We return again to the topic of my not being the blogger who calls himself JP, a cause celebre because Rock Hackshaw has falsely called JP (in real life, a darkish skinned Latino male) out as a racist, and called me out as JP.
I’ll let JP defend himself (especially since I got into so much trouble coming to his defense).
However, JP’s a pretty good writer, and he does not deserve being diminished as a Gatemouth subsidiary. He is not.
Admittedly, his style does sometimes resemble mine, but that is only proof of the quality of his work.
So, here is proof that I am not JP (nyone with any sense can go home now).
On May 21, 2006, having been harassed mercilessly for what I’d written about Brooklyn politics, I announced my first departure from the web.
It might have been a good time to create a new identity to post articles under, but as I’ve documented, I did not do so at that time.
On July 25, 2006, tempted by Ben and Gur’s offer of cash on the barrelhead for my writing, I returned.
Two days later, JP posted his first piece.
Logically, if I had created JP, I would have done it before my return to the web, not later.
Moreover, if I was posting as JP, I seemingly would have moved some of my punishing level of posting (my deal with Ben and Gur required 15 pieces between the 25ths of every month) to JP’s blog, but if one checks my archives (starting from July 25, 2006, up until my departure in December of that year) one will see that I began a flurry of activity on Gate’s blog on the 25th of every month continuing at a fast pace until I hit my quota and wound down.
There was really no time to run another steady character.
And if I were to have developed a new character at that time, the logical thing would have been to have him be the one to talk about Brooklyn, the source of all my blog-related aggravation, so that I’d draw less heat.
But JP never talked about Brooklyn.
Now look at JP’s work. I must admit that our views often had some similarity. We are both centrist Clinton Democrats, and, like Rock, we both liked Gubernatorial hopeful and prohibitive underdog, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.
But we liked him differently.
On July 27, 2006, JP’s second piece, Ben Smith Asks What Is Tom Suozzi’s Future, was an unabashed piece of hagiography in which everything was for the best, in the best of Tom’s possible world’s.
By contrast, the titles of my July, 30, 2007, Tom Pain: Why I’m Voting For Tom Suozzi And Why I Wish He Wasn’t Running (The Curtain Raiser in a Two Act Tragedy) and my July 31, 2006, Tommyrot: Tom Suozzi Does_the_Holy Sacrament of Extreme Dysf-Unction (The Mournful Coda In A Two Act Tragedy) could not convey a more different impression than JP’s piece.
On September 6, 2006, I wrote the following:
13th SD (Queens): John Sabini seems to be a decent and thoughtful guy; Hiram Monserrate seems like a showboating bag of wind. I am, however, open to arguments to the contrary by those more familiar with the subject matter.
That very day, JP responded with a piece that began:
In his last blog post, Gatemouth described Hiram Monserrate as a showboating bag of wind. This is probably the best way to describe someone that apparently went to the John Liu School of Politics. But Gatemouth forgot to mention that he's also a thug who believes that his previous jobs in the military and as a police officer give him a higher moral authority than mere mortals (kind of like the current Democratic nominee for Governor, only replace "previous jobs in the military and as a police officer" with "having a multi-millionaire daddy and going to Harvard"), all while not being subject to our laws (like by originally living outside of the district in which he was running and suing the NYPD for *gasp* trying to instill discipline).
However, the piece went on to compare Monserrate favorably with Sabini, and ended with this admonition:
As bad as Monserrate is, the energy and guerilla tactics he will bring to the State legislature, even if it is to showboat and raise his own profile, is better than continuing with the same old failing status quo that is bext exemplified by John Sabini. On September 12, citizens of the 13th Senatorial District should suck it up and vote for Hiram Monserrate.
I was impressed enough to respond: “Best parody of Gatemouth since Brooklyn Fats.”
This was a high compliment, as Brooklyn Fats had been fortunate enough to have me writing his material. Two years later, after a seven month hiatus from writing, JP wrote a post to celebrate Monserrate’s election as a State Senator. I responded thusly: Good to have you back!
You really like this topic don’t you?
The last time you took it on (http://www.r8ny.com/blog/jp/monserrate_v_sabini.html), you wrote the third best Gatemouth parody I’d ever read, The best were by “Pee Wee” (http://www.r8ny.com/blog/pee_wee) and “Brooklyn Fats” (http://www.r8ny.com/blog/brooklyn_fats ).
Hiram Montserate has been playing footsie with Joe Bruno for months now. He is being wooed for the new Bruno strategy; run 'em as Dems, keep em as Dems, but have their votes to organize the Senate if the Dems ever take the majority. It's called "the Kruger Plan", and Sabini has been a target, and is now a bigger one!
The Senate Republican majority is doomed in the long-term unless they find a way to corral some non-Republicans into either switching parties or voting with them to organize. This has now been their long-range strategy for many years. They find "Democrats In Name Only" and run them in prohibitively Democartic districts, so they can hold them in reserve in case the Dems ever take the majority.
Example #1: Get Olga Mendez to switch parties.
Example #2: Get Pedro Espada to change parties while maintaining his Democratic enrollment so he can still run in the Democratic Primary. The Democrats actually stopped this one by beating Bruno at his own game by running DINO Ruben Diaz.
Example #3: Woo Diaz. That'll teach 'em.
Exampla #4: Run Guillermo Linares against Eric Schniederman.
Example #5: Give Nellie Santiago the Republican line and try to draw the Satmar into her district.
Example #6: Get Robach to switch parties and run for the Senate.
Example #7: Run Noach Dear in the Democratic Primary against divided black opposition.
Example #8: Run Steve Kaufman in the Democratic Primary against Jeff Klein, while also attempting to run him as a Republcian, Conservative and Independence.
Example #9: Get politcal transexual Tony Herbert, already surgically remade as a Republican, to pretend to have his Democratic credential reattached, and run him against Velmanette Montgomery.
Example #10: Carl Kruger; already bought and paid for.
Example#11: Woo Montseratte and attend his fundraiser And I’m sure I forgot a few. Anyway, those above are all verifiably true.
The only question is what’s the next move? My guess is that if haven’t been been wooing Kendall Stewart, it’s only because they are preparing to run Matthieu Eugene instead.
Anyway, it’s good to have you back. Thinking of doing it myself. Anyway, please accept my invitation to come and chat sometime at Gatemouthnyc@hotmail.com”
BTW, I am of the belief (but am not certain) that when I posted this argument again (which I did many times), JP was the anonymous blogger who wrote:
having once lived in espada's district while working in monserrate's, do you seriously think they wouldn't get taken out if they handed the reins back to the republicans? in kingsbridge or corona, people aren't voting for a turncoat unless they walk to the polls through a vacuum. which, granted, many do.
it's a bluff – why would they jeopardize their political survival? especially monserrate. he may like his items too much, but that exposure hasn't thwarted his ambition. while he's probably realized he isn't ever gonna be mayor, i think he has his eyes on doing exactly what you recently thought (and i agree) dan squadron's gonna do: draw himself into congress. i happen to think he'd get a hell of a lot more done than crowley. but no way he'd have any support if he stabbed the party in the back.
And
"oh please stop pushing this monseratte as a crypto-republican line. even if you see him as craven, what future could he possibly have siding with the republicans? he'll be one of the most reliable votes and outspoken voices we'll have in the chamber."
I leave it to the jury which of us was correct.
Anyway, the point is that JP once thought Hiram Monserrate’s being a “thug” (at the time, his word, not mine) was a good thing, and I never did.
I would leave that to the jury too, but Hiram chose a bench trial.
Like me, JP was an admirer of Alan Hevesi who nonetheless disavowed him before the 2006 election. However, at the time JP reported himself undecided, while I openly endorsed a Write-In Vote for Room 8 video blogger Adam Green. I was even one of the four voters in the City of New York (most of them from bloggers) who actually did it.
Further, JP’s conflict with Rock came because he was an adamant supporter of Hillary Clinton. By contrast, I was then supporting John Edwards, and after he was out, my support for Hillary was lukewarm at best. In fact, by the time I actually posted on the matter (I had been on hiatus), I was urging her to drop out of the race.
I should further note that during the recent imbroglio with Rock, JP said the following to Rock concerning President Obama:
Yes, you were right that Obama would win the nomination. But so far, I am right that he would make a horrible President. Obama has been a disappointment so far in so many ways, that it's almost difficult to mention all of them. Just to be clear, I'm coming at this from a left-wing point of view and not a tea-partier pov.
By contrast, since the President’s inauguration, I think I’ve been pretty close to unrelenting pro-Obama; for example:
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/the_triumph_of_peter_beinart.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/the_plot_against_america.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/all_the_rest_is_commentary.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/chariots_of_fire.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/report_from_kabul_hill.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/snorting_coakley_the_rise_of_progressive_nihilism.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/feeling_hurt.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/physician_heal_thyself.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/grand_delusions.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/what_a_difference_three_days_makes.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/the_so_called_centrist_democrats_and_the_real_ones.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/as_centrist_and_substantial_as_the_hole_in_a_bagel.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/procedural_hogwash.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/introducing_the_gate_way.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/for_those_with_no_life.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/just_when_you_thought_it_was_safe_to_go_back_on_room_8.html
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/gatemouth/light_at_the_end_of_the_tunnel.html
On April 1, 2008, JP posted a piece angrily demanding that the City Council members who voted in favor of congesting pricing be turned out of office. By contrast, I’ve indicated my support for congestion pricing many, many times, and endorsed several of the people on JP’s hit-list during the 2009 election campaign.
On December 7, 2008, JP a pretty decent article outlining his theory of who was behind the maneuvering of the Amigos as they prevented the newly elected Senate from organizing. The only problem was I had made the exact same point a month before. I let JP know, and he replied:
Gatey, I missed that piece, but kudos to you for bringing it up weeks ago.
Interestingly, the next relevant link deals with Hackshaw. Responding to a post by Rock about his losing City Council race, JP said:
Even though I haven't been inspired to post in a long time, I had an entire piece ready to go insulting the constituents of the 40th CD if they voted this megalomaniacal imbecil into office.
Fortunately, the 40th CD has shown the world that they are not as dumb as blood-sucking politicians think by giving Rock the crushing defeat he deserves.
Rock, take the hint and disappear from public and civic life. You went to the people and the people rejected you!
I had endorsed Rock, and responded:
Hey JP I've always loed your stuff, but that was just mean. But, if you ever talked with me (gatemouthnyc@hotmail.com) I couldda told you that writing such a piece was just gonna be a waste of time.
More recently, I had backed up Rock when Council Speaker Christine Quinn threatened to fire him from Councilwoman Darlene Mealey’s staff:, saying, among other things:
Christine Quinn should have minded her business. While she has legal control over the entire payroll for members of the New York City Council, and therefore an obligation to monitor that a Council employee is not a no show and that other legal requirements are complied with, that technical reality should not cloud the fact that employees of the individual Council Members work for those members and not for Quinn.
JP responded:
I can't speak as to the City Council, but I clearly remember my first day working at the NYS Assembly, where it was made very clear to me that I, along with every other legislative staffer, worked at the pleasure of the SPEAKER! I had been hired by an Assembly member and I could obviously be fired at will by the Assembly member, but that concept, that the Assembly Speaker, someone who I've never met and who did not get me the job and who knew nothing about the work I did, could also fire me at will, was so frightening that I still remember it today.
Annoyed, I said:
“…your point about serving "at the pleasure of the Speaker" is the same as the one I made about Quinn's "obligation to monitor that a Council employee is not a no show and that other legal requirements are complied with."
I think with a bit more effort, I could probably find more, but isn’t that enough?
The guy can be very witty, very snarky and very nasty, and he’s a centrist Dem, no doubt; but he clearly ain’t me.
Rock's accusation that I am JP is like one of his "Vines" columns:
Based upon honest feeling, and untained by even the appearace of actual research.