AND YOU THOUGHT BERNIE MADOFF WAS A CRIMINAL

       Maybe, just maybe Republicans are getting back on track.

Not a single Republican in the House of Representatives voted for the $819 billion so called economic recovery package.

For that I am proud.

I am proud of the fact that Republicans objected to what is the largest bill of its kind in history. A bill that is suppose to be considered a stimulus package but is actually a liberal spending program that is filled with pork, patronage and pathetic excuses.

More than 70 percent of all the spending that was approved in this bill should have been individual expenditures that were taken up, debated and voted on in their own right.

Most of the spending in this historic bill is not at all related to stimulating the economy and that which is designed to stimulate the economy will not take effect for years as is the case for monies dedicated to highways and school construction.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office states “much of the stimulus may not come until after the economy has begun to recover”.

According to the C.B.O. $5 billion of the $30 billion set aside for highway spending would be spent within the next two years. About $2.6 billion of $18.5 billion for renewable energy programs would be spent by then. About $907 million of a $6 billion plan to expand broadband access in rural and other underserved areas would be spent by 2011.

In the mean time where is some of that money immediately going?

Well $335 million is going towards the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, $2.4 billion is going to a cap on carbon transmissions, $16 miliion for a smoking cessation measure, $50 million to the National Endowmnent for the Arts, $1 billion to Amtrak, $7.7 Billion to federal buildings, $600 million to federal cars and $400 million is going into the studying of global warming.

That does not include a myriad of personal pet projects that Democratic lawmakers are pumping into their own districts to help assure their reelections nor does it include the overnight doubling of the department of Educations budget.

This is not stimulus it is social engineering.

Under the auspices of an economic emergency Congress just approved the delivery of the worlds largest Christmas gift. Of course like everything else Congress does, it is late but to make matters worse it is defective.

For those of you who thought that Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme was a scandal of epic proportions, well you just witnessed a government ponzi scheme that makes Madoff’s offenses seem like petty theft.

Very little of what this program was meant for is what it is going towards. Very little.

So I am proud of congressional Republicans. They stood together and they stood on principle and voted against this federal economic scam. I only wish they kept their principles when they were in control of Congress and held the majority. If they had, perhaps today they would still be in control of the house.

As for liberals, had they scaled this scam back and put the money into infrastructure development and other operations that would have trickled out into the private sector and created jobs through the private sector, it would not be a scam and I might say that they were on the right road to recovery. But they didn’t. Under their leadership and design this stimulus package has little to do with stimulus and everything to do with expanding the size of government, expanding government programs and increasing government control .

On top of that, does anyone not see how much of this money will be wasted and unaccounted for?

The government is going to spend it. The same government that could not monitor the lending practices of their own FannieMaes or FreddieMacs. The same government that loses 20 cents on every dollar that they spend .

Ladies and gentlemen, we have just witnessed the world’s greatest and most elaborate crime. Without a single call to the police we just wittiness 244 Democrats in the House of Representatives rip us all off.

Those of you liberals who approve of this crime may claim that Republicans created the need or opportunity for this scandal to arise. You will claim that Republican policies got us here but I can assure you that Republicans did not create the crisis and after this vote, we did not make it worse.

Much of the economic crisis that we are experiencing was ushered in not because of the low unemployment rates that existed for the past 6 of the last eight years. This problems was ushered in by a banking crisis that largely began after an over inflated housing market bubble burst. The inability to pay back loans in this area created a tightening of the lending markets and that tightening cut off the flow of money as we knew it.

Much of the problem could have been avoided if Barney Franks and Chris Dodd took John McCain’s advice and reevaluated our lending practices and if we put a stop to the Clinton initiatives which forced banks to hand out sub prime loans to people who could not afford to pay these loans back, but they didn’t.

So here we are today, witnessing the same people who created the problem offer up their solution to the problem.

Well ladies and gentlemen they didn’t solve anything, they simply made the problem worse and robbed us blind in the process.

It just goes to show you that even getting screwed these days costs a lot more than it used to.

Dear Abby, My husband is a lying cheat. . . .

. . . He tells me he loves me, but he has cheated our entire marriage. He is a good provider and has many friends and supporters. They know he is a lying cheat, but they just avoid the issue.

He is a hard worker but many of his co-workers are leery of him.

Every time he gets caught, he denies it all. Then he admits that he was wrong and begs me to forgive him. This has been going on for so long, everyone in town knows he is a cheat. I don’t know what to do.

Signed Frustrated

————————————-

Dear Frustrated:

You should dump him. Now that you are a Secretary of State, you don’t need him anymore.

Submitted by Marianne, Columbia, Md.

 

ALSO

Help Shape New Jersey’s Republican Comeback In Jersey. Draft Senator Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor.

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.

 

Be Sure To Sign The Petition To

REPEAL THE CONGRESSIONAL PAY HIKE

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

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

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

 AND DON’T FORGET………….

BE SURE TO SIGN THE PETITION URGING THE NOMINATION

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

REPEAL THE CONGRESSIONAL PAY HIKE

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

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

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

 AND DON’T FORGET………….

BE SURE TO SIGN THE PETITION URGING THE NOMINATION

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/

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRAT PARTY BOSS WANTS A CANDIDATE FOR LT. GOV. LIKE JEN BECK

NJ STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR, ASSEMBLYMAN JOE CRYAN

Recently New Jersey’s state Democrat party boss and Deputy Assembly Majority Leader,  Joe Cryan of Union County explained that in the upcoming election, the liberal choice for Lieutenant Governor on the democratic ticket must be a minority or a woman.

The party boss added that the nominee for Lieutenant Governor should be “someone who doesn’t look like the governor.”

According to Cryan, Democrats must select a woman or a minority because they “want to be inclusive” and “that’s important”.

We find that interesting.

It is interesting that the state’s chief Democrat party leader is seeking to bolster the chances of reelecting the state’s chief elected Democrat by creating a visual image of inclusion. Forget about the most qualified or the best person for the times we are in. Just base the decision on looks. Base the leadership of New Jersey on skin color or sex.

Well ladies and gentlemen, we wish Democrats a lot of luck with that strategy.

They will need it. After all it isn’t Jon Corzine’s good looks that will win him reelection as Governor and it isn’t the color of ones skin or their sex which will get them elected.

And if the image of a minority or a woman is what they are looking for in a Lieutenant Governor, than they will like the Republican ticket that POLITICS 24/7 is hoping for.

A few weeks before POLITICS 24/7 began our petition effort to repeal the automatic pay raise that Congress is getting, we began a campaign to nominate State Senator Jennifer Beck as our nominee for Lieutenant Governor.

This decision was made based upon Senator Beck’s ability, not her gender.

We do not promote the candidacy of Jennifer Beck because she is a woman. Unlike the intentions of Democrats, we have chosen Senator Beck based upon her record, leadership and ability. We believe that Jennifer Beck is the best person for Lieutenant Governor not because she looks the part but because she is right for the part.

Two of the most important issues facing New Jersey are the economy and ethics.

On both of those issues Jennifer Beck has been leading the way for reform, reform of a state economy that is stripping us of the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels our economy and reform of the way that the state and it’s public servants conduct business.

In addition to that, Senator Beck brings a conservative approach to government without a politically partisan twist. Her appeal to Democrats, Republicans and independents alike proves her inclusive approach to governance. Her victories in strongly Democrat districts demonstrates her inclusiveness and proves that you do not need not be a minority to address minority concerns.

Of course it might just be time for New Jersey Democrats to try to prove that they can properly address and represent women and minorities. Republicans have elected minorities to the state legislature and unlike Democrats, Republicans have nominated women to the United States Senate and we have nominated and elected a female Governor. One of the longest serving congessional representatives that New Jersey sent to Washington, D.C. was a woman.  A Republican woman. So New Jersey Republicans have represented minoroities and woman for quite some time now.  New Jersey Democrats just have some catching up to do. 

Furthermore; unlike Assemblyman Joe Cryan’s plea, New Jersey Republican women and minorities are capable, competent individuals who are selected because of their superior skill and leadership, not simply because they are a minority or a woman.

That is why we at the draft Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor campaign are excited by the prospects of having Jennifer Beck as our nominee for Lieutenant Governor.

She is everything that Democrats like party Chairman Joe Cryan want in their own candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Perhaps running against the inclusive candidacy of Senator Beck is something that New Jersey Democrats fear.   And well they should.

BE SURE TO SIGN THE PETITION URGING THE NOMINATION

OF SENATOR BECK FOR LT. GOV.

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

To All My Democrat Friends and others:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

Submitted by Dick, Williamsport, Md.

ARE REPUBLICANS ROLLING OUT A RED CARPET OR WAVING A WHITE FLAG?

Recently, State Senator Sean Kean (R-Monmouth) and Assembly members Mary Pat Angelini (R-Ocean) and Dave Rible (R-Wall) endorsed Chris Christie for the Republican nomination for Governor.

State Senator Sean Kean

I normally find myself in agreement with those lawmakers, usually.

 

However in this case I do not approve of their premature endorsement of a candidate who not only hasn’t articulated his positions on the issues facing the state but is not even a declared candidate for the nomination.

Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini

New Jersey Republican leaders seem to be yearning for a savior. So much so that I believe they are willing to throw out the baby with the bath water.

In their intense desire to win an election they seem to be placing little importance on the principles that we need a Governor to bring to Trenton along with their victory.  On top of that thinking being wrong based upon its shallowness, it also ignores a basic truth.  It ignores the fact that our party should not be built around any one individual.  It should be built around our principles and the ideas that Republixcans bring to the table.  Rather than focus on one person to lead us to victory, Republican legislators should be providing Trenton with the ideas that could win the day for us.  Without those ideas, there is no need to win.  So I suggest that Republican elected officials focus on that job.  Focus on bringing change through the legislative solutions they propose.  I want them to do their job and let the candidates running for governor do their job.

Assemblyman David Rible

Once the candidates  have done so, or at the very, least begun to do so, then come out and endorse one of them.  Don’t just endorse someone for political expediency.  Have some sincerity in purpose.  Endorse someone for their ideas, their thinking, the direction they propose to take us.   Not for their name. 

 

I want to know these things before I approve or reject his candidacy. I want to know where he stands on issues before we say….”here take our nomination, take all that we believe and do as you wish with it to become Governor”.

With Republican elected officials simply endorsing Christie before he has stated a position on any issues or even become a candidate, they are not helping matters. They are simply saying, “we don’t know what you stand for but we need you”. That type of courtship does not help us build a strong ticket for Governor in November. In fact it could lead to trouble.

 Years ago when New York was my political arena, before becoming the Republican nominee in his second attempt to become Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani told me that losing against Dave Dinkins the first time around, taught him a lot.

You see, the first time he ran, Rudy expected Republicans allover the nation, to roll over and roll out the red carpet for his candidacy. At the time he felt that Republicans needed him more than he needed Republicans. That wasn’t exactly the case.

 

While waiting for Republicans throughout the city to come and kiss Rudy’s ring, another Republican courted them for their support. With money and conservative opinions, Ronald Lauder garnered enough support to wage a strong primary battle against Rudy. It was a battle that probably caused Rudy to lose the election by one percentage point

Potential Republican Nominee for Governor, Chris Christie

Instead of making his rounds and earning support from the party whose nomination he wanted, Rudy felt that it was incumbent upon them to come to him.

Not all of them did.

Many felt at home with the more conservative candidate who respected them enough to ask for their support, not expect their support.

Had Rudy maintained a little humility and earned the support of all Republicans, he may have avoided the bloody and expensive primary battle that he found himself in and by avoiding that battle he might have won the war and been elected mayor four years earlier than he was. In fact he probably would have been able to serve three terms instead of the two he was limited to by the term limits which voters adopted in the same election that finally saw Rudy win City Hall.

Four years after losing the 1989 mayoral race, Rudy admitted that the way he conducted himself, the first time, was inappropriate. He told me and a couple of county chairmen that he learned his lesson and that he knew he needed every Republican as much, if not more than they needed him.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

With that lesson learned, Rudy went on to win the Republican nomination for Mayor with ease and ultimately became one of the greatest mayors New York has ever known.

Now, here we are in New Jersey and another famed prosecutor is on the verge of saving Republicans from defeat.

If Chris Christie believes like Rudy did in 1989, Christie could find himself in the same position as Rudy.

With some Republican elected officials simply endorsing Christie before he has stated a position on any issues or even become a candidate yet, they are not helping matters. They are actually saying, “we don’t know what you stand for but we need you”. That type of courtship does not help us build a strong ticket for Governor in November. It simply helps to create an arrogant  mentality in Christie that allows him to believe that we owe him the nomination and that the job of Governor is his merely because he may want it..

Truth is, we owe nothing to Chris Christie other than our thanks for his undeniably successful tenure as New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney for the past seven years.

So stop wooing Chris Christie. Let Chris Christie start wooing us, the voters. Let Chris Christie join the other official candidates and earn our support.

The most recent example of Republican leaders hastily rushing to endorse someone, long before the primary election for a Republican nomination took place, was at the end of last year, when hundreds of Republicans from county chairmen, mayors, freeholders, councilmembers and state legislators rushed to endorse Rudy Giuliani for President.

We all know how successful that was.

So stop trying to part the sea for Chris Christie. We need to let him articulate his positions on the issues and demonstrate why he would be a better Governor than Richard Merkt, Steve Lonegan, Brian Levine or any other potential nominee.

A good start for Christie would be to stop stalling. The longer he waits to make a decision, the more suspect people become. They begin to wonder, does he want the job bad enough? Is there some closeted skeleton that is making him apprehensive about running?

Whatever the answer, Christie needs to make it official, one way or the other.

Until then, I suggest that everyone stop hoping that Chris Christie can walk on water. Stop making him believe that he is the best thing since sliced bread merely because he is Chris Christie. Help us win back New Jersey so that we can turn things around. Help strengthen our ticket in November by making Chris Christie put his very best foot forward and earn the nomination that he may want.

We are not helping ourselves by rolling out a red carpet for Chris Christie while waving a white flag of surrender for what ,we as Republicans, stand for.

We need to let Christie articulate his positions on the issues and demonstrate why he would be a better Governor than Richard Merkt, Steve Lonegan, Brian Levine or any other potential nominee. We need to make sure that Chris Christie represents the Republican ideology and approach to government that we stand for.

So before Republicans officials hand over our mantle to someone, let them prove themselves to be worthy of holding it. Let the candidates campaign for the nomination so that the right ideas may help win day rather than just some empty suit with a well known name.

 

Q. How many Libertarians does it take to change a light bulb?

A. None, the market will take care of it.

Q. Why did the Libertarian cross the road?

A. To start his own country.

CROWLEY NOT RUNNING AND THE RACE FOR NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR JUST GOT LESS COMPETETIVE

Bio Tech Entrepreneur John Crowley Won't Run For Governor

The potential race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination just became a little less competitive.

For the second time this year, biotech entrepreneur John Crowley has declined a bid for statewide office in New Jersey.

According to a spokesman, Crowley has decided not seek office at this time.

Most recently, many had hoped that John Crowley would have sought the senate seat which Democrat Frank Lautenberg won a fifth term to. At the time Crowley citied his responsibilities to his biotech business in Cranbury as the reason for not running. Crowley’s biotech company, was originally started by him in an attempt to develop treatment for a fatal disease that has newborn twins were born with. After a merger, the company has since become one of the world’s largest biotech organizations under the name Amicus Therapeutics.

The combination of independent wealth, inspirational personal history, innovation, intelligence and political ideology made Crowley candidate for pinning Republican hopes of electoral victories in New Jersey on. John McCain even called John to request that he run against Lautenberg. As was the case with other state officials, the request was rejected.

Although he continues decline running for office, politics is still an arena that Crowley will participate in.

Earlier this year he created “Building The New Majority“, a political action committee aimed at taking back control of the state legislature. Aides to Crowley claim that through Building The New Majority, Crowley will be quite busy in the coming months. In fact they say that the committee will soon be launching a campaign to address the sour business atmosphere in New Jersey and how we can turn it around.

The absence of John Crowley from the Republican primary for Governor doesn‘t harm our chances to win in November but it does reduce the amount of competitiveness that we will see in it..

His ability to finance a campaign that could match the deep pockets of John Corzine who purchased his last three statewide campaigns, would have helped to heat things up a bit. He would have forced a real fight the nomination. One that would have produced a nominee that truly earned it and proved their ability to raise the funds needed to compete with Corzine in November..

Right now, many establishment Republicans are simply waiting for Chris Christie to declare his candidacy. The only official candidates so far are Steve Lonegan and Assembly Richard Merkt. They have yet to prove themselves and catch fire with the establishment or any other Republican voters on a statewide level. If they fail to raise the funds necessary to compete with the anticipated recognition of Chris Christie, it looks like the primary may become more of a coronation for Christie than an election.

That would be a shame.

It hasn’t happened yet and it may not. Christie could prove himself to be vulnerable on the campaign trail. Merkt and Lonegan have the chance to make significant inroads. However, a Crowley candidacy would have insured Christie’s need to work hard for the nomination.

Anything could change though. For all we know Chris Christie, who has seen fit to delay an announcement of his own candidacy, may surprise us and join John Crowley in rejecting picking up the mantle for New Jersey Republicans. If that happens, there are some other very good individuals who, in the absence of Christie from the field, may jump in. People like Morris County Freeholder John Murphy or maybe even someone like State Senator Bill Baroni .

A recent POLITICS 24/7 poll taken on our sister site, “Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor”, showed Baroni with a surprisingly strong showing. The results of that poll were as follows:

 

 

Former US Attorney Chris Christie	42%
State Senator Jennifer Beck	17%
State Senator Bill Baroni	12%
Bio Tech Entrepreneur John Crowley	7%
Fmr. Bogota, NJ Mayor Steve Lonegan	6%
Morris County Freeholder John Murphy	4%
Former Majority Leader Paul DeGaetano	3%
Perennial Candidate Murray Sabrin	3%
Frm. Rep. Mike Fergusson	2%
Assemblyman Joe Pennachio	2%
Assemblyman Richard Merkt	0%
State Senator Joe Kyrillos	0%
Other	3%

In any event, Crowley’s absence fro the race makes it easier for Christie to consolidate support among those Republicans who want him to win the nomination simply because he has high name identification. That is not a good thing. That type of thinking could produce an out of touch, arrogant candidacy that could cost us more than it was worth come November.

Hopefully, we, the voters, will give all of the official candidates a fair hearing. That includes any one else runs like Mayor Brian Levine as well as Chris Christie, if he ever finally decides to run.

 

 

A guy walks into a bar and asks the bartender, “Isn’t that Obama and Defense Secretary Gates sitting over there?”

The bartender says, “Yep, that’s them.”

So the guy walks over and says, “Wow, this is a real honor. What are you guys doing in here?”

Obama says, “We’re planning WW III.”

And the guy says, “Really? What’s going to happen?”

Obama says, “Well, we’re going to kill a few thousand Somalis this time and one blonde with big tits.

The guy exclaimed, “A blonde with big tits? Why kill a blonde with big tits?

Obama turns to gates, punches him on the shoulder and says, “See, smart ass?! I told you no one would worry about the Somalis!”