April came and went --- that means that almost 20% of the time until the 2017 GOP primary came and went

Did any of the announced Republican candidates for public office advance their campaigns 20% toward a win at the finish line on primary day ???


During the last month,  did anybody in any faction inside the Republican Party infrastructure advance the GOP as a whole 20%, or even the standing of their own faction inside the party, toward a goal of organizing and/or re-organizing the party in September ???

Let’s start with the candidates citywide  ---  well, let’s say that a 20% improvement on an infinitesimally small number might be impossible to observe and measure.   For example,  the little bit of talk about Nicole Malliotakis possibly being interested in a run for mayor was possibly a 20% uptick in the news about GOP mayoral candidates…..   Like I said,  very difficult to observe, much less measure.   As for the NYC Public Advocate and NYC Comptroller races  ---  it’s like we’re at a crickets’ late summer symphony.

The county-wide races in Brooklyn have been a wasteland for years;  so, 20% of nothing is nothing.   That means as far as the GOP is concerned,  everything is right on track for picking  BP and  DA candidates from the Democrat’s or Conservative’s list,  or something becoming really typical,  leaving the lines blank.

So far in 2017,  the City Council candidacies are a huuuuuuuge embarrassment for the GOP…..   There is a contested primary in only one of Brooklyn’s council districts,  the 43rd;  and I know of only one other declared Republican candidate for the NY City Council in one other council district,  who has registered and is campaigning.   Needless to say, the contested seat in the 43^rd Counc. Dist. has generated the most interest and gotten the most coverage  ---  but in April, 2017,  the contestants appear to have cut back their activities 40 to 50%  rather than advance their image and brand 20%.....   (It reminds me of overhearing a consultant advising one of the candidates late this winter  ---  that brilliant sage advised one of the three candidates in the 43^rd Counc. Dist. that there was nothing much to do until petitioning,  except some fund raising and getting your name in the papers.   I must have missed that adviser’s sit-downs with the other two candidates,  because all three seem to be reading from his playbook.)   Maybe,  the next financial filings will show that everybody was busy as bees fund-raising in April  (but, I’m not holding my breath on that one).

Now,  for the Kings County Republican Party’s organizing efforts throughout Brooklyn.   Everybody’s stealth campaigns to organize the NY State and Kings County Committees have been 100% successful in attaining their goals for stealth…..

Liam McCabe did something that a lot of people on the GOP side of things in Brooklyn don't do very often --- HE STEPPED UP --- AND --- HE STOOD OUT…..

Republican City Council candidate speaks out at left-Democrat "Resist" event, presented by something called "Fight Back Bay Ridge" *  ---  which was falsely billed as a "Town Hall" held at Marty Golden's Bay Ridge Manor

Maybe, some of you read my earlier comment about Liam McCabe’s latest exploits  ---  It was posted on the thread to the post immediately below  (See my 4/24/17 Comment, “UPDATE FROM LEFT FIELD: THE "HORATIO AT THE BRIDGE" EDITION”  to my 4/22/17 post  “The Reverend Khader El-Yateem is a candidate like we have never seen before”).   In that comment I mentioned that I needed to do a more complete post about Liam McCabe’s going into the Democrats’ and other leftists’ den  and bearding their latest lion  ---  Well, here it is.

To the uninitiated, the latest in left-footed, left-leaning  “lions”  are these so-called “Town Halls” to express outrage aimed at incumbent Republican Congressmen in what some people conceive of as competitive districts.  In this case it was the “Town Hall” gathering of the clans last week at Marty Golden’s home ballfield,  the Bay Ridge Manor  ---  organized by something called  “ Fight Back Bay Ridge” [see more about that group below at " * "].  

Several reports about the April 19th meeting organized by  “Fight Back Bay Ridge”  told the tale of Liam McCabe standing up to bell the cat and tell everybody what was really afoot at the Bay Ridge Manor that night  (See  “Donovan constituents come together at community-organized town hall” by  Meaghan McGoldrick  [with photo of Liam McCabe at the event],  4/20/17,  Brooklyn Reporter   [http://brooklynreporter.com/story/donovan-constituents-come-together-community-organized-town-hall/];  “Sparks Fly Across The Aisle As Bay Ridge Hosts Town Hall In Lieu Of Congressman”  by  Carly Miller,  4/21/17,  brooklyner.com   [https://bklyner.com/sparks-fly-across-aisle-bay-ridge-hosts-town-hall-lieu-congressman/];  “Bay Ridgites host town hall for Donovan — who didn’t show" by Caroline Spivak, 4/24/17, The Brooklyn Paper [http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/40/17/br-donovan-fake-town-hall-2017-04-28-bk.html]). 

The most detailed and definitive report appears to have be the one that showed up on the blog, brooklyner.com [ it also showed a photograph of Liam McCabe while he was speaking at the ”Fight Back Bay Ridge event].   According to that report,  McCabe was  “….   ‘The only Republican in the room’…   But some feel that the event was lacking in healthy debate — and inclusion — from both sides of the aisle….   ‘They didn’t call anyone from the Republican world and didn’t have any panelists that represent our interests. It was more of a leftist pow wow or rally against Trump and Donovan,’ said Liam McCabe, a former aid to Donovan and a Republican City Council candidate.   This was an agenda-driven rally as opposed to a town hall.’   McCabe admits that Republican events don’t reach across the aisle either, and that’s something that needs to change….”

MC CABE’S OWN VERSION OF HOW IT WENT DOWN

Early on Monday,  I had a chance to talk to Mr. McCabe about the goings on at the Bay Ridge Manor.   He said that none of the reports so far gave a real taste of how things went down at the  “Bay Ridge Fights Back”  forum.

According to Liam, as soon as he was identified as a questioner,  which occurred rather late in the proceedings,  there were a variety of hoots, hisses, boos and catcalls by many of the attendees.   He said his question was simple and straightforward  ---  how many people there were Republicans and had even voted for Congressman Donovan or President Trump.   McCabe then told me that once he had asked his question,  some started shouting that he was only there to disrupt and distract from the criticism of his old boss,  Congressman Donovan.

Liam McCabe then made this assertion:   “I wasn’t there to distract or disrupt anything.  But,  I did want to make the point that the event had been billed as a “Town Hall” with elected officials,  and it was nothing of the sort….”   Then he said to me,  “It obviously was a left-wing partisan event to drive a particular anti-Donovan, anti-Republican narrative….”  He continued by saying,   It wasn’t a balanced or centrist event in any way;  and the only outreach was to and by leftist groups like the Bay Ridge Dems….”   Then he said the proof is in the record  ---  “Look at the extremist groups that the  ‘Bay Ridge Fights Back’ organizers listed as their  ‘co-sponsors’  and  ‘panelists.’…”

Liam McCabe also told me that It wasn’t until he was preparing to leave that two or three women came up to him and whispered their thanks for his being there and speaking up the way that he did.   One of the women said she too was a Republican and that the so called  “Town Hall”  was nothing like she had been told it would be.

LIAM MC CABE'S CLAIM ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE SO-CALLED "TOWN HALL" IS BACKED BY A PUBLICALLY REPORTED RECORD THAT SHOWS  ---  THIS PRESENTATION BY  “BAY RIDGE FIGHTS BACK”  WAS NEITHER FAIR AND BALANCED,   NOR WAS IT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE POLITICS OF THE MAJORITY OF THE BAY RIDGITES THAT IT PRETENDS TO REPRESENT

According to the Brooklyn Reporter article, cited above,  this so-called  “Town Hall” event was  >>>CO-SPONSORED <<<  by  “…   350 BK, the Alliance for Quality Education, the Arab-American Family Support Center, the Association of Muslim American Lawyers, CAIR New York, the Jericho Project, Metro New York Healthcare for All, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, the New York State Nurses Association, Staten Island for Change and Veterans for Peace Chapter 34….”   And the “…panelists included Jennifer Durkin, partner at Durkin & Puri, LLP; Danielle Castaldi-Micca, director of Governmental and Political Affairs for the National Institute for Reproductive Health; Kit Kennedy, director of the Energy and Transportation Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council; Tori Lyon, chief executive officer of the Jericho Project; and Andrea Shapiro, program coordinator for the Metropolitan Council on Housing….”

MCCABE SAYS HE WASN’T PULLING A STUNT EITHER  ---  HE SAYS,  “…  IT HAD TO BE DONE  …”

I put it to Liam,  was this a well-timed stunt or did he have a good reason to be at such a patently leftish agenda-driven forum only intended to benefit hard-core Democrats.

His answer seemed quite sincere;  and to many it might even border on the inspirational.   

Here’s how he answered me,  “I wasn’t there to defend my friend and old boss,  Dan Donovan.  At least not per se;  but my intent was to defend the Republican brand;  and in Bay Ridge,  that includes  Marty Golden,  Nicole Malliotakis  and  Dan Donovan.  Once I saw what was going down,  that my worst suspicions were right,  I had to speak up.   I might have made as many as 400 enemies,  but I think it had to be done….”  There  was a little more,   but nothing as good as that part.

Don’t get me wrong,  as far as I’m concerned,  Mr. Liam McCabe is far from a perfect Republican candidate for NY City Council or any other office at the present time.   However, more and more he’s showing that he is a real diamond in the rough.   It’s even possible that his time might be coming a lot sooner than I and many others would have thought.

__________________________________

* Just who are the  “Fight Back Bay Ridge”  crowd ?
... And,  just what are they fighting against ?
  

A quick look at their Twitter site will tell and show you all that you need to know:   their logo is a raised fist above the word  “RESIST”;  their self-description is internally inconsistent, and minimally it is deceptive, if not an outright lie,   “…  Fight Back Bay Ridge@FightBackBR....   Fight Back Bay Ridge is a grassroots organizing group founded in November 2016 to mobilize in south Brooklyn for progressive action and localized support….”;   the rest is routine non-factual Democrat-liberal-progressive propaganda,  mostly in the form of Re-Tweets,  like our old friends the  “HRC Volunteers”  under their various names and styles.

More important that  “what”  they are fighting against is  “who”  they are fighting against  ---  That answer is simple and obvious  ---  THE  “WHO”  IS YOU,  and  THE  “WHAT”  IS  LOTS OF THE THINGS THAT YOU BELIEVE IN  ! ! !

The Reverend Khader El-Yateem is a candidate like we have never seen before

Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Bath Beach need to wake up and smell the coffee  ---  a new majority governing coalition is FORMING  ---  it just might win in 2017

Not only do the latest tea leaves, polling trends, and animal entrails show that it’s  “LAST HURRAH”  time for the GOP and Conservative Party in Brooklyn  ---  traditional local Democrats like Abbate,  Brannan  and Carroll might also be headed to an  “ELEPHANTS GRAVEYARD” of their very own

According to a report that recently appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle  ---  The Reverend Yhader El Yateem is clearly looking past the upcoming Democrat Primary  ---  AND  ---  He has a plan to win, or at least contend for, Republican-leaning voters in November

A few days ago,  Paula Katinas,  writing for the Brooklyn Eagle,  said that:   “Rev. Khader El-Yateem, the first Palestinian-American to run for the City Council seat representing Bay Ridge, appears to be shaking up the race for more reasons than just the historic nature of his candidacy, according to political observers, who said he is making notable efforts to differentiate himself from the rest of the Democratic field….   El-Yateem told members of the South Brooklyn Progressive Resistance at a forum the group held on April 18 that he was confident he could get Republicans to cross over and vote for him in the general election in November….”  (See  “El-Yateem boasts of ability to attract GOP voters”  by Paula Katinas,  4/20/17,  Brooklyn Daily Eagle  [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/4/20/el-yateem-boasts-ability-attract-gop-voters]).

DEMOCRATS MIGHT BE MORE UPSET AND/OR IMPRESSED THAN REPUBLICANS

This article prompted several of my regular team of Baker Street Irregulars to zip off E-mails with links to the Brooklyn Eagle-Khader article.   Two of those “heads-up” deals were from a pair of Democrat wags,  one is still quite active;  the other is an old war horse,  who has been very non-aligned lately.  

The initial E-mail that came to me was from a well-known Democrat Party activist,  and it contained this very interesting comment in the subject heading:   “This guy is insane….  [clearly referring to candidate El-Yateem].   I can’t go into any more of what this operative’s insightful and inciting observations about the reverend-candidate are at the present time,  because this faithful servant doesn’t want his identity or his current pre-primary activities and alliances to be revealed.

Another long-time Democrat who earlier had sent me the Khader-Brooklyn Eagle link, later on followed-up with an observation that was quite surprising. It was accompanied by this subject line:  “Eagle:  El-Yateem says he can get GOP votes…”.   Furthermore, according to this often-quoted Democrat-leaning wag,   "El-Yateem has nailed down the progressive Bernie Sanders vote which is all that counts in a democratic primary. Now El-Yateem is explaining how he can win the November election. Abbate, Justin and the others will never realize this till 10 pm on primary night.…  In a primary whenever its one progressive against three political hacks the progressive wins….!!"

THE VENUE OF REV. KHADER EL-YATEEM'S REMARKS ABOUT GOP VOTERS DOES SEEM UNUSUAL  ---   BASED ON >>> WHERE AND TO WHOM <<< IT WAS SAID

That a given candidate might claim a special ability to obtain a significant number of cross-over votes is not unusual; in fact, it is almost pedestrian.  However, in this instance, what makes this claim by the Reverend El-Yateem stand out is that it was made at a forum conducted by the >>>South Brooklyn Progressive Resistance <<<.....

It just isn't part of the normal political idiom to brag about the ability to attract conservative voters at a progressive event....

But that's part of what makes the Reverend-candidate El-Yateem  >>>  a candidate like we have never seen before.....

If the U.S.A. actually deploys Three (3) Carrier Strike/Battle Groups to the waters between Japan and Korea --- That is a big deal...

USS RONALD REAGAN and USS NIMITZ have been "designated" to join USS CARL VINSON in the Western Pacific and to conduct joint exercises with the JMSDF (Japanese Navy) and/or with the Armed Forces of South Korea

Three deployed aircraft carrier battle groups is about half of  America's readily-deployible aircraft carriers and at-sea naval air groups  ---  there are about five carrier strike/battle groups at sea; in addition to the three above, USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER is in the North Atlantic and USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH is in the Indian Ocean near the Persian Gulf.

Various MSM news outlets and conservative blogs have lit up with news that two additional carriers have been committed to the WestPac area around Japan and Korea.....

Assembling that much naval strength in relatively close proximity to a global >>> HOT SPOT <<< not a little deal.....

Is Tomorrow’s Georgia Special Election a Precursor of the 2017 Primary and General Election in one of Brooklyn’s City Council Districts

Nate Silver indicates that the Georgia result tomorrow is likely to be inconclusive  ---  BUT  ---  Silver’s Georgia tea leaves might be predictive of how things might go in Southwest Brooklyn come September & November

 

According to Nate Silver’s most recent look at tomorrow’s special election in Georgia,   “If the polls are right, then Democrat Jon Ossoff will receive by far the most votes in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, which is holding a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom Price on Tuesday.  But Ossoff will probably finish with less than 50 percent of the vote, which would trigger a runoff between him and the next-highest finisher — most likely the Republican Karen Handel, but possibly one of three other Republicans (Bob Gray, Dan Moody Judson Hill) who are closely bunched behind her in polls….   Furthermore, the combined vote for all Republican candidates will probably exceed the combined vote for Ossoff and other Democrats, although it should be close. And the district has historically been Republican-leaning, although it was much less so in the 2016 election than it had been previously. All of this makes for a fairly confusing set of circumstances and a hard-to-forecast outcome….”  (See  “Handicapping The Georgia 6 Special Election”  by Nate Silver,  4/17/17,  FiveThirtyEight   [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/handicapping-the-georgia-6-special-election/]).

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH WHO GETS TO BE THE “TOP BANANA” OUT OF A BUNCH THAT IN MID-APRIL INCLUDES:  BRANNAN,  ABBATE,  EL YATEEM, TONG, CARROLL, CAPANO, MC CABE  &  QUAGLIONE ? ? ?

Maybe, tomorrow’s vote in Georgia will be more conclusive about what will happen in Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Bath Beach,  Brooklyn, in November than who actually will be the replacement in congress for HHS Secretary Tom Price after tomorrow…..    When you get into the guts of the Nate Silver analysis,  you’ll see that the Georgia 6^th Congressional District is one of those Red-turning-to-Purple districts that very likely will stay in the Republican herd after all is said and done…..   Also you’ll see that getting into the guts of anything with Nate Silver will very quickly will get you out into the weeds of polling,  statistics and regression, both mathematical and psychological…..

Nonetheless,   this much is very plain and easy to see:   the Georgia 6^th is much more  “REPUBLICAN” than the 43^rd NYC Council District in Brooklyn…..  So, if the by far leading Democrat,  Jon Ossoff,  wins by obtaining 50+ percent of the vote tomorrow,  it will be very likely that 2017 is going to be a very bad year for Republicans everywhere,  and that includes in the Brooklyn-NYCC 43rd.   If Ossoff gets significantly below his lowest polling-projection of 41% (still a number well ahead of the rest of the pack),   the  picture for Democrats going forward is bleak,   both in the Georgia 6h and elsewhere.   More generally,  anything that Nate Silver says is a good indicator for Ossoff;   just take the opposite as a good indicator for the top Republican vote-getter in the Georgia 6^th Cong. Dist.   Even more generally,  the same is true about Republicans running in 2017 outside of the Georgia 6th,  but to a somewhat lesser extent of accuracy and over-all predictability.

Silver sees Ossoff getting somewhere BETWEEN the low-polling number of 41%  and a winning number of 50+%.....  That means the prediction o a run-off in the Georgia 6^th.  And that’s where Silver takes a real deep dive into the weeds.    Nonetheless,  a very important number and easy to see number is the aggregate Republican vote compared to the aggregate Dem vote.   If the Republicans hover around 50%  (and, heaven forbid, fall below it even a tiny bit),  that’s good for Ossoff and the Democrats  ---  if the aggregate Democrat vote is below 45%,  then that’s bleak for Ossoff and the Dems.

Here’s something that Silver said near the end of his column  ---  perhaps as important as all of that number crunching,  the overall Democrat-Republican bias in the district might skew any result on the final [run-off] election day.  As a result, even a very strong performance for Ossoff and the Democrats might not indicate a lot about the following  run-off, even if it very closely falls short of the 50+% needed to win on the first election day.

A similar fate might await any final GOP candidate running against any final Democratic Party candidate for the City Council in the 43^rd Counc. Dist.   First,  it is not likely that any Democrat running in  the 43rd Council District primary is likely to be as prohibitive a favorite as Jon Ossoff appears to be in Georgia's 6th Congressional District,  nor will they sweep the Democrat City Council  field on Primary Day by any ratio close to 40+%  to 1%, 2%  or  3%.....   On the other hand, even if one of the GOP’s Three Caballeros beats the other two like a pair of balky mules,  there just might not be enough Republican and Conservative leaning folks to pull out in November so as to win in the general election,  even if the ultimate Democrat candidate is an absolute "Black Swan" phenom with a name like Nancy Tong or Khader El-Yateem.

So, Marty Golden’s home venue is going to be used for a Leftish anti-Donovan “Town Hall” --- Well, Isn’t that SPECIAL ! ! !

There is a rump group calling themselves  >>>  “Fight Back Bay Ridge”  <<<  but, maybe this is a bit of a false flag operation, and  a name like  >>> “Remove the pebble in the 76^th Street Godfather’s shoe gang” <<<  might be more accurate,  or at least identify more of the behind the scenes players than the publicly announced “sponsors” of the schedule April 19^th event

According to a recent report in the Brooklyn Eagle  ---  “….The group Fight Back Bay Ridge is the lead organization responsible for the planning of the NY 11 Town Hall to take place April 19, at the Bay Ridge Manor, 476 76th St., at 7 p.m….”  (See  “With Donovan absent, Brooklyn constituents plan town hall”  by Paula Katinas,  4/14/17,  Brooklyn Daily Eagle   [https://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/4/14/donovan-absent-brooklyn-constituents-plan-town-hall]).

The sponsors of this event seem to be your run of the mill left-of-center interest groups.   That makes the choice of the Bay Ridge Manor as a venue doubly intriguing. 

One doesn’t need to be Alex Jones to smell a strange-bedfellows situation here…..

Then again,  maybe, it’s just me…..   And the reality is that the Golden Family Trust will do anything to make a buck, like sing "Joe Hill" or even "The Internationale" for a score and ten  pieces of silver.

Washington Post article about FISA warrrant for Carter Page --- is old news confirmed

"EVERYBODY'S TALKIN' 'BOUT ME....  I DON'T HEAR A WORD THEY'RE SAYIN'...  ONLY THE ECHOES OF MY MIND..."      

          ---  HARRY NILSSON "MIDNIGHT COWBOY" VERSION

WA-PO  F.I.S.A. WARRANT  REPORT SORT-OF "PROVES" THE TRUMP "WIRETAPPING" TWEET

.

"Low level" Trump "campaign adviser" Carter Page has long been rumored to be one of the targets in the Obama administration surveillance of the Trump Campaign in 2016  ---  the Wa-Po's attempt to put some fuel on the fire of the narrative about some alleged Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 campaign, like everything else reported so far, comes up with no evidence, old or new, of any collusion and/or coordination  ---  BUT THE WA-PO REPORT ABOUT AN FBI-REQUESTED  FISA WARRANT IN THE INVESTIGATION DOES CONFIRM THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION OF TRUMP CAMPAIGN OPERATIVES DURING THE 2016 CAMPAIGN

Whether it involved "wiretapping" by Obama himself on a telephone pole outside Trump Tower, multiple levels of ultra-sophisticated electronic surveillance and/or message retrieval technology by U.S. and/or allied spooker-snooper agencies, or more mundane kinds of hacking and phishing;  the very thinly sourced Washington Post article about the FBI obtaining, and renewing, a FISA warrant to snoop on Carter Page during the 2016 campaign reveals nothing new by way of evidence against Trump and/or the Trump Campaign  ---  BUT  ---  if accurate, it is more evidence that crimes against Americans were probably committed by members of the Obama Administration,  all or most of it to benefit the presidential run of Hillary Clinton.

How about a special prosecutoer looking for evidence of collusion and/or coordination between the Obama Administration and the Clinton Campaign ???

Local pol makes statewide news with his Brooklyn-wide polling for Kings County D.A. race

In a rare move by anybody running for any office,  Brooklyn City Councilman Vinny Gentile’s campaign crew sent his internal polling data to the folks at  “POLITICO” for them to give it a look  ---  AND  ---  A STORY

A blind release of the Gentile piece in today’s Politico coverage was sent to me so I wouldn’t miss it until after we all stopped being young anymore  

_{According to the lead item  (but not the title piece) from today’s column by the Politico-New York team  ---}  

_"….   POLLING BROOKLYN D.A. RACE:  

_{An internal poll conducted for Councilman Vincent Gentile finds that he has the highest name recognition of the six candidates for Brooklyn District Attorney, in what's expected to be one of the most competitive races of the year. Still, none of the candidates is widely known to a majority of voters, according to the poll of 630 likely voters conducted by Public Policy Polling from April 6 through 9. It has a margin of error of 3.9 percent. A copy of the poll was provided to POLITICO New York by the Gentile campaign.}  

_{Gentile, who is term-limited from the City Council and previously served in the state senate, has a favorability rating of 21 percent and unfavorably rating of 14 percent, with 65 percent of voters saying they do not know enough about to him to state an opinion. Acting Brooklyn district attorney Eric Gonzalez, a longtime fixture who has been running the office since the death of Ken Thompson last October, has a favorable/unfavorable rating of 19/8 percent, with 72 percent not sure. The next closest candidate is Ama Dwimoh, who worked in the children's crime bureau in that office; Dwimoh has a favorability rating of 16 percent and an unfavorably rating of 12 percent, with 73 percent unsure. The rest of the candidates are hovering around 11 percent favorability with 79 percent unsure.}

_{In a head-to-head match-up, Gonzalez leads with just 15 percent, followed by Gentile at 11 percent, Dwimoh at 10 percent, the rest of the candidates in single digits and 48 percent of voters unsure whom to support. Since publicly entering the race last week, Gentile has sought to distinguish himself from his rivals by noting he is the only one who did not work for Thompson's longtime predecessor, Charles Hynes, under whose watch nearly two dozen convictions were reversed (thanks to a review led by Thompson). In the poll, 31 percent of voters said they were more likely to vote for a candidate who worked under Hynes, and 26 percent said they were less likely; 32 percent said it would not make a difference and 11 percent were unsure….”   (See  "Assembly Dems Eye IDC--- DeBlasio Unites with Oddo --- Breitbart Turns Down the Volume on Kushner" by} Jimmy Vielkind in Albany and Azi Paybarah in Manhattan, with Addy Baird and Daniel Lippman, 4/11/17,   Politico-New York   [http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/new-york-playbook/2017/04/assembly-dems-eye-idc-de-blasio-unites-with-oddo-breitbart-turns-down-the-volume-on-kushner-219698]). 

RELEASE ALSO SENT TO GM'S "...FOUNTAINHEAD"  BLOG

No doubt, the Gentile campaign folks think this was a big enough news item that they took pains to see that it would even show up on a Brooklyn Republican blog like this…..   Since they took the trouble to keep me in the loop,  I decided to return the favor and give it the full feature treatment that it completely deserves.

Battle lines being formed inside the GOP and Republican-allied activists over Congressman Donovan

Regular readers of this blog know about our observations of Jerry Kassar’s potshot at Dan Donovan, the Conservative Party endorsed Congressman from Staten Island and Brooklyn  ---  Now, this bit of  ---  BACKFILL  ---  a right-leaning group of several so-called “Republicans” have demonstrated in front of Donovan’s S.I.  office  ---  ostensibly it was over Donovan’s suggeste “NO” vote on the GOP “Replace and Repeal” Bill

   

Simultaneously,   battle lines in the upcoming GOP City Council primary contest reflect SOME of the divided loyalties with respect to the Congress-member from the 11^th Cong Dist

FYI,  Craig Eaton has told several of his associated GOP movers and shakers that he has personally assured Dan Donovan that he would  ---  "…do everything necessary inside the Brooklyn GOP…” to help Donovan in any feuds with State Senator Golden and the new court-appointed Republican leadership

According to a local press report appearing on-line  ---  “Two Saturdays after progressives on both sides of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge applauded Congressmember Dan Donovan for declaring that he would be voting against the now-defunct repeal and replacement plan for Obamacare, constituents on the other side of the aisle descended upon the pol’s Staten Island office to throw what they called a ‘betrayal party.’…   The ‘party’ came just nine days after members of Staten Island 4 Change hosted what they called a “birthday party’ for Obamacare (which is now seven years old) that also served as a personal thank you to the pol for his commitment to vote down the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which was pulled on Friday, March 24 (just one day after it was slated to be voted on by the House) due to lack of support (though a new version of the legislation is reportedly currently in the works)….   According to organizer and conservative grassroots activist Bobby Zahn, those in attendance at the ‘betrayal party’ felt that they were shorted by a congressmember they proudly elected….”  (See  “Republican protesters throw ‘betrayal party’ in response to Donovan’s would-be ‘no’ vote on Obamacare replacement”  by Megan McGoldrick,  4/5/17,  Brooklyn Reporter   [http://brooklynreporter.com/story/republican-protesters-throw-betrayal-party-in-response-to-donovans-would-be-no-vote-on-obamacare-replacement/]).  

Megan McGoldrick’s article goes on to say this, quoting  Staten Islander,  and former Donovan supporter and “Tea Party” activist, Bobby Zahn:  “….   ‘There is a lot of anger at Dan, even from some of the people on the right that support his ‘no’ vote, but not for the reasons that he did it,’ said Zahn. ‘The bottom line is that Republicans ran on repealing and replacing Obamacare, and they’ve been running on that since 2010 when [former Congressmember] Michael Grimm was elected and now Dan has been elected on it. He voted on it in the past when it wasn’t going to make any sort of difference, so he made people believe he was a repealer. He swept his victory with a big margin, along with Donald Trump, in 2016, and a lot of us just feel like he let us down.’…   Though the protest was held on April Fool’s Day, Zahn contended that local Republicans’ feelings on Donovan are no joke….   ‘Every one of us, no matter where we stand on [the AHCA], we know it’s not perfect,’ he said, ‘but there [was] nothing in it that warranted a “no” vote.’…”

OUR OWN COVERAGE OF DONOVAN’S PROBLEMS WITH FORMER SUPPORTERS AROSE OUT OF A JERRY KASSAR COLUMN

At the same time that Bobby Zahn’s protest was making news,  Jerry Kassar had fired something that was more of a pot-shot than a warning shot at his own Conservative Party-supported Congressman  ---  that pot-shot was fully discussed in my own prior post on this blog  (See  my  4/3/17 post,  “Donovan’s Crossing” below on this blog).

NOT LONG AGO,  EATON TALKED ABOUT HIS SIDE’S SUPPORT OF DONOVAN AGAINST GOLDEN

A little while back, after a little feud blew up at a local diner between Golden & Quaglione,  on one side, and Donovan & McCabe, on the other (also previously discussed on this blog)  ---  Craig Eaton mentioned that he had spoken to Congressman Donovan and promised his full support of Dan in any flap that might blow up with Marty  (I have since heard other versions of that Eaton-Donovan compact from sources other than Eaton). 

 

It’s interesting to note that this recent brouhaha over Donovan’s position on a NON-VOTE in the House about Obama Care arose >>> NOT VERY LONG AFTER <<<  the problematic sit-down between Golden and Donovan, and Quaglione and McCabe at the Bridgeview Diner.

As far as I’m concerned, President Trump has broken faith with many Republican voters that supported him in the primaries, as well as a huge swath of the American people, who believed that he would be a less bellicose president than Hillary Clinton

If people like John McCain, Lindsay Graham and Marco Rubio  ---   Oh ! and Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi  ---   all said that President Trump did the right thing by hammering a Syrian airbase with just under half a gross of Tomahawks  ---  then, it’s a good bet that the Trumpster screwed the pooch in the middle of the living room floor with all the family standing around waiting for their Christmas dinner

When will all these ill-advised, unnecessary foreign adventures and complicated entanglements end ? ? ?  >>>  Please note:  This isn't even part of the Long War Against the Terrorists.....   <<<

What President Trump described as a vital American national security interest involving the Syrian regime's use of Sarin,  didn’t sound like it had anything to do with any U.S. national security interest,  and it certainly wasn’t "vital" to anything or anybody here in America  ---  I would never have thought that Donald Trump would launch his first new war over President Barack Hussein Obama's phony and very old "Red Line in the Sand"

This ain't presidential;  it ain't even a good job of pretending to be presidential  ---  when Bill Clinton did exactly the same thing a few times, it was called "Pin Pricks" and/or "Wagging the Dog".....   Maybe, too many people have forgotten.....

What next, nation-building in Syria ? ? ?   I can hardly wait.....

I told you that Bannon was pushed aside because he wasn't right as a "wartime consigliere".....

FLASH UPDATE: OLD GOLDEN HAND GETS A BIG PLUM AT THE BOE

Ray Riley gets the $133,250/year GOP plum at the top of the tree at the Brooklyn BOE  ---  But, what about Georgea,  didn't she want this  ? ? ?

 Is the book closing on Diane Haslett-Rudiano  ? ? ?

 

Doesn’t Ted Ghorra even have a clue that HE should have made this pick  ---  BUT  ---  Does a “rubber stamp” need to have a clue about anything  ? ? ?

One of my best insider contacts just sent me this in an E-mail:

“….   The city Board of Elections has hired a new chief clerk for the Brooklyn borough office, nearly a year after kicking up a swirl of controversy for improperly purging voters from its rolls….   Raymond J. Riley, a Republican from Brooklyn, will replace Diane Haslett-Rudiano, who had been suspended without pay since last April….   The post is responsible for overseeing operations at the Brooklyn borough office and comes with a six-figure salary. In 2016, the position paid $133,250 according to BOE records….   Brooklyn Deputy Clerk Betty Ann Canizio, a Democrat, remains suspended without pay, because of the investigation into the purge….   According to the BOE’s rules, when a voter is removed from the roles, it requires approval by two staff members — a Republican and Democrat….   An acting deputy clerk continues to serve in that [Democrat] role….”

This is ONE of the reasons that Marty Golden wanted to have control of the GOP's piece of the Brooklyn Board  --- DIRTY PAY-OFFS to his friends and supporters.....   BUT WHAT ABOUT THE LAWYERS INVOLVED IN ALL THIS DIRTY DEALING  ---  TED GHORRA  &  SIMON SHAMOUN  ? ? ?  What a pair of jamokes ! ! !

What is Bob Capano up to ??? His recent releases and comments are all over the lot…..

The Democratic candidates for the NY City Council seat being vacated by Vincent Gentile must be salivating or they are too busy measuring Vinny’s office for new “window treatments”
 

Capano, McCabe and Quaglione now have all taken their turn inside the barrel of crazy campaign notions  ---  You know the ones that always start out like this  >>> “Wouldn’t it be a great idea to ……..” ---  A former Democrat City Council candidate, who was once a friend and is now "...  not a bad looking corpse" used to have them all the time

Bob Capano’s latest obviously comes from the wife's sewing circle and some of her’s and Bob’s mutual friends…..   If I were in the mood, I’m sure I could pitch this  (more accurately  “spin this”)  as a loyalty thing to the little woman at home,  but I’m not;  so, I won’t.   

It seems that Bob Capano and company want to get on their crusading warhorses to combat the growing menace of…   [wait for it]   feral cats in Bay Ridge.  ---  That’s right, your eyes aren’t lying to your brain,  I did just write  “THE MENACE OF...  FERAL CATS IN BAY RIDGE.”

Some might have you believe that Bay Ridge is awash in Bengal Tigers or even Carolina Panthers and their fans;  now,  THAT would be a problem worthy of any GOP candidate’s attention and a “YOW-SUH” or two from the bully pulpit…..   But what Bob is getting his tighty-whities in a twist about, now,  is the allegedly growing population of rogue tabby-cats in my beloved  neighborhood by the bay.

So finally, we can add “Tough on the Tabbies” Bob  to “Vets with Pets” Liam and,  of course still my personal favorite,  “Breast-pumper on the Independent Stage” John.  ---  Justin it’s time for you, the Reverend El-Y and good old uncle Pete to double check those drapery measurements,  one of you will probably need them, soon enough.

You know,  I was set to really go all-out for Bob’s again bashing of the Bay Ridge Arabist Team of Sarsour and El-Yateem with the NY Post’s  “international” Op-Ed piece.  However, when Bob’s Retweet about the feral cats showed up;  it left me feeling flatter than Jack D. Ripper’s  “you-know-what”  after the act of coitus.

FLASH UPDATE: BANNON LOSES HIS NATIONAL SECURITY GIG AT THE WHITE HOUSE.....

HERE'S THE LATEST FROM BLOOMBERG NEWS:  "President Donald Trump reorganized his National Security Council on Wednesday, removing his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, and downgrading the role of his Homeland Security Adviser, Tom Bossert, according to a person familiar with the decision and a regulatory filing...."

The Bloomberg report goes on to say this:  "....   National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was given responsibility for setting the agenda for meetings of the NSC or the Homeland Security Council, and was authorized to delegate that authority to Bossert, at his discretion, according to the filing....   Under the move, the national intelligence director, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, are again "regular attendees" of the NSC’s principals committee....   Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, was elevated to the National Security Council’s principals committee at the beginning of Trump’s presidency. The move drew criticism from some members of Congress and Washington’s foreign policy establishment....   A White House official said that Bannon was placed on the committee in part to monitor Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and never attended a meeting. He’s no longer needed with McMaster in charge of the council, the official said...." (See  ""Bannon Loses National Security Council Role in Trump Shakeup" by Jennifer Jacobs, 4/5/17,  Bloomberg/ Politics   [https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-05/bannon-removed-from-national-security-council-role-in-shakeup]).

NOTE: THE PRIOR DRUDGE REPORT HEADLINE THAT LINKED TO THE BLOOMBERG ARTICLE WAS MUCH MORE PROVOCATIVE

According to an earlier Drudge headline ---  "BANNON LOSES POWER:  STRIPPED OF SECURITY CLEARANCE" [also later this AM the Drudge link shifted to an MSNBC article and away from it's earlier link to Bloomberg]  ---  Now, the Drudge headline reads,  "BANNON LOSES POWER IN WHITE HOUSE SHAKEUP"

There is much more here than meets the eye.....  Be vigilant and watch the sky ! ! !   It might be falling.....

The Sunday news-break on the Susan Rice story was by Mike Cernovich --- A ‘fake news” villain according to “60-Minutes”

One of the biggest news items yet in the “Obama ‘wiretapped’ Trump” scandal  ---  National Security Adviser Susan Rice’s hand in “unmasking” Trump,  and/or others associated with him  ---  was broken wide open by a  “journalist, documentary filmmaker and bestselling author” that CBS’  Scott Pelley on  “60-Minutes”  had recently called a “conspiracy theorist” who peddled “fake news”

Cernovich  also says that Maggie Haberman at the NY Times already had the story for about two whole days prior to his breaking it himself  ---  but that Haberman and the Times sat on it to protect Obama

Right now, the Alt-Right media is bashing the hell out of the real “fake news” purveyors,  the mainstream media,  like Maggie Haberman and the NY Times, and “60-Minutes” and CBS News

Here’s how the Daily Caller is reporting on this very complex story,  with more nooks and crevices than a properly parted English muffin:   “Mike Cernovich, a journalist who has promoted conspiracy theories and was deemed ‘fake news’ by ‘60 Minutes,’ was the first to break the news that Obama’s former national security advisor Susan Rice made requests to unmask the identities of Trump associates….   Cernovich said in his ’report Sunday that New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman knew about the Rice requests, and ‘has chosen to sit on it in an effort to protect the reputation of former President Barack Obama.’ A New York Times spokeswoman told The Daily Caller, ‘Cernovich’s claim regarding Maggie Haberman is 100 percent false.’…   Bloomberg’s Eli Lake confirmed Cernovich’s report Monday, but did not include any details about Haberman sitting on the story. Cernovich told TheDC in an interview that Lake also sat on the story over the weekend. Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment….”  (See  “Trump Supporter Labeled ‘Fake News’ By ’60 Minutes’ Beats Everyone To Susan Rice Scoop”  by  Alex Pfeiffer, 4/3/17,  The Daily Caller/  US   [http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/03/trump-supporter-called-fake-news-by-60-minutes-beats-everyone-to-susan-rice-scoop/]).

[Please note: This blog's initial comment on this story on an earlier thread was based on an Eli Lake article which appeared in Newsmax.]


That’s enough for now,  but this “Obama ‘Wiretapped’ Trump” story is getting more interesting day by day…..

Donovan’s Crossing

It’s not just a portion of a Jerry Kassar “Common Sense” column in the Home Reporter--Spectator  ---  It has all the makings of a good Coen Brothers film  ---  Quick, somebody call Steve Buscemi see if he’s available and still up to playing another East Coast Irish pol

After seeing last week's "Common Sense" column by Jerry Kassar, I just had to ask this:   What’s up with  Kassar being so openly all over Republican-Conservative Congressman Dandy Dan Donovan’s announced “NO” vote on the Obamacare Repeal Bill?   

Kassar says:  "[Donovan] is too comfortable allowing himself to be portrayed as a moderate….”

Here’s what I saw when I took home the most recent giveaway paper from my local Associated Food store and opened it up  ---  it was a subsection from Jerry Kassar’s column in last week’s edition of the Home Reporter-Spectator [and it's also on the internet under “Brooklyn Reporter”]:  

“….   I must say I was disappointed in Congressmember Donovan’s announced intent to vote against the Obamacare repeal. After all, it was one of the three or four issues that defined the 2016 election. And, I can say for certain, it was a key issue for the Brooklyn Conservative Party which I chair. The party’s position on this bill was well-known, having been articulated by State Chairperson Mike Long many times, as well as appearing on the party’s website and in this column….   Of course, Speaker Ryan did a poor job in managing the bill and the conservative Freedom Caucus deserves its share of the blame but Dan should have supported it….   He is too comfortable allowing himself to be portrayed as a moderate. As you can imagine, this would concern me and I suspect it would concern many of the better than 10,000 voters in Brooklyn and Staten Island that voted for him in 2016 on the Conservative Party line….   The repeal bill was in no way the most conservative possible, but it was a start. And, frankly, all indications are that Dan’s objections were not coming from the right but a bit more from the left. Of course, he is entitled to his opinion, but as a party leader for 40 years this June, I think I have a need to also give him mine….   In any event, I believe the best we can hope for is tinkering with the present law. That is hardly a reform and will, after much more pain, probably after several years, result in Obamacare imploding anyways….”  (See  “Common Sense: The good and the bad” by Jerry Kassar,  Home Reporter/ Spectator;  on-line:  3/31/17,  “Brooklyn Reporter”  [http://brooklynreporter.com/story/common-sense-good-bad/]).  

Kassar’s title for the column, “The Good and the Bad,” says it all.   It makes an explicit comparison between Brooklyn Conservative Party endorsee, Democrat Simcha Felder, and Staten Island Conservative Party endorsee, Republican Dan Donovan  ---  Simcha Felder,  “…Good…”;   Dan Donovan, “…Bad…”

Equally important, in the text of his column, Jerry Kassar specifically mentions both the clearly expressed position of Conservative Party State Chairman Mike Long, and Kassar also describes what Donovan did as  "...  not coming from the right but a bit more from the left."

This is all very tough talk aimed at a Republican-Conservative congressman for a "vote" that was never taken   ---  and hence, does not exist anywhere in the real world.

As that funky song almost says --- “Let's talk about [tits], baby…. Let's talk about you and me…. Let's talk about all the good things…. And the bad things that may be….” -- Now, John Quaglione is doing exactly that

City Council Candidate John Quaglione’s latest proposal just overflows with the milk of human kindness   ---  Along  with estrogen, prolactin, and so much more good mommy & baby stuff  ---  that JQ says he wants to use  >>> OUR TAX MONEY <<<  to pay for it  [if not through NYS Medicaid, then from the City's Treasury]

 How much of a “squishy” progressive or liberal Republican does John Quaglione want to be ? ? ?

 I didn’t think that Quags could have topped his call for the city to establish an  Independent Theater Week;   however, maybe he just did ! ! !  ---  Now, he wants the City to pay the cost of getting real fresh from the breast mom’s milk for the people who can’t afford it

According to a Paula Katinas story in the Brooklyn Eagle  ---  John Quaglione, says that there was a plan to have New York State use Medicaid funds to cover breast milk in the same way baby formula is covered, but it's stalled in Albany.   Perhaps as part of his now-obvious strategy of being the most squishy Republican candidate in this City Council race, John Quaglione has lashed out at people like State Senator Martin Golden and others in Albany.  Quaglione  says that this milk from moms proposal has been shot down in Albany; and he’s calling on the New York City Council and the NYC Department of Health to pick up the tab  (See  “Quaglione says breast milk needed for premature babies” by Paula Katinas, 3/31/17,  Brooklyn Daily Eagle   [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/3/31/quaglione-says-breast-milk-needed-premature-babies]).

Here’s what JQ had to say in his own words:   “This proposal would have allowed Medicaid coverage of breast milk as formula, donated to milk banks, to foster the healthy development of babies born too early. We have to help mothers who cannot produce breast milk and families who cannot afford it for their newborn. The last thing we want is for those who need it to be forced to turn to cheaper, unregulated sources. We already have milk banks throughout New York City, so it makes perfect sense for the city to partner in an effort to magnify the positive results.”

So let me get this straight ! ! !  ---  Is Johnny Cakes really saying that all of this stuff  ---  the breast milk donations and collections, and the milk banks  ---  already exist, but it would all work a lot better if taxpayer money paid for it for poor people….. 

Another entitlement  ? ? ? - ! ! !  ---  Breast milk for the poor, because baby formula ain't good enough ! ! !