Flash Update: One of Golden's crowd crows about having set up a rather complex "Fake News" operation

A fresh report from one of my deep mole BSIs inside Golden's  tent tells us that  >>>  organized disinformation will be a major part of the Golden operation going forward in 2018

I have CONFIRMED that Marty Golden and/or many on his staff think that I am partially responsible for some or all of the anti-Marty sentiment in Bay Ridge. 

Even though Golden and his sycophants are clearly worried about Democrat Andrew Gounardes,  some appear to be easily distracted by flashy things and always try to strike (back) quickly.   Like this:  anytime someone attacks Marty on this blog, whether it's me in one of my featured posts or an anonymous commenter, some among Golden's staff and campaign crowd have been tasked  to make routine counter-attacks by going after some designated Democrats or independents. 

Lately more than anyone else, that has been Justin Brannan and Bob Capano,  no doubt because of their open support of the Democrat Andrew Gounardes;  who is also running on the Reform Party line.  But occasionally it  has been directed at me, as well.  These counter-attacks have already appeared both here on this blog and on other social media sites and we should expect more of the same as we get closer to election day.

A RUSSIAN-STYLE "FAKE NEWS" GRASSROOTS OPERATION

Now, that Marty is in campaign mode, his handlers have put together a cadre of his supporters posting fake stuff on various different forums online saying things like "this neighborhood is going to hell", etc.   ---   not realizing that many, many people blame State Senator Golden and his contributors in the real estate business for that.  

Just yesterday, on local Bay Ridge parents' Facebook pages, a "woman" posted a fake photo of hypodermic syringes around "the neighborhood...".   That particular picture  actually thad been taken in London several years ago,  however, the woman said it was taken at the JJ Carty Park on Fort Hamilton Parkway.   After several people called her out for it, so she deleted the posted phony photograph in one quick hurry.  There are many more fake accounts of neighborhood disarray out there on social media  ---   many of which are controlled by and came from various friends of State Senator Martin J. Golden.   

I can't say that all of  this is a 100%  coordinated effort to undermine all organized opposition to Marty Golden.  However,  my source told me that some of Marty Golden's campaign consultants even promised him that they can make lots of people come out vote for Republicans in November by making them think local crime is on the rise, and that many other unsavory prospects await if the Democrats take over control of the New York State Senate.

The Democrats, the "Legal Team" and Christine Blasey Ford are running a dog and pony show --- The MSM is treating it as if it's "The Greatest Show on Earth"

HUMBUG !!!  That's what it really is

And now it looks like it might be coming to an end.....

Mrs. Ford's lawyers did everything they could to make it look like she wanted to testify  ---   it's now obvious that  Christine Blasey Ford never was going to testify  ---   and like her charges against Brett Kavanaugh,  any attempt to appear and testify to the committee was all smoke and mirrors

Chris Cuomo did a masterful job of mugging for the camera as he delivered his CNN report on Ford's attorney's response to Grassley and the Judiciary Committees' offers to the alleged "victim"/ "survivor" to enable her to appear and testify

This has all been trying to make something out of nothing.  If there was ANYTHING,  either the FBI or Feinstein's Democrat Committee investigators or the people at the WaPo or CNN or MSNBC or the rest of the MSM would have found it by now  ---  they have had Christine's letter for a very long time. So far NOTHING except Christie's original whine  ---  which I have repeatedly said is weaker than wet toilet tissue.

Today, the WaPo did a puff-piece about the girl I called "Christie."  Part of it was how she had to remake her life after having a tough time in a real big public college, followingr her special cloistered existence of privilege  ---  including being around all the right people, country clubs and a tony prep school.  How she became a surfer girl to find her wayback. It also mentioned how she  wanted to uproot her family and leave the country after Trump was elected president ( >>> why don't these wackos ever actually leave <<<). Of course she looked at New Zealand,  lots of good surfing there.....

This thing is starting to look like  ---  IT'S OVER  ---   except for endless hand wringing and garment rending by Christie Blasey's crowd of  over-dramatic, blabbermouth  "believers"  ---  lots of them Democrat Senators milking Christie and her completely unsubstantiated STORY for all the buttery goodness  that they can churn from it.....  I'm sure we'll hear a lot more from THEM  ---  and I'll bet that their well-churned "Christie" butter won't even melt in their mouths.

Bob Capano takes a victory lap --- pretty much credits his primary day victories as the straw that broke the camel's back

Could the rise of the Reform Party in Brooklyn and nearby have been the main cause of Jerry Kassar's sudden and not foreseen resignation as Kings County Conservative Party Chairman ???

If you are Bob Capano, the answer would appear to be an absolute and resounding  >>> YES <<<

Up front, let me tell you  ---  this is a conjecture piece.  I have no direct quotes from Bob Capano where he says,  "I caused Jerry Kassar to step down as the Conservatives Brooklyn Chairman...."

What I do have is/are several releases since primary day where Bob pointed out that in recent primaries, several candidates supported by him had been victorious,  and some were against the people Kassar is/was backing. 

Specifically,  Bob Capano was very proud of his support of Vicky Paladino in Queens for her victory in a GOP primary:  in addition, Bob's "Plan 'A'" stayed "on track," as his local candidate for State Senate against Jerry Kassar's boss, Marty Golden, Andrew Gounardes,  came out of his primary with Ross Barkan as one of the few centrist Democrats to beat a more left-leaning opponent;  and that in her primary for AG, Nancy Sliwa outperformed in Brooklyn, while winning her spot on the Reform Party's statewide ticket.

Bob Capano would be the first to acknowledge that Kassar had many big problems on his plate that had nothing to do with the Reform Party.   However,  in 2017 it was, in large part,  Kassar's machinations that led to the open split with Capano, and something that led to Capano's sticking with his Reform Party run in 2017.  That led to Capano's becoming an enrolled  member of the Reform Party and then its Brooklyn Chairman.  Then, in 2018, the Kassar-Capano split came to the forefront again when Marty Golden did not get the Reform Party line or their endorsement after negotiations involving Golden and Kassar, and Capano broke down.  Eventually, Marty's chief opponent,  Andrew Gounardes, got the line and the endorsement,  which then boosted his run in the Democratic Party Primary.

Christine Blasey Ford fits the classic definition of a “Moving Goal Post”

Her “Recovered Memory,” of an alleged thirty-five year old event that occurred when she was 15,  is more likely the product of her current ideology and animus against Donald Trump than anything having to due with a young Brett Kavanaugh  ---  much less the man nominated to be the next Supreme Court Justice

When it comes to charges of inappropriate behavior,  this one is weaker than a batch pre-mature kittens  ---  And before it’s all over,  Christine’s claims are most likely going to die  ---  one, by one, by one  ---  like all the poor little kitties

If she “MUST BE HEARD”  then why is  >>>  SHE PLACING CONDITIONS <<<  on her testimony ?????

Christine Ford’s sexual assault allegation first came to light from a letter obtained by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Dem. Sen., California).  Feinstein sent off a bomb-like shockwave at the Capitol when she announced last week the existence of the Ford letter and that she had forwarded it to the FBI. Then Christie Blasey Ford stepped out of the shadows with an interview in the Washington Post that was published last weekend.

Frankly,  this seems like a big nothing-burger  

A very activist radical feminist Democrat-supporter, named Christine Blasey Ford, had a thirty (30) year old “recovered memory” in a “couples therapy” session, which also included her husband, sometime in 2012.   More than five years later,  that recovered memory is dredged up and put in a letter to Diane Fienstein (Dem. Sen., California),  which in turn is dropped like a bomb at the last second by Sen Feinstein as a delaying tactic in the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

However,  Christine Blasey Ford was so determined that her story would get a “spotlight” treatment, no matter what  ---  almost simultaneously,  she sent duplicate letters to Democrat Feinstein and her own Democrat House Member, she also hired an activist, sexual offenses lawyer,  Debra Katz, and on a parallel track called the Washington Post directly.

Christine Blasey Ford’s original story as reported in the Washington Post is clear about three things:  1) there was no rape  (and no actual description of any attempted rape);  and 2)  Christine Blasey told nobody about the incident for many, many, many years  ---  the rest of the 80s; the 90s, and the 2000s until about 2005 when she mentioned something about it, but not much to her husband;  and 3) when Christine finally did tell her version of “the whole story” in 2012, there are varying accounts about what she actually said   (See  “California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault“  by Emma Brown,  9/16/18,  Washington Post/ Investigations    [https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/california-professor-writer-of-confidential-brett-kavanaugh-letter-speaks-out-about-her-allegation-of-sexual-assault/2018/09/16/46982194-b846-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2f24c2146c4c]). 

So hearings were scheduled for September 24^th  ---  And guess what ???   As of right now,  Christie says she ain’t coming and isn’t going to testify  ---  UNLESS   !!!!!

According to a report in the NY Times,  “The woman who has accused President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault all but ruled out appearing at an extraordinary Senate hearing scheduled for next week to hear her allegations….”  (See  “Christine Blasey Ford Wants F.B.I. to Investigate Kavanaugh Before She Testifies”  by   Peter Baker, Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Nicholas Fandos,  9/18/18,   NY Times/  Politics  [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/us/politics/christine-blasey-ford-kavanaugh-senate-hearing.html]).  Instead,  through her lawyers,   Dr. Blasey Ford has said that  “…  she would cooperate with the Senate Judiciary Committee and left open the possibility of testifying later about her allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. But echoing Senate Democrats, she said an investigation should be ‘the first step’ before she is put ‘on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident.’…”   In other words,  Christine Blasey Ford has made certain demands or laid down certain  conditions for her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee…..

So far, the Republican Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Charles Grassley has shown no inclination to either meet the Blasey-Ford demands or adjourn the Monday hearing date,  set to go over the Blasey-Ford charges.

Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach and State Senator Martin Golden

Without a doubt,  most discussions involving Marty Golden seem to deal with one end of his Gerrymandered district  ---  the parts in and around Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights  ---  occasionally there’s a little something about Bath Beach,  because Father Gelfant  [always good for a laugh]  is there, and he is a strong guy, both for Bishop D and Bishop D’s only inhouse State Senator…..

The reality is that Marty Golden’s potential vote in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bath Beach gets smaller each and every day  ---  a little of that has to do with politics, but mostly it's due to demographic shifts…..

That makes the far end of the district  ---  the part that abuts Kings Plaza, a golf course, a major park, a sewage plant and countless rills and brackish pools  ---  neighborhoods referred to as Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach  ---  crucial to any hopes that Marty, and his friends, supporters  and followers might have of his remaining a New York State Senator beyond 2018

Marty’s dependence on obtaining large voting majorities in the South Eastern terminus of the 22^nd State Senate District is pretty much general knowledge,  ever since the last time that Marty Golden ran against Andrew Gounardes.  In that 2012 race,  Gounardes was able to garner a few more votes against the incumbent in the Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights parts of the district,  with Marty winning almost everywhere else.  However, it was in Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach that Marty did best  ---  and piled up overwhelming numerical margins over the Democrat.

By now, State Senator Marty Golden is a well known fixture in the neighborhoods, still well-known by their parish names, Good Shepherd,  Resurrection and Saint Columba’s,  largely because they remain somewhat Irish-  and  Italian-American.  So far the ethnic changes on the periphery of the area, and generational changes universally,  have not made Marty Golden’s  look, sound and message  inhospitable to a majority of the voters there. 

It remains to be seen whether being forced to let staff member Anthony Testaverde go over an ill-chosen comparison to Nazis will negatively effect the local Golden campaign effort,  which did not have a strong presence on the ground even before Mr. T.  was jettisoned.

On the other hand,  every elected official in the area under discussion, other than Marty Golden himself, is a Democrat.  That means there should be a very significant Democratic Party apparatus in place to work for Andrew Gounardes between now and election day  ---  and the GOP, the Conservative Party and Marty Golden's own retainers have nothing that can match it in any and all categories of retail politics.  

The question remains will all the local Democrats’ leaders unleash the hounds to benefit the Andrew Gounardes campaign.   At the top of the list is Frank Seddio,  the Dems’ County Leader  ---  who thus far,  has talked tough about wanting to take the  22^nd NYS District from the GOP,  but who has in the past done little against Golden, and even had sounded content with the status quo

Whither Steve Saperstein ???

Thither !!! 

If you don’t get that word play then you didn’t go to school with Steve Saperstein  ---  or me…..

Steve Saperstein is stuck in a “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern” rut.  Not to worry,  Tom Stoppard was briefly stuck in the same rut;  and he still emerged to become one of the great contemporary playwrights in the English language,  if not the greatest

How can Steve gain some traction; and maybe get his campaign down the runway and airborne ?????

Steve starts out with a great education.   And degrees, boy, does this lad have degrees !!!  And solid background, boy, does this lad have a solid background !!!!!

And his first foray into politics,  the City Council race against Chaim Deutsch  ---  not so great, but not shabby either  ---  maybe, some might even say,  “Pretty good”…..

SO WHY IS STEVE HAVING A PROBLEM GETTING TRACTION IN THIS  “WINNABLE” RACE FOR THE ASSEMBLY IN THE  46^TH A.D.  ???

I think it’s all about Steve’s having to carry so much intra-GOP baggage that belongs to everybody hanging around him in this race  ---  and perversely, also the intra-GOP baggage of the Republicans that won’t lift a finger for him as the GOP standard-bearer in the 46^th A.D. race.

The Democrats are still locked in a bitter fight to select their nominee against Steve in the 46^th.   In spite of all that entails,  it is easy to predict that the Democrats eventually will be more united in the 46^th A.D. than the Republicans going forward to the general election in November. 

 
HERE’S SOME OF THE BAGGAGE

Let’s start with the Gerry O’Brien and Bob Capano things.   Even though, neither Gerry O’Brien nor Bob Capano are enrolled Republicans any longer,  their shadows still loom very large over the Brooklyn GOP.   I won’t get into all the   “he-said-she-said” rigamarole,  but there  are two fault lines there.  Minimally, those lines are routine trip hazards  ---  at worst,  either are threats to become sites for  “the big one”  in a tectonic sense. 

I’ve spoken to both Gerry and Bob about Steve  ---  many times  (you can see how I had commented about Steve in 2017 and compare that to how I talk about him and his campaign lately  ---  draw your own conclusions).   Both do speak well of him personally, and both say that they have separated amicably and that there is no kind of animus in their relationship(s).   Then comes the  “but”…..   And in this instance I’d say it’s a lot closer to the “butt" in:   “It’s gotta be the butt, Bob”  (NB -- Bob Eubanks on the “Newlywed Game” -- not Bob Capano);   neither  Gerry nor Bob seem to like all the people who appear or claim to be “running” the Saperstein campaign in 2018;   and the former Republicans really don’t like a lot of HOW they are running it for Steve.   Enough said about all of that.

Almost certainly related to what I mentioned above is the big picture of the ongoing guerilla war between the Eaton and Golden factions in the Brooklyn GOP;   note:  the 46^th A.D. is the epicenter of their still percolating conflict.  On one side are all the Republican activists that now want Marty Golden to lose his State Senate seat in order to break his headlock on the Brooklyn GOP;  and all the Republican and Conservative Party types that want to defend Marty at all costs, with no sacrifice too great.   Almost certainly, Steve Saperstein will be one of those costs or sacrifices  ---  without a doubt Jerry Kassar has a special stiletto with Steve Saperstein’s name on it  (just ask Lucretia…..).  Since primary night,  Marty has been so hungry for a deal,  that he has been slobbering all over Frank Seddio’s,  and Peter Abbate’s and Mark Treyger’s shoes  ---  and that doesn’t bode well for Steve.

Can anything be done to save Steve ?????

So, what can be done to save this fine young man, Steve Saperstein; and maybe even win this assembly seat ???   Well, frankly I don’t know,  but I am open to suggestions…..

On Primary Day Mallory McMahon mugged Marty Golden in plain sight for all the world to see

HERE'S THE MEAT AND POTATOES:  
"....   Golden hides from anyone who might challenge how he conducts business in Albany. Full voicemail boxes and ignored messages demonstrate that the Senator has decided the concerns of the neighborhood don’t matter. Once, in a meeting with constituents who asked him to hold a Town Hall, Golden replied, “That won’t benefit me.” And there’s the truth about Marty Golden: he’s a coward. He can’t handle disagreement, and feels safe enough in his gerrymandered district that he thinks he doesn’t have to. Knowing that even his most vociferous opponent won’t make a scene at a festival or parade, he’s largely been able to keep up the charade – until now...."                                                                -- Mallory McMahon

It's all there in glorious black and white in a rare OP ED in KCP;  and on Primary Day, to boot:   "After twenty years in public office, Senator Marty Golden is well known in the community. His cheerful appearances at parades, street fairs, and other events, make him seem available to constituents, but Golden is much less accessible than his public image implies. The Block Party Barron, it turns out, is also the Archduke of Avoidance....   I should know: I’ve been attempting to organize a meeting with him for 200 days. In that time, Golden’s office has cancelled appointments, refused to reschedule, hung up when I call, given me the runaround, and flat-out ignored my requests...."  (See "Marty Golden: The Archduke of Avoidance"  by Mallory McMahon, 9/13/18,  Kings County Politics/ OP ED   [https://www.kingscountypolitics.com/marty-golden-the-archduke-of-avoidance/]).

Ms. McMahon goes on to tell her prosaic tale of  false starts and dead ends that actually sounds like a Bay Ridge version of  "Candide"....

It sure is closer to "Candide" than "Arsenic and Old Lace"  ---   But maybe  it might be  ---   "At Long Last Love"

Of course the Goldenbots are going to counter that Ms.  McMahon is one of those sinister McMahon Ladies, channeling  their inner Abby and Martha Brewster without need of any arsenic-laced elderberry wine.....

You know what I say to anything like that  ---  "PISH-POSH   !!!"   (Quoting Warren from the old  Glenwood Rest at the Flatbush Junction)

For full disclosure, here's the bio of Mallory McMahon that appeared at the end of her KCP OP ED:
"Mallory McMahon is a writer and organizer from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Her writing has appeared in the Berkeley Fiction Review, Necessary Fiction, the Tupelo Quarterly, Athena Talks, the EEEL, and several local papers through op-eds and letters to the editor. She is one of the founding members of Fight Back Bay Ridge, a local collaborative action group that seeks to activate community organizing and civic engagement through non-hierarchical, democratic processes. 
On Twitter @mallorytmcmahon"  [And how could I not make special mention of that photo making MM look like our very own Christina Hendricks at her "Mad Men" best....]

Ah,for some reason it brings to mind the refrain in one of Cole Porter's lesser tunes,  done oh so well by the late Bobby Short  ---
".....  I'm in love again, and I can't rise above it
I'm in love again, and I love, love, love it
I'm in love again, and I'm darn glad of it
Good news!..."

Brooklyn Reform Party Chairman Bob Capano is very public with his preferences for candidates vying for the Democrats' line for state senate

I know that he is a journalist/columnist too;  but didn't Bob Capano cross some kind of line by expressing his preferences for certain candidates for the state senate running in the Democratic Party Primary  ---   After all,  Bob is the county chairman of a party other than the Democratic Party.....

What the heck !!!   Bob is only giving Jerry Kassar a taste of his own medicine  ---  And as they often critically caution refs in all sports, don't call the rinky-dink fouls and penalties  ---  LET 'EM PLAY THE GAME.....

BTW,   Capano's way of  "playing the game"  with Simcha Felder seems to be >>> put him in a headlock, not let go, gouge his eyes and try to bite his ear off..... 

It's very clear that Bob Capano is going after both the Conservatives and two of their key endorsed candidates, and the Republican majority in  the NY State Senate,  all in one fell swoop in Capano's very heavy hammering of incumbent State Senators Marty Golden and Simcha Felder.....

Based on Capano's first paragraph in his column for Courier Life's Brooklyn Daily that came out a little while ago,  he has made his opinion available, and it's clear and unambiguous:  "Two Brooklyn Democratic primaries this week will determine which party controls the state senate.  Currently, only one vote keeps the Republicans in control of the upper chamber in Albany...."  (See "Today’s primaries decide who controls tomorrow’s senate"  by Bob Capano,  9/13/18,  Courier Life/ Brooklyn Daily/ Opinion   [www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2018/37/all-right-view-2018-primary-2018-09-14-bd.html]). 

Without missing  a beat,  Capano shows that he too has come down with "Golden Derangement Syndrome"  [don't worry it don't hurt at all  ---  I sort of like it].....   His next paragraph goes like this:  "One of the races that could shift this balance of power is the contest between Republican Marty Golden and the winner of the Democratic primary between Andrew Gounardes and Ross Barkan. A key consideration for voters choosing between these two Democrats will be who they believe has the best chance to take down the incumbent....   Flipping this district from red to blue would likely give Democrats control of the Senate. In addition, defeating a local Republican icon like Golden would be a bellwether for an even larger blue wave than expected in New York...."

CAPANO PUTS HIS FINGER ON THE SCALE IN FAVOR OF GOUNARDES

No surprise there  ---  Capano's Reform Party line has gone to Andrew Gounardes already.  But here are Capano's words that actually show the Chairman-Columnist's "TILT !!!" on this one  ---  "It would seem that Barkan’s race to the left doesn’t fit this district, while Gounardes’ [ ] slightly more moderate views give him an advantage in his primary — and against Golden in a general election...."  Then,  Bob drives his point home with this bit of tea leaves reading:  "[Senator Golden's] camp believes this as well as evidenced by his staff lighting up social media claiming Barkan won the NY1 debate. By pumping up Barkan and attacking Gounardes, Golden’s loyalists have made it clear that they view Gounardes as the strongest challenger in November...."

THEN CAPANO WENT AFTER "DEMOCRAT" SIMCHA FELDER  ---  BOY DID HE EVER.....

Here's how Capano  pitched the Simcha Felder -- Blake Morris race:  "Democrats have 32 of the 63 seats in the senate, giving them a technical majority; however Simcha Felder, a Democrat, continues to caucus with Republicans. This gives the GOP the needed majority vote to control the power of the chamber. Not surprisingly, Simcha Felder’s primary challenge from Blake Morris is the other borough race that can determine control of the Senate....   If Morris [were] elected to the Senate, he would caucus with his party and give it its needed 32nd vote to take charge. But, winning this week will not be enough for Morris. He would still have to face Felder on the GOP line in November. That’s right, Felder will be on the Republican line so they will have a re-match if Morris prevails in the primary. If Felder wins, he will walk back into the Senate virtually unopposed in November...."

Not so fast to finish on Simcha,  Bob Capano had more to say about this particular race  ---  like this:   "In a recent ad, the Morris campaign assails Felder for his relationship with the GOP writing 'While Simcha Felder works only for himself and his fellow Trump Republicans, he ignores the needs of his constituen­ts.'  Morris also points out Felder’s role in stopping the senate from renewing the city’s speed-camera legislation...."

But wait, there's still more:   "....  Felder has also been involved in the “Yeshiva-Gate” issue that has been reported on during the past several months. He held up the state budget process earlier this year to change the law that lowers the educational standards for these schools that have already been the subject of a years-long city probe of their secular education proficiency. The Young Advocates for Fair Education even filed a lawsuit that this Felder amendment violates the religious establishment clause of the first Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by creating a special carve out standards for Yeshivas...."

Gounardes and Barkan close in on each other as prelude to closing in on Golden

Democrat hopefuls vying to defeat Marty Golden in November blasted him at their September debates leading up to the Democrat Primary

During their debate before the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn,  both Andrew Gounardes and Ross Barkan strongly condemned Golden’s record, promising that, if elected, they would each bring change to the district 

Here's Julianne McShane's take on the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn Debate held in Gravesend last week, as it appeared on the front page of this week's "Bay Ridge Courier"  ---  "The two Democrats looking to unseat Bay Ridge’s Republican state senator went toe-to-toe last week trying to prove who is more battle-tested to take on the political behemoth that is Marty Golden....   Both County-backed candidate Andrew Gounardes and upstart former journalist Ross Barkin claimed they’d been battling the eight-term incumbent for years and were therefore [each] better suited to be the Democrats’ standard bearer in November...."  (See "Golden boys: Dem candidates vying to defeat Marty blast incumbent at debate"  by Julianne  McShane,  9/5/18,  Courier Life’s Brooklyn Daily   [www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2018/36/br-golden-election-dem-debate-2018-09-07-bk.html]).

McShane highlights Gounardes

 

Here’s how Ms. McShane used Mr. Gounardes’ own words to describe essential aspects of that candidate:   “….Machine-backed candidate Andrew Gounardes summed up the night’s fight in his closing statement at an Aug. 28 debate at the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn in Gravesend, acknowledging that he and his opponent, former journalist Ross Barkan, share similar policy platforms, and that Democratic voters should choose the candidate they think has a better chance of defeating the beleaguered incumbent in November….   ‘This campaign is about ideas, and Ross and I probably agree on 90 or 95 percent of all our ideas, so there’s not much of a difference between us,” Gounardes said. “The choice that you have to make in this room is who has the better vision and who has the better campaign to unseat Marty Golden?’…”

Then she highlighted Barkan

She then did the same vis a vis candidate Ross Barkan, as follows:   “Barkan pointed out that dislike of the incumbent was common among everyone in the room, but said that the race comes down to the candidates’ different ideas about what the district could become. He touted his status as a political outsider who could shake up the neighborhood and emphasized his support for universal healthcare, housing and accessible transportation….   ‘Everyone here agrees Marty Golden is an abomination — we don’t have to go much further than that, we know why he’s bad. But this is about offering a vision for this district,’ Barkan said. ‘We’ve got to run on ideas, we’ve got to run on a vision, we have to live our values. We cannot do things as they’ve been done before and hope for the same result, that’s not how it works.’…”

Both  Gounardes and Barkan made Golden their prime target during their debate in Gravesend

Ms. McShane made it clear that,  even though Gounardes and Barkan were debating each other,  the person who was the clear target of both debaters was incumbent State Senator Martin Golden;   with both of the Democrat aspirants claiming that they have been directly confronting Mr. Golden about his record and stands on the issues for years.

Is Steve Bannon now trying to take down another liberal icon --- This time, liberal Catholic Pope Francis ???

In 2016, he did it all very well to that darling of left-wing feminazi-ism in America,  Hillary Rodham Clinton…..   Is Steve Bannon of Breitbart News and Donald Trump fame now setting his sights somewhat higher ???  ---  Does he really think that he can take out the sitting Pope of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome  ?????   OH,  AND A JESUIT,  TO BOOT…..

“The pontiff’s silence speaks volumes as powerful conservative Catholic clerics, some of them colluding with Steve Bannon, try to force his resignation.”   

                                         --- The Daily Beast,  9/7/18

But,  if you think that "Daily Beast" is going to satisfy your curiosity about Bannon and/or any of his fellow conservative American Catholic co-conspirators, like Cardinal Raymond Burke  ---  guess again.....

This will give you a quick idea of the slant that “Daily Beast” writer,  Barbara Latza Nadeau,  intends to take:   “Not long after Pope Francis took office in March 2013, he ran into a wall. But it wasn’t the ancient Roman brickwork built around Vatican City. It was stronger. And it came from deep within the very church he was elected to lead. Every time he tried to introduce reforms, the wall was there. His foes were so strong he recently equated reforming the Catholic Church with ‘cleaning the Sphinx of Egypt with a toothbrush.’…   Still, Francis persevered, relying on his immediate popularity and innate charm, and soon the outside world began to look at the Catholic Church in a new, positive light under his guidance. Suddenly, it it was cool to be Catholic….   But the traditional conservatives within the church didn’t want to be cool, and while the new pope was hardly progressive by secular standards (he is still Catholic, after all), they preferred the cold [old] church, the one that protected them from the outside world behind layers of immovable doctrine….”  (See  “Sex, Lies and Papacies -- The Plot to Bring Down Pope Francis”  by Barbar Latza Nadeau,   9/7/18,  The Daily Beast/  Home   [https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-plot-to-bring-down-pope-francis?ref=home]).

In case you missed it  ---  it’s CATHOLIC CONSERVATIVES,  who are the “Bad Guys” in this "Daily Beast" story

Ms. Nadeau then went on to drive her point home with this:   “It took five long years, but the conservative powers of the Catholic Church have finally begun to turn around the supertanker of support for the pope they seem to hate. And they did it using the one sin the whole church is guilty of: clerical sex abuse….   Francis cannot be blamed for mishandling the bulk of the church’s endemic sex abuse scandals, many of which have played out in dioceses that were run by those who would like to see him resign. There has been no major sex abuse scandal in his native Argentina—at least not yet—so his naysayers have had to pick a softer target….”   Then she talked about how Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano’s  “letter” about Pope Francis’  kid glove treatment of Cardinal McCarrick had “blindsided” the sitting Pontiff,  “…  when it was released by a string of hand-picked conservative Catholic news outlets….”

The article in the “Daily Beast” went on to note that  ---  “Francis was left speechless by the Viganò letter, and so he said nothing. In fact he told reporters on the flight back to Rome, he would never say anything, ‘not one word’ on Viganò’s accusations, and he has so far kept that promise….   Though Francis’ strategy of silence may have been meant to avoid dignifying Viganò’s claims with a response, it has mostly backfired because it was not a flat-out denial of the content of the letter. Conservatives have been able to sow seeds of uncertainty about Francis….   Viganò, who is quite possibly incognito somewhere in the United States since penning the poison letter, has been drip-feeding anti-Francis rhetoric through conservative websites and anti-Francis journalists  [including new material about admitted lies by the Vatican honchos clustered around Pope Francis.  And, t]hose close to Viganò say there is plenty more to come.…  ”

And  ---  Here's  Where Steve Bannon Comes Into All of this…..

According to Barbara Latza Nadeau,   “…  [T]he plot continues to thicken. That’s especially true in the American Church, which has not only spawned one of Francis’s most fervent enemies in Cardinal Raymond Burke, who has found great support for his anti-Francis cause in American alt-right strategist Steve Bannon, but which has also given conservatives plenty of ammunition thanks to endemic clerical sex abuse and cover-ups that seemingly lead straight from the United States to Vatican City….   In particular, the damning Pennsylvania grand jury report that named more than 300 predator priests who victimized more than 1,000 children over seven decades in that state alone, produced one significant culprit: Cardinal Donald Wuerl. He is McCarrick’s successor as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. and he is a former ranking prelate in Pennsylvania, linking him to the two biggest scandals facing [Pope] Francis right now.” 

The Beast’s article sort of peters out at this point  ---  with little more to say about Bannon or the other Catholic Conservatives who are allegedly “conspiring" against Pope Francis.

However, there is a very worthwhile rundown of recent developments in the American Catholic Church’s ongoing pedophile priests scandal

According to the Daily Beast’s Barbara Nadeau,   “….   As the palace intrigue continues in Rome, what amounts to clerical abuse contagion continues in America as state after state start investigations into clerical sex abuse and Catholic cover-ups after the landmark report out of Pennsylvania. An investigation in Missouri, where Francis critic Cardinal Burke and [Pope] Francis supporter Cardinal Timothy Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, both served, is well underway and could be devastating for the American church. Bishop Accountability keeps a database of all reports of predator priests by state.  Missouri has 114 listings of serial abusers across four dioceses. There are also credible investigations of clerical sex abuse going on in Florida, Illinois and New York, not to mention a continuation of the Pennsylvania fallout where priests continue to be named and investigated.  On Thursday, the New York state attorney general subpoenaed all New York state dioceses for their secret records on abuse….”   

In closing, Nadeau also suggests that Cardinal Wuerl’s long-ago tendered retirement-resignation letter to Pope Francis might well be accepted by the Pope at any time,  hopefully to rid the Pope of a now-very-much-unwanted “albatross” continuing to hang around his Papal neck. 

Well ! Well !!! Well !!!!! Who's winning the E-wars ? Certainly, NOT GOLDEN AND THE GOLDENBOTS

In my previous post, I mentioned that one of my main sources of information were the social media postings of State Senator Golden,  John Quaglione, John Seravelli, and  "South Brooklyn Red"  ---  Low and behold,  the locally-oriented commentary that usually had appeared on those sites suddenly seemed to dry up

To  "Well  !  Well !!!   Well !!!!!"  let me add  "My !  My !!!  My !!!!!"

"FBBR" won the street wars.....

Now, it looks lie I'm winning the E-wars.....

Is Marty Golden Behind ?????

---  The Wheel of his car all around Bay Ridge, that is.....

Seems that Bay Ridge is fighting back  ---  with "Fight Back Bay Ridge" doing a running social media commentary (and keeping score) on State Senator Golden's most recent reckless driving exploits  around his neighbors in the neighborhood where he lives and does a lot of his "work" 

So far,  it's "only" things like popping wheelies near large gatherings of  pedestrians to grab good parking spaces  [isn't double parking working anymore ???]  ---  And gunning his vehicle to beat red lights, here and there.

This could get very interesting before all is said and done......

More soon.....