If you would have told me a year ago that the Republican incumbent in Staten Island would get himself a DWI, confess to the press (and his wife and children) about his love child and mistress living outside of D.C. (blogger takes a deep breath), puts us on a roller coaster few weeks before ultimately deciding to bow out of his re-election race and watch the GOP fail miserably to farm a candidate to replace him, I'd have told you.....yeah, I can believe that.
Due to Fossella's departure, the Democratic Party has a primary between Steve Harrison and Michael McMahon. The Republicans were only able to muster up Frank Powers, a political nobody that has helped shutdown health care facilities on the Island. With all of those twists and turns, we have another one added to the mix today.
From The Staten Island Advance:
An already topsy-turvy political year grew even more so today when Francis M. Powers, the son of GOP designee Francis H. Powers, said he would seek the Libertarian Party line to run for the 13th Congressional District seat.
"This is not about my dad," said the younger Powers, 47, a master carpenter from Clifton who plays and sings with the Staten Island band Box of Crayons and runs an indie record label called Penny for the Guy Records. "I'm running against the Republican candidate."[...]
When asked about the timing of his entry into the race, Powers said, "Me being his son gives me a different platform than normal," a platform that Powers said he wouldn't have against another candidate. "We can't have the Republicans take this seat again," he added. "A vote for my father is a vote for the straight Republican ticket."
"I've tried very hard for many years to help my son," the elder Powers said in a statement released by his campaign.
Now that is some good ol' fatherly love. Nothing like bashing your kid running for Congress after he hits you with his announcement to run against him and split the conservative base. If that wasn't enough, the insurgent carpenter also managed to spit in the face of the voters who are going to have at least a little trouble deciding on which Powers to go with:
When asked about the head scratching that might cause voters, Powers said, "If people can't tell the difference between the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party, maybe they shouldn't be voting."
It may only be June, but I think it is time to stick a fork in the chances of both Powers, Senior and Junior. Of course, that won't stop the continued reporting from this "very interesting" race.
LMAO!
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