Saturday, July 19, 2014

In 2014 most Republican and Conservative incumbents in Brooklyn are in the worst shape ever — That means Grimm and Golden — but not Malliotakis*

GOP-Cons slate for re-election, Michael Grimm and Marty Golden, are immersed in investigations, caught in a swirl of indictments or mired in political scandals and screw-ups

Brooklyn GOP and Conservative Party are ravaged by internal turmoil that is spilling over into efforts for two threatened incumbent office holders


Earlier this week, it was reported that in June 2014, former City Councilman Dominic Recchia, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress against Micheal Grimm raised ten times (10X ) the campaign money that Grimm did (See “Rep. Michael Grimm's fundraising in the dumps following indictment” by Dan Friedman, 7/16/14, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rep-michael-grimm-fund-raising-dumps-article-1.18]). That is certainly not “the least of Grimm’s problems”; however, even though it probably ranks right behind the fact that he is under indictment for about twenty different Federal charges, Grimm’s re-election effort is beset by many other problems as well.

For example, having a blow-up appear in the city-wide press over so-called “bigoted” remarks made by Grimm’s new campaign manager Guy Molinari and  Staten Island Republican Party Vice Chairman Bill D’Ambrosio is not a good thing (See “Grimm campaign defends supporter’s ‘bigoted’ remarks” by Carl Campanile, 7/10/14, NY Post/ Metro [http://nypost.com/2014/07/10/grimm-campaign-defends-supporters-bigoted-remarks/]). If nothing else, with Guy Molinari's doubling-down on D'Ambrosio's fundraising gaff, the two of them turned their "bgotry"  into an ongoing campaign issue  —  that is a major screw-up  —  and with Guy Molinari running things, there will be lots more as Grimm's campaign proceeds.

Grimm is the only the TOP local Republican-Conservative incumbent running in the last remaining GOP-Conservative “stronghold” in Brooklyn. NEXT on the list of seriously threatened incumbents is State Senator Martin J. Golden. Based on a recent GOP-Conservative Party event held in Southwest Brooklyn, Grimm and Golden appear to be campaigning as running mates in the overlapping parts of their districts. For now, Golden looks to be in somewhat better shape than Grimm  —  but that can change with the next big headline or other negative disclosure.

Regular readers of this blog know full well about State Senator Golden’s long-term problems with the Kings County Republican Party under County Chairman Craig Eaton, all of which came to a head in early 2013 when Golden personally attacked Eaton with political innuendo and myriad insinuations of possible criminal acts; and that was followed by three failed attempts to oust Eaton  —  once at the polls, once at the party convention and once in NYS Supreme Court. Those combined acts were probably one of the biggest series of political screw-ups by (a) political professional(s) in a very long time. As a result, right now, about half of the Republican activists in the Golden State Senate District do not support the re-election of Marty Golden; and several of the GOP organization clubs did not carry Golden’s 2014 petitions.

In addition to all of that, there are percolating investigations flowing out of the NYS Moreland Commission, the NYC DOI and various local and Federal prosecutors that have already mentioned Golden’s staff members, insiders and a associates; and such percolating investigations do threaten to boil over and possibly scald Golden sooner rather than later.

These combined problems mean that many Republicans, Conservatives and conservative-minded Democrats who live in the overlapping Grimm-Golden districts in Brooklyn do not support either Golden or Grimm. Many of the Republican activists have even openly stated that they intend to be active in support of Grimm’s or Golden’s Democrat opponents; a few might even be actively supporting both of the Democrats opposing Grimm and Golden. This kind of open crossing-over from Republican, Conservative and or other conservative-minded voters to Democrats is something that is very new and very rare, and it’s impact cannot readily be measured on either Grimm or Golden at this time. In any case, this is the year of the “Eric Cantor effect” —  and that effect was only narrowly avoided by long-time Republican warhorse Thad Cochran because of cross-over liberal Democratic votes.  Ask yourself this   —   which phenomenon will be more likely to occur vis a vis Golden and/or Grimm  —  Cantor's or Cochran's ?

At one time or another over the last year or two, both of these establishment Republicans  —  Grimm and Golden  —  have been strongly attacked at meetings of the Brooklyn Tea Party.  Any serious Republican or Conservative Party member should know that in many parts of Southwest Brooklyn either or both Grimm and/or Golden can suffer the “full-Cantor treatment” this November.

So, where are Grimm and/or Golden going to pick up enough loose votes to make up for that ?
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*A much-quoted political consultant indicated to me that Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis is the most popular Republican-Conservative in Southwest Brooklyn and that she should have been tapped to run for the U.S. Congressional seat now held by Michael Grimm.

13 comments:

  1. yeah Golden is in real trouble. I have more money in my pocket than the guy running against him.

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  2. Golden's problem is that he's funneled so much campaign and government money into his family's catering hall that the Feds are taking a real close look.

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  3. How is that a federal problem?

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  4. Can we get somer more info on this part:

    "There are percolating investigations flowing out of the NYS Moreland Commission, the NYC DOI and various local and Federal prosecutors that have already mentioned Golden’s staff members"

    Which members if you can?

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  5. REPLY: THE “THIS IS OLD NEWS, FOLKS” EDITION

    TO: "Anonymous said.... July 19, 2014 at 8:09 PM" above

    State Senator Martin Golden’s Chief of Staff Jerry Kassar is specifically mentioned on page 5 of the Executive Summary of the DOI Report of Mark G. Peters at the notation: “ . Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 9:42 a.m.: ... to Gerard Kassar ( at [blacked out] ), Chairman of the Brooklyn Conservative Party....” (See “Document: The New York City Department of Investigation’s Findings on Charles J. Hynes” [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/03/nyregion/03brooklyn.html]; see also [http://www.scribd.com/doc/227902521/DOI-Hynes-report]; the DOI document is linked in/to NY Times article, “Ex-Brooklyn Prosecutor Charles J. Hynes Accused of Misuse of Funds” by Stephanie Clifford & Willaim K. Rashbaumjune, 6/2-6/3/14, NY Times
    [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/nyregion/charles-hynes-brooklyn-district-attorney-inquiry.html?_r=0]).

    I wonder what’s under the blacked out portion describing where Golden’s Chief of Staff Gerard Kassar was “at” ! My guess is that could sort of make what percolates out of the DOI report cover Golden and the whole of Golden’s staff wouldn’t it ? Maybe, you see it differently.

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  6. UPDATE: THE “PASS THE PARCEL” EDITION

    GRIMM CHANGES COUNSEL AT 11TH HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED APPEARANCE ON CHARGES IN FEDERAL COURT THIS COMING MONDAY

    NO EXPLANATION FOR SECOND SWITCH OF ATTORNEYS BY STATEN ISLAND CONGRESSMAN UNDER FEDERAL CHARGES


    Tom Wrobleski of the Staten Island Advance reports that “Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) has a new attorney in his federal indictment case. *** Florida attorney Daniel L. Rashbaum, a former federal prosecutor, will represent Grimm going forward, according to court papers. *** Rashbaum, of the Miami-based Marcus Neiman & Rashbaum LLP (MNR), replaces the father/daughter legal team of Jonathan and Elizabeth Kase, which handled the early stages of Grimm's federal case following his indictment in April....” (See “New attorney for GOP Rep. Michael Grimm with court date coming on Monday” by Tom Wrobleski, 7-18-14 | [http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/07/new_attorney_for_gop_rep_micha.html] [wrobleski@siadvance.com]).

    Wrobleski also noted that — “It is not known why the switch was made. *** When reached by the Advance on Friday, Rashbaum said that he had filed notice with the court to take over Grimm's defense, but that it had not yet been officially approved by the court. He said he had no comment beyond that....”; also that “Ms. Kase did not immediately return an email from the Advance seeking comment about the switch in attorneys [and] Grimm's office also did not immediately comment....”; and “Before the Kases, attorney William McGinley of Washington-based Patton Boggs represented Grimm....”

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  7. UPDATE: THE “OUCHA MUGGOUCHA ! GOTCHA, JERRY KASSAR” EDITION

    KASSAR RESPONDS TO WHAT APPEARED ON THIS BLOG

    BROOKLYN CONSERVATIVE LEADER FEELS NEED TO DEFEND CHRISTINE SISTO AS ONE OF HIS OWN

    STUNTS LIKE THIS BY KASSAR AND OTHERS ARE KILLING GRIMM AND GOLDEN

    I remember Jerry Kassar once telling me that blogs like mine don’t matter.... (Cue Barbra Streisand – “... [Memories...of] The Way We Were ”).

    Fast forward to Kassar’s column for this week; and its ultimate “talking point” about Christine Sisto. How absolutely chivalrous, if not absolutely fabulous, of Kassar to leap to the defense of NROL writer, Christine Sisto, from the gentle jibes contained in my 6/30/14 post, “The Curious case of Christine Sisto,” below on this blog. In that light-hearted piece I tried to raise some simple rhetorical points concerning who was pulling Christine Sisto’s strings, and were there some ulterior forces at work. I guess Kassar’s column this week pretty much answered those questions. Btw, I’ll bet that Christine’s “boy friend” was all over Kassar to do something to make it all stop.... I even got phone calls from two of my “Baker Street Irregular” FOBs [friends of the “boy friend”] to ease up.

    However, for Kassar to write, “Regardless of your view on the issue [whether NROL is the most significant conservative publication in the nation ?], it’s worth noting that [ ] the writer [of] what was clearly read by individuals from throughout the country are from our community...” is exactly the kind of short-sighted, parochialism-first approach that has made Kassar’s Brooklyn Conservative Party look like a dying polar bear on a melting piece of ice flow (See “Common Sense: Unaffordable Care Act” by Jerry Kassar, 7/14/14, Home Reporter/ Spectator [http://www.homereporternews.com/news/government/common-sense-unaffordable-care-act/article_045220d0-0ba4-11e4-8319-0019bb2963f4.html]). Yet again, Kassar is showing everybody just how insular and incestuous his shrinking band of acolytes are in Brooklyn (and Staten Island).

    In answer to Kassar and his column: What we really don’t need here in Brooklyn is somebody like Sisto holding up this kind of local stuff for the whole nation to see.

    Everybody that thinks stuff like this helps in the re-election efforts for Michael Grimm and/or Marty Golden — just raise your hands — better still, comment below and say so...

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  8. I object to your using the image of a dying polar bear on a melting iceberg to represent this fellow Kassar and his conservative party in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Conservatives are climate change deniers and don't give a damn about dying polar bears.

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  9. Can you name a bill that Malliotakis sponsored and has passed?

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  10. You'll have to ask Christine Sisto; it's her job to flack for candidates endorsed by her "boy friend's" Brooklyn South Conservative Club....

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  11. UPDATE: THE “KASSAR’S CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST — 2014 OPPORTUNITY TO BALLOT” EDITION

    2012's OPPORTUNITY TO BALLOT ON CONSERVATIVE LINE BY SIMCHA FELDER SERVES AS MODEL FOR A PAIR OF ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES’ TRYING TO DO SAME THING IN 2014

    IS BROOKLYN CONSERVATIVE CHAIRMAN JERRY KASSAR LOSING GRIP ON CONSERVATIVE PARTY LINE IN ORTHODOX JEWISH NEIGHBORHOODS ?

    Kassar’s 2012 stab in the back to David Storobin in failing to police the Conservative Party line against an Opportunity to Ballot by a not very conservative Democrat Simcha Felder is being copied in 2014 by a pair of somewhat more conservative Democrats, David Axelrod and Carl Caller in the 45th and 48th ADs respectively.

    Given the history of the community and the areas involved, which largely overlap Simcha Felder’s State Senate District, it’s beginning to look like Kassar has little control over his Conservative Party’s line in Boro Park, Midwood and some points south towards Graves End and Sheepshead Bay.

    Moving forward, I’ll keep everybody posted on how Kassar’s 2014 defense of his Conservative Party line goes.

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  12. UPDATE: THE “WALLS ARE CLOSING IN ON GRIMM” EDITION

    PROSECUTORS STATE THAT THEY ARE READY TO TRY GRIMM IN OCTOBER

    GRIMM HAS CHANCE CAN CLEAR HIS NAME BEFORE ELECTION DAY IF HE REALLY WANTS TO

    According to the Staten Island Advance’s top political reporter, Tom Wrobleski, “Federal prosecutors want GOP Rep. Michael Grimm's tax evasion trial to start in October, a month before Election Day. *** Speaking at a status conference in Brooklyn federal court on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Gatta said that motion procedures and hearings in the case could be held by the end of September, with a trial to begin the following month....” (See “Feds look to start trial of GOP Rep. Michael Grimm in October, one month before Election Day” by Tom Wrobleski, 7/21/14, SI Advance/ silive.com [http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/07/feds_look_to_start_trial_of_go.html#incart_river]). In response, Grimm’s new attorney, Daniel Rashbaum, indicated that he might need some more time to look at the evidence against his client. U.S. District Court Judge Pamela K. Chen, the judge on the case, said that the Grimm side had the bulk of the evidence in the case in its possession for about two months now; and that she didn’t view that the switch to Rashbaum as Grimm’s attorney required starting from the beginning.

    It still is not known why Rashbaum replaced attorneys Elizabeth and Jonathan Kase as Grimm’s attorney in the case. Both Mr.Rashbaum and Ms. Kase declined to comment about the case after appearing at Monday's proceeding.

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  13. UPDATE: THE "SOMEBODY IN THIS PARADE IS OUT OF STEP" EDITION

    JUST LOOK AT ROSS BRADY'S CONSERVATIVE PARTY BLOG

    The single digit Conservative Party has become a sick joke that is its own punch line.

    Ross is a nice guy, but did he actually read the Daily News article about Nicole Malliotakis that he touted and linked on the Conservative Party's official blog ? If the article was about Malliotakis' position on the children "refugees" from the Mexican border, then it was one in which she looks like she lost the "have you no decency" part of the debate on the issue.

    Also on another of Brady's featured posts, a bigger picture and longer view of the City's current problems would find the Conservative Party's honoring a head of the Firemen's Union to be ridiculous. Cops and firemen and their pensions and benefits will more surely destroy this city than any fires or crimes that they are here to protect us against. JUST LOOK AT DETROIT....

    For a long time now, the "Six-percent Party" has been selling-out its philosophy and principles, along with its specific positions opposing waste and big government, just to sell a few tables at their dinners.

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