Saturday, August 07, 2010

More Proof That Frank Pallone Is Worried About Anna Little



So I'm making a right at the corner of Waterwitch and Shore Blvd and there he is! With that unmistakable funny walk, unique hairdo and squinty eyes, none other than Frank Pallone is waddling his way behind the food vendors at the Highlands Clam Festival last night. Darn, I left my camera at the office. The Blackberry will have to do. Luckily I'm a regular at the SandWitch Shoppe and Skip has already given me permission to park in his private lot.

I park quickly and stick my head into the shop to thank Skip. He's not there so I point my gas guzzling SUV out to his employee and I'm on my way to find Phoney Palloney in action.

I head into Huddy Park where there are several hundred people seated at picnic tables listening to the tunes of Chris Turner and The Steel Rail Blues, while enjoying their food and the good company. Frank was no where to be found in the crowd or in the lines of the food court. Could I have missed him? I look north down Shore Boulevard to see if he's heading to the parking lot or the VFW Beer Garden. Nope. I ask a few people if they've seen him. "Who?," they ask. Oh well, I must have missed him.

I start heading towards the Highlands Business Partnership booth on the corner of Waterwitch and Bay to see if they need any help. I'm not running for anything, but still it takes me 10 minutes or so to walk the 50 yards through the crowd as I'm greeted by friends and acquaintances from Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Middletown.

There he is! Chatting it up with the most ardent Anna Little supporters I know at the HBP booth. How did Frank get through that crowd faster than I did?

I chuckle under my breath knowing that the women Frank is talking to will keep him occupied all night if he lets them. Every candidate who has ever walked door to door in Highlands knows the drill. Your opponent's supporters will say nice things and ask all kinds of questions to keep you engaged until your blood sugar drops in order to keep you from having a productive outing. These are the voters who trained Anna Little.

I back off, figuring if Frank sees me snapping pictures he might move on.

10 minutes later I see Frank smiling and waving as he backs away from the HBP booth and heads south down Bay Ave through the non-food vendors, the least crowded stretch of the festival. This guy might be the worst retail campaigner I have ever seen.

In the minute it takes me to get to Bay Ave Frank and his aide have already made it to the end of the block of vendors and are heading back down the street. I don't know if they saw me or not, but every time I went to snap a photo, Frank turned away. There were mascots from Valley National Bank also walking down the street, I thought I'd try to get a shot of Frank with the cartoon characters. That could be useful on the blog over the next couple of months.

Finally we make eye contact, shake hands and say hello. I couldn't tell if for sure if Frank knew who I was, there was a recognition that at least I knew him, but he didn't greet me by name. Instead he introduced his aide, Bill Flannery or Finnigan. Irish with an F but not Fitzsomething. "Hi Bill, Art Gallagher," I said as we shook hands. Bill knew who I was.

"Frank, can I get a photo of you with those Valley National mascots?" I asked. He giggled. "Valley National? You really want me to? Sure, I don't care," he said as he waved both hands back and forth. "No!" Bill said in a loud whisper as he got between me and Frank and started pulling him away. "Oh why not?" said Frank. "That's the MoreMonmouthMusings guy," said Bill and they both turned their backs on me and waddled away, but not before I snapped the shot on the top of this post.

I headed back into the crowd. Everytime I looked Frank's way, Bill was looking at me. It was one of those catch each others eye and each look away kind of thing. Heading through the main food court, I was stopped by two people who had gotten Senator Kyrillos's robocall about the the August 11th fund raiser for Anna Little. "Is that next Wednesday? We'll be there." (Note to the Senator, be prepared for a larger than expected walk-in crowd)

Frank and Bill were the only two guys at the festival wearing starched white shirts and ties. You couldn't miss them, but no one seemed to be noticing them. Bill kept noticing me.

I said hello to a member of the Highlands Democrats in the food court. Frank and Bill were on line at the Bahr's booth. Not talking to the other people on line, just standing there patiently waiting to order their dinner. "Oh, I'm glad I bumped into you," said the Highlands Democrat, "How do I give money to Anna Little's campaign?" This was too funny for words. I wasn't campaigning so he had no reason to engage me unproductively. Besides, he knows I know the game. I gave him the address of the campaign and the website address and he went on and on about Anna for about five minutes. Suddenly he sees Pallone leaving the Bahr's booth with his food. "Is that Frank Pallone? Don't let him see me talking to you." I love Highlands.

Frank and Bill are making their way toward the picnic tables, both with their dinners in hand, and they bump into former Atlantic Highlands Democratic Mayor Pete Donahue and his wife. "Oh hi, look who it is!" all around greeting as Frank hands his dinner to Bill. Bill cradles both dinners in his left arm while snapping photos of Frank and the Donahues with a camera in his right hand. I was impressed with that trick.

Smiles and back slaps and Frank and Bill are off to the picnic tables. They find spots across from each other and sit down to eat. There is no apparent greeting toward the other people at the table, but Bill keeps looking over his shoulder towards me and Frank pretends he doesn't notice me at all.

So how is any of this proof that Pallone is worried about Anna Little?

I've been to every Highlands Clam Festival in the last 9 years. Friends of mine run it. Frank Pallone has never been there before.

Frank was doing a lousy job working the crowd before he knew I was there. Did I throw him off his game? Maybe, but after 20 years in congress, Frank has to be pretty worried if I can throw him off his game at the Highlands Clam Festival.

He should be worried. Anna Little is going to clean his clock.

25 comments:

Joe Schilp said...

Ha ha ha ha ha... Great story. The fact is that Frank really hasn't had to campaign in decades, so he's clearly no good at it. Like Rush Holt, he is genuinely afraid of having to lower himself from his ivory tower to speak with constituents.

Pathetic, really, that a clown like this is my Congressman.

realitycheck said...

Keep dreaming.

Anonymous said...

Anna respects the Constitution that Frank Pallone has decided to deem outdated. I pray his constituents deem him outdated and realize what an honest, hard-working lady Anna Little really is. As one of the author's of the healthcare bill, I can tell you he has no idea what it contains.

Anonymous said...

You people are so brain washed it's scary. You all need therapy.

Anonymous said...

Great propaganda story. Too bad is fictional.

Joe Schilp said...

Wait a minute, Anon 10:08, what makes me brainwashed? What have I said that is untrue? Let's take a look...

"The fact is that Frank really hasn't had to campaign in decades, so he's clearly no good at it."

Is that false? He's had runaway victories for over a decade, now.

"Like Rush Holt, he is genuinely afraid of having to lower himself from his ivory tower to speak with constituents."

Have you ever met the man? I have. He is not comfortable speaking with us commoners. Last year he held just 2 townhall meetings and they were in very small venues. This year, he is holding brief one-on-one meetings with people, like going to confession - you walk in, state your case, he answers and you're outta there.

If he's not afraid of his constituents, why won't he hold townhall meetings?

I'll tell you why. Pallone doesn't want to be videotaped putting his foot in his mouth like he did last year when he said, and I quote, "Not only do I support Nancy Pelosi, I consider her one of my favorite people in Washington."

Art Gallagher said...

Great propaganda story. Too bad is fictional.

I'm not kidding. Bill really did that thing cradling both dinners in his left arm while snapping pictures with his right hand.

Art Gallagher said...

You people are so brain washed it's scary. You all need therapy.

Thanks for stopping by and looking out for our well being. We'll see you back here again real soon!

Michael said...

juggling 2 dinners in 1 arm is easy - if you have a clipboard or stiff folder to use as a makeshift tray. that leaves the right hand free to do all the snapping he wants.

I know it's doable, as Anna's campaign photographer I had to juggle 2 plates of spaghetti (2 dinners) on my clipboard, and take pictures at the Republican Gala at the Molly Pitcher Inn this past week. Anna thought I was going to dump the food all over the other guests in their suits/dresses. And after taking a few pictures, she insisted we put the plates down on the table to make it easier on me.

Art Gallagher said...

I'm doubly impressed with you Michael. Bill's camera is a lot smaller than yours.

Michael said...

With $4M, you'd think he could afford a decent camera. My setup would be pocket change for a campaign expense - but I wonder if they could operate it to maximum advantage the way I do...

I guess we'll find out in Nov. when We The People have our say.

Anonymous said...

You Tea Party people think you own the rights to patriotism. You scream about your constitutional rights yet condemn others when they exercise theirs. You love your country but want to change everything.
Pallone has had town hall meetings, but all you do is scream at him.
No rational person would feel that's effective except to try and make Pallone look bad.
You want to take your country back and I ask from whom?
You call Democrats socialists and your objective is to just scare people.
There are a lot of things that need fixing in Washington and in both parties. But I will not listen to a bunch of crazy people just because you make a lot of noise. It's what you say and how you say it that turns people off.
The reality is your agenda is to discredit anyone who disagrees with you and that's just plain dishonest.
How about looking at the Ten Commandments as well as the Constitution before you start you go screaming about your rights?

Art Gallagher said...

I think we hit a nerve. More proof that Frank Pallone is worried about Anna Little.

Save the shoe leather, Frank.. said...

yes,yes, that walk: which is why we named him "Good ol' Flatfoot" some 23 yrs. ago.. it's probably supposed to be self-effacing/ humble, I've always found it wimpy and disconcerting: if you don't step out boldly, what the heck kind of a leader are ya?.. in Frank's case, he's a sneaky,leftist idealogue, just like those he hangs with and worships.. problem is, we're the ones who get the over regulation and TAX increases that pay for their "generosity" to the masses..the boy has simply GOT to go!

frithguild said...

You call Democrats socialists and your objective is to just scare people.


LEAVE FRANK ALONE!!

But I will not listen to a bunch of crazy people just because you make a lot of noise.

I picture Anonymous with fingers in ears squealing, "la la la la I can't hear you!"

Gee. I thought the Tea Party was astroturf.

Anonymous said...

Looks like Pallone is trying to ride Byrnes & Mahoney's coat tails - Frank is showing up as a "special guest" to their fundraiser on Wed. Aug 11th @ the American Legion.

Not a good move for Byrnes & Mahoney - they could have a chance at the Committee seats given the repeated Municipal budget increases - but Pallone's voting record is just plain toxic!

Anonymous said...

HAHA! Great story Art. It really is quite sad how pathetic of a campaigner Franky is. If he keeps this kind of stuff up, he might me out of a job come November.

Anonymous said...

I have a really big problem with you stalking our congressman. None of your "highschool drama," and making fun of the way someone walks will make Anna Little any more qualified for a congrssional position. You can find as many faults with Frank Pallone as possible, but never, never will Little be able to live up to how amazing of an individual he is, or how much he has done for his district. She will never understand the amount of work, dedication, and intelligence (which she has very little of) to be in congress. Also, I know this won't be posted because you censor your own blog so people can't call you out on your pathetic bullshit, but at least know there are people out here who think your a moron- and no, I don't really believe you're that loved by the people of Monmouth or Middlesex County.

frithguild said...

Ananymous 8:19 said: I have a really big problem with you stalking our congressman.

LEAVE FRANK ALONE!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FANxPxD4v3E

Saycheese!!! said...

anon 9:18 Nice to see a rational comment here that's not based on fiction.
Most of the Pallone haters here make me chuckle. They grasp at the most idiotic and petty nonsense, hoping for a miracle. It's pure desperation.

you need to read the constitution, fast said...

keep hangin' on to your dream of total socialist nirvana.. if you can ACTUALLY name 3 really good,POSITIVE, and longlasting things Frank ever accomplished in ANY of his careers in politics, other than name post offices, not save Forts, and author/vote for socialized medicine and every other broke program WE get to pay for, it'd be the miracle you'll see really accomplished by a real person, Anna, on NOV.2ND!!

Marcus said...

anon 8:19,

Looks like you got called out.

Anna Little is far more intelligent and articulate than Frank Pallone. Period. Feel free to write back when Frank learns Spanish, French, Russian, and Japanese. Anna can speak all of them and Pallone can barely mumble through English!

Anna is well qualified and ready to be a Congresswoman. Her resume includes Immigration Attorney, County Freeholder, Mayor. Jesus Christ I wish our presidents were this qualified these days! What did Frank do before his term? I can't find anything, can you?

Anonymous said...

I was working a booth as I have done for many many years that night and Frank walked right past us like a deer in headlights. Anna will win and Frank has no idea what to do. I do!!!! Resign now Frank.

Anonymous said...

Your false sense of security will be your downfall.

mike said...

I think anon 8.19 was being sarcastic- had to be surely??