Newsmax is reporting:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is reconsidering his decision not to enter the 2012 presidential race — and he says he will let top Republican donors know within days about his plans, Newsmax has learned.

During the past few weeks, several leading Republican donors and fundraisers have been urging the popular Republican governor to reconsider his decision not to run and to enter the GOP primary.

These Christie supporters note that significant GOP support has remained on the sidelines of the primary fight. Many leading fundraisers have yet to commit to any current primary contender, including frontrunners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney…

Continue reading here.

Potentially, a big twist in this race if it does happen…

City Hall News listed it’s ranks of “Winners and Losers” recenty, and we thought a couple of names were worth sharing.

One notable familiar face is Brooklyn Conservative Party Chieftain Jerry Kassar, who is mentioned for his involvement in the Bob Turner race. City Hall News notes that the win for Turner might provide a buffer of GOP support for Republican regular Marty Golden. Both men have not always been the subject of adoring pieces on this blog (and we have been treated in kind).

While reading about Kassar, our contributors noted that he has done an excellent job distancing himself from GOP Chairman Craig Eaton, as has his employer, Sen. Golden.

It has been said to us by more than one insider that, as Eaton’s paranoia over the discord in the party consumes his decision-making process, Kassar has been steadily gaining traction, such as with Rep. Michael Grimm’s staff appointments and, more recently, Mr. Turner’s victory.

We give credit where credit is due, and Mr. Kassar should continue to tread carefully as the GOP writhes in pain from Eaton’s poor leadership.

[City Hall News did not proclaim Mr. Eaton a winner--most likely due to his less than cuddly relationships with the local press (we're speculating)...]

Meanwhile, another local “Winner” christened was The Brooklyn Politics blog’s Colin Campbell, whom we frequently read. Well done, Colin!

Please read the full list by clicking here.

"The Duke"

It’s amazing how much the focus of the Brooklyn GOP has been in eating its young and attacking its own.

We were amazed to see the gusto with which the county brazenly assailed and ultimately failed to quash a variety of local GOP candidates in the primary this month, presumably in the hope of delivering death blows to those who have refused to take orders from them. But compromising major races at the expense of exacting revenge against fellow Republicans, in the estimation of many, goes too far.

Now, we’ve recently learned from a local Brooklyn GOP source that the GOP leadership diverted resources from Bob Turner’s 9th Congressional campaign to aim their cannons at their enemies. Meanwhile, we also were told that another Atlas hate mailer was seen before the primaries.

Let’s start with the 9th Congressional.

According to a trusted Brooklyn GOP source, in the days before the election, the Turner campaign asked Chairman Eaton for a list of specific names of people to help during the election and their availability. After repeated requests, Eaton apparently did not provide this list.

One can assume that it was because the number of names would have been embarrassingly low for a Chairman claiming to be “leading” the effort in Brooklyn for Turner.

Turner campaign figures were apparently furious over how out of touch the so-called “Duke of Bay Ridge” was in one of the most pressing races since Michael Grimm‘s 2010 Congressional run (where Eaton’s commitment to the race was similarly questioned by insiders).

Nevertheless, after providing seemingly scant resources, Eaton alone seemed to be proud to carry a microphone and shout at people on the street to vote with his usual caustic charm. We find it amusing how alone His Grace appears on the Turner bus, without a posse of cronies or even the familiar Sen. Marty Golden at his side.

***

So what exactly was the county doing with their time and resources–what few they have?

Well, for one, we learned about the pathetic mailing they did against Lucretia Regina-Potter, literally lying (not even telling half-truths, just outright falsehoods) about her and attempting to link us with her.

Alright, that was bad enough, and we knew there was bad blood there. But then, this floated our way:

hitpiececoutycommittee57thed2011.2

hitpiececoutycommittee57thed2011.3

The individual referenced is Mr. Glenn Nocera, the current President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, who was running for county committee. Once again, the county engages in a fishing expedition–yielding no fish. Mr. Nocera is not and never has been a writer for our blog.

We’re asking around to see if there were more of these mailers sent out.

One person commented on our blog, “Who cares about a stupid county committee primary?” The answer is apparently the Bay Ridge Cabal, who must have outsourced a great deal of fellow GOP blood money to finance these mailers (ask around–Gerry O’Brien isn’t cheap, even if his attacks are).

Meanwhile, a congressional candidate and his campaign are rushing to do what they need to do to win victory for their race–aided only by Chairman Eaton’s infamous sweetness and pretty face…

It also baffles me and my colleagues at how base and low the party is in using this blog as a launchpad (albeit and unsuccessful one) to for their attacks on internal reformers and disenchanted Republicans, likely displeased with the Chairman’s lack of leadership and ridiculously bad spending policies.

It just goes to show you how everyday citizens such as yourself can have an influence and share your voice with the community–and the lengths the establishment will go to try and stop you.

(P.S. It’s great to be back!)

Former Assemblyman Arnaldo Ferraro, Lucretia Regina-Potter and Michael Bennette

So much for mud-slinging.

Lucretia Regina-Potter won Tuesday’s primary in the 49th Assembly District for the Republican leadership, and her running mate, Michael Bennette, is claiming victory, as well.

This came after a targeted attack against her and Bennette using this blog and stunning lies in a “September surprise” mailer that was too ridiculous to be believed.

Regina-Potter’s campaign announced the victory earlier this evening:

In unofficial results provided by the New York City Board of Elections, 49th Assembly District incumbent Republican State Committeewoman (District Leader) Lucretia Regina-Potter and her newcomer running mate Michael Bennette have won the hotly contested leadership election in the 49th Assembly District.

In spite of the fierce opposition by the County Organization that had to go to the Appellate Division of the State Supreme court to have their candidate reinstated after their removal from the ballot for insufficient signatures, Lucretia andMichael were able to withstand vicious attacks through hateful and despicable literature mailed all over the district, and malicious telephone calls.

Asked about what she thought was the reason for their victory, Lucretia Regina-Potter replied, “Their obnoxious literature back fired on them. Republican voters in the 49 AD are smarter than our opponents thought. To mention only one of the ridiculous statements in the hateful literature it will suffice to say that it claimed that Michael Bennette and I “praised the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln as a “lawful, patriotic act.” You tell me if such a statement would have been acceptable by the voter. Obviously, it was not and probably people did not read anything behind that point.

What Michael and I want to do is to rebuild our beleaguered Republican Party and to bring it back to the times when it was possible to elect Republican public officials and everyone worked united towards such objective.

In case you forgot, here’s the insane hate mailer that was sent featuring Atlas Shrugs in Brooklyn:

So much for Gerry O’Brien’s great work… Comical stuff…

“That Atlas hate mailer did nothing to slow down their team in the 49th,” one pro-Regina-Potter emailer noted.

You may recall that Regina-Potter and her leadership associates have been defending against an outright political onslaught that was highlighted most notably in the 49th Assembly District GOP primary last year, in which Regina-Potter was unsuccessful.

Since then, much transpired, particularly in the run up to this primary.

But Regina-Potter and company were apparently able to parry all of the blows delivered their way since then, all the way up through the primary.

We are investigating some more of this backstory, but, in the meantime, it would appear the 49th has held their ground in a major way against the GOP establishment.

]]> http://atlasshrugsinbrooklyn.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/despite-lies-and-atlas-mailer-regina-potter-retains-leadership-as-establishment-candidates-flop/feed/ 29 John Galt Former Assemblyman Arnaldo Ferraro, Lucretia Regina-Potter and Michael Bennette Hate Mailer 1 Hate Mailer 2 http://atlasshrugsinbrooklyn.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/victory-for-turner-ny1-reports/ http://atlasshrugsinbrooklyn.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/victory-for-turner-ny1-reports/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:02:54 +0000 John Galt http://atlasshrugsinbrooklyn.wordpress.com/?p=4535 ]]>  

NY1 is calling the race for Turner in the 9th Congressional. We can’t wait to see if he won in Brooklyn, Queens, or both…

Everyone’s watching and waiting–but the media are especially.

Amidst rumors of absenteeism on the part of the Brooklyn GOP establishment, Republican Bob Turner awaits the results of an election that has caught the attention of the nation.

Meanwhile, The Brooklyn Politics reported earlier today that the courts had “[impounded] the [absentee & provisiona ballots]  because of ‘gross incompetence’ on behalf of the Board of Elections, citing ‘absentee ballots being mailed to dead people.’”

We will have post-election analysis we’ll be sharing soon after the results are final.

If you were looking for evidence that the Brooklyn GOP was engaged in a bellicose frenzy in the 49th Assembly District, look no further than the local mailboxes of Republican voters.

In Tuesday’s primary, veteran State Committeewoman Lucretia Regina-Potter (along with her running mate, Michael Bennette) is running to keep her position against two unknown hacks the party has put up in a desperate puppet power play to unsettle the district and “reign” over it once and for all. That seems to be the idea…

More stunning than the lies and hateful slime thrown in a recent frantic mailing is the use of Atlas Shrugs in Brooklyn as a major political talking point. 

We always knew they did didn’t like the reform movement, but they have truly sunk to a level of insanity not seen thus far.

Here are the images of the recent mailings the establishment sent to Republican voters in the district:

I didn’t realize it, folks, but apparently we here at Atlas are a nasty bunch!

According to this establishment mailing, we are “anti-Catholic,” “anti-veteran,” “bigoted,” “nasty,” “hateful,” “offensive,” etc., etc., etc.

Wow! I never knew…

I found these accusations particularly comical, given that the establishment darlings’ own “hate blog” was so laden with expletives and nastiness that it was content blocked by Google…

Certainly, this is a grievous misrepresentation of our blog.

Our writers have never attacked anyone’s children or the elderly. We have never written about the sex lives or bowel movements of people. And just because we’ve pointed out the curious connections between the GOP, Democratic boss Vito Lopez, and a local Catholic social club does not make us anti-Catholic.

The only thing I will confess is that our writers have had an honest discourse about politics and given some nicknames to local GOP leaders. That’s no different than what the Daily News and the Post do on a daily basis. Yet, for some reason, that makes us villains?

Of course not.

It’s funny how no one refers to websites like YouTube and Twitter with all those epithets, even though they feature tough, even excremental language from some of the commentators they permit to post on their rolls. They have open fora of discussion, and that’s sometimes the price you pay for having a truly public discourse. In fact, this blog was the subject of comment wars in the past. The difference between Atlas and the establishment-backed ones is that their writers openly use potty mouth and genuine venom in an attempt to intimidate, while we prefer to argue our points the old-fashioned way and let our readers decide.

Unlike some local GOP hate blogs, we decline to crown those we disagree with as “douche bags” and the like.

But we’re not offended or even surprised by the establishment’s blatant lies. They’ve been engaged in a hate campaign for almost two years now. What struck us was what this mailing represents: their tremendous fear and now public loathing of Atlas Shrugs in Brooklyn. They are communicating individually with voters out of fury and dread.

They are turning their hatred for reformers into a primary election issue. With this mailing, it’s perhaps clear that they’ve passed the limits of rage alone and entered the bounds of delusional psychopathy. That can be the only explanation for the tremendous emphasis their mailings now put on this blog, even after a few months in hiatus.

It should be mentioned that the pieces look to be the handiwork of frequent establishment consultant Gerry O’Brien, who was, you may recall, accused of assault and theft of election materials in recent years. You can decide for yourself if the logos and overall look remind you of Chairman Eaton’s beloved political Merlin’s craft…

What a great gang these establishment folks have put together!

***

As for the “content” (if that word is even appropriate) about the candidates, we’re even more surprised by the extremeness of the misrepresentations and lies. For example, Mrs. Regina-Potter is attacked for being anti-Catholic (seemingly due to her imagined association with us), when indeed she is pro-life and attends mass regularly. And we know that because local Republicans supporting her went out of their way to email us and tell us about it.

We do not deny and have never made apologies for supporting the underdogs being hounded by the establishment, of which she is one. But Mrs. Regina-Potter has not been and is not a writer for this blog. Once again, the party continues its crazed attempt to guess who writes for Atlas, with zero success.

Meanwhile, in a hate piece dedicated entirely to smears and mudslinging, the mailer dedicates curiously little time to the party’s two unknown candidates, who are apparently creatures being thrust into the fray by Eaton to unseat Regina-Potter and Co.

What do we know about these jokers? Matthew Graves is a Board of Elections employee, which is both parties’ usual hack pool and organizational blunt instrument used to take on candidates they do not like. Graves, one local 49er told us, has zero political or community experience whatsoever. And this Linda Visconti person, meanwhile, is so unknown, we could find nothing on her background at all. It’s as though she sprung out of the earth in time to be added to the ballot.

Not exactly the kinds of resumes anyone would want for independent party leaders…

***

So, once again, we see how far the party establishment is willing to go in this civil war, and how affected they’ve been by the online reform movement in Brooklyn GOP politics. 

It’s dirty, pathetic, and shameful. Then again, that describes the establishment perfectly.

These days, we all have reasons to look back at the past. For some, those reasons stem from resurfaced sorrows, loss, and tragedy. For others, it’s the memories of things that could have been, but were not.

But sometimes, when you look back, despite a lack of complete satisfaction, you cannot help but be intrigued, if not astonished, by what you’ve witnessed and by the lessons you’ve learned as a result.

I know I feel that way about my fellow writers and Brooklyn Republicans in the past few years.

Anyone familiar with Brooklyn GOP politics in recent times knows how much it has been reshaped and impacted in a manner that few county party apparatuses can be, in many ways surprising if not outright stunning those who have followed it.

For years, it came as no surprise to a healthy minority if not a slight majority of insiders that the establishment system of politics in both major county parties–Democratic and Republican–was troublingly flawed, autocratic and corrupt. For years, intra-party squabbling and establishment totalitarianism was a semi-private subject that few party foot soldiers, either blindly or ignorantly, openly engaged in. For years, the average voter could not bother to worry about these issues either.

Yet, in the Brooklyn GOP, the party establishment was entirely blindsided by the gathering storm of discontent over sickening wheeling-and-dealing, status quo politics. That local discontent was surely recognizable in a greater universe of national upset, captured in the then growing Tea Party and libertarian movements that, for better or worse, have dominated the political headlines in just the past year or so.

That discontent and disappointment in the Brooklyn GOP did not start with Atlas Shrugs in Brooklyn.

In fact, the hewing of political victims in the Brooklyn GOP has been going on for at least a generation, and was almost certainly done well before that. Sometimes those victims found various niches and outlets to continue to share their voices in their neighborhoods, but they often enjoyed limited press attention and given timeshares on the ash heap of GOP history (to paraphrase Ronald Reagan).

The internet changed all of that.

Yes, to a degree, the internet is a place where kooks can run amok and say the nastiest things with limited repercussions. But it is also a transformative and critical forum for the unheard voices in any arena to exercise their free speech.

And so, Atlas Shrugs in Brooklyn came along.

My fellow writers and I, who had all seen first and second-hand the failure of the party to progress and promote reform (both internally and in government at large), told you we sought, simply, “reform in Brooklyn’s Republican Party, from the bottom up, from within and from without.”

At first we were ignored by the establishment, who silently hoped we would fail and frankly did not understand the power of online media–remember, this is the same gang that kept a post about Arnold Schwarzenegger on their antediluvian website long after he sent their Lincoln Dinner a video tape of himself, let alone while he was popular.

But once Atlas started to challenge the figureheads of their poorly led posse–such as the estimable Craig Eaton, aptly mocked as “The Duke of Bay Ridge” for his self-important reign of irrelevance in the wider borough–they began pawing desperately at their keyboards and using party hacks and Vietnam era political consultants to “fight back.”

In the meantime, many of our writers became purveyors of news that had never reached a broader audience beyond the small throngs of insiders huddled in chintzy Bay Ridge political haunts. 

The establishment “powers that be” were not pleased one bit. Their deals with Democrats were being documented and dots were being connected demonstrating their egregious mismanagement of party funds and insular support of Bay Ridge locals at the expense of the rest of Kings County.

You have to understand that we are dealing with a group of individuals–termed “The Bay Ridge Cabal” on this very blog–who are not used to being questioned publicly. Why? Because it simply was not done by insiders. At the very least, people did not have the opportunity to do so in the past in any meaningful way.

In that way, Atlas Shrugs in Brooklyn was novel.

It offered a variety of reform-oriented, frustrated Republicans and libertarian-minded individuals to express (and yes, occasionally vent) on what was wrong with things as they were and where things were (or were not) going. Our writers had the privilege of communicating with hundreds of thousands of visitors over the course of our time on the internet, which is truly humbling. We don’t benefit personally from this communication (no monetary or personal political benefit) beyond sharing our voices with each of you.

Meanwhile, the only thing the establishment could do was engage in petty guessing games on their own engendered hate blogs, impotently crowning which “douche bag” (not our term, theirs) was behind our Randian namesake–showing us all, frankly, what unprepared children the establishment is full of.

After tensions escalated, we’ve now transitioned into full blown civil war within the party, something Thomas Jefferson probably would think is a medicine necessary for its sound health. Bitter rivalries, both old and new, have been kindled, traitors have become friends (and vice versa), and feuding seemingly has no end in sight.

It was amidst this din that our writers took a step back from the fray, perhaps realizing just how much the civil war needed to play itself out without our voices muddling it. This did not go unnoticed.

Where did you go? many emailed us asking.

What happened? others asked.

In the interim, party loyalists were turning against their own, even taking their beloved Duke of Bay Ridge to court. Primary battles were raging and politics-as-usual reigned supreme in many quarters. Some major opportunities opened up (such as NY-9), and some groups continued to distinguish themselves. Yet, in these unseen wild times of GOP in fighting, attempts at meaningful reform were difficult for the most seasoned of veterans, let alone the average voter.

And so we arrive at today. Yes, the war within the party rages on, largely the product of the egomaniacs in that petty establishment Cabal refusing to either reform or say goodbye.

But some things just need to be said that aren’t being said right now. Some stories that just aren’t being told need to be told. And with elections in a few days, some issues that need to be addressed must be.

Revelations. Opinions. Predictions. All things you can either take or leave, as you always have.

So, in the coming days, we’ll be here as actively as we can. Hopefully, you’ll stop by…

- John Galt

Who is John Galt?

Having to say something over and over again can get tiresome.

Recently, Room 8′s Gatemouth released a lengthy manifesto in reply to the antics of an entirely irrelevant hate blog regarding Mr. Judge. He, we are sure, had his reasons for doing so…

Regardless, after gauging the political chatter out there, I thought this an appropriate time to issue our own simple statement about Jonathan Judge: he is not and has not been a writer of this blog.

To engage in further discussion on this issue is unnecessary. However, Mr. Gatemouth raises some intriuging issues in his latest piece, entitled “NOW IT CAN BE TOLD: MY SECRET RELATIONSHIP WITH JONATHAN JUDGE. “

It cannot be denied that this blog has and will continue to support the cause of reform in Brooklyn GOP politics and politics at large. To that end, we have had many kind things to say about Mr. Judge, the soon-to-be former President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club. Indeed, we are currently reaching out to Mr. Judge and various other members of his “proudly indepdendent” organization (as well as many other local Democrats and Republicans) to discuss the state of local politics and how best to fix the broken system we have.

Reform is our goal, not pettiness, as is for some.

We will be discussing these and other issues in future pieces.

But for the present, I’m afraid I must say you will not be learning anytime soon the answer to the appropriate and famous query: “Who is John Galt?”

(Let alone “who are Dagny Taggart, Midas Mulligan, Francisco D’Anconia, and Hank Rearden?”)