Fairness requires I report that Senate Republican spokesman Scott Reif has announced that no taxpayer money was involved in State Senator Marty Golden’s “She’s Only a Woman to Me” Seminar.  

Since taxpayers paid for the mailing, this is what we call a lie.  

Reif, whose credibility on this matter has thus been proved to be questionable, goes on to say that Bay Ridge Manor (owned by Golden's brother, and funneling money to Senator Golden in at least three different ways) and Golden buddy Phillpa Morris donated their services to the Golden Posture Soiree gratis.

Still no answer on whether Golden was using the taxpayer subsidized mailing for this event to help Ms. Morrish attract customers?

Whether Ms. Morrish providing her services to Mr. Golden for free as a loss leader?

Whether Ms. Morrish holds some of her other events at Bay Ridge Manor?

Whether Ms. Morrish’s provision of services to Golden for this event for free was to be exchanged for a discount in what she is charged for holding events at Bay Ridge Manor? 

Whether this event’s other costs were being financed through Mr. Golden’s campaign committee, or through the State financed Golden-front, the Bay Ridge-Bensonhurst Beautification and Preservation Alliance (most of the time it’s hard to tell them apart)? 

And whether taxpayers should be forced to subsidize a mailing for something Ms. Morrish calls her “ministry”? Capitol Confidential » Dems milking Golden’s cancelled Ladyness 101 class blog.timesunion.com    

Golden tries to change the subject by lending his name too late to a one house bill the Senate let die earlier this year.  

In fairness, as I've acknowledged, finding a way to make the Board of Elections actually use the technology it already has is probably a good thing, although it does seem perhaps overly optimistic to believe that that election inspectors who can't properly handle a low-tech process, will instead be able to accomplish one which is hi-tech. Marty Golden Touts Legislation to Fix Election Day Problems politicker.com    

Alan Flacks: The problem lies mainly with the poor recording of results from the scanners by the poll workers (many of whom appointed here to their position by Espaillat and Rangel district Party leaders) augmented peradventure with inaccurate N.Y.P.D. entries and A.P. incomplete data....

...I am no fan of the Board of Elections, whose politically appointed commissioners pool their ignorance--go watch a board meeting! So, who are those poll workers? They were in the main appointed by Rangel's and Espaillat's Democratic Party district leaders (and both Rangel and Espaillat are also district leaders--no Reformers, they!--why do they have to hold on to that meaningless party position today especially when they hold bigger and better public office?).

In another post, Flacks aptly notes:In fact, the number of election districts which had no report on Primary day was proportionate to those "zero" E.D.s in the Rangel Congressional Primary two years ago. THE FLACKS REPORT: Up-date: Adriano vs. Charlie / Charlie advs. Adriano theflacksreport.blogspot.com    

The Espaillat version: they weren't our inspectors (and that’s not all).

Juan Gonzalez is more often a partisan than an objective observer, so grains of salt are in order, but the narrative he outlines is really troubling---so much so that it is certainly a matter worthy of further scrutiny by more objective observers. Troubling actions by Board of Elex members www.nydailynews.com    

Montezuma may have had his revenge but hell hath no fury like Nydia scorned (Part 2--with many more sure to come).

Yes, not many Bronx Latinos seem likely to vote for an Albanian American, but think of how much fun she'll have dining on Arthur Avenue. Rep. Nydia Velazquez out for Naomi Rivera’s blood www.bxtimes.com    

The Times does its piece on the political implications of the Satmar feud, and then it is up to people like me and Orthodox Pundit to tease it out.

However, I think OP is a bit harsh here.  The job of the Times is not to do ED by ED election analysis; the job of the Times is to find someone who has (I suggest the French scholar Côme Pérotin, who I suspect may be blogging as "Hasidic Brooklyn", or at least feeding him information).

I do agree with OP when he says "In such an obscure primary, it's quite possible that both sides together wouldn't bring out as much votes as the current gap between them," a point I myself made in 2008:  

Glanz’s dumping of incumbent Senator Marty Connor for Squadron barely made a difference in that race. The two wings of Satmar were each forced to prove that they were the ones who could deliver, something which never would have occurred had they hung together. As a result, the Hasidic vote nearly tripled, and while Connor’s percentage in the area dropped from 90% to about 2/3rds, the much increased vote count left his vote margin in the area almost intact.  

What I think OP gets wrong is his conclusion that this does not weaken the Hasidic community.  Previously, politicians did one stop shopping for Hasidic votes, which had to be purchased wholesale; now there is competition.

When Brownstone Brooklyn produces a more lopsided vote that the Hasidim, and produces a bigger margin on a smaller turnout, disproportionate attention too Hasidic demands seems a less winning proposition, and diminished resources will surely follow. Orthodox Pundit: News & Political Analysis orthodoxpundit.blogspot.com    

Another comment on the Times article is also in order:  

Professor Heilman: It could have been Tweedledum and Tweedledee — the two sides would have opposed each other...Each of them wants to say we speak for Satmar so they can look as if they were the deciding factor, an important bloc in the election. Then when that particular candidate needs to turn to the Satmar community, he or she will turn to that faction.

Correct, but only to a point.

It could have been Tweedle-dee or Tweedle-dum (perhaps an allusion to Erik Dilan), but it could not have been Tweedle-Barron. Satmar Rift Complicates Politics of Brooklyn Hasidim www.nytimes.com    

MoveOn’s Barron walk-back is a case study is politically correct leftie spinelessness, but let's shine the light at a different angle:

Subject: We apologize
Dear MoveOn member, 

Last month, you received an email from MoveOn about State Representative David Duke, a candidate for Governor in your State. It was offensive and inflammatory—and we shouldn’t have sent it.

On behalf of the MoveOn staff, I apologize to you and to the Louisiana community.

The email was all too reminiscent of the kind of attacks that have been used by our opponents to divide progressives over and over again—white folks from African Americans, Jews from non-Jews, recent immigrants from descendants of immigrants, etc.

MoveOn is a community of 7 million of us from every corner of our country. There are MoveOn members of every race, religion, and color. We aspire to bring folks together to fight for racial and economic justice and democracy—with respect for everyone. This email did the opposite.

After the email was sent, we couldn’t undo the harm it had done. But we wanted to do our best to avoid doing any more damage. So we didn’t say anything further about Representative Duke for the duration of the race, limiting our involvement to communicating the positive reasons that MoveOn members in the State chose to endorse Governor Edwards back in April.

We can’t take back our actions. But we can do better going forward to make sure that we are uniting, not dividing, our shared communities.

Again, our sincerest apologies. And if you have any thoughts you’d like to share with us about the email or about how MoveOn can be a constructive force in local races and issues in the future, please don’t hesitate to email me at [x]@moveon.org.

Thank you for all you do.

Justin Caseyouthoughtwehadballs
Executive Director
MoveOn.org Political Action 

Marvin Wasserman:  “We aspire to bring folks together to fight for racial and economic justice and democracy—with respect for everyone." Then there should have been nothing to apologize for. MoveOn Is REALLY Sorry For Saying Bad Things About Charles Barron politicker.com    

Richard Posner (!!!??!!!): "I've become less conservative since the Republican Party started becoming goofy,"

Richard Posner!!! Federal Judge Richard Posner: The GOP Has Made Me Less Conservative : NPR www.npr.org    

It's frustrating to attempt to say something funny about something so absurd, and yet so utterly bereft of humor. Syria is Poised to Join the U.N. Human Rights Council www.theatlantic.com