Crafty move or political blunder ? --- Will Gentile's endorsement of Hillary overshadow his generally good performances in the debates with Donovan thus far ?
According to Paula Katinas' articel in the Brooklyn Eagle, "... Councilmember Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst), who is running to become the congress member representing the 11th Congressional District (Staten Island-parts of Southwest Brooklyn), announced his endorsement of Clinton on Sunday, just hours after she revealed via a Youtube video that she was running for the Democratic nomination for President in the 2016 election. *** 'Hillary has always been a champion of hardworking everyday Americans like those in Brooklyn and Staten Island. I trust Hillary to always fight for working families to ensure the path to the middle class stays paved for generations to come by raising the minimum wage, providing access to well-paying jobs, affordable housing, a good quality education and health care for all,' Gentile said in a statement on Sunday. I know Hillary will build upon the hard-fought progress we've made to make sure ordinary citizens across America will always have a fair shot to get ahead. That's how we'll keep America moving forward....' ( See "Unlike de Blasio, Gentile quickly endorses Clinton" by Paula Katinas, 4/13/15, Brooklyn Eagle [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/4/13/unlike-de-blasio-gentile-quickly-endorses-clinton]).
Why is VG getting himself mixed up in this kind of stuff ?
IS VINNIE RUNNING FOR A SPOT IN THE HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN OR IS IT FOR CONGRESS AGAINST REPUBLICAN DAN DONOVAN
My first thought when I heard about this was --- Now, there's a smart move --- surf on the wave of the current news story.Then I said to myself -- HOLD ON THERE ! Isn't this exactly the same thing that so many people want to hit John Quaglione over the head with --- for his early endorsement, and then working along-side, DA Charles "Joe" Hynes in 2013 ? And the answer certainly is --- OF COURSE IT IS --- and for all the same wrong reasons.
What makes the Vinnie Gentile endorsement of Hillary even worse, is that it actually detracted from the Gentile campaign for congress; and it was a missed opportunity for Vinnie G. to show that he is his own man. This looks like political opportunism at its worst. Councilman Gentile needs to remember that he is running against Dan Donovan and Hillary Clinton isn't on the ballot yet as the Democratic standard bearer. Unless he were trying to get a spot in the Hillary campaign for president, Councilman Gentile would have been better off getting in behind his old friend and colleague Bill De Blasio and said something like this: "I agree with Mayor De Blasio on this one, it's far too early to be endorsing Hillary Clinton."
HILLARY THING TAKES FOCUS AWAY FROM DONOVAN'S PERFORMANCE AT DEBATES AND DONOVAN'S HORRIBLE CAMPAIGN AND STAFF
Instead of having things like Donovan's Minimum Wage gaffe dominate the week's conversation, it sort of just gets mixed in ( See "Dan Donovan's bad night (commentary)" by Tom Wrobleski, 4/15/15, SI Advance/ si.live.com [http://www.silive.com/opinion/columns/index.ssf/2015/04/dan_donovans_bad_night_comment.html]; see also "Top Congressional Candidate Seemingly Doesn’t Know the Federal Minimum Wage" by Ross Barkan, 4/14/15, New York Observer/News[http://observer.com/2015/04/top-congressional-candidate-seemingly-doesnt-know-the-federal-minimum-wage/]).After just a few debates, it's beginning to look like Dan Donvovan --- and his campaign staff --- are not yet ready for prime time. That and not Hillary Clinton needs to be Vinnie Gentile's main talking point. So hopefully, he'll forget about Clinton completely between now and May 5th (unless, Hillary agrees to come into the 11th Cong. Dist. to campaign with our councilman --- that would be very interesting for EVERYBODY).
HE DID IT AND HE'S PROUD
Until then, instead of talking about women like Hillary Clinton, Gentile and his campaign should be pointing out how somebody like Jessica Proud --- by all reports,a woman --- as a spokesperson for Dan Donovan, keeps doubling down on her boss's bad answers in the debates.One wonders if she really knows what she's doing --- unless she thinks that doing things the way she does is a good thing because it keeps getting her name in the papers with her poor responses instead of her boss and his.
In any case, who candidates surround themselves with are legitimate areas of provocative inquiry and snarky commentary during a campaign.
Jessica Proud stuck a fork in Joe Lhota's mayoral campaign by fumbling the "dead cats" on the subway tracks incident.
ReplyDeleteDemocrats have decide that they want campaigns to be about whether Hillary Clinton, with the assistance of an aide close by, knows how to order a burrito at Chipotle.
ReplyDeleteAs for the minimum wage and caring about "everyday Americans": Councilman Gentile scored a few points on Donovan, because Donovan didn't seem to know what it was; but since Gentile endorsed Hillary Clinton, he has to lose points, because his girl for president was so uninformed or so cheap, she didn't leave a tip.
UPDATE & AND BACKFILL: THE "LET ME GO ON A BIT OF A TANGENT" EDITION
ReplyDeleteWHO IS JESSICA PROUD ? --- AND WHY DO I KEEP SEEING HER NAME IN NEWS STORIES ABOUT THE GENTILE-DONOVAN RACE
One of my more experienced and well-connected BSIs tipped me off a couple of weeks ago that soon Jessica Proud would be front and center making news, both for and instead-of the Dan Donovan for Congress Campaign. Although the person has myriad contacts on both sides of the aisle, let there be no doubt that this wag is solidly a GOP supporter. And, boy has what my source told me about Jessica Proud turned out to be true.
Also a while back, I admonished a prominent Bay Ridge Dem, Justin Brannan, on this blog for getting out in front of the congressional campaign for CCVG and making himself a bigger part of the story than he should. Being human, JB didn't like it; and I heard from a few of my more left-leaning BSIs, each and every one a Democrat Fifth Columnist in our ranks here at "Indepenedent... Fountainhead," that I wasn't being fair to JB. That was because, according to them, his counterpart in the Donovan Campaign, Jessica Proud, was far worse doing the same kinds of things. It's turning out that these Dems were also correct about Ms. Proud; and how she does her job.
As everybody knows by now, there was a televised debate on Tuesday ( See "NY1 Online: Congressional Candidates Face Off in Debate Hosted by NY1" by NY1 News, 4/14/15 [http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2015/04/14/ny1-online--congressional-candidates-face-off-in-debate-hosted-by-ny1.html]).
I was just looking at an article about the press releases by each side in the recent televised debate ( See "11 CD Race: Gentile, Donovan Supporters Each Claim Debate Victory" by "Kings County Politics," 4/15/15, KC Politics [http://www.kingscountypolitics.com/11-cd-race-gentile-donovan-supporters-each-claim-debate-victory/]). The problems begins where Ms. Proud is quoted giving her own tortured view of reality in trying to put a good spin on Dan Donovan's performance. The reason that I say the Proud view was "tortured" is because most of the media, and few people close to the campaign with whom I spoke, agreed that Donovan didn't do well at all in the TV debate.
Gale, this post has to go down as one of the most asinine political analyses you have ever done. There are others but this one wins as most foolish hands down. Thus far, 93 members of Congress have endorsed Hillary in her 2016 presidential run. This includes New York's Joe Crowley, Brian Higgins, Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Nita Lowry, Charles Rangel, Jose Serrano, Louise Slaughter, Kathleen Rice and many others. Additionally, 28 United States Senators (that is over 60% of the total Senate)have endorsed Hillary including our own Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuch Shumer. In endorsing Hillary, Vinny Gentile has aligned himself with the best that our government has to offer in public servants. Why in God's good name would Vinny Gentile follow along with Bill DeBlasio in his foolish self-aggrandizing statement that he needs to "wait and see" before endorsing Hillary? DiBlasio means nothing nationally. People in Iowa and New Hampshire do not give a darn what our mayor thinks - much to your surprise Gale because obviously you think the world revolves around NYC. Secondly, politically it is in Vinny's best interest to remove himself from DiBlasio and his endorsement of Hillary does just that.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that in everyone of your political posts your male chauvinistic bias against Hillary has to find its way into your analysis. It reminds me of being in law school reading Scalia opinions thinking for a brief moment he is brilliant only to realize by the end of the decision that all he cared about was spewing forth his medieval antiquated views of women's place in society. We call that intellectual dishonesty.
As far as Brannan and Proud go, she has shown herself to be far more polished and better able to spin the news the day after. To actually have people debating whether Vinny won in a debate where he clearly trounced Donovan surely shows a lack of savvy on the part of Vinny's campaign team. And we are all old enough to remember the famous visuals of Richard Nixon sweating in his debate against Kennedy. The height differential at the debate between Gentile and Donovan was painful to see simply because anyone watching should know the bias inferred. Yet, no one from Gentile's team thought ahead of time to rectify the visuals Indeed, on Errol Louis last night, it was the main discussion among the political commentators.
Btw, Hillary is rocking it in Iowa. She is the lead story every night on every news channel. And she looks absolutely gorgeous. We all love her blonde high lights and updated style.
Brooklyn4Hillary 2016
Jessica Proud also screwed up any chance Astorino had at winning.
ReplyDeleteYou're blaming Proud for Astorino's loss? That's absurd. I followed her work closely on that campaign and she was excellent.
ReplyDeleteHillary For America 2016
Proud had nothing to do with Astorino's loss. But she's screwed Lhota bad with that cat nonsense, and doesn't appear to be doing Donovan any favors either.
ReplyDeleteAnd one more thing: With Hillary at the top of the Democratic ticket it is very likely NY Dems will gain control of the State Senate in 2016. Hillary is a New Yorker and her coat tails will be long and strong in 2016. She will reinvigorate voter turn out which always helps the Democrats. DiBlasio is an a** for playing games with his endorsement of Hillary.
ReplyDeleteHillary's working it "Like a Boss" in Iowa!
Gail, at least one of your Hillary "crowd" needs remedial math program or a maybe a brief lesson about the U.S. Senate. Twenty-eight (28) is not 60% of the total Senate (just remember, 60% of a minority is an even smaller minority).
ReplyDeleteMaybe a lesson or two about Iowa might help as well. They care about Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuch Shumer ( the correct spelling is "Chooch Schumer") more than de Blasio ? Maybe in Ames, but certainly not in Davenport and Des Moines. Duh Blahs is bigger than pork belly futures in the big Ds of Iowa.
Maybe Hillary can get real folksey in a Chipotle in Keokuk and tell everybody exactly how she once made a killing in cattle futures as the "First Lady" of Arkansas - you know, like "everyday people" do it in Arkansas.
I think I'm done with Church Lady for today.
Oh, Mr. Charming, it's you again:
ReplyDeleteYou know very well I meant 60% of the Democrats. And now it is even more because Senator Patrick Leahy just announced his endorsement of Hillary.
And I am not a Church Lady - but you however can go back now to your daily job of cleaning the sacristy and ironing the priests' vestments. We women have a presidential campaign to win.
Hillary for America 2016
Jessica Proud has only worked on losing campaigns. Joe Lhota, Rob Astorino, John Faso, Maureen O'Connell, Liz Feld to name a few. Proud must be bringing some bad luck to the Donovan campaign.
ReplyDeleteYou have to give Jessica Proud credit for handling candidates like Lhota and Donovan. Lhota waged an entire campaign looking as if he had an addiction to sleeping pills. And Donovan...well...even though he will win...in debates Donovan looks like he is trying out for the role of Domenic Recchia in a movie. Donovan said China was part TPP and I'm being generous not to bring up other things he said or couldnt figure out to say.
ReplyDeleteFrom: Mr. Charming
ReplyDeleteTo: Whoever somebody thinks she might be that isn't "Church Lady"
Re: Your secret status as "Church Lady" is safe with me
I know that you are very busy with your "every day [person]" kind of friend, Hillary C [didn't used to be "RC"]. And I do know now that the "Church Lately" sobriquet is a little bothersome to you (isn't that a lovely word - "sobriquet," alt.- "soubriquet"). However, for most of what you have said, even lately, I have to say that a phrase that was made so very popular on SNL many years ago is especially apropos:
"WELL, ISN'T THAT SPECIAL!"
Nonetheless, if you could please respond directly to this question, I would be ever so grateful. DO YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE TO DANA CARVEY IN A FRUMPY DRESS?
No I do not look like Dana Carvey in a frumpy dress. NOT at all. But now I get the reference to Church Lady. It is a SNL skit.
ReplyDeleteFor all of you complaining about Jessica Proud, she is the absolute best expert on the consultant's corner on NY 1 Inside City Hall. That other GOP guy O'Brien Murray is totally obnoxious and makes anyone want to hit the mute button.
Hillary is off to New Hampshire now in the Scooby Doo van- incidentally it is the very same van she uses to run errands at her home in Chappaqua. How cool is that?
UPDATE: THE "DOESN'T HILLARY KNOW WHERE SHE CAME FROM ?" EDITION
ReplyDeleteRIGHT-WING PRESS GOES WILD AS "EVERY DAY AMERICAN[ ]" HILLARY IS CAUGHT IN A LIE ABOUT HER GRAND PARENTS --- MSM, NOT SO MUCH AS A YAWN
HILLARY'S SPOKESPERSON USES THE ELIZABETH WAREEN DEFENSE --- HILLARY REMEBERED HEARING IT, SO SHE BELIEVED IT ---- AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ! THAT'S A GOOD ONE....
THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN PRODUCED ENOUGH DOCUMENTARY MATERIAL THAT THEY COULD AND SHOULD HAVE USED TO MAKE AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF HILLARY'S LINEAGE --- THAT MAKES HILLARY A COMPLETE LIAR OR SOMEBODY WITH A RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR THE TRUTH
According to a report in Newsmax, " ... Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton flubbed her family history Wednesday, saying that all of her grandparents had immigrated to America when public records show that just one came to the United States as a child.... Speaking at an event in Iowa on her first campaign swing since announcing her candidacy, she spun a tale of an all-immigrant grandparent heritage at Capital City Fruit in Norwalk...." (See "Report: Hillary Wrong, Most of Her Grandparents Not Immigrants" by Cathy Burke, 4/15/15, Newsmax [http://www.newsmax.com/US/Hillary-Clinton-wrong-family-history/2015/04/15/id/638812/]).
Here's what Hillary said yesterday, "All my grandparents, you know, came over here, and you know my grandfather went to work in a lace mill in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and worked there until he retired at 65," Clinton said, referring to paternal grandfather Hugh Rodham Sr.; the she said, "He started there when he was a teenager and just kept going. So, I sit here and I think, well, you're talking about the second, third generation. That's me, that's you...."
Newsmax also pointed out that "... Clinton has previously talked about her grandmother immigrating. *** In spinning the tale of grandmother Hanna Jones Rodham last year, Clinton declared that her relative "immigrated with her family as a young girl to Scranton and went to work — very young ― in a silk mill, and then she met and married my grandfather, who had also come to this country as a young man from the coal-mining area in Newcastle, in England...."
However this is some of what BuzzFeed has found: "... [according to] Megan Smolenyak, who researched a story for Irish America, Clinton's grandparents were born in the United States, "with the exception of Hugh.... Smolenyak also noted that seven of Clinton's eight great-grandparents were immigrants...." Buzz Feed also noted that "Donnie Radcliffe, a Washington Post reporter who wrote a biography of Clinton, relates a similar history...." (See "Hillary Clinton Wrong On Family’s Immigration History, Records Show" by Andrew Kaczynski, 4/15/15, BuzzFeed [http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/hillary-clinton-wrong-on-familys-immigration-history-records?utm_term=.ptMN5oVj5#.ehAlmpO1P]).
WASN'T THIS THE ELIZABETH WARREN DEFENSE ABOUT BEING A NATIVE AMERICAN ?
In an attemped response, a Clinton spokepeson has said that "[Hillary Clinton's] grandparents always spoke about the immigrant experience, and as a result she has always thought of them as immigrants.... As has been correctly pointed out, while her grandfather was an immigrant, it appears that Hillary's grandmother was born shortly after her parents and siblings arrived in the U.S. in the early 1880s....
The conservative press/media sources for this story and several other right-leaning media operations ran with the story above.
And from the MSM: [blank screen and the sound of crickets...]
Maybe Anonymous at 3:52 pm needs to do a clarification about her "Scooby Doo Van" comment. To most everyday Americans "it is the very same van she uses to run errands at her home in Chappaqua" means that Hillary would do the driving. But the papers and TV say that she doesn't drive anymore.
ReplyDeleteCBS news says that back in 2014, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confessed that she hadn’t driven a car in nearly two decades. And at the time, Hillary herself said, “One of the regrets I have about public life is that I can't drive anymore.... The last time I actually drove a car myself was 1996."
She drove vince foster to dump his body in that park
ReplyDeleteHillary's campaign roll out this week was absolutely flawless. Starting with the perfect video focusing on all Americans to her small group meeting throughout Iowa, the media can't get enough of Hillary! And she looks stunning. Few women can pull off wearing kelly green as well as Hills - except Maureen O'Hara she could too.
ReplyDeleteThe Repubs are in New Hampshire this weekend for some hoe down. I hope they don't steal Hills' thunder.
There is no Hillary thunder -- this time around.
ReplyDeleteDe Blasio had it right when he said that it's been a long time since 2000; and that people need to wait and see about backing Hillary.
That includes Scooby Doo van tours -- let's wait and see how that plays in 2015.
The Scooby Doo van was a phony in 2000 and Hillary got a pass from the media and all the folks you can fool all of the time. This time a few reporters are doing their job and calling Hillary out every day for her phoniness, lack of candor and lack of real accessibility.
For example, her casual sit-downs are neither casual nor with "everyday Americans" but are scripted events with fully vetted Democrat shills and operatives. But this time Hillary and her handlers got caught doing it.
And since when does "press availability" mean "no questions"? Hillary is not fooling as many of the folks this time.
If Hillary keeps this up, she'll lose the Democratic nomination to nobody in particular who is ABHC (ANYBODY BUT HILLARY CLINTON).
"DiBlasio had it right" Well there you have it. Is there anything less palatable and more nauseating in NYC politics than a left of left leftist who apologizes and makes excuses for everything Bill DiBlasio does? Makes a feminist almost wistful for Mr. Charming. No, Mayor DiBlasio has not earned the right to speak for the progressive wing of the Democratic party. He is grandstanding and he looks the fool for doing so. He can barely keep his own city in order and we NYers say nothing that he is travelling around the country pretending to be Saul Alinsky. Secondly, he has completely lost the message. No one is listening to him about income inequality - all we are reading about is his snub of Hillary. He has lost many supporters with this move and it will not go unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteBay Ridge Loves Hillary Too 2016
Hello above above to my BDB drinking buddy: Ed Cox the chair of the NY GOP just sent out a press release criticizing DiBlasio for his traveling around the country and not focusing on NYC matters. Cox also mentions DiBlasio's ill-timed non-endorsement of Hillary and is implicitly critical of it. Hmmm, does the NY GOP sense an inevitability in the Hillary presidency.
ReplyDeleteHello.
ReplyDeleteTime magazine has named Hillary one of the Top 100 Leaders in the World. You can read the excellent profile of Hillary at their website.
Hillary's video announcing her candidacy has over four million views. Her roll out week has been universally declared overwhelmingly successful. Now it is on to New Hampshire to again meet and listen to the needs and concerns of hard-working Americans.
There is also another meeting in New Hampshire this weekend. Apparently it is a gathering of all Republicans who will never be president. They are discussing something called Chiptotle-ghazi. The Ben one imploded on them.
Brooklyn Loves Hillary 2016