Freindly Fire’s Best…and Worst…Of Philly

Who makes the best Bloody Mary in the city? Where is the best brunch?  Freindly Fire has no idea.  Thankfully, though, there are much smarter folks who know the best things in and around the nation’s fourth-largest market. For those gems, see the “Best of Philly” awards in this month’s Philadelphia Magazine.

There are, however, some other non-politically correct Best and Worst Awards that should be bestowed on very deserving winners…and losers.  Following is Freindly Fire’s List:

Best Of Philly

Best snowfall removal: Anywhere but Philadelphia. The streets were absolutely deplorable, with significant snow and ice on major city roads days after the storms, not to mention that many side streets were simply impassable. How did city residents react?  Almost 80 percent voted for Mayor Nutter in the May primary. In comparison, Chicagoans kicked out their Mayor for similar incompetence in 1979.   Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…just don’t complain when you can’t get to work. He’s your Mayor.

Best Political Comeback: IBEW 98 boss John Dougherty.  After losing a bid for the state senate and coming up short in clashes with Democratic party powerbroker Bob Brady, Doc came roaring back.  He garnered huge headlines by trying to reform the DRPA, but most significantly, orchestrated big wins in City Council races.  More than anyone, Johnny Doc has positioned himself to be kingmaker in deciding who the next Mayor of Philadelphia will be.

Best “It’s All About Me” Moment: City Council’s refusal to abolish the DROP retirement program for city employees --- you know, the one that makes elected officials rich when they “retire” for a day after being re-elected.  So while the folks who actually foot the bill are struggling just to survive, city lawmakers keep cashing in at the public trough.  Often forgotten in the criticism, though, is Council’s stellar stewardship of Philadelphia. Its leadership has produced the highest rates of taxes, murder, violence, and poverty in the nation, an education system that, by all accounts, is a colossal failure, and a city that is perpetually ranked as one of the dirtiest.  But give ‘em a break.  We’re not Detroit. Yet.

Best “I Don’t Recall” Moment: No, it wasn’t a political corruption trial, but the just-revealed grand jury testimony of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua as he weaved his way around prosecutors’ pointed questioning regarding the ever- widening Church sex-scandal.  The Cardinal’s memory lapse was an oh-so-convenient backdoor for covering his own derriere and evading discussion about his role in the cover-up, leading the grand jury to label him as “untruthful” and “not forthright.” Church officials need to be reminded that sins of omission can be just as bad as sins of commission, and that ignoring the 8^th Commandment is not a prudent way to go through life. So much for always standing behind the kids….

Best Sports Move: Bringing Cliff Lee back. The Phils have been transformed from an organization that made the playoffs only three times in 26 years (and that’s with the wild card), to being perennial contenders. But being “very good” wasn’t good enough, so they brought back pitching Lee.  With Lee rounding out one of the best rotations in baseball history, the Fightin’s are fully expected to win the World Series, and that has them hanging out in hallowed Yankees territory, at least for the present.  Like the Bronx Bombers, the Phillies are now in the elite world where a season that culminates in anything less than total victory will be viewed as a failure. Tough as it will be to swallow if the Phils aren’t World Champions again, that expectation of perfection is rarely seen in any sport, and was nonexistent in Philly. Tip of the hat to the best --- and only--- sports braintrust in the city that has shown the resolve to do whatever it takes to win.

Best Thing About Philadelphia: Its people. It’s a blue-collar town, through and through, and that makes it as real as it gets. People wear their emotions on their sleeves, and it’s rare to not know where someone stands. Politics? Rough and tumble ---- sometimes literally.  Sports fans? The most dedicated, if not always educated, in the country. Run out every play, and you’ll be a Philly Hall of Famer, but cop a ‘tude,  pout, dog it (no Vick pun intended) or just plain suck, and you’ll be run out of town on a rail.  Everyday people? Not nearly as rude as we like to think we are.

That salt-of-the-Earth, you-know-what-you’re-getting character is innately Philly, and, while maddening at times, is beyond refreshing in an increasingly shallow world. Yo Philly, don’t ever change.

Worst Of Philly

Worst Way To Earn A Living: Dealing with the dead.  Not funeral directors, coroners, and grave diggers (although all have been quite busy with skyrocketing murders). They all earn an honest living.  We’re talking about Michael Meehan, the city GOP boss and lawyer extraordinaire who gives the famous movie line “I see dead people” some real-life meaning.

Seems that a dearly-departed soul --- a year after dying --- retained Meehan as legal counsel to challenge the petitions of people running for Committee posts --- in his own Party. Meehan didn’t fare much better with the living, as many of his other “clients” signed affadavits stating that they never met or heard of Meehan, and that the signatures in Meehan’s possession were not theirs.

The Philly GOP led by Meehan may be dead, but the criminal investigation into the matter by the District Attorney isn’t. And who said lawyers couldn’t get any lower?

Worst Sports Move: Yes, it was last year’s move, but it’s been so devastating that it bears repeating. Getting rid of Donovan McNabb.  Life is now so boring without Number 5 around.  Just look at all there is to miss: throwing up in the huddle during the Super Bowl, laughing jovially when his team was losing, not knowing the rules of overtime, making racially-charged comments where they had no place, and always connecting with his favorite receiver --- the turf ---when the game was on the line. Sports in Philly just aren’t the same anymore, especially with Michael Vick being so dog-gone….normal.  Without McNabb’s drama queen theatrics over which to obsess, Philadelphia is on the verge of becoming, dare we say it, a civilized sports city.  Bring him back!

Worst Empty Promise: Philly’s pension will be OK. Anytime a politician admits that something is bad, it’s always worse. So when the Mayor says the city’s pension fund is 45 percent funded (less than 50 percent is considered somewhat catastrophic), you know there just won’t be a happy ending. With no more state or federal money to bail out the virtually insolvent pension, and no possible way Nutter can keep his promise to write an $800 million check to the pension (to make up for several years of deferred payments), look for retirees to start getting pennies on the dollar in just a few short years. Think it can’t happen in America?  Given the fact that the nation came within hours of default --- despite its magical power to print money out of thin air--- can anyone seriously believe that?

Worst Thing About Philly: Its people. Or more accurately, the people’s complacency. What can you say about residents who, despite the knowledge that things are going the wrong way, time and again reelect the very same people who created the mess? Philadelphia has the potential to be a world-class city, with not one but two major rivers (neither developed). It is ideally situated within a day’s drive of more than half the country.  As a major gateway for overseas travelers, it should unquestionably be a destination rather than a layover stop.  And with major ports, railroads, airports and interstates, it be should a no-brainer for companies to locate their operations in Philadelphia. 

Philly’s stagnant position stems from a lack of leadership. It’s time for Philadelphians to wake up and demand that their city take its rightful place as one of very best. But that mantle simply can’t be claimed until the people show the will to make a change.

Given Mayor Nutter’s virtually guaranteed re-election, though, that may have to wait another four years.  How ‘bout them Phils?

Chris Friend 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 regularly in Philadelphia Magazine and nationally in

Newsmax, also serves as a frequent guest commentator on talk radio and state/national

television, most notably on FOX Philadelphia.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

Philly GOP And The Democrats: A One-Party Arrangement

Philadelphia has the highest rates of murder, violence and poverty in the nation.  Its school district, which spends over $17,000 per student annually, is a dismal failure, with a massive dropout rate and a $600 million deficit.  Corruption is rampant. And, cumulatively, it is the most taxed city in the country.

Why? Because it is a one-party town.  It’s that simple.

Democrats have been in control for sixty years.  And before that, Republicans dominated the city for six decades.

When there is no competition --- and in Philly’s case, there is no political counter-balance whatsoever --- the tools necessary for an open and efficient government go out the window.

Accountability, transparency, reform?  Foreign concepts, for there is absolutely no impetus for the Democrats to change.  When your Party is guaranteed the Mayor’s office and City Council, why rock the boat?  It’s nice to be King.

The resulting corruption --- both criminal and institutional --- eventually becomes so unbearable that the other Party finally topples the Old Guard with reformist leaders --- exactly what happened to the GOP when Joe Clark and Richard Dilworth were swept in to cleanse the filth in the 1950’s.

So Philadelphia’s current malaise would undoubtedly indicate that it’s due for such a change, right? 

Wrong.

To make Philadelphia a two-party town, you would actually need…a second Party. But there isn’t one.

The GOP Boss in the city is Michael Meehan, who, as a third-generation leader, has decided that holding onto the crumbs of political patronage is all the power he needs.  Heading a political party is simply a means to keeping the status quo intact. 

And that tells you everything you need to know about why Philadelphia isn’t changing for the better.  When the leader of the opposition Party is in bed with the current regime, protecting Business as Usual rather than fighting it, you know you have problems.

From not waging credible campaigns to withdrawing GOP judicial candidates --- who won the Republican primary but were replaced by Party bosses with Democrats in 2009 ---  the Philadelphia Republican Party is in shambles.  It has given residents no reason to support it, since it advocates no ideas and possesses no vision. 

Oh, and it merits noting that Freindly Fire’s column last year led to a criminal investigation into Meehan.  It seems that Meehan was allegedly representing people trying to kick Republicans off the ballot.  Eliminating your own Party members from the ballot is bad enough, but when over thirty of the petitioners claim that they never heard of Michael Meehan, and that the signature on the petition form wasn’t theirs, that’s a problem.  And he is even listed as representing a dead person, which is pretty remarkable, even for Philadelphia.

But taking the cake is whom the GOP endorsed as a mayoral candidate for the May 17 primary election. Despite the early-established candidacy of tried-and-true Republican John Featherman, the Machine decided they would endorse a “better” candidate. 

So they turned to Karen Brown, a former school teacher with a history of personal financial problems who, by the way, was a Democrat just weeks before the deadline to switch Party registration. 

So in other words, the Philadelphia Republican Party, rather than stand behind one of their own who has long believed in GOP principles, instead chooses a recent Democrat to represent them in the primary, with the “hope” that she could topple the beleaguered Mayor Nutter.

One of two things seems painfully obvious.  Either Meehan and Company are completely incompetent, or the “fix” is in, deliberately backing a candidate who won’t make waves and will roll over to Nutter.  Hey, as long as the patronage jobs continue, life is good.

There are powerful upstarts, to be sure, who are trying to reverse decades of decline in their Party so that the city they love can finally get back on the right track.  Featherman and City Commissioner candidate Al Schmidt embody the spirit of that movement, and without a doubt, are making inroads.  And the chairman of the Republican State Committee has called for leadership change in the city GOP, but to no avail.

But meaningful --- and quick --- change to the Philadelphia Republican Party will only come with the aid of the state’s top GOP  leaders. U.S. Senator Pat Toomey is on the right track, having sided with the true Republicans on several occasions, a course of action which will pay dividends for the Party, and by extension himself, in future elections.

Governor Tom Corbett is a different story. As the person who, by far, holds the key to reforming the city GOP, and most important, could stop the half-million vote deficit that Philadelphia produces for every statewide Republican, he has done absolutely nothing.  If fact, he continues to ally himself with the still-under-investigation Meehan, a puzzling move since Corbett describes himself as a law-and-order Governor (and is a former Attorney General).

This was a golden opportunity for the Governor to show leadership.  He could have demanded that a real Republican be endorsed, and could have actively supported that candidate in the primary and general elections. Sure, with a 6-1 voter registration disadvantage, the odds are against a Republican winning in the fall.  But if Corbett had weighed in when it counted, it would have symbolized that things were dramatically changing in Philadelphia --- that the Republicans would not be rolling over anymore.  The GOP would actually be fighting to win.

He could have sided with the state party chairman in calling for change to the city GOP leadership. And he could have laid the groundwork to stop the hemorrhaging of votes out of Philadelphia that the Republican presidential nominee will face in 2012, since the Democrats cannot win the White House without Pennsylvania.

But none of that has happened.

So John Featherman and his well-organized band of loyal opponents to the Meehan Machine are on their own.

But given the expected low-turnout, and a very volatile electorate, Featherman may yet beat the odds and emerge victorious.

And if that happens, expect the fireworks to begin, for not only will Featherman run against Nutter, but against the “other Democratic Party,” led by Michael Meehan.

Just as a parent can’t keep a child in line by threatening to take away toys he doesn’t have,

Featherman isn’t beholden to the city GOP in any way.

And that’s the best thing that could happen --- for ALL Philadelphians.

Don’t forget to vote!

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 regularly in Philadelphia Magazine and nationally in

Newsmax, also serves as a frequent guest commentator on talk radio and state/national

television, most notably on FOX Philadelphia.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com