The Gateway (Old Dirty Bastard Edition) [NOTE: Title Does Not Refer To Ed Towns] [UPDATED]

GZA meets ODB. Marty Markowitz Meets Wu Tang www.politicker.com

The Times story on Ed Towns' retirement is a good illustration of the difference between perception and reality.

The Times cites as important factors Towns' loss of a District Leadership and his daughter's loss of an Assembly seat.

But the District Leader vote was taken at a private meeting of Party Leaders and owed to factors unique to that vote.

In fact, many of the leaders who voted against Towns in that vote were perfectly willing to support Towns for re-election to Congress, if only he had asked them nicely (and some of those who supported him in that vote had no intention, even then, of backing him for re-election).

As to his daughter's losing Assembly race in the 54^th AD, Towns only represented about a third of that district--which only accounted for 3% of the votes in the Congressional District (and Towns represents far less of the 54th under the new lines); the results in that overwhelmingly Latino seat, mostly located outside of Towns' turf, was almost irrelevant to his re-election chances (except for its impact in creating a largely unmerited appearance of weakness).

By contrast, the Times ignores the real weakness of Towns, a former Committee Chair denied a ranking membership by his own Party Caucus, who could no longer legitimately claim the value of his now worthless seniority. Edolphus Towns Is Said to Decline to Run Again for Congress www.nytimes.com 

UPDATE #1: Vito wins the spin war.

Perhaps most notable thing about Towns' race before he stepped down was not only Lopez's support for Hakeem Jeffries, but also Jeffries’ support among virtually everyone Vito was a war with.

But in the end, the victory of this incredibly bright young man over a burnt out incumbent is being portrayed solely as one of a machine over an insurgent, which at best is a highly incomplete picture. The Empire - Rep. Towns Retirement Signals Power Shift in Brooklyn www.wnyc.org

UPDATE #2: The Daily News drinks the Kool-Aid as well.

Query: how exactly did Towns fail "to even hang on to his role as a district leader." With Ed Towns Out Of The Running, Queens Democrats Throwing Support To Hakeem Jeffries www.nydailynews.com

All we know about the latest 6^th CD candidate, Robert Mittman, is that he's apparently never set anyone's house on fire, likes to honor veterans, and is a pediatric allergist who's been busy pollen the electorate.

Jeff Gottlieb is livid that someone else is dividing the votes of who prefer to support delusional egomaniacs on hopeless ego trips.

Not for nuthin, but so far Mittman seems like the most appealing candidate in this race. Congressional Race Morphs Into ‘Kool-Aid Party’ queens-politics.com

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This article contains more than anyone needs to know about Ruben Dario Vargas, who is now returning to his well deserved obscurity. Ruben Dario Vargas Dropping Rangel Challenge www.nydailynews.com

We always knew that Andrew had all his dad's worst traits; what we didn't know was that his father was Richard Nixon. Cuomo Aide Slammed Reporter In Dossier www.buzzfeed.com

Chait proves there was nothing Obama could do to please conservatives.

Can't wait for when he proves there was nothing Obama could do to please liberals. Why Did Obama’s Bipartisanship Fail? nymag.com

Walter Mead: If a gang of white American thugs attacked African-Americans, and defended their action on the ground that they were protesting Robert Mugabe’s seizure of white-owned farms in Zimbabwe, the world would laugh at their foolishness even as it condemned their bigotry. This isn’t quite how it works when goons around the world attack Jews and Jewish buildings and defend themselves by saying that they are angered by things the Israeli government has done. Efforts are made to ‘understand’ the perpetrators even as their actions are condemned. Somehow these events are seen as justifying, even requiring tough diplomatic measures against Israel — rather than demanding aggressive programs of civic education aimed at confronting the psychology of hate. European Anti-Semitism: It’s Not Just France | Via Meadia blogs.the-american-interest.com