It was reported in the New York Times that Mitt Romney is courting the tea party leaving many to speculate if he was going to use his powers of persuasion to take over the movement or be swallowed whole by it.

Conservative forces inside the Republican Party have made a concerted effort over the last few years to destroy the liberal and moderate wings of the party.  Internet searches and emails to these liberal groups turned up defunct web pages and returned email.  Only some pro-choice, gay rights and environmental Republican groups remain.

To understand the importance of ethnicity in the race for Brooklyn’s 54^th AD Assembly seat, it is perhaps instructive to understand a bit about the history of Latino empowerment in East Brooklyn.

My wife Jeri and I were recently driving through Stony Brook on Long Island when we noticed a group of tea baggers on the side of the road waving brand new American flags and also waving and wearing the yellow, Don’t Tread on Me flag.  You could tell these people did not have the means to afford all this paraphernalia, that they were being funded by some ominous and unknown group of money people.

Sharpton can no longer make endorsements–thank you MSNBC! For Sharpton, an Odd Stage online.wsj.com

A perhaps apocryphal story:

Last fall, shortly after the election, two young black-hatted supporters of 45^th AD Republican Assembly candidate Joseph Hayon's Assembly race were walking down Ocean Avenue discussing local GOP District Leader Boris Pincus and his efforts, such that they were, on behalf of their candidate .