Free Republic

Even a 20-count federal indictment might not keep Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) from winning reelection. Both GOP and Democratic observers expect the former FBI agent to win Tuesday night, despite a looming trial on charges ranging from mail and wire fraud to perjury. Even without help from national Republicans, political watchers say Grimm embraced his legal woes and cast himself as Staten Island’s “anti-hero.” His Democratic challenger, former New York City Councilman Domenic Recchia, failed to offer other reasons to oust the incumbent. “It’s part of the Staten Island culture — he’s like an anti-hero, that resonates with people,” said...

More than four years ago, while announcing his campaign for governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo stood in front of the Tweed Courthouse in downtown Manhattan and said Albany’s antics “could make Boss Tweed blush.” New York had had enough corruption, he said, and he was going to put a stop to it. “Job 1 is going to be to clean up Albany,” he said, “and make the government work for the people.” Mr. Cuomo became governor on that platform and recorded several impressive achievements, but he failed to perform Job 1. The state government remains as subservient to big...

In 2012, the average New York Jew looks a little less like Jerry Seinfeld and a little more like Tevye the Milkman. New York’s Jews are poorer, less educated and more religious than they were 10 years ago, according to a landmark new study of the city’s Jewish population. They’re also less liberal: More than half of the Jews in New York City live in Orthodox or Russian-speaking homes, both of which lean heavily conservative. The study, conducted by UJA-Federation of New York, counted 1.5 million Jews in New York City, Long Island and Westchester, up from 1.4 million just...

Republican Rob Astorino will announce the first week in March that he will run for governor of New York. The Westchester County executive is expected to make the announcement March 3 or 4 along with his agenda on "eight key issues," the New York Post is reporting. The decision to enter the race came after receiving promises of at least $15 million in campaign contributions and more to come, if he can tighten the race between himself and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to have $40 million in the bank for his re-election bid. "There'll be a...

EDITED......Albany pols are in a boiling dispute over who gets to spend a $600M housing foreclosure settlement from JP Morgan Chase. Sap-happy lefties want to help underwater homeowners victimized by the subprime debacle.....vote-crazed Gov Cuomo's infected with "higher office brain disease" -- plans $2 billion in tax cuts – though his plan doesn’t count on the $600M settlement money. Bertha Lewis, president of the Black Insitute and former head of ACORN, said, “What I want to know is WTF? Why take our funds? This settlement money was intended to help struggling homeowners in New York, too many of whom are...

Updated 12:30 PM | Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., announced Tuesday that he will retire from Congress after just two full terms. “After careful thought and consideration, I have decided not to seek re-election for the 21st Congressional District this November,” he wrote in a news release. “It has truly been a privilege to serve, and I plan on continuing to work for a brighter future for the region.” Owens faced a somewhat competitive race against former Bush White House staffer Elise Stefanik. Republicans view the now-open seat in upstate New York as a potential pickup opportunity in 2014. In 2012,...

The Republican National Committee began running ads in 40 media markets Tuesday mostly targeting incumbent senators who supported President Barack Obama’s health care program. Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, gave $2.5 million to help Democrats defend their majority in the Senate. The early action suggests Republicans see the president’s signature domestic achievement as their way to keep control of the House and perhaps win the Senate. With more than 300 days remaining before Election Day, both sides are looking to set the agenda before voters start paying attention. “Obamacare is going to be the issue in 2014,”...

Don Guardian was sworn in to office today, becoming the first Republican to lead the city in 23 years.

Increasingly desperate New York Republicans, seeking the political equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, are trying to get Donald Trump to run against Gov. Cuomo next year…. They’re seeking to make the case that while Trump is only an apprentice politician, he’s the only Republican on the horizon who has the name recognition, guts and money to tell Cuomo, “You’re fired!” They’re also arguing that Trump could launch a 2016 presidential run — which he has clearly been eyeing with his criticisms of President Obama and Washington — by first winning the election for governor. So far, Trump, who only...

Anthony Weiner is on a roll. A week after floating his name as a possible mayoral candidate, the disgraced former congressman finishes second when he’s included in the field of Democrats, a new poll reveals. Weiner — who resigned from office in 2011 after getting caught in a sexting scandal — said he’s mulling a political comeback by running for mayor.

Weiner represented Queens and Brooklyn for more than a decade before resigning amid a 2011 scandal over lewd online behavior. NEW YORK — Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned over a sexting scandal in 2011, says he's weighing a run for New York City mayor this year. The Democrat told The New York Times Magazine in a story posted online Wednesday that "it's now or maybe never for me" but acknowledged that it's a long shot because some people "just don't have room for a second narrative about me." Weiner said that his political committee spent more than $100,000...

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) took a swipe at American capitalism on Tuesday amid a discussion with MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts about the Catholic Church’s ongoing conclave to determine who will be the next Pope. Rangel declared that the church needs a new pontiff in order to continue their global charitable works and that Americans support that charity because Americans do not value “capitalism by itself.”