This is the same bill that Congressman Michael Grimm repeatedly mentioned during the flap after his threats and then his apology to NY 1 reporter Michael Scotto
Democrat “stunt” on House votes sure to embarrass Grimm back at home
According to Daily News reporter Dan Friedman, “In the last two days, ... Grimm voted twice against bringing to the House floor his own bill to delay flood insurance premium hikes -- the one he was referencing last week *** Grimm voted with almost all other Republicans in party line votes against procedural motions by Democrats to force House floor votes on the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, a bill Grimm sponsors and calls a top priority....” (See “Grimm Votes Against Taking up His Own Flood Bill” by Dan Friedman, 4/6/14, NY Daily News/ Mouth of the Potomac [http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2014/02/grimm-opposes-his-own-flood-bill-in-procedural-votes-0]).
In Grimm’s defense, an congressional aide said that Congressman Grimm still supported his own bill, which mirrored a measure that the Senate passed last week. However, the aide claimed that Grimm voted with GOP party leaders to squash the Democrats’ motions to advance the bill because those motions were “a political stunt,” to force votes on the flood insurance bill while the House was considering another bill. Almost all the roughly 50 Republican cosponsors of measure, like Grimm, voted against considering it, but faced with that choice, two other Republicans from flood-impacted districts, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) joined with Democrats in voting to take up the flood bill.
According to Dan Friedman, “Votes like Grimm's are why political stunts happen. *** Especially in contrast with Jones and Cassidy, Grimm's vote gives Democrats a chance to attack his case for reelection: He says he is an independent, if sometimes angry, voice for his constituents. *** Democrats can point out he just voted twice with leadership against voting on a bill his constituents strongly back.”
In case you missed it last week or might have forgotten, Congressman Michael Grimm had explained that his threat to throw a NY1 reporter off a “f…..g balcony”, was partly a result of a long day “fighting for flood insurance.” After he apologized to the reporter Grimm said he was going to go back to fight for his district especially on the flood insurance issue. However, in the last two days, Grimm voted twice against bringing his own bill to delay flood insurance premium hikes to the floor. That was exactly the one that he was referring to last week.
Grimm must be losing it. This was a no brainer, he should have voted along with fellow Republicans Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) who voted for their local constituencies and not the Republican leadership. The pressure must be getting to Grimm with several major unforced errors in the space of a week.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: THE “GRIMM IS NOTHING LESS THAN A PUNK ” EDITION
ReplyDeleteCONGRESSMAN GRIMM IS CALLED "PUNK" AND A "SIDESHOW" ON RADIO PROGRAM
JACOB KORNBLUH REPORTS ON COUNCILMAN GREENFIELD’S DISPARAGING REMARKS ABOUT CONGRESSMAN GRIMM ON GREENFIELD’S RADIO SHOW WHILE INTERVIEWING DEMOCRAT DOMENIC RECCHIA
According to Jacob Kornbluh's posting on the blog J*P Updates, “The Democratic candidate challenging embattled Republican congressman Michael Grimm, former councilman Domenic Recchia promised Thursday to have a good working relationship with DC reporters. *** ‘One thing when I get to Washington, the reporters won’t have to worry about me throwing anyone off the balcony or me assaulting them,’ Mr. Recchia told Councilman David Greenfield, an ally, on his weekly radio show 620AM. ‘I am going to be the congressman for the people and work with the reporters.’ ” (See “NY11 – Recchia: Rep. Grimm Is Too Distracted By Personal Issues” by Jacob Kornbluh, 2/6/14, JP Updates [http://jpupdates.com/2014/02/06/ny11-recchia-rep-grimm-distracted-personal-issues/] with link to audio of Greenfield-Recchia interview).
Greenfield, a darling of the Brooklyn Conservative Party, did not mince words on where he stood vis a vis Congressman Grimm as he introduced Recchia on his show. Kornbluh highlighted Greenfield’s statements as follows: “‘Michael Grimm is nothing less than a punk. He runs around threatening people half his size and has got legal issues and ethical questions swirling about him’ Councilman Greenfield said as he introduced his guest coming on to the show. *** When I talk to my friends, family and people on the street or at the grocery store, I hear over and over how frustrated they are people are with this congress. This has been the most ineffective congress in history. And Michael Grimm and the Republican Party are part of the problem. They are not part of the solution’ Mr. Recchia explained why he’s running for congress. ‘Their refusal to work together for the good of the country is not just hurting our nation, it is impacting us in Staten Island and South Brooklyn.’ ”
Perhaps the most quotable stuff that came from Domenic Recchia, the only announced candidate for the Brooklyn-Staten Island district in the 2014 election, other than Grimm himself, was this: “My opponent, in congress, has been a side show. It’s unfortunate for the people in this district,” he said. “[Voters] deserve someone who’s going to have dialogue and who wants to come forward and talk about the issues… Michael Grimm is so distracted, he’s not talking about creating jobs… We need somebody that’s going to focus on the issues, not worry about his personal problems.”
Kornbluh’s post was linked on today’s Morning Read on Politicker ( See “Morning Read: ‘Many Grains of Salt’” by Colin Campbell, 2/7/14, NY Observer/ Politicker [http://politicker.com/2014/02/morning-read-many-grains-of-salt/]), so this story will probably have some legs through the weekend.
BACKFILL: THE “IT ISN’T ALL BAD NEWS FOR GRIMM” EDITION
ReplyDeleteWILL BREDDERMAN SAYS THAT RECCHIA IS NOT THE IDEAL “BROOKLYN DEMOCRAT” TO RUN AGAINST GRIMM IN THE CROSS-COUNTY DISTRICT BECAUSE OF BILL COLTON
Local columnist and reporter, Will Bredderman puts it right out there — “Will Brooklyn’s Democrats defeat Domenic Recchia’s congressional bid?” (See “Friendly fire! Recchia’s bad history with fellow Dems could wreck Congressional bid” by Will Bredderman, 2/5/14, Courier Life/ Brooklyn Daily/ Will’s Watch [http://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2014/6/ww-web-recchia-colton-grimm-2014-02-07-bk_2014_6.html]).
According to Will B. – “Races are won with the dedicated legwork of volunteers who carry petitions, staff phone banks, talk candidates up door to door, and run get-out-the-vote operations leading up to Election Day. And the man with arguably the largest ground operation in the district is one of Recchia’s most ardent enemies — Assemblyman Bill Colton (D–Bensonhurst).” Bredderman’s article/post then gives the details of what looks like a real blood feud between Colton and Recchia, but there is more to Recchia’s Brooklyn Democrat problem than only Bill Colton. “Recchia, ... faces resentment from hard-core Democrats in Bay Ridge as well, due to his close working relationship with state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) — who perhaps edges out even Grimm as the bête noire of Brooklyn liberals. Insiders describe the pair as “buddy-buddy” thanks to a heavy overlap in donors, and because of disgraced Dem boss — and Recchia ally — Vito Lopez’s long-standing arrangement not to put up serious challengers to the six-term GOP state legislator.”
Now, what would pay for Domenic Recchia’s chances of being the Democrat candidate to unseat Michael Grimm ?
Nobody has bigger blood-feud problems inside his party than Michael Grimm. By now hard core conservatives, big or little "C" hate him, and there are Republican factions, both in Brooklyn and on Staten Island that also have no use for and much less a desire to work for Grimm.
DeleteSo let's call the "no love lost for" contest between Grimm and Recchia a push, but because Republicans are much more practiced in "sitting on their hands" for candidates they don't like than Democrats are, in terms of the passive-aggressive factor, Grimm will probably suffer more.
UPDATE: THE “NOW, THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING” EDITION
ReplyDeleteMC MAHON SAYS — “STAY TUNED FOR EVERYTHING” AFTER THE S.I. SAINT PATRICK’S PARADE
AND FOSSELLA SAYS AGAIN — HE IS ALWAYS OPEN FOR ANOTHER RUN
Tom Wrobleski opened his post/ article about former congressmen Vito Fossella and Tom McMahon with the following tongue-in-cheek faux quote tag-line, “No politics, please, we're talking about education....”; he was talking about the two former congressmen’s joint appearance at a Staten Island charter school luncheon, an the interesting questions that swirled around (See “Politics the backdrop as Staten Island's Fossella, McMahon speak at education luncheon” by Tom Wrobleski, 2/6/14 - 2/7/14, Staten Island Avance/ silive.com
http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/politics_the_backdrop_as_state.html). and he continued with the following: “But you couldn't sidestep politics when the two keynote speakers at the John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School's ‘Futures of Education’ luncheon on Thursday were former Reps. Vito Fossella and Michael McMahon.... [W]ith all the controversy swirling around Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) these days, and with McMahon and Fossella both mentioned as potential House candidates, politics could be kept only so far in the shadows.”
For his part, Vito Fossella was reported to have reiterated his often-repeated signature line of late, that as far as Fossella is concerned, the door is always open to another run for the House, but that he has no plans to do so at this time.
When Mike McMahon was asked if he was looking to serve in Congress again, he answered that at the moment he was only looking "to celebrate the future of education." Then the former Democratic Congressman from Brooklyn and Staten Island noted that the annual Staten Island St. Patrick's Parade, coming next month, is the traditional, unofficial launching of Staten Island’s political season. "So I'm hibernating [until then]”, adding, "Stay tuned for everything."