Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Does it show ANY common sense at all for Jerry Kassar to go off on Bob Capano at this stage of the 2017 race for City Council--- like Kassar did in his most recent “Common Sense” column

Wearing his other hat,  Kings County Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar says that  ---  “…  Bob [Capano], who spent tens of thousands of dollars to come in a distant third with only 579 votes [in the Republican Primary], will have no effect on the November results…” 


For your reading pleasure and to amuse yourself using both hands,   I have included the segment of JK’s latest opinion piece in and for the  >>> Brooklyn Reporter <<< it specifically talked about Bob Capano' 

Well, here goes:   “….   Bob Capano was a Republican, and as a Republican candidate for City Council he made the claim that he was the only candidate who had always been a Republican. He also indicated that he would support the winner of the Republican Party primary. He even showed up at John Quaglione’s victory party where he spoke, pledging his support for John….   That was then….   Bob, who spent tens of thousands of dollars to come in a distant third with only 579 votes, will have no effect on the November results. But that is not the point I wish to make….   Bob has since enrolled in the Reform Party. So much for his impeccable Republican credentials. As far as him supporting the winner of  the Republican primary, and his appearance and statements at the Bay Ridge Manor in support of John primary night, well, those went out the window too….   The failure of candidates for public office to keep their word is what I find troubling. I have known Bob for a long time. During that time, all he ever wanted to do was run for office. This was his third chance, having been supported by the Brooklyn Republican and Conservative Parties twice and losing in landslides both times….   Then he moved to Staten Island and remained there for five years, emerging at an address in Brooklyn a few months ago. Once again, the voters saw through him and the results are what I have indicated….   Bob has every right to run as a Reform Party candidate. He does not have the right to change his story around to suit his ambitions whenever he feels like it….   This is one of the things I dislike most about a business I have worked within my entire life —  candidates that are all about themselves, candidates that care little for the community and even less for those who might have bested them and are going forward carrying the banner that they wished to carry….   Sore loser is the common term. But I think it is quite a bit worse. It really goes to the core of what the person is about.   (See  “Common Sense: Trump says ‘no deal’ ”  by Jerry Kassar,  10/20/17,   Brooklyn Daily/ Opinion   [http://brooklynreporter.com/story/common-sense-trump-says-no-deal/]).
 As one of my favorite frenemies was wont to post on his blog at the time  --- “THE QUESTION BEGS…”  ---  in this instance,  what motivated Jerry Kassar to highlight Bob Capano’s run on the Reform Party line ???  ---  what does Kassar expect that this part of his column to accomplish ???  [I know, that’s two separate questions begging]. 

BTW, an interesting all alone drinking game for those of you out there who think that tippling all alone is perfectly OK  ---  pour a jigger-full of Irish Whiskey down your gullet every time you find a grammatical error in Jerry Kassar’s  “Common Sense” column.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Is Capano trying to play Scrooge to "Q" --- Is his "...Bah, humbug !!!" pitch at John Quaglione the real deal --- Or is it something that rates a "...Bah, humbug !!!" back at Bob ???


Capano's jibe went something like this:   "John Boy,  don't you think you owe all the taxpayers Christmas cards ???   You've been getting paid by them your whole adult life...."


Even better,  try this one:   "How can candidates like Quaglione and Brannan,  who can't solve people's real-life problems while working for elected officials,  like Golden  and Gentile,  be expected to do any better as elected officials themselves ???"



John Quaglione seems to have gotten slimed pretty good by Bob Capano at the most recent debate held at Xaverian High School.   As of the time of my writing this post,  nobody has mentioned to me how Mr. Quaglione responded to Capano's provocation,  if at all.

BUT,  IF THE SHOE FITS.....

Basically, when it comes to work experience,  John Quaglione's begins and ends with Marty Golden..... 

Does Quaglione really believe that's enough of a qualification to get elected  ---  does anybody ???

Just askin'.....

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Suddenly some real questions for candidate Mike Grimm --- Like --- How did he manage to toss-off his legal bill so easily ?????


Boy, former Congressman and recently declared congressional candidate MICHAEL GRIMM seems to have a lot of EXTRA MONEY  >>>  apparently just lying around


NY Law Journal article suggests some of the $$$$$ Grimm has put out there since his conviction and sentencing looks like it might not be properly accounted for


For now:   “GRIMM’S MONEY STUFF IS LOOKING STRANGE”  


AND I HAVE TO ASK  ---   ISN'T IT LIKELY THAT THESE HITS WILL JUST KEEP ON COMING ?????

 

An article appearing in the print edition of today’s New York Law Journal opens with this,  “Michael Grimm, who once threatened to throw a reporter off a Capitol Hill balcony, somehow managed to shed a six-figure debt to Squire Patton Boggs….”  (See  This Ex-Congressman Wiped Out Six-Figure Big Law Debt”  by Miriam Rozen,  10/16/17,  New York Law Journal/ On-line  [http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202800552759/This-ExCongressman-Wiped-Out-SixFigure-Big-Law-Debt?mcode=1202617075062&curindex=1&slreturn=20170917105513]).  So it does have the look and sound of a hit piece.

Nonetheless,  this NYLJ piece does shine the light on some things that Mike Grimm needs to address right up front in any attempt to get back into the political arena.   Let’s start with these big questions:   a) How is it that Grimm's $421,000 legal bill has been erased,   but supposedly Grimm has raised less than $5,000  ---  which would require a formal filling;   also where did the money paid into the court as as Grimm’s mandatory “Restitution” come from ?????

As the wag that brought this article to my attention put it,   “Grimm’s money stuff is looking strange…..”

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Did Julianne Cuba Blow Up Jerry Kassar, the Conservative Party in Brooklyn, the Independence Party in Brooklyn and the Dirty Deal that benefited Republican City Council Candidate John Quaglione ?????


COURIER-LIFE’S  10/12/17 “BROOKLYN DAILY” POLITICAL COLUMN “PARTY LINE”  SAYS THAT  “EVERYBODY LIES”  ---  MEANING CONSERVATIVE PARTY KINGS COUNTY CHAIRMAN JERRY KASSAR AND VICE CHAIRPERSON FRAN VELLA-MARRONE ARE LYING   ---  AND EVEN THAT NYS CONSERVATIVE CHAIRMAN MIKE LONG IS MOST LIKELY DISSEMBLING ABOUT THE SKULDUGGERY THAT RESULTED IN JOHN QUAGLIONE’S BEING SUBSTITUTED ONTO THE CONSERVATIVE AND INDEPENDENCE PARTY LINES



According to Julianne Cuba,  Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long says that “…. Brooklyn Conservative Party chairman Gerry Kassar — who didn’t return a request for comment and still denies ever being a part of the scheme — was fully in the know [about the scheme to circumvent the NYS Election Law by substituting John Quaglione as the City Council Candidate for both the Conservative and Independence Parties]….   ‘Gerry was aware of it, he’s naturally aware of it because it was his county that ultimately had to make the switch — I had nothing to do with that part of it, I’m not a delegate,’  [Mike Long] said….   And Capano is now charging that the same party leaders who initiated the deal to swap out Conservative and Independence placeholder candidate John Bruno — which insiders said stank of back-room politics — are trying to silence his campaign by asking him to ‘play dead’ and ‘step aside’ so he won’t take votes away from Quaglione. He pointed to being left out of the Dyker Heights Civic Association forum on Oct. 10….”  (See “Reform Party blows up deal to combine conservative lines” by Julianne Cuba  10/12/17,  Courier-Life/ Brooklyn Daily/ Party Line   [https://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2017/41/pl-party-line-2017-10-13-bk.html]).

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Worthy of Note: Bob Capano is barred from the Dyker Heights Civic Association Debate

A Statement from City Council Candidate Bob Capano on His Exclusion From The Dyker Heights Civic Association Debate: 
  
"Although I have been invited to attend every other community City Council debate, including ones sponsored by the Bay Ridge Council on Aging, the Bay Ridge Community Council, the Arab-American Association of New York, and the Bay Ridge Center, I was not asked to participate in the Dyker Heights Civic Association forum.
   
This organization is run by the leaders of the Brooklyn Conservative Party and undoubtedly, they view any public attention that I get as potentially taking away votes from John Quaglione, who recently replaced Mr. Bruno on their ballot line. The Reform Party and I believe the people deserve more choices, not less. It is sad when a community organization puts party politics ahead of allowing their members to hear from all candidates on the ballot on election day."

Monday, October 9, 2017

OMG !!! Names like Grimm, Fossella and Kassar show up nationally.....


Newsmax picked up the Grimm ball and ran with it  ---  its homepage article even quoted Jerry Kassar about Grimm's emergence as a possible candidate against popular Dan Donovan  --- ---  ---

And  WTF  !!!    Did they really also float Vito's name out there, too  ???



Even though it was largely warmed over material that has been mulled over a lot locally, and even on this blog, the fact that a national Republican media outlet like Newsmax has decided to broadcast the Grimm message far and wide with a homepage featured article is a big deal  (See "Grimm Seeks NY House Seat with Breitbart Support" by John Gizzi,  10/8/17,  Newsmax/  Home  [https://www.newsmax.com/johngizzi/former-n-y-rep-michael-grimm-steve-bannon/2017/10/08/id/818430/]).

WILL THIS BE A RACE BETWEEN THE "POPULIST" VERSUS THE "POPULAR"  ---  OR  ---  WILL VITO FOSSELLA MAKE IT A THREE-WAY CLUSTER...


Kassar was quoted by Newsmax' regular White House columnist John Gizzi as follows:   "....   'Grimm is a populist-type candidate and as such he has a chance,'  Gerard Kassar, Conservative Party chairman of Brooklyn, told Newsmax. 'But he has a long way to go before he will be able to convince the rank-and-file Republican primary voters they should move from Dan to him.'..."

Meanwhile,  Newsmax and Gizzi seemed to heap high praise on somebody that they thought might be another possible, and even better, candidate against Donovan,  Vito Fossella.   But according to Newsmax,  former Congressman Vito Fossella seems to be sticking with Donovan because of his popularity and support in the district  ---  "....  Former Rep. Fossella told Newsmax he has no interest in entering the race and is supporting Donovan.....   'Dan Donovan has the reputation of being a well-liked and effective congressman who reflects the priorities of Staten Island and Brooklyn,'  [Fossella] said...."

Thursday, October 5, 2017

The Three Candidates for State Senate Scenario Upstages the Three Candidates for City Council Scenario

Suddenly, there are three credible candidates for the STATE SENATOR slot now held by the aging Bay Ridge caterer,  MARTIN GOLDEN  ---  AND ---  that is stepping on the news that there are three Republican candidates, named Quaglione, Capano and McCabe  ---  all still active in campaigns for the City Council 


The details and evidence for this stuff is still a little muddled  ---  but for once, there is actually MORE HERE THAN MEETS THE EYE.

For more news,  WATCH THIS SPACE.....

Monday, October 2, 2017

The day that the Brooklyn GOP music died

There was a reason that Golden and Quags sat out the Ghorra-fest  ---  If you're not sure whether the service to which you are invited is going to be a wedding or a funeral,  then it's better for you to find a reason not to be there  ---  it avoids the possibility of lots of different kinds of present and/or future embarrassment(s).  (Ahem !!!  Can some among my brothers and sisters give me a loud "AMEN" ???)


Besides, Marty Golden and John Quaglione would not have found a "safe place" in which they'd be comfortable at the Ghorra-McCabe reception


The 2017 Republican Kings County Convention was  held earlier today.   The event took place virtually in secret (and almost as surely on improper and short notice) at the Brooklyn Bar Association on Remsen Street. Twenty-six people were in duh house... but only twenty-three of them were elected members of the Brooklyn Republican County Committee.

I won't talk about the preliminaries,  other than to say that good order and the proper formalities were not followed..... The need for roll-calls and the obvious absence thereof or any motion(s) to dispense with roll-calls would seem to be high on the list of inadequate formalities and/or the lack of good order.

The vote for "Chairman" was a rather simple and straight forward affair.  Three names were put forward for nomination:  Ted Ghorra,  Steve Maresca and Clorinda Annarummo.  However,  only Ted Ghorra's name was put up for a vote on the floor.  That vote appears to have been one-sided,  but Ghorra's total was far from unanimous,  since about 84 of the tallied votes did not vote for Ghorra.

The reason that Marty Golden and John Quaglione would not have felt all that welcome at today's Remsem Street gathering, would be that their presence would only have disrupted the Liam McCabe-Ted Ghorra exchange of verbal bouquets.  Liam put Ted Ghorra's name in nomination;  and for his part,  Ted Ghorra said that he was playing the "long game" and that he thought Liam McCabe would be a big part of that "long game" as the Brooklyn GOP's Vice Chairman for Youth Outreach.  Several of Liam's people were also given Vice Chairman spots  ---  although there seemed to have been a problem with a "Raymond Caneletta" that almost sent Liam into one of his legendary spirals.