Michael Grimm (R-NY, convict) wants his job back

[Snowboarder_Bo]

Some of y’all prolly remember Michael Grimm from back in 2014 when he threatened a reporter with “I’ll break you in half” and also threatened to throw him off the balcony.

Fewer might remember that he went to jail for 8 months after pleading guilty to tax fraud.

Well, Mr. Grimm is out of jail now and he wants his job back.

Michael Grimm doesn’t want to talk about his time in prison. He just wants your vote.

The former Republican congressman from New York City’s Staten Island is fighting his party, his president and the stigma of a felony conviction in a no-holds-barred primary June 26.

Just two years out of prison, the amateur boxer with a fiery temper wants his old job back. And he has a legitimate chance to seize the nomination from the incumbent, Dan Donovan.

Just don’t ask Grimm about his time behind bars for tax fraud.

“I’m done talking about it,” Grimm said in a recent Associated Press interview, blaming his seven-month stay in a federal prison on a politically motivated Justice Department under the Obama administration. “It’s a closed chapter in my life. I’m looking to the future.”

Gonna be tough to campaign for 5 months without ever talking about the crimes he pled guilty to or his past behavior, IMO, but hey, he’s gonna give it a shot.

He seems to be avoiding talking about himself mostly by talking about his opponent, and he’s adopted Trump charming use of insulting nicknames:

@Michael Grimm

All I’ll say is that I fought in battle to defend Dan Donovan’s right to support John Kasich for president and to then vote against every single one of President Trump’s major initiatives. It’s no shock that Desperate Dan has spent this whole race deflecting from his own incompetence and anti-Trump voting record by resorting to the Democrat smear tactics his allies are using against our President every day.

And deflecting, when he does talk about it, from his own felony convictions:

@Michael Grimm

The media’s hypocrisy on this has been nothing short of astounding. If a Democrat had been criminally prosecuted for something every other New York restaurant owner gets a civil fine for, journalists would be marching in the streets demanding justice.

Ah yes, journalists marching in the streets. They do it so often, for so many social issues, I can’t remember what the last time was; I guess they all just run together in my head.

Anyway, Mr. Grimm’s tactics seem to be working. The latest poll numbers I see are from a month ago, but they show Grimm with 49% and Donovan with 39% of likely GOP primary voters. Trump tweeted support for Donovan recently and Mr. Grimm offered this advice:

@Michael Grimm

If I was legitimately advising the president, which I’m not, but if I was, I would say, ’Stay out of a race like this’ because I don’t see how it would benefit him to get into such a contentious race. By going into the race, he puts himself in a situation where he’s going to lose.

[E-DUB]

His opponents should just refer to him as “Michael Grimm R-Riker’s Island”.

[ElvisL1ves]

Just ask Trump for a pardon. Problem solved.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@ElvisL1ves

Just ask Trump for a pardon. Problem solved.

Mentioned in the latest AP article:

In an interview, Grimm suggested that Donovan dangled the possibility of a presidential pardon should he abandon his primary challenge. A Donovan spokeswoman denied the claim.

A spokeswoman for Trump, who pardoned one conservative supporter this past week and is contemplating other pardons, did not respond to questions about a possible pardon for Grimm, who insists his harsh sentence was politically motivated.

Does Grimm want a pardon?

“Of course! I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t, especially in my circumstances,” Grimm told the AP.

[foolsguinea]

New York lets tax frauds run for Congress? Dang. I don’t think we allow that here.

[Captain_Amazing]

@foolsguinea

New York lets tax frauds run for Congress? Dang. I don’t think we allow that here.

The Constitution doesn’t prohibit felons from running for Congress or holding office, and New York can’t impose further restrictions on who can run. If he wins, Congress could refuse to seat him, but the state can’t put restrictions on it.

[Wallet]

While both of them claim to be Trump supporters, this morning I saw umpteen ads by Donovan painting Grimm as a Trump denier, one that would sell poor Donald down the river (alongside of Grimm with prison bars over his face!)

Donovan supporters: Paul Ryan, Rudy Giuliani
Grimm supporters: Steve Bannon and Anthony Scaramucci

Six Democrats running in the Democratic primary, none that stand out to beat the Republican winner.

One of the very few reasons I’m glad I’m in Brooklyn and not SI!

[Snowboarder_Bo]

Looks like Grimm is getting crushed! I’m seeing 6936 to 3857 at the moment with 63% reporting.