Casual Observation

Posted by BooMan | Jul 26, 2016 | 24 |

I don’t know what it says that it took this to get the PCCC and DFA to withdraw their support from Alan Grayson. I’ve warned people for years and years about the character of this man.

About The Author

BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.

24 Comments

Errol on July 26, 2016 at 3:06 pm

Two words [name] – Ira Einhorn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Einhorn
Brendan Skwire on July 26, 2016 at 3:10 pm

Apparently Grayson went after a politico reporter at the DNC today for asking questions about the allegations.
- Errol on July 26, 2016 at 3:13 pm
  
  well, they haven’t found a mummified body in a trunk next his bed yet, so he’s probably ok [I assume as Philadelphians you and Booman know this story]
  - BooMan on July 26, 2016 at 3:15 pm
    
    I believe it was in the closet.
    - Errol on July 26, 2016 at 6:05 pm
      
      yes, I think you’re right. but you know what is truly awful and I really should not have let myself think about this today, I think someone showed me that apartment once, or where it was.
on July 26, 2016 at 3:17 pm

Will Grayson beat me up? Or will he be a pawn of Wall Street, where cutting into what’s left of the bottom 80%’s will cause a lot of wife-beating, Friday night shooting and general misery for the majority of Americans?

But if we really want to smear candidates, I’m ready to play too:

[Grayson accused Murphy of flip-flopping on the passenger rail project when it snubbed a bid from builder Thomas P. Murphy Jr., owner of Coastal Construction Group.

[Murphy “switched his vote on All Aboard Florida and tried to destroy the program — the only Democrat in the entire country who voted to destroy the All Aboard Florida program — because his father tried to get in a bid to build it and was unsuccessful,” Grayson said May 15. “So he went from being in favor of the program to being against the program. That’s certainly using your congressional influence. He tried to kill the entire program — the only Democrat to do so — because his father didn’t get a contract out of it.”]

And that took me a half-second of googling. We can go into the Murphy family indictments if you wish.

But it raises a point. Would you vote for LBJ because of Civil Rights or vote for Goldwater because he wasn’t the womanizer that LBJ was alleged to have been?

Is alleged personal misconduct a bigger factor than what the man stands for?

Did Grayson not give you the time of day? And is this your fallback status to oppose progressives who have been smeared and choosing neoliberal Wall Street whores?

Well, there were a few pretty rotten people I’ve voted for in my lifetime because of their opposition being worse.

But since it is okay to smear a candidate by using an ex-wife’s accusations (which may or may not be true) is it okay to attack a politician if he or she, eh, is Jewish, or got an abortion?

By the way, DownWithTyranny! runs another story about Murphy and his neoliberal kinda almost (but he wasn’t indicted) criminal behavior.

I know you feel the need to whack Grayson every couple of weeks but you never seem to get around to telling us all the great things that Murphy has done. Oversight?

It reminds me of a block party we had a few weeks ago. We even had a state representative eating and drinking with us. Everyone was talking about how awful Trump is. Not one person said a thing about Clinton. If you want Murphy to win can’t you at least scrounge up something good he did?
- DiTourno on July 26, 2016 at 3:31 pm
  
  This is just pathetic, Bob. There are police reports showing that Grayson abused his wife — but maybe we should support him because he’d take on Wall Street.
  
  That’s despicable, and you should be ashamed.
  - someguy45 on July 26, 2016 at 3:43 pm
    
    Hi DiTourno. I’m a long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve been a fan of Booman for years. And after all these years, the one thing I’ve noticed about Bob is that instead of backing a person with decent character, Bob would rather back a person who’d side with Bob on issues, regardless of how horrible of a person they are, because that person’s character doesn’t affect him, only his policies does. If that doesn’t reveal what kind of person Bob is among many other examples, I don’t know what does.
    - DiTourno on July 26, 2016 at 4:00 pm
      
      Thanks, Someguy. I’m a pragmatist, so I’m willing to overlook character flaws to help elect a candidate who supports my issues. But domestic violence isn’t a character flaw — it’s a serious crime. I can’t believe anyone would be willing to overlook that.
    - mino on July 27, 2016 at 10:34 am
      
      Maybe you ought to read Robert Caro’s biographies of LBJ before you draw those lines.
      
      Or do you think just any old guy at the time would have acted domestically as LBJ did?
  - esquimaux on July 26, 2016 at 8:12 pm
    
    >> There are police reports showing that Grayson abused his wife
    
    No. There are reports showing she made an accusation, which was never prosecuted.
    
    I do not accept that by defending the concept of innocent until proven guilty I am defending wife beating.
    - oaguabonita on July 26, 2016 at 9:29 pm
      
      I read booman’s linked article carefully, looking for evidence in support of booman’s repeated animus towards Grayson and, especially, for the allegation of abuse. (Like you I presume, I learned in 8th-grade civics [or whatever] that in our legal system, the accused is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, with the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on the accuser/prosecution. [But hint: forget all that bullshit if you ever end up innocent in traffic court.])
      
      I found none.
      
      I found a lot of “he said/she said” accusations and counter-accusations.
      
      I found several documentations of Grayson’s ex contradicting herself in her statements.
      
      I found at least one case of a statement she made being shown false.
      
      I saw evidence (i.e., annulment granted) that she was still married to someone else when she “married” Grayson.
      
      I saw her daughter’s accusation of abuse at the hands of the mother, Grayson’s ex; the daughter’s repudiation of her mother’s accusations against Grayson; and her comments regarding her mother’s stability.
      
      I saw that he was never charged/prosecuted (much less convicted!) on the basis of any of the ex’s allegations.
      
      All this that I saw struck me as a pretty thin basis for booman’s attack.
      
      But for a claim that
      
      There are police reports showing that Grayson abused his wife[?]
      
      Yikes!
      
      I sure hope I never end up falsely accused in court with DiTourno on the jury!!! (Based on all this, not so sure I want booman on it either!)
      
      And my innate default (based on the usual power relationship) is leaning toward believing a woman accusing a man of abuse (e.g., Clarence Thomas, Cosby)!
      
      Still, evidence matters.
    - DiTourno on July 27, 2016 at 12:10 am
      
      No, there are four police reports, as the article clearly says, and links to. I’m not sure how you would miss that. They also document bruises and cuts.
      
      But it was never prosecuted, which of course means she was lying, right?
      
      I have no doubt that if Grayson were a Blue Dog or a Republican, you would also give him the benefit of the doubt.
      - Errol on July 27, 2016 at 7:20 am
        
        here’s a song for listening while reading the police reports.
        
        that’s why I mentioned Ira Einhorn; because he was prominent in supporting Earth Day [he claimed to have founded it in Phila] everyone rallied around him, he couldn’t have done it
      - Errol on July 27, 2016 at 7:24 am
        
        I mean my comment to be along the lines of what you wrote, the song gives the background on situations when the situation so contradicts the apparent public image
      - esquimaux on July 27, 2016 at 11:43 am
        
        i’m not going to proclaim someone a criminal when there’s no trial or conviction.
      - oaguabonita on July 27, 2016 at 11:48 am
        
        What you wrote that was disputed was NOT whether police reports exist. In fact, that was specifically acknowledged by esquimaux!
        
        It was whether those police reports “show” what you claimed.
        
        They don’t.
        
        No, absence of prosecution doesn’t (necessarily) mean she’s lying. Any more than uncorroborated (in fact, specifically denied and disputed by relevant parties) accusations mean Grayson did what the ex (contradicting herself in the process) accused him of.
        
        (Note: I’m not saying he didn’t! I’m not saying he did! [I am saying there strongly appears to be “reasonable doubt” — presumably why he wasn’t prosecuted!] I don’t know! Neither do you! Neither does booman! Neither do those uprating comments finding him “guilty until proven innocent”!)
        
        I’m sorry to learn that you (and evidently others here) apparently were out sick that entire month (or whatever) in primary school when how our legal system is supposed to function was a core part of the curriculum.
        
        By logical extension of your position, the wingnuts were right to impeach Big Dog Clinton over consensual blowjobs between adults — and what’s more, the Senate should have convicted and removed him! (Except, in Clinton’s case, that the allegations were true was “proven” beyond reasonable doubt. So the “case” for denying him elected office on “character” grounds was actually stronger.)
        
        It’s been enlightening (by which I mean “kinda scary”) to see the readiness of some otherwise seemingly smart and decent folks, including apparently our esteemed host, to run with “guilty until proven innocent” in this thread.
- Brendan Skwire on July 26, 2016 at 4:32 pm
  
  I used to work at a non profit domestic violence counseling org. These comments nauseate me.
  
  Grayson has been the subject of these allegations for quite some time.
- on July 27, 2016 at 12:20 pm
  
  ,
  
  Would you vote for LBJ because of Civil Rights or vote for Goldwater because he wasn’t the womanizer that LBJ was alleged to have been?
  
  Why qualify it with “alleged”? — the guy bragged about his extramarital conquests. And even Lady Bird acknowledged the situation, per a mainstream bio of her.
  
  As to the vote, Barry was obviously reckless wrt FP in addition to being anti-CR, so voting for him would have been out of the question. And knowing what i do now about Lyndon, and assuming I’d been a tiny bit skeptical about that Gulf of Tonkin big lie, I probably would have left that part of that ballot blank. Sort of the same dilemma I’m facing now in 2016: do I vote for the person I’d normally favor even as she shows some disturbing cold warrior inclinations and the previous FP track record of recklessness, or opt for the knucklehead would-be dictator whose thin-skinned demeanor could get us equally screwed when he decides he doesn’t like the way another country is behaving.
  
  As for Grayson, charges of physically assaulting his spouse go beyond the womanizing sin. But I haven’t delved into the substance yet so cannot say whether there seems to be some there there.
rikyrah on July 26, 2016 at 3:50 pm

you were right all along about him.

all along.
Arthur Gilroy on July 26, 2016 at 6:00 pm

Wait a minute!!!

Guilty until proven innocent!!!???

Did any of you read the article? Is it always “guilty until proven innocent” for you leftinesses? Or is it just PC rules that say the female is always innocent in a domestic dispute? This female doesn’t sound so innocent to me!!!

A few quotes from the article linked above will suffice. They should suffice, anyway, although I seriously doubt that they will for some of you.

The Democratic congressman and Florida Senate candidate strongly denies the accusations. [Emphases mine]

—snip—

The congressman, who asserted Lolita Grayson battered him in 2014, vehemently denies he engaged in any abuse during their 25-year marriage, which ended last year in a bitter annulment that she is now appealing.

—snp—

The first reported incident described by the documents was in 1994; the final one was in 2014. Lolita Grayson also called Orange County sheriff’s deputies in 2005 to lodge another abuse complaint, but prosecutors filed no charges in that incident or any of the others.

—snip—

Through his lawyer, Mark NeJame, Grayson denied ever striking or abusing Lolita Grayson.

By LOUIS NELSON

—snip—

“Lolita is a disturbed woman. She has made one false allegation after another. Her own daughter refutes her,” said NeJame, referring to a statement from the couple’s oldest child.
“Moreover,” NeJame said of Lolita Grayson’s accusations, “there never has been a witness or any proof whatsoever of her claims. The claims have been so ridiculous that not one time has there even been enough probable cause to bring a charge or an arrest against Alan Grayson.”

As for Lolita Grayson’s allegations against him, Grayson has told police and others that his ex-wife fabricated false stories about him, in part to damage his political career, according to a police report and interviews conducted by POLITICO. For instance, one of her 2014 domestic abuse claims against the Florida Democrat was dropped after a video taken by one of his staffers indicated he had not shoved Lolita Grayson, despite her claim to the contrary.

—snip—

The Graysons’ marriage was annulled last year after a judge found that she had not divorced her previous husband when she married Grayson in 1990. Alan Grayson has remarried, and his current wife is running for his congressional seat.
During their divorce proceedings, the congressman called Lolita Grayson a “gold digger” and “bigamist.” He also claims she struck him numerous times, set one of their cars on fire in 1993 and used a knife to slash the upholstery of another car in a separate incident, according to a criminal report and other documents.

—snip—

In December 1999, Fairfax County police reported that Lolita Grayson told officers responding to a domestic violence call at the Graysons’ home in Vienna, Virginia, that her husband had hit her with a book on the back of the head, causing her to temporarily lose her memory. There was no sign of injury, according to the police report. “Lolita stated she wanted to make this report because she felt ashamed and decided to file a report after talking with family,” the police document states. “Lolita states she didn’t wish to prosecute and only wanted to have a report on file.”
Police officers offered to remove her from the house but she declined.

—snip—

Lolita Grayson’s statements to authorities at the time were inconsistent with her earlier account of how often she was allegedly battered. She told investigators that Grayson “has hit her in the past four or five times.” In 1994, Lolita Grayson said beatings were a “daily occurrence.”

—snip—

The police report stated that Lolita Grayson, who told police she was trained in tae kwon do, suffered “visible bruising on the upper left side of her back, near the left shoulder.” Photographs taken at the time of the incident show a large red bruise on her upper arm.
Rep. Alan Grayson is pictured. | AP
Grayson avoids full Ethics Committee probe but case goes on
By JOHN BRESNAHAN
However, their oldest daughter, Skye Grayson, and Grayson’s congressional staffer, Juan Lopez, contradicted Lolita Grayson’s account.
Lopez had followed Grayson to the family home in a separate car that day and shot video that showed Lolita Grayson allegedly striking her estranged husband, not the other way around. Grayson alerted the media to the video and said it vindicated him.
Grayson said he never touched his estranged wife, calling her “crazy” and “abusive.” The congressman said he brought along Lopez to document the visit because he feared she would “hit herself with a frying pan and blame me.”
“Please, Juan, record by all means. I am not forcing you to, but please,” Grayson told Lopez, according to an incident report. Lopez said that, after they arrived, Lolita Grayson began shouting at her estranged husband, “All you are doing is sleeping around with black and white women. … You are never going to see the kids again! Get out of here.”

—snip—

The couple’s oldest daughter issued a statement to POLITICO, saying her father had done nothing wrong throughout the marriage. Skye Grayson, 21, said she and her siblings did not want to be “pawns in a game of power” with an unnamed “political opponent.”

“My mother has always struggled with emotional issues,” said Skye Grayson, who noted that several of the older children chose to live with their dad. “She physically lashed out at me, my siblings and our father, and then blamed us for it, victimizing us. This resulted in a considerably troubled childhood home.”

And here is the most telling quote of all:

The 58-year-old Grayson, a three-term House Democrat, is locked in a tight Senate race against Rep. Patrick Murphy heading into the Aug. 30 primary.

Our DNC-affiliated Peace President has endorsed Grayson’s opponent. Grayson has been a staunch fighter against Wall Street and the neoliberal centrist Dems. Whaddayou, kiddin’ me or what!!! This guy has made some powerful enemies.

Pathetic Wall-Street Democrats Love [ex-Republican] Murphy – Are Terrified Of Alan Grayson

In a year full of emphasis on progressive values, it’s hard to imagine why establishment Democrats would put their support – and cash – behind a barely-Democrat candidate who is owned part and parcel by Wall Street.

But that is exactly what the party will get if they continue to support Rep. Patrick Murphy over progressive Rep. Alan Grayson in the Florida Senate primary race.

The choice is simple: corrupt business-as-usual, or a strong, progressive Senator?

Florida Congressman Patrick Murphy is receiving an unprecedented amount of establishment support from the president all the way down to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. In 2016 when progressive values are more important than ever in the Democratic Party, choosing Patrick Murphy over Alan Grayson is about the worst thing the establishment could do. Let’s break this story down a bit. For most of his life Murphy was a registered Republican all the way until 2011 when he decided he would run for Congress. Just four months before he announced his candidacy Murphy changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, threw a handful of cash at some Democratic politicians, and called it a day. Even after he won the Congressional seat, sources confirm that Murphy met privately with former Speaker of the House, John Boehner, to discuss whether or not he could change his party affiliation back to Republican. That apparently didn’t go through, but it’s clear that this guy is not particularly happy to be a Democrat and it shows.

Like Republican darling Donald Trump, Patrick Murphy earned his money the old fashioned way. By asking his rich Republican daddy for a couple of million dollars. In 2011 his father gifted him some stocks in the amount of anywhere between one, and five million dollars bolstering his campaign. Another wonderful attribute that Murphy seems to share with Donald Trump is that he likes to lie about his past in order to emphasize his accomplishments, and puff up his ego. During his career he has repeatedly lied about his past accomplishments as well as his education. For over a year Murphy’s Congressional campaign website, and his Senate campaign website have both said that he earned a dual degree in Accounting and Finance. When in reality Murphy only holds a single degree for Business Administration. There’s no telling why he would lie about something as minor as that, but it doesn’t stop there.

Murphy also has lied about holding a CPA license, claiming that he used it while working under his father’s business. The reality is that Murphy failed to get his CPA license in Florida, and had to go all the way to Colorado to get it, though he’s never practiced in that state. If you ask him Murphy will tell you that he’s a proud small business owner, but the only business he’s ever owned was a partial share in daddy’s business.

Murphy ticks just about every box when it comes to defying progressive ideas. During his brief tenure Murphy has voted against stricter regulations on for-profit universities, voted for the keystone pipeline despite his touted pro-environmental values, took a leading role in select house committees on Benghazi, and is generally considered to be one of the most conservative house Democrats currently serving. In addition, while Alan Grayson vocally supported Bernie Sanders during the primary, Murphy sat quietly on the sidelines before declaring he was with “her” once Clinton was made the presumptive nominee.

What sort of support is Murphy getting? Any Democrat establishment character you can think of has likely supported Murphy in recent months. President Obama has not only endorsed Murphy, but just this week he released a campaign ad for the candidate. A nearly unprecedented action for a sitting president to do for a primary Senate candidate. Last summer when both Murphy, and Grayson announced their candidacies, establishment Democrats nearly stampeded to Murphy to throw wads of cash at him. In just the first nine weeks of his campaign 15 senators gave a whopping $62,000 to Murphy’s Senate race. The senators weren’t just giving their own money. Super PACs controlled by Harry Reid, and Chuck Schumer also gave generously to the Murphy campaign.

—snip—

And now this “bombshell?” With the centrist neolibs among us dancing on Grayson’s grave in partisan delight?

Guilty until proven innocent!!!

YAY!!!

What a coincidence!!!

Give me a break.

Goddamn!!!

Politics really does suck!!!

I have no clue as to whether Grayson is a wife-beater, the victim of a very bad marriage or anything in between.

Neither do you all, only I admit it.

Booman has a personal dislike for Grayson. Who knows why? Maybe Grayson called Booman a craven, neoliberal, centrist tool of Wall Street. Or maybe Grayson made a pass at Booman’s wife. Who knows? I don’t know. i don’t know anything except his positions in the House, his stated positions running for the Senate and his list of enemies…a list that reads like a recommendation as far as this radical is concerned.

I await the (corporate-owned media) verdict.

Guilty as charged!!!

Off with his head!!!

What bullshit!!!

AG

P.S. I witnessed a “domestic disturbance” in a NYC public park where I was working a couple of weeks ago. A man about 6’3″ tall, 260 lbs or so was being repeatedly attacked by a woman not more that 5’3″ tall amidst much shrieking and screaming from the woman. He just kept backing up, trying to fend her off, but she wasn’t having any of it. I don’t know what started the incident but I watched for about 4 minutes without alerting the park security because I knew damned well that he would be blamed even though he was using no force whatsoever. Eventually I did call because I was afraid he was going to lose it and put her down. The park cop came to where I was…a nice guy, he likes to hang out and listen to the music we’re playing…and I gave him the lowdown on what I had seen. Forewarned…and as I said, a nice guy overall…he handled it very well and no one got busted.

What would have happened if any of you had been in his place? Betcha I know. Betcha you know, too.
clearskies on July 26, 2016 at 7:33 pm

Actually it seems that these reports of abuse are in the context of a very nasty divorce. All sorts of untrue allegations get throuwn around in these situations. It is not really clear if there was abuse, and if it was by Grayson or by his wife. There apparently was no medical evidence of cuts or broken bones, as far as I can tell. Better to wait and see what is factual than rely on these early allegations.
- DiTourno on July 27, 2016 at 12:12 am
  
  That’s absolutely false. These are police reports that go back 20 years, and there absolutely is evidence of cuts and bruises.
  
  You might want to actually read the article before you comment. That would seem obvious if you’re going to dismiss evidence of domestic violence.
  - clearskies on July 27, 2016 at 1:09 am
    
    I read the article and didn’t see anything about physical evidence, but I went back now and realized I misread it, sorry. Should have read it more carefully.

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