Ken shares his thoughts on political news and history in his blog.
You remember Rep. Michael Grimm? He’s the Staten Island Republican who made national headlines the night of the State of the Union address, when a TV reporter asked him on camera about an ongoing corruption investigation that was said to include the congressman. Grimm walked away but later, with the cameras still rolling, he came …
Read moreGrimm News For The GOP: Staten Island Congressman Close To Indictment
There was a button we used in a recent ScuttleButton puzzle that listed two candidates — “Re-elect Joe & Art/Vote Republican” — candidates whose identity we don’t know. In fact, we often come across buttons whose origins have escaped us. Thus, every now and then we post some of these unknown items, in the hope …
The 19th Congressional District in southwest Florida is solidly Republican and has been since it was created in 1972. Vacant since Rep. Trey Radel (R) resigned in January following his arrest for buying cocaine from an undercover cop, the winner of today’s GOP primary will likely be the district’s next House member. But it’s been …
Read moreToday’s GOP Primary For Trey Radel’s Florida House Seat Turns Nasty
In nearly every obituary for Basil Paterson, the longtime Harlem political powerbroker who died at age 87 last week — and usually in the first sentence — it said he was the father of former Gov. David Paterson. While that is true, it doesn’t begin to describe the role he played in establishing and nurturing …
Read moreBasil Paterson & The Rise Of Black Politics In New York
An exciting week for music, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame got some new inductees: Brian Epstein, Andrew Loog Oldham, Kiss, Cat Stevens, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Linda Ronstadt and The E Street Band. Everyone knows their influence on music. But we shouldn’t forget the influence on politics that …
It was late at night, the end of the 2004 Republican national convention, the last one ever for President George W. Bush. People were filing out of Madison Square Garden when a group of delegates began chanting: “We want Jeb! We want Jeb!” There were still two months to go before the contest against Democratic …
Read moreWeighing The Pluses And Minuses Of A Jeb Bush Candidacy
Edwin Edwards probably put it best. “The only way I can lose this election,” he famously once said, “is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.” That, in a nutshell, describes the tolerance for scandal in Louisiana. Or at least the understanding of it. Edwards, a former congressman …
Read moreIs There Such A Thing As A Sex Scandal In Louisiana? Freshman Rep. McAllister Will Find Out
And then there were two. The votes have been tallied, and our Political Junkie March Madness tournament has been whittled down to a Battle of the Pauls. Senator Rand Paul and Congressman Paul Ryan are the two candidates left in our grand challenge to predict who the Republican Party’s 2016 nominee will be. Now it’s …
Read moreWho Will Be The Champion? PJ March Madness’ Final Round Begins!
A week ago, there were 32. Now we’re already down to our Final Four in the Political Junkie March Madness tournament! We are already halfway through our Semifinal round, and it’s time for you cast your votes to determine the competitors in next week’s final face-off! Take a look at our Semifinals bracket below, and …
Let’s make it clear from the outset: not many people have gone directly from Mayor to President. I think the actual number is zero. Not that there haven’t been those who tried. Think Democrats Sam Yorty of Los Angeles and John Lindsay of New York in 1972. And there was Larry Agran, the mayor of …