Freindly Fire’s Biggest Winners Of 2010

It's that time of year again when Freindly Fire heaps praise upon those most deserving. You probably aren't going to find these winners on the lists of typical media outlets, most of which bow at the altar of political correctness.

The Biggest Winner of 2010, as is the case every year, goes to none other than illegal invaders, all 20 million of them. Year after year, they continue to win everything. They are handed driver's licenses, free education - in some cases all the way to college - and free first-rate health care. Most appallingly, their freedom exists because of our government's non-existent efforts to deport them. Their presence has forced the closure of hospitals, taken jobs from American workers, depressed wages and caused taxes to sharply increase. And let's not forget that many illegals are voting in our elections. How's that for irony: foreigners deciding American elections. And every time the illegals win, there is an even bigger loser. Us.

Michael Vick and the Canine Community

As quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Vick has played spectacularly well, good enough to hide the team’s considerable shortcomings and earn the Birds the Division crown.  He is often mentioned as a leading MVP candidate, and many experts predict he will lead his team to the Super Bowl.

Which is all an unexpected pleasure, given that Vick was in jail not that long ago for executing losing canines in his dog-fighting operation. Given a reprieve by the League, he was the Eagle’s third-string QB last season, and he started this one as the backup.  He got his shot though, and, made the most of it.  Perhaps most noteworthy, he never used his numerous injuries as a crutch when the team lost, and has demonstrated more leadership in one season than former-quarterback Donovan McNabb showed in his entire, lackluster career.

Is Vick truly remorseful about the dog killing, or sorry only that he got caught? Tough to say, but second chances are what America is all about, and, for the most part, he has kept himself out of trouble.  With dogs everywhere breathing easier (actually, breathing at all), and Vick on the right track, he is definitely the most unexpected winner this year.

Governor Ed Rendell

Ok, not really.  Rendell’s eight-year tax-and-spend agenda, combined with widespread conflicts of interest throughout his Administration (some say pay-to-play) has driven Pennsylvania off the financial cliff, leaving a $5 billion deficit debacle for incoming Governor Tom Corbett to fix. And it’s been three years and counting since his promised interview with “Freindly Fire” --- making that the only media entity with which he refuses to speak.  I wonder why.

But fair is fair, and Rendell could not have been more correct when he hammered the NFL for canceling the Sunday night football game in Philadelphia because of a snowstorm.  Not a two-foot storm of the century, mind you, but an 8 inch “weather event” that would have made an outdoor football game one to remember. The roads were drivable, subway trains were operational, and the fans would have shown up in force --- loving every minute of it.  They do it in other places just fine --- Green Bay, Chicago and New England, to name a few.  But now, Philadelphians are officially considered pansies.

The reality is that the League saw an opportunity to test market Tuesday Night Football.  As with most things, the decision was rooted in money.  But it was done so at the expense of the last real sport in America, where players gut it out with broken bones instead of running to the disabled list because of a hangnail.  In many ways, the game’s cancellation reflects what America has become: soft and wimpy, offended by everything and decisive in nothing. It’s how we run business, operate government, wage war, and yes, play football. The pioneering, tough-as-nails spirit that made us unique is all but gone.

Rendell labeled the NFL’s action the “wussification” of America.  Wrong first letter, Guv.

Congressman Joe Sestak

True, Sestak lost his bid for United States Senate, but he was unique among politicians. Here’s a guy who gave up the job security of a 100 per cent safe congressional seat to take on 30-year incumbent and Goliath of the Senate, Arlen Specter, in a long-shot bid. The entire Democratic Party power structure was against him, from Rendell to President Obama, thus ensuring very limited campaign money.  Yet he persisted in his mission, even turning down a reported job offer from the White House. And a funny thing happened along the way: he won the primary election.

But the more admirable trait of Sestak was that he never backed down from his core convictions.  Whether or not one agreed with him, he should be respected for standing his ground and not playing both sides or “moving to the middle” to appease the pundits. 

For any pol to do that is unusual, but it’s even more amazing in a year that saw a political wave running in the polar opposite direction of his beliefs.  To Sestak’s credit, in the best Republican year since 1946, he ran to the left of Barack Obama, favoring bigger government, higher taxes, more stimulus and expanded national healthcare.  And with the courage of his convictions, he ran towards those ideas, not away, as the vast majority of Democrats did.

Voters are craving more leaders committed to their ideals, whether Right or Left.  They may not always agree with those people, but they respect knowing where such leaders stand.  Unfortunately, such courage is in short supply.

China

The global recession is wreaking havoc on America, but China continues to grow at an unprecedented rate.  Why?  Because they put themselves in a position to win no matter what transpires, assuming that political will in America doesn’t raise its head.  And since there’s a fat chance of that happening, China’s push toward domination continues.

 Taking advantage of its favorable trade deals with the U.S. (READ: bad for us), and benefitting from America’s business-killing tax rates (highest in the world), China is advancing itself with state of the art infrastructure --- such as the world’s fastest train, biggest hydro-electric dam, and 25 nuclear power plants under construction ---, and a first-rate military that not only boasts quantity but quality.

 If the dollar stays (relatively) strong, China’s boom will continue as its manufacturing expands.  And if the dollar plummets, China, while taking a slight hit in the value of the considerable U.S. debt it holds, could well find itself a kingmaker by controlling the world’s reserve currency.

Blaming China for our woes makes for effective campaign commercials, but unless we start taking a hard look in the mirror very, very soon, we might as well invest in Rosetta Stone for one last financial hurrah, as its “How To Speak Chinese” will be the hottest seller in the USA since Rubik’s Cube.

Chris Christie and the Republican Party --- Sort Of

New Jersey’s Christie has accomplished more in one year than damn near all the other 49 governors combined.  And all it took was that elusive trait called “political will.” The Republican Chief Executive has successfully taken on all sacred cows, from public education to unions, bureaucrats to the entrenched political culture. 

So effective has his brand of in-your-face reform been --- achieved with both legislative chambers being solidly Democratic ---, Christie’s star power is so bright that he is routinely mentioned as a presidential contender, and serves as a model for politicians nationwide, including Pennsylvania’s Governor-elect Tom Corbett. With Corbett and Christie as bookends in two powerhouse states, these law-and-order leaders may yet pave the way for how America gets itself back on track.

The Republican Party as a whole is a different story. 

The GOP would be wise to understand that the election was NOT a mandate for Republicans, as much as it was a protest…a shot across the bow of both Parties. Voters have grown increasingly irritated with the Business As Usual approach in Washington, Harrisburg and Trenton, and are demanding their elected officials focus on what the people want, not what some leaders think they need.

If they become the Party of No, expect the pendulum to swing back yet again.  People don’t want more of the status quo.

And with America more vulnerable than ever before, from its reliance on foreign oil to its economy --- with the dollar based on absolutely nothing of value --- the stakes have never been higher.  Will the GOP work with the President on his promises to expand nuclear energy and offshore drilling, enact further tax cuts and demand more teacher accountability?

The next year will tell, and if the Republicans --- and the President --- don’t play their cards right, they will end up on the nations’s Biggest Losers list.  And most definitely, neither can afford to be on such a list. 

Look for Freindly Fire’s Biggest Losers of 2010 column next week

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

Stop The DRPA “Takers”, And You Stop The Toll Hike

Throughout history, there have always been makers and takers.

Makers create things: jobs, products and wealth.  Takers produce nothing. Instead, they leech off the makers. 

And the biggest taker of all is government.

Oppressive, “taking” governments hold center stage in most foreign countries, where taxpayer rights and the rule of law are cocktail party jokes. But increasingly, the takers are also making their mark in America, squeezing the economic lifeblood out of business and zapping citizens’ creativity and hope.

Usually, the take comes in increments, with public officials saying it’s our duty to accept such small sacrifices. But once the takers set their hooks, they never let go. Consider:

-The tax we pay on every bottle of Pennsylvania liquor to rebuild Johnstown from the flood is “just” 18 cents per dollar.  Granted, reconstructing the mega-metropolis of Johnstown must have been a Herculean task, but the flood was…. in 1936.

-The recent city sales tax hike for Philadelphia is “only” a penny, and the city’s 10 percent property tax increase is “temporary.”  The truth: residents are leaving the city to make purchases because of the “small,” 100 percent hike; and no tax is ever temporary.

-And of course, we have the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) who, after mismanaging our toll dollars (READ: spending half-a-BILLION dollars on economic development projects having nothing to do with the bridges), now finds it fitting to raise tolls --- again --- on its four bridges and the PATCO train line. But hey, it’s just a dollar!  Take one for the team, we’re told.

So what’s a toll-payer to do?  Answer: Relax, you’ve already done it.  You elected Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett as Pennsylvania’s new Governor, and he gets to wipe the Rendell-slate clean and appoint a new DRPA Chairman and Board of Commissioners for Pennsylvania.

And make no mistake, with the no-nonsense law-and-order bookends of Corbett and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie now running the Authority, it’s a whole new ballgame, and the toll hike can, and should, be stopped before it goes into effect on July 1.

All it takes is political will.

*****

It is not enough to play the blame-game with Port Authority executives and former Governors Rendell and Corzine, all of whom presided over the unmitigated disaster that now defines the DRPA.

While it is important to remember how the Authority got us into this mess, and to hold accountable those who disregarded the toll-paying public (and possibly the law), only immediate, concrete solutions can halt the back-breaking hikes, and prevent future increases that the public simply can’t afford, and shouldn’t have to pay. 

To put into perspective how truly bad things have become, just look at the driving force behind the toll increase: Wall Street bondholders.  That’s right.  Those financiers are so concerned about their investment that they have been relentlessly pushing the Board to put the screws to commuters and jack up the rates.

The mind-blowing lesson from this past week’s Board meeting is that the DRPA isn't being run for the public anymore (not that it ever was). Instead, its reckless spending now has them dancing to Wall Street's tune.  The interest of bondholders trump the public because of the debt carried for economic development projects that A) don't help the economy, and B) develop only animosity for the DRPA.  With absolutely no revenue return to the DRPA, the projects were, and still are, a black hole of political patronage, funded by the public for the sole benefit of the DRPA insiders.

However, there is a silver lining to this mess.  For the first time, the public and honorable politicians are starting to look at how the DRPA can be dismantled.  Leasing it to a private entity, selling PATCO, and dissolving the governing compact are all options --- once unthinkable --- now on the table. 

Here are several actions that would allow to the DRPA to regain a solid financial footing while not raising the toll, and, most important, start down the long road of earning back the public’s trust:

1)      Gov. Christie should veto the Board’s actions, which approved $200 million in more spending for PATCO.  Whether that money must be spent is irrelevant; common sense dictates that the DRPA should wait 30 more days until Corbett and his appointees come to power and have their say.  This is exactly what the Board did last December when it rushed to pass patronage projects ahead of Christie’s inauguration (and his veto power).

2)      Gut the DRPA, starting at the top.  Fire all high-level executives, who would have been canned long ago had they worked in the private sector.  Their lack of even basic performance reminds us of the speech delivered to shareholders by Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, “…Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out…. in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated.”  The DRPA’s top brass are the toll-payers’ Teldar executives.

3)      Slash employees, salaries and benefits. Why the need for 900 employees --- with lavish salaries and benefits --- to operate four bridges and a short rail line is still a mystery.  And to add insult to injury, many executives make more than the governors of both states.  For example, CEO John Matheussen betters them by $50,000 per year, and, up until recently, had a $17,000/year car allowance.  It is unfortunate when people get laid off, but many positions should never have been created in the first place.  The DRPA is a revolving jobs program for the politically connected, subsidized by hapless commuters, and that must end.

4)      Freeze all economic development money, period.  That goes for dollars still in the pot and monies allocated but unspent.  Rendell’s lack of legal knowledge in this area notwithstanding, the DRPA is not contractually obligated to spend the money already awarded for these projects.  And to those recipients who yell that they want “their” money, the toll-payers have news for them: it’s not “their” money, and they possess no God-given right to pig-out at the public trough.

5)      Perform a bend-over, proctologist-like forensic audit, top to bottom (no pun intended) of absolutely everything.  Here’s the key: it cannot be performed by the Pennsylvania Auditor General since he sits on the Board, and, no disrespect to Gov. Christie, but the New Jersey Comptroller is a political appointee.  The only way this type of audit bears any fruit is to have an outside firm --- way, way outside, with no political ties whatsoever --- come in and turn over every stone. Heck, maybe they’ll even find more interesting tidbits to pass along to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, currently investigating the Authority.

6)      Have only one cash lane per bridge, eliminating three shifts of toll-takers making $24/hour plus benefits.  Ideal?  No, but that’s the price for getting back to a bare bones operation without paying more tolls.

7)      Explore public-private partnership and leasing options. DRPA executives were never motivated to run the Authority like a business; in fact, the opposite was true.  The more money they spread around, from no-bid legal work (often where NJ and PA law firms would each generate billing for the same project) and insurance contracts, to engineering and economic development expenditures, the “return” was not Port Authority efficiencies, but personal gain and political profit.

If all management and operational aspects were turned over to a private, for-profit company skilled in streamlining techniques and maximizing efficiencies, the cost savings could be astronomical.  Such programs have been tried successfully with other toll roads, and a management company (with government oversight) could provide immediate and long-lasting savings.

It is time, once and for all, to see the DRPA return to its original mandate: collect toll dollars to operate and maintain safe bridges… bridgesthat have been paid for numerous times over.  Gov. Corbett has an historic opportunity to do just that by appointing reform-minded, accountable Commissioners --- former cop and current State Representative Mike Vereb, who continues to bulldog the DRPA into more reforms, comes to mind --- and immediately move to stop the toll hike. 

By instituting common sense cost-cutting measures and working closely with Gov. Christie to root out corruption and explore privatization options, Corbett may yet drive the DRPA back from the bridge to nowhere.

Who says you can’t fight City Hall?

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

Marcellus Shale: Not An NBA Player, But Key To PA’s Future

First in an ongoing series examining all aspects of developing the Marcellus Shale.

Stories keep rolling in about the booming economy in a faraway land.  Tales of jobs, new construction on every corner, more jobs, hotels booked for a year, office space --- long vacant --- now renting for the highest prices ever fetched, and even more jobs.  Yet despite years of growth, the influx of foreign capital hasn’t subsided, but in fact, continues to exponentially increase. Combined, all these things have created a climate so healthy that taxes haven’t risen in eight years.

As with Doubting Thomas, something this good must be seen to be believed.

So as my trip was being arranged, I was asked the duration of my flight to China, and how long I’d be away.  As to the second question, the same day.  I can’t answer the first, because it’s based on a false assumption.  I was, most definitely, not going to China.

Although solid growth and low taxes are now virtually nonexistent in this country, I had a mere three hour drive to behold the only thing that can bring Pennsylvania --- and maybe the nation --- back from the edge of the abyss.

Time to get up front and personal.  Time to meet Marcellus Shale.

*****

Pop quiz.

Which of the following is true:

A)    Bon jour, monsieur. I present to you Marcellus Shale, ze best French wine this side of ze Seine River;

B)    Meet Marcellus Shale, the new Philadelphia 76er who might help the NBA team win more than 10 games;

C)    Welcome to the Marcellus Shale, one of the largest natural gas fields in the world, and centered in Pennsylvania, where 60 percent of the state sits atop the reserves, whose liquid gold is conservatively valued in the hundreds of billions.

Unfortunately for vinophiles and the impotent Sixers, the answer is C. 

But unbelievably, there was almost an asterisk.  If lame duck Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and his protégé, failed gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato, had their way, the Marcellus Shale industry would have died before ever getting off the ground.  Those politicians wanted to impose a severance (extraction) tax on natural gas, as high as ten percent.  Rendell’s rationale?

Oil companies needed to pay their fair share.

Thankfully, Governor-elect Tom Corbett, with a No-New-Tax promise being the cornerstone of his campaign, trounced Onorato. In doing so, he slammed the door shut on the catastrophic failure that will forever be known as the Rendell Legacy, and opened a portal to opportunity not seen in Pennsylvania for generations.

*****

Corbett and Onorato were like night and day on a number of issues, but none more important than how to proceed with the Marcellus Shale. A severance tax, especially the one proposed by Rendell/Onorato, would have undeniably been the death knell of what is a mobile industry.

While Pennsylvania is blessed with a sizable portion of the highly-profitable Shale, our competitors are not far behind: West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, New York and up into Maine and Canada.  And Michigan, with the second highest unemployment rate in the nation, is making lucrative offers to the industry to extract Shale gas from beneath the Great Lakes.

In his attempt to make Pennsylvania competitive again --- dare we say viable ---, Corbett innately understood two things that were lost on Rendell.  First, if you want less of something, tax it.  Second, you can’t tax your way out of a recession and into prosperity.

But what about the “fair share” that the industry allegedly doesn’t pay?  Pure election year theatre, orchestrated in a shameless attempt to close the $5 billion budget deficit created by the reckless former Governor.

The real story?

The natural gas companies in Pennsylvania, just like all other corporations, are saddled with the second highest corporate net income tax (CNI) in the nation (10 percent), along with an onerous capital stock and franchise tax and the country’s most hostile legal system.  And this horrid picture doesn’t even include the world’s second-highest national corporate income tax rate (40 percent).

Put another way, the proposed severance tax and the CNI alone would have handicapped the industry from the get-go, imposing on them a massive 20 percent tax deficit out of the gate.   And the result if the tax had passed?  The industry would have simply rolled away from unprofitable pastures in Pennsylvania.

So much for fair share.

But now that it’s here, what is the industry giving back to the Keystone State?

Hope, optimism and a really big torch --- one bright enough to rekindle the flame that lights the way to a better tomorrow.  In doing so, our citizens may yet revive the once-undying faith that each successive generation will fare better than the one before it.

How? Simple.  In addition to bolstering national security (by decreasing reliance on foreign oil and diminishing the threat of terrorist attack), energy independence is the first step to bringing back our manufacturing base. And with upwards of 500 trillion (that’s with a “t”) cubic feet of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale --- enough to power the gas needs of our entire nation for decades --- there are several hundred thousand jobs that will directly result from Shale operations in Pennsylvania alone.

I saw that first-hand on a sunny day in late November.

Not far from Williamsport (of Little League World Series fame) in Lycoming County stands Montgomery, a once proud manufacturing town where jobs were guaranteed, but which has since fallen on hard times.  Shells of long abandoned factories, mills and drug-infested subsidized housing became the bleak landscape at every turn, with zero job prospects and no future.

That was, until the secret of the Shale surfaced.  Literally.

Now, Montgomery is full of smiling faces once again, as it has become a living, breathing symbol for the prosperity ahead --- so long as politicians and bureaucrats don’t muck a good thing.

On this day, ground was broken on a Shale-related building at the site of an old mill.  The new occupants, PEAK Energy and Newalta, made a commitment for the long haul.  And with them will come more and more drilling infrastructure, logistics, personnel --- and tax revenue.  Revenue that will fill the coffers of Montgomery, Lycoming County and the state, as workers are employed, houses are bought (rather than foreclosed upon), hotel rooms are booked, restaurants spring up, and an entire support industry grows around Shale businesses. (Which is why, because of the Shale, Lycoming County hasn’t raised taxes in eight years).

And the workers?  Primarily Pennsylvanians.

As I witnessed the job-creating event --- not exactly a common sight in this country --- I had the chance to speak with the project’s developer, John Moran, President of Moran Industries and one of the leading businessmen advocating safe, environmentally-sound gas extraction in Pennsylvania.

He said that the only way to be competitive again is to wean the nation off foreign oil, with its volatile price fluctuations, and instead develop the vast natural energy resources available domestically, starting with the Marcellus Shale.

Spoken from a man of experience, given that each truck in his logistics fleet was drinking $1,000 of diesel fuel every 36 hours during the 2008 oil spike crisis.

“I have lived and worked in Pennsylvania all my life, and never have I seen such an awesome opportunity. Responsibly harnessing the Marcellus Shale is the only thing capable of resurrecting our shattered manufacturing base and making us competitive again,” Moran told me.

A stodgy, aloof businessman John Moran is not.  He gets down and dirty in his business, and his passion for the Shale allows him to explain its real value in a refreshingly simple and clear way. Politicians should take a lesson.

 “Domestic gas production helps free us from our enemies while allowing us to compete with cheap labor overseas...it lowers the cost of business because of cheap energy.  Pennsylvania is a snapshot of what America can be if it ever decides to truly pursue energy independence,” he added.

As we were parting ways, he summed it up this way: “Unimaginable amounts of gas under our feet, low cost energy, our manufacturing grows and jobs stay here, and the country is safer.  Where’s the downside?”

The good news for John Moran is that if he ever decides to look for a new career, he would make a great columnist, as no one could have stated the importance of the Marcellus Shale any better.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

GOP’s Chances To Unseat Bob Casey? Good Luck

You would think that with Pennsylvania’s Republican roots, which have run especially deep over the last several decades, freshman Democratic senator Bob Casey would be vulnerable in 2012. 

You would be wrong, and the reason is simple civics.  Incumbents don’t lose unless they’re challenged by viable, first-tier candidates, as the senate elections in Nevada and Alaska proved.  And, as of now, there are none to challenge Casey. Whether that changes in the next year is anyone’s guess, but the mere fact that the GOP finds itself in this position speaks volumes about how it builds its “bench.”  Translation:  it doesn’t.

*****

Pennsylvania’s Republican power was on full display when Ronald Reagan chose three cabinet officials not just from the same state, but the same county! Montgomery County produced Drew Lewis (who fired the striking air traffic controllers), Alexander Haig, and Richard Schweiker.  Since then, it’s been all downhill for the Montco GOP, with infighting and strife resulting in minority status in the state’s third largest county.

In 1994, Pennsylvania could boast that it was the most Republican state in the nation.  The GOP controlled the two U.S. Senate seats, the Governorship, both chambers of the state legislature, all the statewide row offices, and a majority in the congressional delegation.  But the Party lost its way, and, by running untenable candidates, gave up huge chunks of the political landscape--- all reasons the state hasn’t voted Republican in a presidential election in what will be, at the minimum, a quarter-century.

In a resurgence that culminated last month, however, the Keystone State was one of the epicenters of the GOP political wave.  Five congressional seats flipped, Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett became Governor by trouncing Democrat Dan Onorato by ten points, the state senate stayed firmly Republican, and the State House, which had been Democratic, saw an almost incomprehensible thirteen seats move to the GOP, giving them a ten-seat majority.

And yet, with all that momentum, there is no first-tier, “go-to” frontrunner candidate to challenge Casey.

Why?  Because much more often than not, the GOP has chosen its candidates not on merit --- as in, who can best defeat the Democratic opponent ---, but instead, on whose “turn” it is.  In the mold of choosing Bob Dole and John McCain, Pennsylvania’s nominees may look great to Party insiders, but fare dismally when put before the voters.  Just look at the last several elections for governor, treasurer and auditor general.

And because there has been little effort to groom candidates for the future, and absolutely no effort to stop the hemorrhaging from Philadelphia, where Republican statewide candidates routinely face half-a-million vote deficits, the Party is now in the strange position of sitting on massive gains, but potentially passing on the Casey seat.

The subject of that race was one of the hot topics discussed at last weekend’s Pennsylvania Society gathering in New York, the annual event in which the state’s premier political and business elite exchange thoughts, predictions and gossip, most of which has no basis in reality.

To cut through the insider-speak, Freindly Fire turned to longtime Pennsylvania political observer Michael O’Connell for his thoughts on how the GOP got itself into its current position, and what it could do to be viable in 2012 --- when there will be races for U.S. Senate, Attorney General (which has never been held by a Democrat), State Treasurer, and Auditor General (an open seat).

“Pennsylvania Republicans are at a generational turnover, just as they were in the late seventies.  There is scarcely any bench of obvious statewide candidates, although there are any number of talented Republicans holding office.  The next several years will see more than a few of them try to make the always difficult transition from the General Assembly or local office to the big time.”

*****

Depending on the speed and efficiency of GOP Party-building efforts, made infinitely easier after the recent gains, several quality candidates may arise from the ranks, but currently, the field is weak, and the list short.  Following is a brief analysis:

First-tier:  None.

Second-tier: Congressman Jim Gerlach, who has defied the odds by winning in the Democratic waves of 2006 and 2008.  But Gerlach will be under pressure to not vacate the seat, as 2012 will be a tougher year for the GOP.  And given that he is now back in the Majority, how realistic is it that Gerlach will leave an almost-sure thing for a difficult race in which the odds are not in his favor?  Slim.

Third-tier: State Senators Jake Corman and Kim Ward.  Both are well-respected legislators, but are completely unknown outside their districts.  Given that neither represents a large population center, they would have to show a remarkable ability to raise money in order to increase name recognition statewide --- not an easy task, since federal rules limit contributions to $2400, a far cry from the state level where there is no limit.

 "Both are prototypes of what I mentioned,” O’Connell stated. “Talented players in offices largely out of the public eye, who will have to demonstrate that they can move on to a brutally difficult statewide contest.  There is no training school for that--it is a credential one only earns by running and winning a race."

Often-mentioned but no virtually chance: Congressman Charlie Dent.  Dent was reelected by a wide margin, and will clearly enjoy serving in the Majority, which is exactly where he’ll stay for one simple reason: he is pro-abortion, and in Pennsylvania Republican primaries, that’s a killer.  The only remote shot Dent would have is to be part of a five or six candidate field, with all his opponents splitting the Pro-Life vote.  Otherwise, he’s not going anywhere.

There are wildcards, to be sure. Former congressmen Phil English and Melissa Hart, while neither has publicly expressed intent, would match up well with Casey.  Both of these seasoned pols hail from western Pennsylvania (compared to Casey’s northeast base) and both served effectively in Democratic-leaning districts, though they lost tough races in the Democratic waves of 2008 and 2006, respectively.  But don’t count on either one taking up the challenge.

Interestingly, perhaps the candidate with the best chance for victory would be a self-funding businessman. Instead of carrying the baggage of an easily-distorted voting record, a charismatic business leader could engage the voters with the only record anyone really cares about: how many jobs he created, how his budgets were managed, and the innovative solutions he implemented to solve problems in the face of economic adversity. 

Since more and more people think government should be run like a business, operating within the same constraints as the private sector, such a platform could prove endearing. And while there are the pitfalls of self-financing (he’s “buying” the election), the alternative is far more appealing: he’s beholden to no one, especially the special interests.

An individual who fits that description is John Moran of Moran Logistics, who continues to create jobs due to his involvement in the booming Marcellus Shale natural gas industry.  While Moran recently stated he was not in the running (after his name was anonymously floated), the significant buzz created over just a few days demonstrated two things: the appealing nature of the no-nonsense businessman candidate, and the almost complete lack of a traditional candidate bench.

Both parties should recognize that their Business-As-Usual approach to selecting candidates needs an overhaul, especially given the fiscal calamity in which we find our nation and state.

For the Republicans at least, that model may well be to run law-and-order candidates with a proven track record of rooting out corruption and taking the tough stands, regardless of the political fallout. 

The results speak for themselves: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a ever-rising national star, is a former United States Attorney, as are newly elected congressmen Pat Meehan of Delaware County (who won by 11 points) and Tom Marino of northeast Pennsylvania (ten-point margin), who unseated a well-funded and popular incumbent.  Montgomery County State Representative-elect Todd Stephens, a former Assistant District Attorney, took down entrenched incumbent Rick Taylor, and of course, state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who successfully prosecuted many powerful Harrisburg insiders, ruled the day.

Of note was the fate of John Perzel, longtime Philadelphia State Representative and former uber-Speaker of the House, who was the only Republican to lose in the biggest GOP wave since 1946. Law of averages?  Bad luck?  Hardly.  Instead, his loss centered around the 82-count indictment he is facing --- a case brought about by Corbett.

The message is clear.  Voters know they stand on the precipice, and feel the candidates best suited to clean up the political mess are not the ones whose “turn” it is, but those who have demonstrated the ability to create jobs and put bad guys in jail.

The path has been blazed.  The question is: can the Republican hierarchy finally read the road sign to success?  

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

Pennsylvania Teachers’ Unions Are Losing Their Cool --- And Their Power

Author’s note: For your viewing pleasure, a link to FOX 29’s fiery “non-debate” on school strikes follows this column. Is it any wonder why the PSEA won’t talk about the merits of strikes, and instead engages in personal, factually incorrect attacks (in Latin, no less!) on extraneous issues? P.S.: I am sending PSEA the bill for my blown-out eardrums.

To modify the legendary quote from Dean Wormer in Animal House: Arrogant, greedy and aloof is no way to go through life.

But that’s exactly how the teachers’ unions in Pennsylvania have behaved for decades.

With millions in forced union dues, they have constructed a statewide political empire, using their muscle to crush any and all opposition.

To their credit, they have been immensely successful in squeezing every last penny from broke municipalities and overtaxed residents.  In good economies and bad, they demand and receive large raises and benefits, including, in many cases, free healthcare. 

In Bucks County’s Neshaminy School District, for example, the unions have steadfastly refused to renegotiate their healthcare plan.  Can you blame them?  They don’t pay one cent toward their Rolls Royce plan, which costs $27,000 per teacher, per year.  Meanwhile, those in the private sector are shelling out 30 or 40 percent of their healthcare costs, with many shouldering the entire burden.  And when Neshaminy teachers retire, they are guaranteed healthcare until age 65.  And as an added retirement “incentive”, they are handed almost $30,000 just to walk out the door.

Amazingly, Neshaminy isn’t the exception.  Unfortunately, such excess is commonplace throughout the state.

To make the sin mortal, Pennsylvania leads the nation every year in school strikes.  In fact, the Keystone State experiences more teacher strikes than all other states combined.

And that is the reason so many citizens are scratching their heads. Teachers are universally respected for the priceless role they play, but when they strike, especially in a recession where the private sector continues to hemorrhage jobs, it is seen as a slap in the face.

While Pennsylvania teachers are first in school strikes and top five in salaries and benefits, the same cannot be said of student achievement --- as evidenced by their  42^nd –ranked SAT scores.

And you can’t just blame city schools for bringing the numbers down.  In suburban Neshaminy, 33 percent of 11^th graders aren’t proficient in reading, and 28% can’t perform basic math.

To the unions, money is the cure all. Pay more money (and better benefits) to the teachers while increasing funding for public education, and all the problems will be solved. But we’ve been doing that for decades, and education achievement hasn’t improved.

Given that the global economy is here to stay, our dismal academic performance becomes more dire every year.  Our students are no longer competing against just those in San Francisco and Seattle, but Stockholm, Singapore and Sydney. Yet compared to our top 30 global counterparts, the U.S. is, at best, in the middle of the pack and more often, much lower.

The solution is to instill accountability to our schools and rein in the out-of-control unions.  And with a new Governor and state legislature poised to tackle the tough issues, the political will to enact meaningful changes is not just possible, but probable.  Here are two immediate steps that would help bring vast improvement to Pennsylvania’s educational system:

1)      Inject competition by enacting school choice.  When parents have a choice in their children's education, schools that do well will attract more students and succeed, and those that continue with the status quo will lose students and fail. The free market system that has served us so well will have the same effect on our educational product. And for the first time in generations, our students will actually learn the skills necessary to succeed in life.

Governor-elect Tom Corbett made school choice a cornerstone of his campaign, and with solid Republican majorities in the House and Senate, look for that to take shape in some form this year.

2)      Outlaw school strikes. No public sector union should have the right to strike, which is why our police and firemen are prohibited from doing so.  It is beyond explanation that teachers, in whose hands we place our most valuable asset --- our children --- are not considered equally essential.

Strikes are disruptive to all parties. Parents experience incredible stress in their frantic search for child care, often risking job security by tending to their children, and students’ disciplined approach to schoolwork is shattered, with no possibility of a seamless transition after a long strike.

And who are we kidding? Sure, the law mandates a 180-day school year, but are students really learning anything sitting in a classroom over the Christmas break?  Or in late June, days or weeks after exams have already been taken? In effect, students are held hostage so that teachers can justify their salaries and school districts don’t jeopardize their state subsidies.   

But it is important to understand that teachers are also victimized by strikes.  They become pariahs in their own communities, and respect for their profession take a hit.  Let’s be crystal clear on one thing: many teachers often do not agree with the union leaders’ decisions.  But when that leadership calls for a strike vote --- and refuses to use a secret ballot, as is almost always the case --- there is virtually no chance of opposition.  The risk is simply too high, and the mob mentality rules the day.

At the minimum, there should be a law requiring secret ballot votes for school strikes, monitored by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor. That common sense, practical solution would be overwhelmingly supported by the public --- and the teachers.

If you outlaw strikes, though, basic fairness dictates that there should be a method to resolve an impasse. Perhaps the most viable alternative would be final best offer arbitration (FBO), the same system Major League Baseball uses with great success.

In regular arbitration, both sides throw out a number, with the arbiter often adding them together and dividing by two.  That’s an inefficient system, because when one side makes a reasonable offer while the other side comes in with a pie-in-the-sky proposal, the result is lopsided in favor of the greedier party.

But with FBO, both sides innately understand the need to be reasonable in their proposals or risk getting blown completely out of the box. Cooler heads would prevail with FBO, and that’s most definitely in the taxpayers’ best interest.

Is FBO ideal? No, since you are placing an unelected arbiter in a position of power, but in the real world, it’s the best we have to stop the unaffordable contracts.  It is a classic example of philosophical versus practical, and in this case, the practical side should prevail. 

But there’s a huge irony here.  Because the union leadership has pushed the envelope for so long, the pendulum may be swinging back hard, to the point of potentially being unfair.

Outlawing school strikes --- as they are in 37 states --- can be enacted like any other legislation: pass both chambers and have the Governor sign the bill.  That may well happen in the near future.

However, arbitration requires a constitutional amendment, a process that will take at least five years.  So the unions are facing the distinct possibility of seeing the right to strike abolished, with no chance of arbitration as recourse.  In effect, our teachers would be working as slaves to the school boards, and that is certainly NOT in anyone’s best interest, most of all our childrens’.

But right or wrong, they made their bed, and now they have to lie in it. 

Aware that their backs were to the wall, the unions spent massively this campaign season on candidates sympathetic to their “plight.”  Unfortunately for them, they suffered huge losses, and the head of the dragon is in danger of being decapitated.

From this point on, it’s a whole new ballgame.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has blazed a path to success in dealing with unions, and enjoys rising popularity every time he calls out their arrogance and greed. And his accomplishments have come with the Democrats controlling both legislative chambers.

In much the same mold, Tom Corbett’s vision is closely aligned with Christie’s, especially on education issues. With the GOP now in firm command of Harrisburg, they may yet provide Pennsylvanians with hope and change we can all believe in.

Taxpayers could only be so lucky.

FOX 29 Non-Debate On School Strikes: Freind Vs. PSEA’s Rob Broderick      

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/heated-debate%3A--teachers-striking-in-pa

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com