New York – Staten Island Rep. Mike McMahon (D-NY) moved into damage-control mode Thursday, firing the communications director for his re-election bid Thursday night after she gave a reporter a breakdown of a Republican rival’s “Jewish money” contributions.
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McMahon announced he was firing spokeswoman Jennifer Nelson after she provided a New York Observer reporter with a breakdown of Republican rival Michael Grimm’s second-quarter financial haul donations from Jewish donors, in an apparent effort to show the former FBI agent has little financial support within the district.
In an astonishing move – putting such a statement on paper – the file the reporter was given was titled “Grimm Jewish Money Q2.”
“Where is Grimm’s money coming from,” Nelson was quoted saying to the Observer. “There is a lot of Jewish money, a lot of money from people in Florida and Manhattan, retirees.”
She added that the campaign’s finance director had compiled the list, and, by way of explaining how she managed to pick out donors by their religion from filings, said, “She herself is Jewish so she knows a lot of people in that community.”
Nelson also insisted the purpose wasn’t to show “ethnicity” in terms of who was outside the district, but that was the only list the Observer said it was given – and it came at a time when McMahon has reportedly been ramping up his outreach to Jewish donors.
“This is a United States congressman that’s segregating people out by their religion. I’m outraged. Even an apology isn’t going to make it right,” Grimm told POLITICO. “This goes to his thought process and his feelings.”
He declined to get into whether staffers could have been acting without the candidate’s knowledge, but demanded an apology and said, “That’s what leadership is all about. You are responsible for what happens on your watch.”
Within two hours of the story hitting, McMahon had summarily dismissed Nelson, clearly hoping to contain the damage to one news cycle.
Too late…the Congressman himself must have known about this and should withdraw from the race. I heard him last night screaming about the 9/11 victims compensatino and how people of all races and from all parts fo the country helped to save lives (where his own firefighter cousin had died as a hero). This vile campaign tactic of branding yidden as “outsiders” is an insult to every yid who died in 9/11 and everywhere else in defense of our country. Are they not entitled to participate in a congressional race wherever they live. He should withdraw and resign.