issues seemed to have turned many moderate Republicans into Democrats.   I guess we can call some of them Obama Republicans.  If the GOP has any hope of recapturing Pennsylvania, then they will have to develop a strategy that speaks to their fiscal concerns and de-emphasize the social aspects of the GOP plank.   Many disagree vehemently with me on this issue.  Some believe that Pennsylvania can be turned red again with a candidate that knows how to effectively communicate the conservative vision. 

I will agree that the occupant of the White House for the last 8 years will never remind anyone of Ronald Reagan and John McCain, a good man to be certain, was less than inspiring  when compared to a wonder-kind like Barack Obama.  Others will claim that McCain would have won Pennsylvania were it not for the credit crisis.   This is a belief that is contradicted by every single poll of Pennsylvania taken over the last 6 months.  

Still, it is always darkest before the dawn.  McCain versus Obama may prove to be the darkest night for the GOP in Pennsylvania.  We will have a good indication in 2010 during the mid-term elections.   In the days and months ahead, these issues will be examined in depth.  Please do not hesitate to comment whether you agree on disagree.