ELEPHANT CORNER: Leadership Puzzle Solved; Kate Harper In Town; Obama’s Scandals

The Republican City Committee met on Tuesday and elected a Chairman following the resignation of VITO CANUSO, who was considered by the MIKE MEEHAN faction of the party to be Chairman. Others considered RICK HELLBERG to be Chairman. Canuso resigned effective May 24 in a letter he signed the 13th. Hellberg resignation was effective May 25. STATE REP. JOHN TAYLOR was elected unanimously to be Chairman. It is his intent to be Chairman until next June when the party is scheduled to hold an election to reorganize the party.

This elephant believes Taylor’s election is great step forward to a more-unified party, which hopefully will lead to a larger, more-effective party. While the probability of the Republican Party becoming the majority party is remote, a viable second party is not only attractive to more-conservatively minded Philadelphians, it is vital if we want the the majority party to be more responsive and transparent.

Last Thursday, the Philadelphia Republican Leadership Council held the fifth installment of its monthly breakfast series. The keynote speaker was STATE REP. KATE HARPER (61^st). Her district in Montgomery Co. includes most of Lower and Upper Gwynedd Townships and parts of Whitpain and Plymouth. As her district is in commuting distance of Philadelphia’s businesses and amenities, the city is important to her. Harper chairs the House Committee on Local Government and sits on the Transportation Committee. She made some timely comments on a headline in that day’s Philadelphia Inquirer about a group of Philadelphians who met with School Superintendent Hite to demand more resources for the schools. Harper doubts there is any real appetite in Harrisburg for sending more money to Philadelphia’s poorly run school system.

She also discussed the need to improve our aging roads and bridges. The improvements would be paid for GOV. TOM CORBETT’S plan to raise the “oil company franchise tax”. At same time, he plans on lowering the liquid-fuels tax on retail sales at the pump by a penny for each of the next two years. Taken together, the changes would produce about $500 million in additional transportation funding in the first year. While 95% of Harper’s constituents drive to work, she said they appreciate the importance of public transportation and believe it should be partly funded by tax dollars. Without public transportation, road traffic would be much worse. Many of her more-rural colleagues in the legislature do not believe public transportation should be subsidized. I find this view stunning, as tax dollars are paying for the roads on which they drive.

The next installment of the PRLC will be on Jun. 20 at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia. The scheduled keynote speaker is former Pennsyvlania Secretary of the Dept. of Envrionmental Protection, MICHAEL KRANCER. As a member of Gov. Corbett’s Cabinet, Krancer was instrumental in the drafting and implementation of the comprehensive revisions of the Commonwealth’s regulation of activities in the Marcellus Shale field.

CALVIN R. Tucker, Chairman of Phila. Black Republican Council, and Dr. Ethel D. Allen Promise Academy Principal Stefan Feaster-Eberhardt, hold City Council Resolution honoring Dr. Allen’s life and time in public service.

Prior to last fall’s presidential election, the State Dept. told the American people that murder of a US Ambassador and three other Americans was triggered by a spontaneous demonstration in response to a blasphemous video about the PROPHET MUHAMMAD. Recent hearings indicate higher-ups at the State Dept., including the Secretary herself, knew at that time that terrorists were responsible.

The IRS targeting conservative organizations for additional scrutiny is the subject of congressional hearings.

Perhaps the most-frightening episodes coming to light involve attacks on the 1^st Amendment. The Justice Dept. has approved widespread wiretaps of AP and also was considering criminal charges against a Fox News journalist who was leaked government information on North Korea. There are laws that protect journalists in these situations. Perhaps ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER forgot about them.

What is comical is that some (not all) Democrats are not bothered by the government’s questionable behavior and believe the outrage expressed by Republicans is solely politically motivated. Yes! I am relieved that Republicans did not participate in these “errors”. Yes! It does appear that my concerns about this Administration and the Attorney General in particular may not have been entirely unfounded.

However, any American with a brain and a conscience has to want these issues investigated. Perhaps the Democrats who want these “distractions” swept under the rug are the ones motivated solely by politics.

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