New Jersey Democrats Take Gays For A Ride

    In a vote of 14 to 20, yesterday the New Jersey State Senate failed to pass civil rights legislation.

The entire episode was an exercise of disgusting political chicanery. It demonstrated several truths about Democrats in general, and also about the type of leader that Democrats have elected to be the next Senate President.

Democrats have been in control, total control, of New Jersey since disgraced former Governor Jim McGreevey was elected in 2001. In what turns out to be quite ironic, McGreevey had outed himself in a speech announcing his resignation which was prompted by financial irregularities and unethical conduct.  The admission that he was gay was simply done to distract from the charges that were about to bring him down. But during his time as Governor and since then, the state has been driven into utter despair, seen unions hold the state hostage and break the budget, seen the size and scope of government grow exponentially along with taxes, tolls and all other expenses, while businesses fled, unemployment skyrocketed and the quality of life plummeted. The bottom line is that Democrats have done nothing but make things worse while playing games and offering lip service.

Part of that game has been the exploitation of homosexuals.

In the last eight years of their stranglehold on New Jersey government, Democrats have done nothing but offer the gay community lip service. Year after year, on the issue of gay marriage, the homosexual community has been told ‘now is not the time for a vote on that issue, but next year we will take it up for sure’. Each of the eight ‘next years’ came and went as Governor McGreevey, Acting Governor Dick Codey and inept Governor Corzine neglected to make the issue a priority.

Yet in the final weeks of their monopol-ike control of Trenton, as a newly elected Republican Governor is about to come to town, now Democrats in the State senate finally acted.

 But why?

 The answer is that the Democrat Party could care less about the gay community and simply exploit them for support at election time.

If this were not the case, if Democrats sincerely believed their rhetoric, gay marriage would have been passed at any point during the last past eight years. If their was any sincere motivation behind Democrats supposed support for the gay community, one of the best and most appropriate symbolic times for them to have taken the issue up would have been shortly after disgraced Governor Jim McGreevey tried to distract from his political scandals by announcing that he was a “gay -American”.

But Democrats were afraid that thier hold on power was tenuous. So they refused to rock the boat on gay marriage. Instead they made promises and claimed their undying desire to see same sex unions be called “marriages”

In coming Governor Chris Christie has made it clear that he would veto any attempt to redefine marriage as a union between anything but a man and a woman. That made it essential for Democrats to act now.

Even though Governor-deject Corzine failed to move any gay marriage initiative, he said he would, unlike Christie, sign such an initiative into law. So it was now, or if not never, at least not for many years, before gay marriage in New Jersey could sail through the legislative process and become state law.

Previously, Senate President Codey failed to put it at the top of the Senate agenda and several different Assembly Speakers also left the issue on the back burner. And even though the closing days of a Democrat administration that was supportive of gay marriage was upon us, they still hesitated to deal with the issue and cancelled and delayed hearings and votes on the issue.

So why was there suddenly a vote in the State Senate?

Revenge!

Quite unceremoniously, long serving Senate President and often on again and off again Acting Governor Dick Codey, was voted out of his position as Senate President in coup that was orchestrated by State Senator Stephen Sweeney from South Jersey.

Sweeney’s senate district is not quite as safe for Democrats as is Dick Codey’s is  North Jersey district  for him. So even though Dick Codey lost his position as Senate President, his chances of getting reelected to the senate are greater than Sweeney’s. So a vote by Dick Codey for or against gay marriage is not as pivotal to Codey’s reelection chances as it is to Sweeney’s. So while in his final days as Senate President, Dick Codey finally called a vote on gay marriage. He was essentially putting Sweeney, the man who dethroned him, between a rock and a hard place before he assumed leadership of the Senate. Codey was setting up Sweeney to start off his Senate presidency as damaged goods by forcing Sweeney to either offend gay voters and the their well organized political lobby machine or a vast number of voters in his district.

As was expected from the get go, gay marriage failed in the senate with only 14 votes for it and 20 votes against it.

But that final tally adds up to 34 votes.

There are 40 State Senators.

17 are Republican and 23 are Democrats. One seat is vacant and Sen. Diane Allen (R-Burlington), was absent for health reasons and Sen. Andrew Ciesla (R-Ocean) was absent for unknown reasons.

That leaves three votes to be accounted for.

Those final three votes were abstentions cast by three Democrats………Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), Sen. Jim Beach (D-Camden) and ironically, Democrat Senate President-elect Stephen Sweeney of Gloucester.

In what proved to be a profile of cowardice, the incoming Democrat leader of the Senate tried to dodge the challenge that the outgoing Senate President presented to him by avoiding a vote on the issue at all.

By avoiding an official position on the issue, Sweeney may think he outsmarted Dick Codey but all he did was wound himself even more.

The gay community will not forget Sweeney’s lack of support and voters in his district will be leery of him. But more than that, he will now assume office under a cloud of indifference and looking spineless. Not a very good position for a leader to be in during negotiations, an essential part to political leadership.

In the end, this entire tangled web of political gamesmanship has been a ridiculously insincere act that has made a sham of the legislative process. On top of that, aside from proving that the incoming Senate President is a spineless politician concerned more with votes than policies, he has also proven that Democrats simply see the gay community as a voting bloc to be exploited and counted on for votes at election time.

The facts prove it.

Eight years of total control and all Democrats have done is create wedge issues with such things as more severe penalties for crimes committed against homosexuals. The concept of increased penalties for hate crimes simply exists for Democrats to try to make Republicans seem anti-gay by having to vote against bills that are promoted as protection for gays but in reality are anything but more protection. The truth is that increased penalties for crimes committed against someone because of their color, faith or orientation, does not make anyone safer, it simply claims that crime and brutality committed against one person is not as important when committed against another. That is just wrong. But to force Republicans to go on the record and oppose such unfair legislation, allows Democrats to come out and say to the gay community…. ’you see they voted against you’.

Such a claim is untrue but the truth never deters politicians from exploiting an issue or group of people.

In the case of gay marriage, homosexuals were simply used by Democrats.

New Jersey Democrats hemmed and hawed about ever taking up the issue and after being in total control for eight years, they failed to consider gay marriage until it could be used as a way to get revenge. Then and only then did the issue of gay marriage come up.

Part of the problem is the gay community itself.

Gay men and women have placed themselves staunchly in the Democrat camp. Their unconditional support of all Democrats, has allowed them to be taken for granted.

Democrats have come to understand that the gay vote is in their pocket. So aside from using certain gay issues as wedge issues, there is little a Democrat has to do to get the vote of a gay man or woman. They are comfortable in the thought that no matter what they do, homosexuals will not vote for a Republican.

In many ways, the homosexual community deserved being used a pawn in a political game. They blindly support Democrat candidates. In many instances some are motivated more by the prospect of voting against a Republican than they are by the Democrat they end up voting for. But they do vote for that Democrat. No matter what.

This is a mistake.

Most Republicans are not anti-gay. Most…. not all, but most. Most Republicans also do not oppose recognition of same sex marriages with equal legal rights. What many do oppose is simply any attempt to redefine the commonly understood and established meaning of the word marriage.

I for one support domestic unions.

I support maintaining the traditional definition of the word “marriage” as that of a union between heterosexuals and the term “domestic union” as that of a union between homosexuals.

This is not a ‘separate but equal’ position as many liberals have come to argue. There is a difference between the two hereWhen we distinguish one individual as a man or a woman, or a boy or girl, are we promoting a separate but equal policy? When you celebrate Christmas do you call it St. Patrick’s Day? There is a difference between each of the two examples stated. A man or a woman are both human but one is a male and the other is a female. Christmas and St. Patrick’s are both holidays but they are distinctly different type of holidays.

In the end, the distinction between the makeup a heterosexual and homosexual “union” is there. What is not any different is the existing love and commitment that exists. That is something that many Republicans do not deny. For that reason, many Republicans do support equal recognition of both type of unions and equal treatment of both unions under law.

Oddly, one man who has received wide support from the gay community has a similar view.

President Barack Obama has repeatedly stated that he believes marriage is something that is reserved for a man and a woman. This did not stop gay men and women from voting for him in pluralities that approach that of the 94% total of the African-American vote which he received in 2008.

Perhaps, the gay community which accuses the right of being uncompromising, should stop acting hypocritically and refusing to accept same-sex partnerships that are treated equally by the law but distinguished by there make up.

Another thing that the gay community must begin to do is stop being so monolithically devoted to a political Party that is exploiting them and taking advantage of them. The example that New Jersey Democrats have offered them drives that point home.

IT’S A SAKI ECONOMY FOR THE JAPANESE TOO

Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa

     Proof that the United States is not alone in a struggle for economic leadership was made quite evident today in Japan.

The already unstable government of Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso just took another hit and it is one that does not add to any sense of economic security.

Aso’s Finance Minister, Shoichi Nakagawa resigned today after apologizing for attending a string of seven news conferences while drunk.

A series of scandals and accusations and a plummeting popularity rating ,due to Prime Minister Aso’s mismanagement of the Japanese economy, has brought him and his ruling “Liberal Democratic Party” under fire and to the point of no public confidence.

Oddly, the resignation of Aso’s drunk Finance Minister coincided with a press conference by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who has made Japan the first stop on her first foreign mission.

What a welcome that must have been.

According to some insiders, the resignation could be the straw that breaks the back of the LDP and cause it to crumble. That could also give need for Secretary Clinton to do this trip over again, when she can discuss things with Japanese leaders who will be sober and in control of the Japanese government.

In any event, the fate of disgraced Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa is still up in the air. Some have suggested that the drunken antics which have led to his resignation from the Japanese government, might make him a perfectly suitable replacement for ailing Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy when and if he ever retires.

Others have suggested that since he is now available, Nakagawa’s government experience and impeccably clean tax record could make him the perfect person to nominate for the hard to fill, vacant Commerce Secretary spot that still exists in the Obama administration. What a better way to demonstrate our free trade desires than by having an Asian commerce secretary oversee our markets?

However; sources close to WordPress.com believe that although Nakagawa’s future fortune does lie in the United States, it is not in government employment that he will find it.

Apparently, Nakegawa will be signed onto a two year contract with a new American reality television show that will be produced by and aired on C-Span. The show is called Political Rehab and it will feature an array of political leaders, each of which are trying to deal with their political afterlives while coping with various addictions and fetishes.

The show will take place in Washington, D.C.’s trendy Georgetown section where the political rehabilitants will live together for eight weeks in a three story brownstone. Producers of the program say the show will “take us through the lives of everyday politicians who have fallen from grace and out of power and are struggling to find their place in the world while also coping with the problems that brought them down and out of power”

The shows creators promise that Political Rehab will be an emotional journey, jam packed with the intensity and passion of politics along with twists born of the human frailties and addictions that all people bring to the table.

Currently, producers are still negotiating contracts with a list of stars that include former Congresswoman and Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney , impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich, former Senator Larry Craig as well as former Governors Elliot Spitzer of New York and Jim McGreevey of New Jersey. Word is that former President Bill Clinton has already been signed on but arrangements regarding where Cynthia McKinney can safely sleep without fear of Mr. Clinton are still being worked out.

The show’s producers stated that the addition of Nakagawa and his drinking problem is just what they were looking for in order to round out the other addictions being dealt with on the show such as sex and violence.

So it is nice to know that when one door closes another one can in fact open, and after Nakegawa’s resignation in Japan, it is nice to know that not everything applies to the phrase “only in America”.

STATE SENATOR TRIES TO PULL THE WOOL OVER OUR EYES

STATE SENATOR NICK "I don't want to run for office so often" SCUTARI

Right now New Jersey state senators run for two consecutive four year terms followed by a two year term. That two year term is designed to compensate for newly created district lines every ten years.

 But recently State Senator Nicholas Scutari has proposed that the senate terms be lengthened to 5 year terms.

Scutari claims that the move would help to take some money out of politics by requiring state senators to have to pander to special interests a little less.

The claim is one of the most ludicrous excuses for unethical conduct since Jim McGreevey tried to blame his political shenanigans on his being a “gay-American”.

I must admit that Scutari has guts. He actually had the guts to tell people that instead of trying to change the negative aspects of politics,he wants to  institutionalize them and reward the negative aspects by giving politicians longer terms in office. Instead of trying to elect people who do not pander to politics, accept political pandering and give the panderers a longer amount of time in office.

I called that guts but what it actually is is nerve.

It takes a lot of nerve for someone to come out and say “hey it costs me a lot of money to run for reelection and I don’t think I should have to pander for money from the people and ask them if I am doing a good job so often. So extend the length of time in my term”.

Nicholas Scutari truly is political scum.

As a a state senator he has been one of only three legislators to serve while under a subpoena during a federal investigation for accepting state budget grants that provided personal benefits.  The questionable conduct of Scutari stems from the fact that his wife works for a non-profit organization that has received state funds.

On top of that Nick Scuatri himself, is a double dipper.

Not only does this guy get a taxpayer funded salary for his legislative schemes, he also gets paid by taxpayers as a municipal prosecutor for the town of Linden in his senate district.  So Scuatari lives off of the people he legislates.  So much so, that he has been investigated.   Yet his primary concern is how expensive it is for him to run for reelection.  If that is the case he should do us a favor and not seek reelection. He is obviously overly concerned by that and not half as concerned as he should be with how expensive it has become for his constituents to live in New Jersey.

Furthermore; if money and costs are his concern, when it comes to elections, how about offering incentives for municipalities to hold elections on what we call Election Day.  At times it would seem as though everyday is Election Day in New Jersey.

Be it municipal elections, for council or fire inspectors or school boards, the proliferation of different days of voting for different offices costs a great deal of money. It costs money to pay election workers and to move voting booths around. It costs money to print and mail ballots and to maintain the added manpower that an election requires.

Why not use the day set aside for elections to hold elections?

Instead of incurring costs for four or five different elections, incur one cost for one Election Day or at least fewer Election Days?

Such a move would also help to increase turnout for those scarcely voted on school board elections or lesser offices.

That is a money saving option worth looking at. But as for Scutari’s proposal. I can only offer a one finger salute and it is not a thumbs up.

If there is a change in the length of any state legislative term it should be a shortening of senate terms to every two years, not an increase in the term of office.

In New Jersey there is no reason for state senators to have a longer term than assembly members. Unlike places like New York, New Jersey State Senators have the same district as their counterparts in the assembly. In New York there are fewer state senators then assemblymen because their senate districts are twice the size of assembly districts. Here there is no difference. It is not as though New Jersey state senators have more ground to cover or constituents to address. They run in the same district as the assembly members do and they answer to the same number of constituents.

There is absolutely no need for state senators to have a five year term in office.

In Virginia, the Governor only has a two year term and I don’t think a New Jersey state senator needs more than twice as long a time in office than a Governor needs, in order to accomplish some good.

What Scutari neglected to mention was that the five year term in office would only help to make state senators less responsive to the needs of their districts and allow them more time to pander to special interests and raise even more money for their less frequent elections.

I do give Scutari some credit.

Even though it is very early in the year, he has already won the prize for the best legislative scheme put forth in Trenton this year.

Thank goodness for people like Senator Jennifer Beck who, although she is an incumbent state senator, she opposes this scam and she does so quite vocally. She does not support this blatant attempt to consolidate power and limit the will of the people. She has also proposed legislative reforms to prohibit people like Scutari from abusing the system.  One such bill of Beck’s was just unanimously passed by the senate state government committee.  The bill will not allow government officials to collect health care benefits from more than one publicly financed health insurance plan.

Hopefully there are enough legislators who think that way and will be able to put this proposal out of its misery. And hopefully the people of Scutari’s district will realize that they have a sneaky, little, schemer representing them and when the time comes, hopefully they will say “not only do we not want you to have a five year term, we don’t even want you to have another single term in office”.

In the mean time I have just one suggestion for Nick Scutari………………………..

A high-priced call girl brings a customer to her fancy apartment. He admires the fancy furnishings and the art and asks how she was able to amass such splendor. She replies that those really were her father’s, that he was a politician for forty years.

He said, “How come you didn’t follow in his footsteps instead of choosing this way of life?”

She sighed and said, “Oh, just lucky I guess. Besides, I had my moral standards to uphold.”

OFFER LEGISLATURE MERIT PAY LINKED TO THE ECONOMIES THAT THEY MANIPULATE

ASSEMBLYMAN RICHARD MERKT

Assemblyman Richard Merkt recently proposed to slash the salaries of New Jersey lawmakers by 10%.However, the Assemblyman is a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and the proposal could be viewed as an election gimmick. Then again, everything that any lawmaker does can be seen as a election gimmick.

In light of the recent pay raise of federal legislators, Merkt’s proposal is a noble one and worth looking at.

So his point is well taken. Times are tough and our representatives should be willing to make sacrifices and at least pretend to be empathetic to the people whose lives they affect.

Besides, lawmakers are partially responsible for any state’s economy including the one we are currently in here in Jersey so they should be more directly effected. I say they are partly responsibly because not everything is their fault. Nature, world events and human stupidity outside of Trenton politics, all play a part. But our lawmakers are elected to both steer us and our state economy in the right direction and to help our state better cope with the situations that we are dealt.

That being the case, it can easily be said that the current state legislature has not done a good job.

New Jersey has led the way in economic trouble over the past few years and under the direction of Governor Jon Corzine, the state legislature has been ill equipped at handling the situation. In fact, together the Democrat controlled state legislature and Democrat Governor have made matters worse.

Together they raised taxes, increased fees made it harder to do business in New Jersey and expanded opportunities for government corruption.

It could be said that Republicans bare no responsibility for this situation since they do not control any branch of state government. I can agree with that but it still doesn’t get Republicans off the hook.

Both parties have failed the people of New Jersey to one degree or another.

Democrats have failed to do anything right and Republicans have failed at convincing anyone that they could do better.

Given these circumstances, I have a more interesting proposal than Assemblyman Merkt’s.

How about we link state legislative and executive salaries to the economy and taxes of the state that they run.

Currently New Jersey State Assembly members and Senators make $49,000 a year.

I say let us reduce those salaries to a base of $41.000 a year and then use the following standard.

1. For every percent or portion of a percentage that any given legislature raises income and property taxes, their salaries are decreased by 2%. For every percentage or degree of a percentage that they decrease income and property taxes their salaries can be raise by half of one percent.
2. For every percent or portion of a percentage that they raise a sales or service tax, their salaries also decrease by that same percentage. Conversely, their salaries can be raised by half a percent for every full percent of a decrease in such taxes.
3. For any new tax created, their salaries are reduced by 2% plus the equivalent percentage of that new tax.
4. Every toll increase passed during any legislative session is matched by a reduction in legislative salaries that equal to the percentage of that increase.
5. And finally, state legislative salaries are further reduced by the same number of percentage points that the state’s unemployment rate is whenever it exceeds 4%.

To make it fair. Newly elected legislators would not be held accountable for the taxes and economic situation that any previous legislative session, which they did not have a hand in, was responsible for, and so they would start with the base pay of 41K.

Of course, such measures would not prevent rich people like Governor Jon Corzine from raising fees and taxes, misappropriating funds and offering sweet heart deals to sweethearts like Carla Katz. After all, Corzine took a $400 million golden parachute from Wall Street and doesn’t even accept his salary for Governor but this system could help to make less well off lawmakers work a little harder to address our problems and to fight the wealthy Governor. Having their own pockets linked to what they pick out of ours could just help to make them finally work together for the benefit of themselves as well as us. Maybe such a pay scale system will help to really create a sense of bipartisanship?

Perhaps if the lawmakers of New Jersey had their financial well being directly linked to the state’s financial well being and our own financial opportunities, maybe tax increases and increased fees for everything from driving to landscaping and joining a gym will be viewed as a last resort. Like it should be.

Perhaps by immediately linking their decisions directly to their own incomes, they may better empathize with the financial impact that they bring to bare on those they are representing .

You could say that it is not fair to those who vote against penalizing taxes or policies that drive businesses away and raise the unemployment in the state. That might be so, but, those who simply voted against something are still culpable. They have more than a responsibility to vote against such measures. They have the responsibility of leadership and the responsibility of making their case and doing it so well that a preponderance of people in the state as well as the legislature are persuaded by their arguments. They must convince people why others are wrong and they are right. Failing to do so is a failure that they share in common with those who support regressive economic policies.

So Assemblyman Merkt’s proposed 10 % reduction in salary is nice.

It is certainly going in a direction far better than the 2.8% pay increase that Congress is willing to take, at of all times, now. But the gesture Merkt is making could be made more meaningful and be more enduring. By linking legislative salaries to their actions we are adding a new incentive to politics and a new level of innovation……..political merit pay. If you do a good job and keep a good economy going you get paid better.

Is this crazy?

Maybe it is. Maybe it is as far fetched as a State Senator taking money from a no show job given to him by a school funded with state money that the same State Senator helped procure with tax payer dollars that he helped get through the state legislature. Maybe this political merit pay scale sounds just as crazy as that same corrupt State Senator getting his state funded pension after ripping the state off and being convicted.

But just like former *Senator Wayne Bryant, it may sound crazy but it could be true if like Wayne Bryant, we just did it.

__________________________________________

*Wayne Bryant pressured officials of University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey  to create a no-show job  that  allowed him to lobby himsef’ for taxpayer funds. Bryant also chaired the Senate Appropriations comittee which Funneled large sums of taxpayers dollare to UMDNJ.

 

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OF SENATOR BECK FOR LT. GOV.

I was talking to a friend of mine’s little girl the other day.

I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up and she replied, 

“I want to be President!” 

Both of her parents are liberal Democrats and were standing there. So then I asked her, “If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?”

She replied, “I’d give houses to all the homeless people.” 

“Wow – what a worthy goal.” I told her, “You don’t have to wait until you’re President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I’ll pay you $50. Then I’ll take you over to the grocery store where this homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward a new house.” 

Since she is only 6, she thought that over for a few seconds. While her Mom glared at me, she looked me straight in the eye and asked,

“Why doesn’t the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?” 

And I said, “Welcome to the Republican Party.” 

Her folks still aren’t talking to me.

 Submitted by Dick, Williamsport, Md

CHRISTIE TELLS SUPPORTERS THAT HE WILL MAKE IT OFFICIAL

FORMER MORRIS COUNTY FREEHOLDER AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CHRIS CHRISTIE

This morning Chris Christie officially declared that he will make a run for the Republican nomination for Governor official during the first week of February.

 

With access to lists of Republican supporters and activists collected by Christie supporters such as State Senator Joe Kyrillos, the former prosecutor sent the following message.

Dear Friend,

This morning I am filing papers to begin the process to become a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey.

I did not take this step lightly. It was only after careful consideration and consultation with my family that I decided to become a candidate.

New Jersey is broken. New Jersey’s taxes have become so unaffordable that more families are leaving our state than moving here. Our state’s business tax climate is ranked 50th in the nation and has become so unattractive to employers that only government jobs are growing in New Jersey. Yet nothing in Trenton gets done to fix these problems.

We can change this. We can solve these problems if we’re willing to make the tough decisions.

In my seven years as your United States Attorney, I didn’t shy away from any of the tough decisions. I took on corporate greed, political corruption, terrorism and environmental polluters. Public officials from both parties were prosecuted for corruption – more than 130 were convicted, and not one was acquitted. Corporate executives who cheated their companies and hurt their workers were successfully prosecuted. Terrorist plots were disrupted; polluters punished.

Many didn’t believe we could win these battles. We did, and with strong leadership we will win the fight for Governor and change this state for the better.

My formal announcement for Governor will come in the first week in February and I hope you will join us (I will email you the details). With strong leadership now, we can fix our broken state and make it more affordable for all New Jersey families.

Sincerely,

Chris Christie

The filing of papers with the State Board of Elections to begin making his his candidacy for Governor of New Jersey a reality is about time.

For Christie to stall his decision to run or not run any longer would be detrimental to both his own success and our party’s success.

It is no secret that he would probably be running and to begin with a late, or later start than he already intends, only makes things tougher for the G.O.P. than they may already be.

From the message sent out by Christie, which essentially makes his intentions clear, one can see that the soon to be candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey is banking on a campaign that will play up his prosecutorial, clean government credentials and business interests.

Those are important issues however, Christie would be wise to highlight the damage done to the citizens of New Jersey due to the anti business climate that Corzine and Democrats have created in the state more than just the desire of businesses. The focus needs to be on the people. By simply making himself the “pro-business” candidate, Christie will fall into a trap that Democrats are great at. It is a trap that, in the minds of voters, Democrats perpetuate a sense that Republicans are the party for big business.

So Christie needs to carefully phrase his intentions to improve the environment for business in New Jersey.

 

One of the most encouraging comments in his email was a reference to the fact that only government jobs are growing in New Jersey. If Christie can hammer home the fact that Democrats have made government a business that they treat like corrupt Wall Street, ponzi schemers and profit from at the sake of taxpayers, he may be on to a winning theme in November.

But first he must get our nomination.

It is my hope that Chris Christie will work hard for that nomination. He just might have to with people like Assemblyman Richard Merkt and former Mayor Steve Lonegan on his tail.

The two, especially Mayor Lonegan are going to be innovative in their approaches to government and in a time when Americans were wanting “change”, New Jerseyans are really wanting change. Business as usual is not something that New Jersey residents want from government and people like Steve Lonegan are anything but business usual. Many can see that as a refreshing change from the business as usual that we have gotten from the current administration in Trenton.

So once Christie does become an official candidate and starts campaigning as one, it will be interesting to see how he distinguishes himself from the pack and from your run of the mill politicians.

And the sooner he starts trying to do so, the better.

 

Be Sure To Sign The Petition To

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Sign the Online Petition – Repeal The Automatic Pay Raise That Congress Is Receiving

Pass The Link On To Family, Friends and Co-workers

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OF SENATOR BECK FOR LT. GOV.

POSTED EARLIER TODAY:  JACK KEMP – A POLITICAL ICON BATTLES CANCER

It has been reported that Jack Kemp has cancer.

His office released the following statement:

“Mr. Kemp has been undergoing tests to determine the origin of the disease and the options for continued treatment. He will continue to serve as Chairman of Kemp Partners and plans to remain involved in his business, charitable and politically related activities. Mr. Kemp and his family are grateful for the thoughts and prayers of friends and appreciate respect for their privacy at this time”……….

To Read More, Go To:

https://politics247.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/jack-kemp-a-political-icon-battles-cancer/

CORZINE TAKES NEW JERSEY FOR A RIDE….On the Hindenburg

 

Governor Jon Corzine

Governor Jon Corzine has declared that he is slashing New Jersey’s budget by as much as $812 million in order to close in on the state’s $2.1 billion budget gap.

Wow, a whopping $812 million dollars. That will do a lot. Well not really. But I guess Governor Corzine knows what he is doing. I mean after all, he is a Wall Street genius and we all know how smart those Wall Streeter’s are and he did have a golden parachute that earned him $4oo million dollars after he got pushed out of Goldman Sachs.

So maybe his $812 million in budget cuts are smart. I am not too sure though.

 When Jon Corzine first came to Trenton, in just six short months he increased taxes in New Jersey by almost $2 billion dollars. This happened after he ran for Governor promising to “control spending”.

Now Corzine is up for reelection and we have a budget deficit slightly larger than the total amount of revenue he raised in tax increases when he first took office.

I think we can safely say that Governor Corzine did not “controls spending”

Ponzi Schemer Bernie Madoff

In fact Governor Corzine has not controlled anything in New Jersey. What he has done is try to take his Wall Street experience and apply it to government. The problem is that his finance experience depends upon bailouts and golden parachutes. He has even delayed a presentation of New Jersey’s own annual budget till March in the hope that the federal government will come to his rescue. I bet you didn’t know that when we elected Barack Obama, he became the de facto finance chairman for New Jersey.

When it comes to budgets, Jon Corzine attended the Bernie Madoff School of Finance. It is located right next to the Jim McGreevey School of Ethics, where ,by the way, Governor Corzine also got a degree.

Disgraced Ex-Governor Jim McGreevey

His major in finance and minor in ethics both came in handy during his secret negotiations with his former girlfriend Carla Katz, as the two hammered out a lucrative state contract that greatly benefited the Communication Workers Union that Katz presided over. For the Governor’s efforts, Katz and the CWA made out like bandits and taxpayers got suckered out of more money than investors in Madoff’s ponzi scheme. More than a year later and we’re still trying to figure out how that deal happened and the courts are figuring out exactly why Corzine and Katz refuse to release the details.

But all is well. The Governor has promised to make $812 million dollars in cuts to the budget. Some of the cuts include $11,000 from adolescent illiteracy, $4 million from The turnpike and parkway, $15 million from aid to municipalities and $75 million from public schools.

Never mind the over 83 aides that the Governor has earning a hundred thousand dollars or more a year. Never mind the countless patronage positions that exist in every school district, municipal government, state agency and legislative staff. Never mind the endless array of programs that government should not be involved in in any fashion. No, none of those things add up.

Let’s face it. Like everything else Jon Corzine has said or dne, it is meaningless. It is just like his first gesture when he

Jon Corzine

 initially took office. With generosity and sincerity of purpose, Jon Corzine made it clear that he would not accept the $175,000 annual salary that comes with the job. Oh boy, thank you Jon. That is so,….. it is so,……. so kind of you. I mean with a personal fortune in excess of $400 million dollars those few thousand must really be a great sacrifice for you.

Sarcasm aside, it was a publicity stunt and like everything else, the gesture was meaningless. It was not a sign of sincere intentions and it did not make a difference. Much like his entire tenure as Governor.

To date, the only significant action that New Jersey has encountered under his leadership was the abolishment of the death penalty in New Jersey and the worthiness of that achievement is quite debatable.

Other than that, he has raised taxes every chance he has gotten and he has pushed for increasing tolls on our roadways every year for decades to come. He even pushed for putting tolls on roads that don’t have any tolls.

The Hindenburg Going Down In Lakehurst, New Jersey

Truth is, Jon Corzine is like the Hindenburg. He floats around like a big deal but instead of getting us from point A to point B, he explodes and unleashes a load of rubble allover the place. There is not a single problem that he has solved or improvement that he has created. All he has done is enter into shady deals, hire inept cabinet officials, tinker with budgets and raise taxes.

New Jersey really does need a change.

We need a leader who can take control of circumstances, not be controlled by circumstances. We need someone who can clean up the mess, not make a mess.

It is time for Republicans in New Jersey to get their act together.  The Republican Minority Leaders in the Senate and Assembly have better get on message.  They need to create and present their own budget, drop everything else and from High Point to Cape May, make that budget known.  They need to point to the empty list of  achievements that the Governor has accomplished and point out what the Democrat majorities in the legislature blocked.  Beyond pointing out what they did wrong and the right things that they didn’t do, Republicans need to make it clear what they would do and present New Jersey with their roadmap.

After that, we have to get rid of Corzine.

Ridding ourselves of him wont eliminate all of New Jersey’s problems but it will at least help prevent us from getting into more trouble.

And Be Sure To Also Sign The Petition To

REPEAL THE CONGRESSIONAL PAY HIKE

Sign the Online Petition – To Repeal The Automatic Pay Raise That Congress Is Receiving Congress

Pass The Link On To Family, Friends and Co-workers

http://www.gopetition.com/online/24301.html

The rest of the world cannot understand how after bitter election campaigns…

…….American politicians can return to reality. For instance, Sarah Palin has invited to her great state of Alaska the men who defeated her, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

She has provided a moose hunting trip for their enjoyment and has hired two other prominent men to assist them. Dick Cheney will instruct them in safe gun handling, and Ted Kennedy will drive them back to their cabins in the evening.

What a gal! That Sarah is such a sport and thinks of everything!

Submitted by Bill, Ardmore, Pa.

SPEAKING OF CORRUPTION………….

NEW JERSEY'S GOVERNOR. How corrupt is Corzine?

 While New Jersey competes with Illinois for the title of most corrupt state in the Union, Illinois’ soon to be former Governor, Rod Blagojevich isn’t the only state executive trying to keep secrets.

New Jersey’s own Governor, Jon Corzine, is in the courts as he tries to keep his negotiations with one of the state’s most powerful unions a secret.

 She claims that state arbitration laws demand that the talks remain secret.

Ain’t that convenient? Laws that demand the people be kept in the dark about the reasons behind why the government does what it does. Sounds like Lenin’s rules of order for the politiburo

IL. GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH. His secrets out but when will Corzine's be out?

Like more than half of the voters polled in New Jersey, I disagree with the Governor’s position. I believe that state negotiations for state contracts that spend the tax dollars of state residents should be an open and honest process. We should know what was offered and why. We should know what the union demanded and why. We should not be kept in the dark when it comes to finding out how own money is spent.

Governor Corzine and Carla Katz may want to keep the details of their negotiated deal a secret but that is not how a democratic form of an open and honest government works.

The two of them were not arranging how they were going to finance their next personal vacation to Hawaii. They were negotiating how to spend our tax dollars. That gives us the right to know how that arrangement was made.

With all the corruption in New Jersey government, you would think that the governor would want to stay above reproach. You would think that he would go out of his way to help regain voters faith in government. Especially since he succeeded a corrupt democrat governor who resigned under a patronage and financial scandal that he tried to overshadow by announcing he was a closeted “gay American” who was cheating on his wife.

As more and more political leaders and government employees are being arrested in New Jersey, we need to know that our incumbent governor can be trusted.

CARLA KATZ Former Union Boss and the Governor's former Girlfriend. Things could get "hairy" for the two of them.

By appealing the courts decision and fighting to keep his “official” talks with Carla Katz a secret, Jon Corzine is only raising suspicion and increasing our already lost faith in government.

Corzine may not know how to be a good Governor but he is not stupid. He realizes all of this, yet he still defies the obvious and clings to the documentation of his secret arrangements with the CWA’s former president and his own former girlfriend.

The people and the courts of New Jersey deserve to know what is in those emails between Corizne and Katz. None of us are asking for the disclosure of any pillow talk or personal realizations. We simply want to make sure that the CWA contract deal was made for all the right reason.

KATZ & CORZINE-Struggling on the dance floor and now in the courts

Corzine’s refusal to clear his name by turning these emails over to the proper authorities simply makes one believe that, like many other indicted and arrested New Jersey politicians, Corzine made a corrupt deal. That is not exactly the best impression that one can bring to the table in their bid for reelection. But until Governor Corzine releases those emails, he will be running for reelection with a smoking gun in his hand. Then again if the appellate courts reject Corzine’s appeal, he may not be running for reelection after all. Instead he just might join a long list of fellow former state legislators and a few other governors in federal prison.

UNDER THE “HE SAID IT, NOT ME” CATEGORY

“Give this motherf****r Obama his senator? F**k him. For nothing.

 F**k him.”   

~Soon to be former Illinois Governor Rod Blagovejich

THE TOP 10 POLITICAL HAPPENINGS OF 2008

With the new year here, we have the opportunity to reflect on the year gone by and to thank the passage of time for resolving some situations. While some happenings in 2008 came and went, other events of 2008 still require time, time that will absorb much of 2009 and even beyond.

So today, before we forge ahead with the rest of this new year, we reflect on the events that shaped politics and the politics that shaped events, by presenting to you the 10 most significant political stories of the year that helped to get us where we are today.

TONY SNOW

10. – THE DEATHS OF TIM RUSSERT and TONY SNOW

TIM RUSSERT

Both of these men loved politics. For a time they were both involved in politics on different sides of the aisle and during  a different time they covered both sides of the aisle in politics . Tony Snow started in print and broadcast journalism delivering political news and commentary and ended his career in politics as the Press Secretary for President Bush. Tim Russert began in politics working for a political legend, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York and ended covering politics on NBC. As host of Meet The Press, Tim became a part of every American household and despite his personal left leaning tendencies Tim Russert was respected for probing questions that were leveled at liberals and conservatives alike. Tony Snow was also a partisan. For decades he was a favorite in conservative circles, yet when delivering a news story people of every party carefully listened to the insightful delivery of facts that he presented. His last major endeavor was one that helped provide the White House with the ability to properly convey the right messages. Tony served as Press Secretary for 17 months. Probably the most understandable 17 months of the Presidents two terms in office. Tim Russert died after suffering a massive heart attack on Jun 13^th at the age of 58 and Tony Snow died after battling colon cancer on July 12^th at the age of 53. In life they shaped politics and political opinion. In death, they left us a legacy of lessons and examples to follow.

 

 

FORMER NY GOVERNOR ELLIOT SPITZER

9 . – IS THAT CAMPAIGN MONEY IN YOUR POCKET OR ARE YOU JUST GLAD TO SEE ME?

 

The Empire State helped to set a tone for 2008 when early in the year, New York’s Governor, Elliot Spitzer got caught up in scandal. After serving only 14 months in office the rising Democrat star found himself standing next to his wife announcing his resignation. Suspicious transfers of money in and out of Spitzer’s bank account led federal investigators to believe that he might be taking bribes. However their probe discovered that for over several years Spitzer wasn’t taking bribes, he was paying out at least $80,000 for prostitutes. The period covered his tenure as New York’s Attorney General as well as his brief time as Governor. The happiest people of all in this episode were David Paterson and New Jersey. As Spitzer’s Lieutenant Governor, Paterson, became New York’s first African American Governor, and the nation’s first legally blind one. New Jersey was just happy to know that they were no longer the only state in the region to lose a governor because of sexual scandals and illegal conduct.

 

 

8. – WEEKEND AT KIM’S

NOT WANTED but is he dead or alive?

 

Around August rumors began to circulate that North Korea’s obscure and, to put it kindly, eccentric leader, Kim Jong-Il, was dead. Since then no reputable sources have either seen him or heard from him. Not that that is unusual, few people have ever heard or seen Kim Jong-Il, but what is unusual are recent decisions that Kim Jong-Il supposedly made to eliminate efforts to develop nuclear power. Did Kim make that decision? Is North Korea really abandoning nuclear ambitions? Or is North Korea propping up Kim Jong-Il, like a bad, out of sync, Korean version of “Weekend At Bernie’s” while a different, unknown, brain dead ruler is pulling the strings and, at the same time, trying to pull the wool over our eyes? All jokes aside, the sensitivity of the situation is a dire one. Chaos on the Korean Peninsula could create a ripple effect that no one can afford. Dramatic events could alter sensitive relations with South Korea and negotiations with the United States. All of which could result in tensions throughout the world including those involving hard feelings between North Korea and Japan. And let us not forget North Korea’s greatest ally, China. With their booming economy, the Chinese are ambitious. Knowing who is in charge of things could be helpful in 2009.

 

 

BID WELL TO FIDEL?

7. – BID WELL FIDEL?

 

In 1959 Cuba took on the face of Fidel Castro. Just 90 miles off of our shores, Cuban communism and Castro were too close for comfort. As much as we didn’t like it, invasions, coups and even assassination attempts did not eliminate Castro’s hold on power. However, time did reduce Castro’s influence. As time changed most of the world, Castro and Cuba didn’t but the logistics which helped to make him a thorn in our side did change. The, once feared communist Soviet-Cuban relationship lost it’s potency as the Soviet Union lost it’s hammer and sickle. As time went by, our concerns with Cuba focused more on human rights for Cubans than defense from Cuba. So it was still welcome news when, in February, we discovered that an ailing Fidel Castro was resigning from office. Not that it mattered much. Before stepping down, Fidel told the Cuban Communist Party that they were too elect his brother Raul to be the new Commander in Chief. The event did not change things very much but after almost 50 years in power, and events such as the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Elian Gonzales and other disconcerting situations, as minor as the effects of this change may be, Fidel’s painstakingly slow departure from the world stage is welcomed and ranks as the seventh most dramatic political occurrence of 2008.

 

 

6. – THE GEOGIAN-RUSSIAN WAR

 

It was not a battle that reshaped Europe again but the surprising developments that caused the Russian Army to invade a neighboring, breakaway Republic with internationally recognized sovereignty, gave us all a glimpse of reality. It may not be the Soviet Union anymore but a bear by any other name is still a bear and the vulnerabilities of newly formed and reformed European nations and those with relatively new freedoms still offer some new Russian leaders the same old reasons for wanting control. The incident helped to demonstrate that freedom in parts of Europe is still a fragile concept.

 

 

ROD "How much do 'ya want" BLAGOJEVICH

5. – THE EBAY APPOINTMENT

 

2008 ended with a story that will carry well into the first months of 2009. As President-Elect Obama vacated his seat in the U.S. Senate, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich began a private auction process to determine who will fill the vacancy. As investigators, under the direction of federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, investigated Blagojevich for numerous improprieties, they discovered that he was basing his appointment to the senate seat on who could give him the most for it. Blago wanted either a “cushy union” job, a high paying cabinet position or at the very least an enormous financial campaign contribution. After being arrested the Illinois state legislature began impeachment proceedings against Blagojevich and he began digging in his heals refusing to resign. The events have the potential for drawing in some big name co-conspirators and participants. From Rep. Jesse Jackson, jr. to President -Elect Obama’s incoming Chief of Staff, Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuelle, many reputations may yet be questioned in this scandal. And to make things even more interesting, Blagojevich took the opportunity to raise the stakes and named Roland Burris, a long time, old line, liberal Chicago Democrat party machine hack to replace Barack Obama. Not at all concerned with peoples faith in government, or the integrity of the process, Burriss accepted the tainted appointment and in doing so, puts the United States and it’s Democrat leader, Harry Reid in the position of denying to seat someone that would be the only African American in the United States Senate. So coming in as the fifth top political occurrence in 2008 is the story that will keep on bleeding and keep us reading…..the process to replace a Barack Obama in the senate.

 

 

4. – BRINGING OUTSIDERS IN

GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN

 

One of the most important political decisions made in 2008 was John McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President on the Republican ticket. It was a controversial choice for some and one of the only right decisions made in the opinions of others. No matter how you see it, it remains one of the most spoken about political stories of the year. Beyond the newsworthiness are the implications. For many it was a sign of the fact that government needs thinking that is as far removed from the Washington D.C. mentality as Alaska is from Washington D.C itself. Many Americans are tired of Washington politics and want common sense as opposed to the one hand washes the other, old boys bureaucracy that we perceive as screwing us more than helping us. Sarah Palin embodied, and still does embody, that thinking. She is a political outsider who became a Governor by opposing the political class while representing the working class. Without abandoning conservative Republican principles, Sarah Palin fought against corrupt Republican and liberal politicians. Although picking Sarah Palin for Vice President may have been the right decision for John McCain, trying to restrict and control her wasn’t. By trying to script Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign lost out on the greatest advantageous quality Palin brought to the ticket…….her anti-establishment, outsider qualities. As McCain lost the election for President, Sarh Palin won exposure. Exposure that has made her a person who conservatives look forward to advancing the cause and for Americans to have to consider for national leadership in the future. So at number four in 2008 is the selection of Sarah Palin for Vice President. Thank you senator McCain!

 

 

3. – “OILS WELL” IN THE ECONOMY?

 

The price of oil ranks third on our list of top stories. As prices for a barrel of oil soared to heights in excess of 150 dollars a barrel , gas prices flew up to over 4 dollars a gallon and the ripple effects raise the cost of everything from milk, eggs and bread to lumber, air fares, and life in general. The high cost of energy generated heated debates over domestic oil drilling, and pushed issues like immigration and terrorism off of the front burners in the race for President. Based upon the duration of the immediate negative effects of the price of oil combined with its ripple effects on the economy, its control of the political agenda and the long term policy initiatives that it created, oil prices is number 3 in ‘08. It is also likely to become a top story again, at least around August of ‘09, when the now delightfully low prices we see rise back up.

 

 

2. – THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

 

Putting all political opinion aside, Barack Obama ran a long hard campaign, that Republican strategists are dissecting in order to reproduce in elections of their own. The Obama campaign not only effectively tapped into voter dissatisfaction, they organized it and organized it well. Their utilization of the internet was exemplary and their ability to win favor through eloquence and style over substance and fact was done to political perfection. Despite some pitfalls such as Bill Ayers, ACORN, Rev. Wright, admitting a desire akin to socialism by stating that he wanted to spread the wealth, Barack Obama won big. To do so his campaign raised historic amounts of money and more than just raising that money, they spent it right and put it to good use. A use that mobilized the forces well enough to produce his substantial victory. The election of President-Elect Barack Obama comes in second not only because of how he won but because he did win. His victory marked the election of America’s first African American President. Like any other first, it is notable and in this case it is profoundly notable. It demonstrates an undeniable ability for our nation to overcome racial differences and the evidence of decency overcoming prejudice is promising. The effects of President-Elect Obama’s leadership are yet to be seen but the lessons learned and points made by his election are unquestionable.

 

 

1 . – BAIL OUT MANIA

 

POLITICS 24/7 considers the 700 billion dollar bailout that the federal government approved to be the most profound and important story of 2009. Not only was the suggested need for this bailout indicative of our wrong ways of the past, it signaled a continuation of wrong ways in the future. Our promotion of spending as the answer to all of our problems has created generations ands a government that spend beyond our means. The 700 billion dollar bailout meant to solve our problems didn’t solve our anything, it just provided a quick fix. It did however, create more problems. It has called upon more people and more industries to put their own hands out. The bailout set in motion a sense of government control that has taken freedom, with all of it’s risks and promises, out of the free market and it has helped to move America closer to the socialism that we have fought against in the past. Many major events come and go in politics. What we once saw as earth shattering developments often become something that we later laugh about but we fear that bailout trend established in 2008 is no laughing matter for any time.

 

2008 was an intense year. There were many events and some of the most dramatic ones did not involve politics. Human nature played a role in all of them though and hopefully our better instincts will drive the events and politics of 2009.

With that in mind we wish everyone a happy new year and hope that our better instincts help to make each and every day better than the last.