Tag: staten island

The Democrats have apparently decided to spot us NY-11.

Jolly good of them:

Last cycle, GOP Rep. Michael G. Grimm won re-election by more than dozen points in the face of a 20-count indictment and millions of dollars of Democratic attack ads. After the election, Grimm pleaded guilty to one count of tax fraud and earlier this month resigned from Congress, setting up what looked like yet another competitive special election in the Empire State.

Democrats were preparing to nominate former Rep. Michael E. McMahon or Assemblyman Michael Cusick in order to put the seat into play and, at a minimum, lay the foundation for a full takeover push in the 2016 general election. But Cusick told the Staten Island Advance Sunday he is not running, and McMahon has dialed back his initial interest to nearly zero.

Continue reading The Democrats have apparently decided to spot us NY-11.

*Other* Tweet of the Day, What, Indeed? edition.

So this is going on…

…which led to this question: Continue reading *Other* Tweet of the Day, What, Indeed? edition.

THE STATEN ISLAND GROUNDHOG MAKES A BREAK FOR NEW JERSEY.

Well, *I* would.

So I can’t blame the groundhog. Probably worried about De Blasio’s proposed property tax hikes. ‘Wealthiest members of the city,’ my eye.

Moe Lane

PS: I call upon the Governor of NJ to offer the groundhog asylum.

PPS: Admittedly, it ain’t the ravens fleeing the Tower of London, but this isn’t the most auspicious omen in the world, either.

Obama-supporter Mike Bloomberg continues to force the NYC Marathon to run.

This is a thing that is happening.

It should not be happening.

Moe Lane

PS: If you run in this year’s NY Marathon then shame on you.

Mayor Bloomberg to hold marathon, despite pleas from Staten Island.

This is… foul. And more than a bit tawdry.

Desperately needed food, water and generators were being rushed Thursday to Sandy-ravaged Staten Island while local leaders blasted the city’s “idiotic” plan to stage the New York City Marathon in the midst of the crisis.

Staten Island Councilman James Oddo urged Mayor Bloomberg to reconsider, especially while rescue efforts are still underway on the hard-hit South Shore.

“The notion of diverting even one police officer, one first responder, one asset away from this carnage is beyond irrational,” the Republican lawmaker told The Daily News.

“The mayor said to me, ‘We’re not going to diminish what is happening on Staten Island.’ You know what happens on marathons – you put a cop on every corner. How are we going to have enough resources?”

The answer, of course: they won’t. Because Staten Islanders are not as important as NYC Marathoners, apparently.

And I am going to stop typing now.

Moe Lane

Breaking: WFP/ACORN Takes The Fifth On Corruption Suit.

[FURTHER UPDATE] Welcome, Instapundit readers.  Note the petition below.

[UPDATE]: Thanks to Randy Mastro and RedState’s Francis Cianfrocca – who will have a lot more to say about these races – here’s the petition cataloging said skulduggery; and you will not find it dull reading. (If you’re having trouble reading it, try here.)

It’s not that our opponents are geniuses at skulduggery.  It’s that they’re unaccustomed to being challenged on it.  When they do, they make mistakes. [Witness this latest from NYC for an example:]

A City Council hopeful won’t cough up documents related to whether the Working Families Party is scamming the campaign finance system — because the case could involve “criminal liability,” according to documents released yesterday.

The bombshell development was revealed at a court hearing where lawyers for the WFP and the campaign of Staten Island candidate Debi Rose tried to get a suit against them tossed.

Former Giuliani administration Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, the lawyer opposing the Rose campaign, called it an “extraordinary development.”

The suit itself – I’m working to get a copy of it sent to me – alleges that WFP (which is, of course, a front for ACORN) is violating campaign finance laws by having WFP front group Data and Field Services provide “canvassing and other services for [City Council candidate Debi] Rose in her primary campaign against [current Conservative candidate* Ken] Mitchell for which the firm received far less than the market value.”  In that context, trying to avoid financial disclosure on the grounds of possible self-incrimination is at the very least eyebrow-raising; which is why they tried to walk back on it before 24 hours had passed. It should also be noted that the Rose race in Staten Island is not the only one where this sort of thing went on; Queens City Council candidate James Van Bramer is likewise heavily involved with WFP/Data & Field Services, as this diary from the Daily Kos (of all places) makes clear.  I’m sure that his campaign is watching this case unfold with great interest.

The moral here?  Well, aside from the obvious one of “ACORN taints everything that it touches,” it’s this: one-party rule makes people stupid.  And stupid people make mistakes.  Keep that in mind the next time you’re trying to decide whether or not to fight City Hall.

Moe Lane

*Who is actually a Democrat.  Welcome to New York fusion politics.

Crossposted to RedState.