Intrigue Over Intimidation to Vote in Favor of Obamacare; and a Break

I am about to relate a story that has all the elements of high political intrigue: a Chicago-style White House intent on passing Obamacare; a so-called moderate Democratic Congressman in a swing district running for reelection; and the great-grandson of a man who ran for president in 1928.

It turns out this drama unfolded in a congressional district with which I am quite familiar-- New York's 13th, which includes all of Staten Island and a small part of Brooklyn.  It is the district my two cousins-- Guy and Susan Molinari-- served as members of Congress from 1981 through 1997.  And I was employed on a part-time basis in the district office of this congressional seat during the early 1980's.  So I have an acute interest in this particular district.

Some readers might recall my having written about how this seat was lost to the Democrats in 2008 when then-Congressman Vito Fossella got himself caught up in scandal.

The man who currently holds the seat is Michael McMahon.  He likes to regard himself as a conservative/moderate Democrat.  Think of him as Heath Shuler with a New York accent.  But he serves in a district that could easily go Republican.  And in a swing district with a strong Republican presence, a Democratic representative could get voted out even if he voted against Obamacare.

McMahon had signalled his intention to vote "no" when the odious legislation was to be voted upon in the House.  But that was not to be the end of the story.

The New York Daily News reported that the Chicago White House was very unhappy with McMahon over the prospect that he would be voting against Obamacare.  In fact, Obama's political director sent a New York political donor to meet with McMahon.  The name of the donor?  Alfred E. Smith 4th.  He is the great-grandson of Alfred E. Smith, who ran for President against Herbert Hoover in 1928.  The Daily News explains:

"The message was that a 'no' vote could
cause you a problem in the fall, but the
other side of it was we can help you raise
money," said a knowledgeable source. The
Tammany-style squeeze play was
delivered at a Democratic Club lunch in  
Washington last Friday by Alfred E. Smith
4th, great-grandson of the former New
York governor and 1928 Democratic
presidential candidate.

In response to this report, McMahon tried to downplay the incident.  But the implications were clear:

McMahon conceded the White House asked Smith "to talk to me as a fellow New Yorker, and he did in a personal, professional way. He kept saying it could be advantageous to me, in terms of my political career. But I told him it is not about me, it's about what is good for my district."

In any event, it is pretty clear that McMahon was the recipient of a not-so-veiled threat delivered indirectly by the Chicago White House.

On the Republican side, there is going to be a primary.  Michael Grimm is an ex-FBI agent and Marine Gulf War veteran.  His opponent, Michael Allegretti, is employed with the Climate Group as a policy adviser.  This group deals with climate change issues.

Allegretti's Italian surname can actually be somewhat of a political asset on Staten Island.  But nonetheless, the climate change candidate does not necessarily possess a clear path to the GOP nomination.

A debate between the two GOP primary opponents was recently held by the Molinari Republican Club, and over 400 people attended.  There is intense interest in the race:

(Staten Island Advance photo)

Cousin Guy endorsed Grimm-- the ex-FBI agent, Marine Gulf War vet.  The large Republican Club that bears his name then followed suit.  This assured Grimm would have considerable support if he wins the primary. 

In addition, Staten Island has a fairly large, active Tea Party movement.  I suppose that group might expend some efforts during the fall campaign as well. 

It should therefore be an interesting election season in New York's 13th Congressional District.  McMahon, the Democrat, is apparently at risk of being blacklisted from the usual Washington-based fund-raising mechanisms because of his "no" vote on Obamacare; and of course this is potentially a big year for Republicans.  

I will try to keep readers abreast of any additional drama that plays out in this race.  But it is shaping up to be a good one.  The race is now haunted by the ghost of Alfred E. Smith-- and also by Obama's political director. 

In the meantime, I am going to take a break from blogging until Easter Monday.  I need to attend to a backlog of paperwork and reading; and my son will be returning home from college in a few days for a long holiday weekend. 

Happy Easter to everyone who visits here.

Comments

[Fred Gregory]

Joe,

Spero che tu abbia passato una Pasqua bella e tranquilla.

Fred

[jaycee]

Obama is nothing more than an arm-twisting gangster with his minions doing the dirty work.
Cheap thuggery is more expected from an NBA player than our president, but that's what we've got now.
If we don't unite to throw da bums out in November, we'll be under the control of the Dem Mafia in Congress for years to come.

[Joe Guarino]

E tu anche, Federico. Grazie!

Jaycee, this was a fairly remarkable story; but it is pretty typical of what John Kass warned us about repeatedly. They are a bunch of thugs-- in fact, so much, that they made a New York Democratic politician appear virtuous by comparison.

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

Happy Easter, Joe.

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Mary. And to you as well.