More criminal charges, a guilty plea and a contentious SRC meeting. See who made this week’s list!
Kathleen Kane. The Attorney General had yet another tough week. First, a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll tested her approval rating among PA residents and found them undecided at best. Then, yesterday it was revealed that in addition to the previous charges the grand jury had recommended against Kane, they also supported a criminal contempt charge. Politically and legally, things couldn’t been more up in the air right now for Kathleen Kane.
Bob Brady. Congressman Robert “Bob” Brady isn’t one for the spotlight. Nevertheless, he got his fair share of it this week. Rep. Brady was the star of a profile in Politico Magazine. Titled “The big-city boss behind Philly’s winning bid”, the piece painted Brady as the “kingmaker” of Philadelphia and the primary motivating force behind the City of Brotherly Love snagging the 2016 Democratic National Convention. While it may seem like the camera-shy Brady would resent this kind of attention, reputation is currency in big-city politics. Therefore, such pieces could actually be quite beneficial.
Rob McCord. It’s hard to imagine Rob McCord getting anything but a down arrow from now on. Still, this week the former State Treasurer officially entered his guilty plea to two charges of extortion. The exposure of McCord’s methods and attitudes when it came to power and money will likely haunt him (and Pennsylvanians) for the rest of his life.
Chris Carney. The former Congressman and potential Senate candidate got a few different pieces of good news this week. First (and most important), he won our reader poll in a hypothetical race between himself, Joe Sestak and Vince Hughes for the 2016 Senate Democratic nomination. Then, major figures in the Democratic Party all revealed their hopes for a challenger to front-runner Sestak. On Tuesday former Governor Ed Rendell took a shot at Sestak and then on Thursday it was revealed other local and national Democrats are appealing to other candidates. Among those mentioned were Allegheny Executive Director Rich Fitzgerald, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.
Charter Schools. A big showdown occurred on Wednesday between the pro and anti-charter school forces in Philadelphia. The city’s School Reform Commission decided 39 applications for additional charter institutions. Democrats, both in Philly and Harrisburg, were mostly against adding any more charters while Republicans insisted on approval. In the end, just five new charter schools were added. Ultimately, neither side was happy and the issue is far from resolved.
The tweet of the week goes to Citified for pointing out that Milton Street has 99 problems and musical knowledge is one.
Milton Street name checks A-Z. Doug Oliver offers point of clarification that he probably means Jay-Z. #phl2015 #nextmayorphl
— Citified (@citifiedPHL) February 19, 2015
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5 Responses
Larry-
Kane’s missteps/problems with communication and the press are irrelevant to the attacks and the reasons behind them. Yes, Kane could have handled the media better, but the attacks against her are because she’s exposing the old boys club and making changes.
Question…..is it now fair for a judge to reveal grand jury materials when the reason for your Grand jury is investigating a leak of grand jury materials by another?
#UPMCrecycles
https://independent.academia.edu/OchoaMichael/Posts
elroy hirsch, your futile defense of Kane is hilarious. Playing the female card shows how desperate you are. Nobody made her do and say the things she has done. Nobody made her decline to defend laws when it was politically uncomfortable to do so. Nobody made her reveal secret grand jury materials in order to harm a rival. She has gone through press secretary after press secretary — do they keep leaving because she’s a woman?
Regarding AG Kathleen Kane,
Grand Juries in PA are not independent legal entities made up of regular everyday citizens who have their own attorney to guide them in the search for truth.
The PA Grand Jury is run by the prosecutor. The witnesses are controlled. The evidence presented is only favorable to the prosecutor. The Target person has no rebuttal. The final Presentment is written by the prosecutor.
The PA Grand Jury is a legal entity used to provide “political cover” for prosecutor. The Grand Jury does not hear both sides of the story.
If PA residents are “undecided at best” regarding Kane’s political future, then they understand that she is being attacked for being a female and the first Democrat to break the 32 year culture of male Republican control of the Office of Attorney General. The porno scandal proves the later.