CORZINE’S STATE OF THE STATE WAS SAD….In More Ways Than One

     So New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine issued his State of the State address in Trenton.

He told us things don’t look good. He said the nation and the world are in the middle of tough economic times.

To help things out, the Governor has promised road repairs and that he will help those less fortunate than us. That says a lot. I mean compared to the over 400 million golden parachute that Corzine had after being booted from Wall Street and Goldman Sachs, everyone is less fortunate than him.

The sad fact is that under the last three years of Jon Corzine, all New Jerseyans really are less fortunate. He raised taxes by almost $2 billion and spent us into 2.1 billion dollars of debt. So under Corzine it cost more to live in Jersey and we got less. Unless of course you are Carla Katz and the communications workers union. They got more and they have also made it clear that they want more yet.

A spokesman for the CWA recently warned that when the Governor said that everyone is going to have give a little during the coming year, the CWA will not do so. They have made it clear that they won’t give an inch or a cent and that everything the Governor promised them is going to be taken by them. Now you know why the Sopranos‘s was filmed in Jersey.

Corzine’s sad state of the state had to be one of the most bland, uninspiring and bleak speeches given by a politician in recent memory. It almost made you wish you had the chance to listen to impeached Governor Rod Balgojevich recite more English poets in between his repeated cries of innocence. At least Blagojevich provided some dramatic backdrop for his story. Corzine had nothing.

You would think that at a time like this, New Jersey citizens could use a little something to go on that could give us the ability to hold on to hope for better economic times in the state. But there was nothing.

Perhaps the most interesting statements made by Corzine were those he said during the last quarter of his excuse,…..I mean address.

He said he agreed with the proposals of many Republican lawmakers who want more transparency in government and who want the state’s budgets to be available for the public to review.

Republicans like State Senator Jennifer Beck have been urging these things for years but I guess with nothing else to say or point to, Corzine was left with no alternative but to admit that the Republican proposals were good and needed to be adopted.

The other statement of mention came when Corzine said, that the one thing you can count on is that he will say what he means. That is actually quite profound especially coming from him the day after he won a court case that allowed the Governor to keep what he said to his ex-girlfriend, Carla Katz, during state contract negotiations with the local CWA union that she was the President of at the time.

The Governor actually asks us to believe what he says, yet most of what he says is kept secret.

Now that is liberal logic for you.

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR FAVORITE CONGRESSMAN IS CROOKED 

• When you shake hands with him, two of your fingers are suddenly missing.
• He has an off shore corporation based in the Bahamas that supposed to sell bananas.
• Instead of calling him “congressman” his employees call him “boss”.
• He has a wife at home, another in D.C., a maid, a housekeeper, a college intern, an out of college intern, and three more secretaries than he needs.
• He has a house in your district, but he never lives there, and one in Las Vegas, another in Costa Rica, another in D.C., another in Spain.
• Everyone pays him–the gardener, the garbageman, the cable guy, the local councilman, the mayor, the CEO from the airline, his mistress, his dog and the goldfish.
• The only way he gets to talk before the television cameras is if he is indicted.
• At roll call, he always seems to be on a foreign junket.
• Everyone else pays his bills.
• His pictures appear in his district at election time, but he can never make those debates that he scheduled.
• His dog is named “Bugsy”.
• All of his real estate holdings pay no taxes.
• His apartment buildings are run down and need of attention.
• His daughter and son are running for student council, and Dad is supporting them with a ticker tape parade down the school hallway.
• His guest list at his parties include labor leaders, politicians,
• Miss America winners, Miss Universe Winners, some business men with lots of money and nobody from the press.
• His suits come from Paris instead of “Suit Bargain Express”.
• His headquarters is in a high-rise.
• He never looks straight at you when he shakes your hand.
• After he does so, you notice that your rings are missing.
• His fillings in his mouth are now made of gold.
• His wife is driving his old Cadillac. His mistress is driving the new Lexus, and she is driving him.
• He has pictures of well-known politicians on his wall-with names such as “Lucky” and “Big Jim” and “Shifty”.
• He spends more time in Las Vegas than he does in Washington.
• You only see him in the district around election time.

 

Submitted by Bruce, Carol Stream, Illinois

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THE ALARM BELLS ARE RINGING YET IMMIGRATION REFORM IS STILL ON THE BACK BURNER

Last year, In Iraq,  5,908 civilians and Iraqi soldiers and police were killed between January 1, 2008 and December 29, 2008.

Members of the police carry a coffin of one of their own. Seven police employees were killed in the same incident that took this fallen officers life

In Mexico, 5,376 Mexican federal agents, police and civilians who were killed  by drug traders during the same time period.

So it can be safely said that nearly as many Mexicans died as a result of drug terrorists as did Iraqi’s from the terrorism in their war torn nation.

All of us are aware of the threats posed by terrorism. 9/11 brought that fact home and since the events of September 11, 2001, America has been on guard and on the offense in that War On Terror. Since that dreadful day and our somewhat official declaration of War on Terror, not a single attack has again taken place on American soil.

That is quite a contrast from the record that we accumulated in the decades since we declared the War On Drugs.

The term “war on drugs’ was first used by President Richard Nixon in 1971. At the time it was a play on the well known “War On Poverty” penned by the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid 60’s. The technical aspects of the War On Drugs have varied over time but it’s basic strategy has remained the same……. employ the cooperation of other nations to eliminate the illegal drug trade and eliminate the selling and use of illegal drugs through an aggressive zero tolerance, law enforcement agenda and a persistent and wide spread anti-drug education program and campaign.

To some degree, it has helped but the amount of time and money spent on the effort has produced results that are less than stellar. The rate of success in the War On Drugs certainly would not be considered acceptable in the War On Terror and yet as far apart as the results of the two are from each other, they are about to become one in the same.

Iraq is 6,005 miles away from the shores of the Unites States off of New York. That is a long distance yet we know that distance, although it may not make things easier, it still does not prevent terrorist attacks from taking place here. Mexico isn’t even inches away though. So terrorism through Mexico is even easier. They are connected to us, and not just physically. They are connected to us by direct and immediate contact through trade health, agriculture and citizens, legal and illegal. But perhaps the greatest connection between the United States and Mexico is drugs.

It is a deadly connection. One that dulls the minds of millions, endangers the lives of hundreds of thousands and kills tens of thousands each year.

A soldier stands guard in front of the Camino Real Hotel in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Drugs are probably the most prolific and profitable commodity exchanged across the U.S.-Mexican border, yet, despite the negative effects, it’s illegality and the “war” on them, drugs flow form South to North with the ease of the Shenandoah River in the Virginias.

The incredibly violent rate of drug deaths in Mexico during 2008 is a loud warning bell. It rings with more dire warning than the bellowing horns of the Titanic as it went down after the iceberg tore a lethal hole into it’s hull.

The incredible number of deaths occurred as a result of the increased boldness of drug cartels and gangs. They have taken a stand and made it clear that they are defiant and will not allow any government to infringe on their livelihoods.

In 2008, an increasing amount of drug lords have made incursions in the United States. One of the most recent well publicized events brought about an Amber Alert after the grandson of a man with shady loan debts to drug dealers kidnapped his grandson. The boy turned up in Las Vegas, but the drug dealer’s message was clear.

However, I must ask, what will it take for the drug issue to be truly taken seriously in the United States? Would  it have made a difference if that little California boy was found with his throat slashed? How many more incidents will it take before we realize that terrorism is about to get a partner. A partner that, like Palestinians in Gaza firing missiles into Israel, will be lobbing more violence into America.

America must wake up.

While there are those so far on the left and so far to the right that they meet together in the ideological circle and both try to legalize illegal drug use, an explosion of death and violence that we have not seen before is about to unleash itself.

I am well aware that drug violence is nothing new, but the extent to which it is escalating is new and yet we sit idly by as though things are not different. We almost accept it as commonplace.

Do you know how ingrained the dug culture has become in our southern neighbor?

Ever hear narcocorrido?

Narcocorrido is a form of music based on a type of Mexican folk music called corrido. It sounds like a Latin polka and goes way back in time. It was used to celebrate revolutionary figures and heroes like Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. The new version is called narcocorrido and it sings the praises of drug traffickers and drug related bandits. One older narcocorrido sings about Camelia the Texan, and her boyfriend who go to Los Angeles with a load of marijuana in their car’s tires. They sell it and Camelia’s boyfriend dumps her, saying, “Here’s your half, now I’m going up to San Francisco to my true love.” The song goes on to sing about how Camelia pulls out a gun and pumps him full of lead.

It concludes with the line……… “All the police found was the fired pistol; of the money and Camelia, nothing more was ever known.”

Sweet tune, isn’t it?

Not that the little ditty is astonishing. Here in America, with the likes of P. Diddy, 50 Cent, Snoop Dog, and others, the lyrics of that narcocorrido could be considered tame by American standards. Then again, standards are the problem. Just as narcocorrido is easing into mainstream Mexico, acceptance of drugs and drug violence has been easing into American culture.

That is not to say that we think violence or drug violence is good, but our tolerance of it has increased as our intolerance of drugs has leveled off.

For example, I can recall a recall a comments board for a local newspaper in New Jersey called the Asbury Park Press. In it was a story about underage teens arrested for drinking and serving alcohol at a party that they held in their home while their parents were away. More than 60 percent of the comments were of the “let them be” impression. Some said “kids will be kids” and others said “the police should be doing more important things than enforcing underage drinking laws”.

I am not suggesting to bring back prohibition of alcohol but I am merely pointing out the permissiveness that is increasing in society. People are actually suggesting that kids should be let off the hook for breaking laws.

My point is,  just as it took 9/11 to finally deal with terrorism effectively, what will it take for us to deal with drugs and the drug trade effectively?

I for one feel that some of the intentions of the “War On Drugs” must be dealt with by using the same sense of conviction that 9/11 created, especially when it comes to the drug wars goal of employing the cooperation of other nations to eliminate the illegal drug trade.

But more than that, I believe it would be encouraging if we at least secured our border with Mexico. In fact I believe that is, first and foremost our nations top priority.

YES!, our most important priority. More so than even the economy.

Without a secure border there will be no economy to handle.

At a later date, I will detail a proposal of my own that I have previously released. It is called Open Arms-Secure Borders. It is a comprehensive immigration reform proposal that welcomes legal immigration but defends the sovereignty of our nation and respects and secures our borders.

For now though, Americans must at least acknowledge the fact that the iceberg is in sight and that the U.S.S. Freedom & Prosperity better start steering in another direction or like the Titanic, we will tear apart our hull of security.

 

POLITICAL IRONY

 During what can, at the very least, only be considered tough economic times, Congress is looked at for acting responsibly and demonstrating some fiscal responsibility.

Yet despite these facts, Congress goes ahead and accepts an automatic pay raise. 

Doing so is reminiscent of the captain of the Titanic demanding that iceberg lettuce be served with dinner the night the great vessel went down.

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WILL JON CORZINE REALLY BE UP FOR REELECTION?

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the title bout in this year’s politcal lineup.

In the left corner, wearing a host of tax and toll increases, a budget shortfall of more than $2.1 billion and scars of scandals with unions, ex-girlfriends and cabinet officials is Jon “Almost Gone” Corzine.

In the right corner, wearing a corruption busting image, over 130 successful prosecutions, and the hopes of millions who want to improve the quality of life in New Jersey………..Chris “You Can‘t Miss” Christie.

Many expect New Jersey’s headline political battle to shape up this way. The incumbent governor is, as usual, expected to seek reelection and go unchallenged for their party’s nomination. In this case that is Jon Corzine.

As for Republicans, Chris Christie is expected to run and win the Republican nomination for governor. Christie has finally made it clear that he will be declaring his candidacy and making it official in February. Many anticipate that he will ultimately win the Republican nomination for Governor and given the atmosphere and logistics, that may be likely. Maybe.

Chris Christie

The establishment is behind him and the money is being horded for him.

Party leaders and elected officials have been lining up behind Christie like teenagers on line for Britney Spears’ latest CD. They are putting all their hopes on Chris Christie because he has some higher than usual name recognition when compared to other possible choices or at least more statewide recognition than most of them,  The thinking is that his name recognition will give us the best chance to defeat Corzine.

New Jersey is a unique state, in that without its own media market, getting statewide name identification is very difficult. That is why most candidates have to run in at least one statewide election before they can win a statewide election. Take McGreevey and Whitman for example.

To get name ID also takes a lot of money, more money than most campaigns in other states would. That is because a candidate has to invest in New York, the most expensive media market in the nation, and Philadelphia, the third most expensive media market in the nation. That makes it rough.

 So I undertsand the value in wanting a nominee for Governor who has some good recognition in New Jersey but I wouldn’t pin all of my hopes and my party on that alone.

Add to that the fact that Christie’s opponent for the nomination could actually prove to be more satisfactory candidates for the nomination to rank and file primary voters and you have the potential for an upset in the G.O.P. race for the gubernatorial nomination.

On the other side of the aisle you have Jon Corzine.

Incumbents usually do not get challenged and Corzine is no different here. However, many Democrats are not so sure that they want him to run for reelection. Corzine himself is doubtful. Not because he doesn’t want the job, but because he is not sure that he can make a case good enough for reelecting him to continue doing the piss poor job that he has been doing.

 That is why he  maneuvered himself for an appointment to President-Elect Obama’s cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury. The hope was that he could avoid an embarrassing reelection loss by saying “sorry, I have to leave to answer a higher call to duty”.

Well, given Corzine’s dismal financial record in New Jersey, no one wanted him to do for America what he did for Jersey.

So state Democrats are left with having to try to carry Corzine’s dead weight over the electoral finish line.

They are hoping that by linking Chris Christie to President George Bush, they could make Corzine more preferable. So despite the fact that Chris Christie has done his job successfully and put an end to the career of more corrupt politicians than anyone in recent state history, Democrats simply say he was appointed by George Bush. Well duh………and he did his job better than most Democrats have done their own jobs.

So with little to go on, Democrats are scared. They fear that Corzine is vulnerable and that they could lose to Republicans.  And they’re right to think that way.

That is where things get interesting.

POLITICS 24/7 understands that not only may Corzine not be up to reelection , he may not be up for his party’s nomination.

Senate President Richard Codey just might step up yet again.

Senate President and Former Acting Governor Dick Codey

 Over the past several years years, Codey has been called upon to govern the state during several different times of crisis. Those occasions included when disgraced Governor Jim McGreevey resigned amid financial, patronage and sex scandals and most recently after Governor Corzine almost died in a tragic accident that he encountered while speeding down the Garden State Parkway without his seatbelt on.

Putting Codey‘s political leanings aside, he is viewed as a steady hand at the helm, a wise sage of New Jersey politics who can be trusted. Whether this is true or not does not matter. That is how he is viewed and politics is perception. He has never sought the job of Governor but governed when called upon to do so. That kind of reputation is a good one to have. People do not see him as power hungry or ego driven. They see him as a reliable, trustworthy figure.

That is why there are rumblings to have him be the Democrats nominee for Governor.

The move would be a smart one for liberals in New Jersey. It would be a smarter choice than opting to defend the abysmal record of Jon Corzine.

With Dick Codey as their nominee, they will not have to defend against the stream of legal challenges that are pending in the courts against Corzine. They will not have to defend against proposals to make the cost of driving on New Jersey’s roads so expensive that you need a part time job just to pay for the tolls that Corzine would be increasing for decades to come if he had his way.

Having Dick Codey as their standard bearer, Democrats will not have to explain why under his reign, the affordability crisis in New Jersey has gotten worse and why after raising taxes by as much as $2 billion dollars when his term began, we have a deficit of $2.1 billion dollars as his term ends.

Of course Codey would have to answer to why he rubberstamped many of the Corzine led initiatives but at least he will not have to try to explain why he initiated them.

The most controversial part of the Codey nomination is how he will get it.

Corzine or Codey?

Insiders are hoping that it can be arranged that late in the game, Jon Corzine will announce that for personal reason, he is not seeking a second term. That will allow Democrat party leaders to turn to Codey and say, with only a short amount of time left to nominate their party’s choice, they feel that they need Dick Codey to once again step in and save the day.

Is this likely? 

Considering that Corzine has been looking for a way out of running for reelection and saving face, I believe that in a few months Corzine will receive a request to serve in the administration of President-Elect Obama. Not a cabinet position but a lesser position. One that Democrats can conjure up and provide Corzine with the excuse he needs in to save face.

So don’t expect this boxing match to be the one you expect. Not only does Chris Christie have yet to enter the ring as the G.O.P.’s official nominee for Governor, Democrats just might be putting the gloves on someone with more of a punch than Jon Corzine.

 

TO BE FILED UNDER THE “That’s Just Wrong” CATEGORY

NO MORE BUSH – SHAVE THE DATE

Speaking of the upcoming inauguration, you can celebrate the end of Bush in a uniquely personal manner. Sex advice columnist Kristen Chase (also known as “Mominatrix”) is encouraging everyone to “Shave the Date”, or as she puts it “leave no bush behind”. She claims that it will give you a special tingle to realize that at the moment that this country gets rid of Bush, you will have gotten rid of yours.

Her column even includes advice on how to shave your pubes, for first-time Bush removers. She also has a Facebook event — shaving your bush is not required for participation, but is strongly encouraged due to sexual satisfaction and patriotism that will be enjoyed.

 

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Coming tomorrow..…

What is still the greatest crisis facing America?

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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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/

IS ‘BARACK THE MAGIC NEGRO” AN APPROPRIATE CAMPAIGN PROMO?

I have remained quiet in the shaping race to elect a new Republican National Committee Chairman. I have been waiting to see what each candidate brings to the table. I want to hear about how they intend to reach out and involve the grassroots of the G.O.P. and how they intend to spread the Republican message and increase the chances for good Republicans to win elections again.

 The current field of declared candidates include incumbent national committee chairman Mike Duncan, Saul Anuzis of Michigan, Maryland’s former Lt. Gov. and the current chairman of GOPac, Michael Steele, South Carolina Republican Chairman Katon Dawson, Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and former Tennessee Republican Chairman and campaign to manager to Mike Huckabee, Chip Saltsman.

The only names on that list which I have had negative impressions of were Duncan and Saltsman.

Mike Duncan has had his chance to boost the fortunes of our party. Admittedly, during his tenure as chairman, he had a tough situation to deal with. The tide was not going our way so I do not blame Mike Duncan for our defeats at the poll, but I also cannot credit him for cutting our losses. Under his leadership, I did not see any enhanced outreach, defining of our message or cohesive strategy for republicans to tap into.

As for Chip Saltsman, I saw nothing outstanding about him. As the campaign manager for Mike Huckabee’s presidential primary effort, there was no evidence of unique, innovative strategies nor were there any operational advantages gained by his management of Huckabee. Furthermore, as the former chairman of the Tennessee G.O.P., Saltsman simply inherited a strong Republican party and presided over it as a mere caretaker.

All of this allowed me to see that there was no reason to choose Saltsman over any of the other candidates for the job.

However, recent events have allowed me to see that there is good reason not to choose Saltsman for Chairman.

As Christmas approached the wannabe Republican leader sent a 41 track cd that was created by Paul Shanklin, a conservative satirists and friend of his, to Republican committee members whose votes will elect a new Chairman for the Republican National Committee.

Entitled, “We Hate The U.S.A.”, the CD pokes fun at liberals and liberal thinking. One of the tracks on this musical giveaway chided liberal followers with spirited lyrics that claimed Caucasians who felt guilty about the treatment of African Americans tried to ease that guilt by supporting Barack Obama. The disturbing ditty was called “Barack the Magic Negro” and it was sung to the tune of “Puff The Magic Dragon”.

Now, I am not going to get into the reasons behind why one voted for or against President-elect Obama, nor will I joke about it. For me, the reasons behind those votes, either way, are too serious for me to joke about. But that is me and anyone who knows me, knows that I take politics too serious. So although I can’t find humor in someone supporting a move toward socialism, I can accept someone else finding it funny, in a dark sort of way.

What I do not respect is someone who tries to be a leader and lacks the judgment to properly lead us.

CHIP SALTSMAN

The ignorance Chip Saltsman displayed by giving out this CD is astonishing. It indicates a blatant lack of judgment and skill.

Instead of showing himself to be savvy and having the ability to overcome wrongly held perceptions about Republicans, Chip Saltsman went out of his way to open Republicans up to accusations of racist tendencies.

 Now you may be able to find some humor in the “Barack the Magic Negro” tune. You can argue that some people voted for Obama because they felt that it was time for an African American to be elected and in doing so they may have ignored what he would do as President. You may debate the validity of such thinking but what a responsible leader cannot do is bring up the topic in such a way that is seen as irresponsible and in a way that can allow others to call Republicans racists.

 The actions of Chip Saltsman have demonstrated that he is the last person Republicans need to lead our rebuilding effort. We do not need a Republican chairman whose judgment divides Americans before we even begin to disagree on issues. We need a leader who can maintain our principles and unite people behind our agenda . An agenda that cannot be seen to have racial overtones.

I do not know if Chip Saltsman is a biggot or not. Up until now I have had no reason to believe that he is. Unforunately, his recent taste in Christmas gifts designed at getting him enough votes to become Chairman of the R.N.C. has made we wonder if he is though.

Does the song in question offer any racist sentiments?

Judge for yourself.

For the purpose of full disclosure and clarification of whether Saltsman demonstrated poor judgment, here are the lyrics from that controversial tune…….

“Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times they called him that
cause he’s not authentic like me.

Yeah the guy from the L.A. paper
said he made guilty whites feel good
they’ll vote for him and not for me
cause hes not from da hood.

See, real black men like snoop dogg
or me or Farrakhan
have talked the talk and walked the walk
not come and laid and won (not sure about this line).

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times they called him that
cause he’s not authentic like me
cause hes black but not authentically.

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times they called him that
cause he’s not authentic like me
cause hes black but not authentically.

Some say Barack’s articulate
and bright and new and clean
the media sure love this guy
a white interloper’s dream.

But when you vote for president
watch out and don’t be fooled
don’t vote the magic negro in
cause…

(background singing the first 3 lines, while the singer is saying)

Cause I wont have nothing after all these years of sacrifice and I wont get justice this is about justice this is about justice, buffet, I don’t have no buffet there wont be any church contributions there’ll be no cash in the collection plate, no cash money, no walkin’ around money…”

 

Personally, I do find the song inappropriate. I do not support blatantly, disrespectful intentions that help exacerbate tensions. With that view, I am disgusted by Chip Saltsman’s attempt to promote himself among Republicans by offering a gift that utilizes this song.

You may claim, that I am wrong for reproducing the lyrics in this post. If so I disagree. Unlike Saltsman, I do not offer it up as a fun gift. I offer it up as an example of intolerable conduct. I also display it so that others can understand why I am calling upon Chip Saltsman to withdraw his name from consideration for chairman of the R.N.C..

Just as troublesome as having to question whether or not Saltsman has racist tendencies, is the obvious lack of judgment which allowed the question to be raised. Even if he is not a racist, he has shown us that he does not have the capacity to help deflect such accusations from being leveled at the Republican party.

As I look forward to rebuilding our party, Saltsman is not someone who we can look forward to rebuilding it with.

Having chosen English as the preferred language in the EEC, the European Parliament has commissioned a feasibility study in ways of improving efficiency in communications between Government departments. European officials have often pointed out that English spelling is unnecessarily difficult – for example, cough, plough, rough, through and thorough. What is clearly needed is a phased program of changes to iron out these anomalies. A committee staff from the top level of participating nations would, of course, administer the program. In the first year, for example, the committee would suggest using ‘s’ instead of the soft ‘c’. Sertainly, sivil servants in all sities would resieve this news with joy. Then the hard ‘c’ could be replaced by ‘k’ sinse both letters are pronounsed alike. Not only would this klear up konfusion in the minds of klerikal workers, but typewriters kould be made with one less letter. There would be growing enthusiasm when in the sekond year, it kould be announsed that the troublesome ‘ph’ would henseforth be written as ‘f’. 

This would make words like ‘fotograf’ twenty per sent shorter in print. 

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reash the stage where more komplikated shanges are possible. Governments would enkourage the removal of double letters which have always been a deterent to akurate speling. We would al agre that the horible mes of silent ‘e’s in the languag is disgrasful. Therefor we kould drop thes and kontinu to read and writ as though nothing had hapend. By this tim it would be four years sins the skem began and peopl would be reseptive to steps sutsh as replasing ‘th’ by ‘z’. Perhaps zen ze funktion of ‘w’ kould be taken on by ‘v’, vitsh is, after al, half a ‘w’. Shortly after zis, ze unesesary ‘o’ kould be dropd from words kontaining ‘ou’. Similar arguments vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. 

Kontinuing zis proses yer after yer, ve vud eventuli hav a reli sensibl riten styl. After tventi yers zer vud be no mor trubls, difikultis and evrivun vud fin it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drems of ze Guvermnt vud finali hav kum tru.

 

 

ARE MINNESOTANS GETTING A LUMP OF COAL FOR CHRISTMAS?

As many call a truce in political negativity for the Christmas holiday, some politicians and political wannabes wont be focusing on Santa or practicing any piety over the birth of Christ.

No,……. I am not talking about atheists.

Whatever they believe or do not believe is their business, not mine, and as long as they do not try to stifle my celebration of the holiday, their not celebrating it doesn’t bother me.

That is their business, not mine.

I am referring to a group of organized political mobsters who unlike Santa are not stuffing any gifts in any stockings or under Christmas trees. No, these organized criminals are stuffing ballots and playing the role of the Grinch.

Up north, in cold and snowy Minnesota, almost seven weeks after Election Day, Minnesotans are still counting ballots.

Folks in Minnesota are not especially slow or particularly uneducated. They know how to count. Its just that every time Board of Election officials finish counting a district or town, Democrats supporting ultra, leftwing, liberal, lunatic, comedian Al Franken for the United States Senate, keep finding more ballots that election officials seem to have missed. They either misplaced them, or forgot to bring them in the counting room, or just plain didn’t count some machines.

The sudden appearance of this continuous stream of ballots out of nowhere is hindering the process. It’s understandable. I mean after all, once you think you finished tallying up the votes in one district and find out that incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman won it by 115 votes, you would assume that it was over in that district.

No not in Minnesota.

In Minnesota just as one district is done and they move on to the next, new ballots from the town that they just completed pop up, out of nowhere. Even more surprising is the fact that all of the votes that mysteriously appear happen to be for Al Franken and it just so happens that the number of newly found Franken votes is just slightly more than the plurality of votes that Coleman previously won by.

Comedian Turned Liberal Leader, Al Franken

Hmmm……that is really funny, you might even say miraculous. I mean it makes you kind of expect a burning bush to appear and communicate the final vote, which Al Franken will no doubt win.

But day after day, these miracle ballots appear. Most of them, if not all of them are found by Democrat officials. In one case 100 votes on one voting booth in a heavily Democrat town were discovered. All of the 100 votes were for Al Franken and even more odd was the fact that the time stamp on each of the 100 votes  reads November 2nd, 2008.

Election Day was November 4th, 2008.

Whoa,…….. now hold on here. Now its getting spooky.

I mean this is almost as miraculous as the Virgin Mary giving birth.

Maybe this guy Franken really is special. Maybe he is the “chosen one” who will walk on water, split the waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior and transform mankind.

Al Franken

Or maybe this guy Franken is simply as freakish as Frankenstein.

The circumstances surrounding the astonishing finding of votes, that are all for him, is  funny. Much more funny than any of Franken’s offbeat humor and comedic routines.

I can’t wait for Saturday Night Live to do a segment on this situation.

That could be a truly hysterical skit. I could just see SNL cast members portraying blind election board officials counting ballots as liberal Democrat operatives keep passing them the same ballot over and over again and declaring it for Al Franken each time.

SNL scriptwriters could have a field day writing that segment. It would really be funny. Unfortunately the reality of the situation is not funny. It is sad. Sad but true.

Liberal Democrat operatives are stuffing ballots. They are counting illegitimate votes for Al Franken that they would never consider to be legitimate for Norm Coleman if the circumstances were reversed.

But true to form, liberal hypocrisy abounds. Hypocrisy reigns supreme in liberal la la land. These are the people who try to combat discrimination by implementing forms of discrimination.

They are the people who want everyone to pay their fair share, but refuse to pay it themselves.

They sit in private jets writing press releases that denounce some for speeding up global warming by driving an S.U.V. without thinking twice about how much more damaging their flight is than any S.U.V..

Liberalism is rooted in hypocrisy. So it should not surprise anyone to know that Democrats accept a lower standard for themselves than they do for Republicans. Just like Florida in the election fiasco of 2000 when Democrats wanted a higher standard for approving vote counts in some districts than in others. In 2000 they wanted higher standards in counties that Bush won and lower standards in counties that Gore won.

Then they decided that they didn’t want all disputed votes reevaluated and recounted, only some votes.

Let’s face it folks. Democrats are now in control. Total control. From the White House to the U.S house and the senate.

Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman

If Coleman wins this thing it will really be a miracle.

The way I see it, even if Minnesota’s liberal Democrat Secretary of State certifies Norm Coleman as the winner, the Democrat led Senate may refuse to seat him. Under senate rules, that is something they can do. It happened as recently as 1974 when in New Hampshire a Republican won a close election and despite certification of that victory, by the state of New Hampshire, the U.S. Senate called for a new election.

Democrats in the House of Representatives did the same thing with a close election in Indiana. Here again the Republican won. The state certified the Republican winner but Democrats refused to seat him. They ordered a recount and the Republican won again but by an even larger margin than before. Democrats still refused to seat the Republican winner. House democrats conducted their own recount, with their own standards and declared the losing democrat, the winner.

This stuff didn’t happen in the “old days”. It happened during the most recent past decades. And liberals haven’t changed very much in that time. If anything their hypocrisy has increased over time.

So it doesn’t look good for Norm Coleman.

Even if a preponderance of legitimate votes for him overcomes a preponderance of illegitimate ballots for Franken, liberal senate leader Harry Reid and his henchmen will probably ignore it and refuse to seat Coleman.

Senate Leader Harry Reid

It may not get that far anyway. Minnesota liberals are pretty ruthless. They will probably spend Christmas falsifying any piece of paper that isn’t wrapped around a Christmas gift and submit it to blind Board of Election officials who will count it as a vote for Al Franken.

You have to remember that these are the same liberal Democrats who ,six years ago,  did everything they could to prevent Norm Coleman from winning the first time he ran for the Minnesota senate seat.

Back then he was running against incumbent, liberal, firebrand, Paul Wellstone.

Deceased Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone

As popular as Wellstone was, the race between him and Coleman was tightening up. Then suddenly in a truly horrific and tragically sad turn of events, while campaigning, the plane carrying Wellstone, one of his sons and a campaign worker crashed and killed them along with the pilot of the plane.

As tragic as it was, Minnesota Democrats pulled out another corpse, Jimmy Carter’s vice stooge and a former landslide-losing, Democrat nominee for President in his own right, Walter Mondale. They asked him to fill the vacancy and become the Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in Wellstone’s place. He accepted and Democrats held a nationally televised memorial service for the senator.

As sad as the the occasion was, with the body of Senator Wellstone, his son and campaign associate still warm, Minnesota liberals launched Walter Mondale’s campaign to replace Wellstone in a spectacle as raucous and celebratory as the Democrat’s national convention.

Filled with music and cheerleading speeches, the event only lacked the traditional balloon drop.

Walter Mondale

The blatant disrespect for Senator Wellstone and the astonishing exploitation of his death actually ended up hurting more than it helped. Even non-activist, left leaning, Minnesota voters were appalled by the political spectacle.

It wound up making history. Up till then, Walter Mondale never lost a statewide election in Minnesota. In fact even when Mondale embarrassed himself and Democrats in his landslide loss for President against Ronald Reagan, Minnesota was the only state in the union to still vote for Mondale.

Well after turning the somber funeral of a sitting senator into a boisterous campaign rally, even Minnesota rejected Walter Mondale.

Liberals in Minnesota are still feeling the sting of that debacle. Walter Mondale won’t even show his face anymore and others are still bitter. That is why you can bank on their not spending this Christmas celebrating. They will spend it stealing. Stealing an election that they were not able to steal six years ago.

This Christmas, Minnesota Democrats have no visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, they have visions of ballots falling from the heavens. Ballots that are all marked in support of Al Franken.

So tonight, don’t be surprised if Santa is a little late to your house. Democrats will be forcing him to stuff ballots instead of stockings at Minnesota’s State Board of Elections headquarters.

If they are successful, all that the voters of Minnesota will find in their carefully hung stockings tomorrow morning will be a couple of lumps of coal.

Just before Christmas, there was an honest politician, a kind lawyer and Santa Claus traveling in the elevator of a very posh hotel.

 

Just before the doors opened they all noticed a five dollar bill on the floor.

 

Which one picked it up??

 

 

Santa of course, the other two don’t exist!

 

 

 

 

 

YOU CAN TURN RIGHT ON RED BUT DON’T TURN LEFT TO GET ELECTED

With the holidays upon us, family, friends, faith and other personal aspects in life come to the forefront, as they should. Although the world does not stop rotating, priorities do shift, at least for a few brief hours. Among one of the first fields of endeavor to experience a temporary cessation in hostilities is politics.

Considering the amount of headlines pointing out the treachery and lack of sincerity often associated with politics, a stop, even a brief stop, in the business of politics is warranted during this more spiritually sincere time of the year.

With the winding down of its activity, one becomes very reflective about politics. It makes you stop and think……what is it all for?

Is all the posturing, deal cutting, eloquent speeches and snappy catch phrases done for the betterment of the people? Or is it done for the personal advantage of the deal cutters, eloquent speakers and snappy phrase makers? Is it all done to achieve personal power or acclaim? Is all the demonstrated frustration and anger involved in the process caused because of the failure to pass a particular piece of legislation that benefit’s the people or is it arrived at more because of personal failure to be credited with passing a piece of legislation?

Politics, can be a wonderful arena of ideas for maintaining a prosperous and civilized civilization or it can be a cesspool of humanities worst motivations.

It is that way because politics is comprised of politicians and politicians are only human. Some are good while others are just inappropriate or downright bad. So it is only natural that as human beings, their policies are also a mix of good and bad.

Being human, politicians bring to the table all the human frailties that we as humans possess.

The hope is that the best ideas and directions win the day due to there being a preponderance of humanities best people involved in the process. Unfortunately, I am afraid that many of today’s elected officials in the game are not humanities best, most sincere and altruistic people. I believe many of them simply want the power and perceived admiration of the masses. Many are in it simply for themselves. Take Illinois’ Governor Rod Blagojevich for instance.

So this leads us to wonder how we tell the difference between someone who wants to win for the sake of winning or to make a true change for the betterment of al the people.

The coming year will give New Jerseyans the chance to answer that question.

As the state gears up for a gubernatorial election, Republicans have to choose a nominee to run against liberal Jon Corzine.

Popular thinking would lead one to believe that, given the polls in New Jersey, a liberal approach would be the more expedient path to victory for Republicans in Jersey.

If  any Republican running for governor takes that approach, than I will know one thing about them.  I will know that they are not sincere.

The Republican who runs to the left in this election is the Republican who wants power for their own benefit and to win for the sake of winning, not for the sake of improving the lives of others.

The Republican who tries to avoid offending illegal immigrants by not demanding a strict enforcement of laws regarding their illegal presence and who avoids taking control away from unions like the National Education Association and giving more power to parents is the candidate afraid of standing up to the influence that those who impede progress may wield in the election.

Any candidate who allows the fear of losing an election to take precedence over doing what is right, is not running for governor for the right reasons. They would be demonstrating that they are running for themselves, not for the people.

The Republican nominee for Governor must be willing to stand up to the power brokers who have held the state hostage through secretive union negotiations and outrageous pension plans.

The Republican nominee for Governor must be willing to address the fact that municipalities in New Jersey must begin to consolidate. Our nominee needs to demonstrate that fewer governments throughout the state means less burden on the taxpayer and less of an affordability problem for residents.

Of course no local municipal king wants to give up their kingdom, but the people must hear about the advantages of reducing the costly proliferation of governments. They must be made aware of the fact that government has become the problem and that fewer governments in the state will lead to less of those things we don’t need. Like less government corruption, fewer operating costs, fewer bureaucrats and bureaucratic entanglements .

We need a nominee who will challenge that which hinders progress, not a candidate who goes along to get along.

Some might say that that is no way to win an election. They would argue that by offending the hands that organize volunteers and pours the mothers milk of any political campaign, money, into an election, is a road map to defeat.

Conservative Ohio Congressman Joh Ashbrook

If that is true, than I suggest we go down in defeat.

I would rather see Republicans lose by standing up for what we believe in than win by offering the same policies that liberals have provided us with.

I believe, like former Congressman John Ashbrook, who when asked why he often stood against the popular tide, explained that by representing what he believes to be right, the only thing he could lose was his seat in Congress.

For Congressman Ashbrook ideals meant more than power or winning an election.

His strong, uncompromising defense of conservative ideals did not always make him a popular figure.

Elected to Congress from Ohio in 1960, he came to Washington just as liberalism and big government was about to sweep out from Washington and through the rest of the nation. Yet he consistently stood against the tide of the time and articulated a hard line against communism, big government, social engineering and discrimination.

By 1970 a poll considered Ashbrook one of the 5 most influential conservative leaders in the nation.

In Congress he consistently added amendments to legislation important to liberals and successfully blocked their most detrimental effects.

In 1972 Congressman Ashbrook found himself fed up with the leadership of his own party.

Richard Nixon was President and despite his campaigning as a conservative, Ashbrook saw Nixon governing more to the left than the right. So in typical fashion, John Ashbrook opposed accepted popular thinking of the time. He ran against Richard Nixon for the Republican Presidential nomination.

Many Republicans were outraged that he would dare challenge “our” sitting Republican President but Asbrook wanted Republicans to be true to our principles and he believed that along with neglecting to fulfill campaign promises, Nixon was weakening our already lagging military.

As we know, Nixon was re-nominated but John Ashbrook was content with his poor showing in the primaries. Of it he said “I spread my message. So I guess you don’t have to be on the winning side to be victorious.”

From then on, not only did John Ashbrook continue to win the favor of the voters in his congressional district, he also continued to be the voice of the conservative cause.

By 1980 many in America realized that mediocrity was not what we needed in our leaders and along with John Ashbrook, people turned to Ronald Reagan for leadership.

For almost two decades John Ashbrook swam against the tide. He never gave up or took the path of political expediency. Ashbrook stayed in the game for the long haul and helped to turn the conservative movement into a mainstream movement without compromising conservative principles.

In 1981 the Congressman decided to take his conservative leadership to the United States Senate. He began to campaign against then popular incumbent Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum. For Ashbrook the race was to be an historic battle pitting conservatism against liberalism. Unfortunately the hoped for clash of ideas never came to be. Congressman Ashbrook died in April of 1982.

With his passing, we lost a man less concerned with himself and motivated more by doing what was right than what was popular. We lost the type of leader that Republicans need today. Leaders who campaign on the issues that differentiate us from the liberal agendas of Democrats.

Yet despite the loss of Congressman Ashbrook’s physical presence, we are still blessed by his spirit of unwavering commitment and the lessons he taught us.

Bumper Sticker From Ashbrook's 1972 Presidential Campaign

He taught us that no one and no political party should establish or compromise their beliefs based on popular perceptions of the time

Ashbrook’s leadership proved that when one is right, others will eventually come to that realization. But if one fears to give the right answer because everyone else is thinking differently and offering the wrong answer, than no one will ever know what the right answer is.

Unfortunately, Republicans have been unwillingly to be honest about the answers we need to hear. Instead they run campaigns that duplicate the answers being offered by liberals and it obviously isn’t working.

Republicans are losing and rightfully so. Many candidates are not embracing the conservative principles that have led to our past successes. They have been more concerned with personal success at the voting booth than they have been with making life better for the voters.

During this holiday, when the spirit of giving and goodwill dominates the season’s atmosphere, I can only hope that Republicans in New Jersey can find a candidate who is willing to carry that sense of sincere goodwill and giving into the political atmosphere. I hope we can nominate a person who is willing to provide us with solutions to our problems rather than rhetoric that they think will deliver them a shallow victory at the polls.

John Asbrook campaigned for President on the slogan “no left turns”. At the time,  Americans were comfortable with the status quo. A few short years later, Americans were running away from the status quo that they once wanted. Instead they turned to the conservative principles that brought us out of the problems that the left and left leaning decisions created.

With the perceived popularity of President-elect Barack Obama some in New Jersey may feel that campaigning to the left is the politically expedient way to win an election but is political expediency good public policy?

In the words of Congressman Ashbrook “the difference between the conservative and the liberal is that the conservative worries about the future while the liberal worries about the next election.”

That being said, I want a Republican nominee for Governor of New Jersey who worries about tomorrow, not the next election. I want a nominee who is more concerned with doing what is right for the people not what the left wants to hear.

If Republicans want to achieve a victory in November that means something, they need to make sure that they take “no left turns.”.

Coast Guard Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through each state,

Coast Guard families were starting to celebrate.

Just then from the white House came an urgent call,

A crisis had arisen that would affect one and all.

In fact the U.S. State Department was frantic,

For Santa Claus had just landed in the Atlantic!

It Was foggy as ever; Rudolph had made a blunder.

Santa, sleigh, and eight reindeer were going under.

Though the stockings were hung by the chimneys with care.

Poor Santa gurgled, “I’ll never get there.”

When what to his wondering eye should appear;

But some coast guard cutters with their rescue gear!

The officers and crew were so lively and quick;

Sure was a lucky break for good ole Saint Nick.

With a nod from the captain. they went right to work.

Rudolph was embarrassed, he felt like a jerk.

Poor Santa was soggy, but as anyone could see,

He was very grateful to the U.S.C.G!

And we heard him exclaim as they towed him from sight,

“If it weren’t for age and weight, I’d enlist Tonight!”

CROWLEY STILL CONSIDERING RUN FOR NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR

Bio Tech Entrepreneur John Crowley

Political insiders make it clear, that at this point in time, biotech entrepreneur John Crowley is still strongly considering running for Governor of New Jersey.

So far there are already two declared candidates for New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial nomination. Assemblyman Richard Merkt and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.

Both of these men deserve to be heard and are worth watching. Not only do they have substantial records on the issues but they were also brave enough to throw their hats in the same ring that is likely to contain, now former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. With all the hoopla over Chris Christie’s possible entry into the race, many other potential candidates opted out of even trying. But not Merkt and Lonegan. That alone warrants their right to be heard.

So we already have two strong willed, determined aspirants for the nomination and that is a good thing, a very good thing.

Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine

Another potentially prominent presence in the growing field of Republican candidates could come from an incumbent mayor.

Brian Levine has twice won election as Franklin Township’s mayor. Not an easy job in a town that is heavily weighed in favor of  democrats.

Levine has the type of crossover appeal that we will need to win back the keys to Drumthwacket in November. If Levine does declare his candidacy for the nomination, the question will become, does his crossover appeal to Democrats turn off the more conservative wing of the Republican party that would nominate him?

Presuming that Chris Christie does run, Lonegan’s, Merkt’s and possibly Levine’s, efforts, will at least force Chris Christie to do some real campaigning of his own for the nomination.

Although Christie brings the name recognition and seeming ability to tap into the financial resources that a successful campaign requires, I do not want the party to simply coronate him. I want him to earn the nomination. Make clear his positions on the issues, articulate his plans for the state and prove that he has the ability to get his message across in a way that people can believe.

As official candidates for the GOP nomination, Steve Lonegan and Richard Merkt will help to make sure that Chris has to prove himself. But truthfully, both Merkt and Lonegan are slightly handicapped in their ability to force Christie to play on the same field as them. Neither of them have the name I.D. that Christie does and neither of them have the access to the amount of money that is needed to be truly competitive and that Christie can tap into. The same holds true in the case of Levine’s possible candidacy.

Money is not everything but in politics, unfortunately, it means a lot.

That brings us to back to John Crowley. He has money.

John Crowley is a self-made, independently wealthy man with a compelling and inspirational history that brings even more to the table than just the money that is needed.

After studying at the U.S. Naval Academy for three semesters, he graduated with degrees in foreign service from Georgetown University and went on to obtain his J.D from Notre Dame Law School and then worked as a litigation associate in the health care industry.

Crowley furthered his education and received an M.B.A from Harvard Business School. From there he went on to work for a San Francisco based management consulting firm.

In 1998, John Crowley was handed the greatest challenge of his life. His wife, Aileen gave birth to twins, Patrick and Megan. Both were born with a fatal neuromuscular disorder called Pompe disease.

The disorder was so rare that few if any pharmaceutical entities attempted to develop treatment or cures for Pompe.

Determined, the Crowley’s settled in Princeton, to be near doctors who were specializing in Pompe disease.

John Crowley subsequently took up employment with Bristol-Meyers Squibb but after two years he left Bristol-Meyers to embark on a new venture. A venture that sought to increase the pace of research into Pompe and the development of a cure for it. It was a race against time that was slowly taking the lives of his children.

He became the CEO of a biotech company called Novazyme. In short time Novazyme merged with the world’s largest biotech company, Genzyme Corp., and soon after that the combined efforts of the two, brought about by John Crowley, led to the creation of an enzyme replacement therapy for Pompe disease that is keeping the Crowley kids alive today.

Getting to that point was not easy and there were a great many trials and tribulations, but John Crowley, his wife, and the team he assembled never gave up.

The story is the stuff that books are written about and about which movies are made.

A Pulitzer prize winning author actually did write a book about it. It is called “The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million – And Bucked the Medical Establishment – In a Quest to Save His Children” (ISBN 978-0060734398).

On top of that Harrison Ford has procured the rights to turn the Crowley story into a movie that he will also co-star in.

So, to say that John Crowley is a storybook candidate, is not just an understatement. It is true.

Now, at 41, Crowley is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve and is currently the President and CEO of Cranbury, New Jersey based, Amicus Therapeutics. He is also considering running for the Republican party’s gubernatorial nomination.

I hope he does.

That is not an endorsement of his potential candidacy but it is a sign of my eagerness to get to know what John Crowley would do as our Governor. He obviously is a talented, determined man with spirit, ingenuity a strong sense of commitment and a can do attitude and work ethic.

As is the case with Chris Christie, I do not know where John Crowley stands on the issues, but I hope we will be able to find out in a hard fought primary battle for the nomination.

Unlike Lonegan and Merkt, Crowley has the money needed to establish the name I.D. that Christie has. That would help even the playing field and insure that Chris Christie will have to earn the nomination as opposed to having it handed to him by the party establishment.

If Crowley enters the race, the entirety of the pro-Christie, Republican, establishment has the potential for splintering up. That is made apparent by Mercer County Chairman Roy Wesley who is the G.O.P. leader of the county that Crowley lives in.

It is reported that, right now, Wesley is “leaning toward” either Christie or Crowley.

Seeing as how we all know that Christie will be running but are not yet sure if Crowley will, the “either or” answer of Wesley makes sense. Why piss off Christie now by backing someone who may not run? However that “either or” response bodes well for Crowley and can best be interpreted to mean that if Crowley runs Wesley will endorse him but if he doesn‘t run, Chris Christie can count on Wesley‘s support.

The Chairmen of Union and Salem counties have already indicated that they are leaning to Christie. Monmouth county’s Republican chairman, Joe Oxley, has not gone that far, but nearly.

According to PolitickerNJ, Oxley stated that “everybody’s anticipating, hoping and expecting that Chris may very well enter the race”. He added that he is good friends with Christie and that Christie will have lots of support throughout the county.

Regardless of the opinions established at this point in time, if Crowley does enter the race, he will certainly shake things up. Many uncommitted county leaders and organizations will probably find themselves impressed with Crowley. He may even have the capacity to change the minds of many individuals currently inclined to support, Lonegan, Merkt or Chris Christie.

Personally, I look forward to Crowley’s interest in the governor’s job turning into a yearning for the job. I want him to run and turn our primary into a truly competitive race that will capture the headlines and attention of voters for months.

Such a race will help establish much needed name recognition for our future nominee and it will help to shed some light on our Republican solutions to our state’s problems.

On top of that, I hope John Crowley believes in the principles of our party and is willing to implement those principles in his approach to solving New Jersey’s problems.

If Crowley comes out trying to run a campaign that, for the sake of political expediency, makes him sound like a democrat, than I will be saying, “Adios, Sayonara, Au revoir, John.”

The same applies to Chris Christie.

If we are to win in November, we will have to run against the liberal policies being applied in Trenton by the current regime. We cannot run against democrats by trying to be them. If that is ones intention than don’t run.

I have a feeling that not only does John Crowley disagree with liberal policy, he is also not afraid to promote a right of center approach to government.

If that is the case, then Crowley may very easily get my vote.

For me, his political outsider status is a plus. He has no entanglement with the political bureaucracy that brought us to where we are today and as result he bears no blame. Furthermore; his “can do” mentality to getting things accomplished in the real world is the type of thinking that we need in the jaded world of government bureaucracy.

Of course, no matter who wins our nomination, it will behoove them to select State Senator Jennifer Beck as their running mate and our Lieutenant Governor nominee.

Please be sure to sign the online petition for that effort!

There’s one thing that Democrats and Republicans share in common:

 Our money.

CONSERVATIVE TORCH BEARER MAKES IT OFFICIAL – LONEGAN RUNS FOR GOVERNOR

On the very same day that Chris Christie’s resignation from the U.S. Attorney’s office takes effect, Steve Lonegan announced his own candidacy for the nomination. Speculation has it that Christie will most definitely be running for the nomination and as one of the state’s most recognizable Republican names, many hope that he does run.

So Lonegan’s kicking off his campaign with an official, public, declaration of his candidacy on the same day that Christie resignation from the U.S. Attorney’s office takes effect is no coincidence. In truth, it was a smart move.

News outlets are surely going to be mentioning Christie’s resignation and giving him some earned media. They all know that Christie’s job with the justice department prohibited him from any political activity and making any declarations of his own candidacy, but now that he is out office, the media buzz about the Governor’s race will heat up.

By making his own campaign official on this day, Steve Lonegan assured himself, at least, equal time with Christie on the airwaves. Undoubtedly, if the news does bring up the fact that Christie’s resignation became effective today, then they will surely mention the declared candidacy of his potential rival for the nomination, Steve Lonegan.

In addition to his timely announced campaign kickoff, Steve Lonegan has also launched his campaign web site (which you can link to by clicking on the image from this web site, to the right).

So I give Lonegan credit for playing it right so far. It shows that he is not just interested in the job but that he and his campaign officials know how to run for the job.

And getting the job is going to be a tough. Real tough.

While Steve Lonegan is the favorite of New Jersey conservatives, Chris Christie is the favorite of the Republican establishment in New Jersey and unfortunately for Lonegan the phrase “New Jersey conservatives” is an oxymoron. There are far fewer conservative oriented voters in this state than liberal Republicans. So Lonegan starts off at disadvantage. But it is not one that can’t be overcome.

Before Christie has even announced his own candidacy he has already been caught up in a few verbal missteps. Not long ago, while speaking before a largely Hispanic group, he indicated that illegal immigration was more of an administrative matter than a criminal issue. For that, some called for his resignation from the U.S. Attorney’s office, long before he intended to do so. That remark  will certainly be an issue that is raised if Christie runs for governor. It isn’t a silver bullet but that alone gives Steve Lonegan some fighting power that will cause Chris Christie to waste time and money responding to.

But aside from Chris Christie’s own , yet to be known, positions on the issues, Steve Lonegan has a significant record on the issues in his own right. He even has the ability to lay claim to successfully spearheading political causes. He helped to defeat many Corzine initiated measures that would have raised taxes in new Jersey.

On illegal immigration, Lonegan’s voice has been loud and clear. When he was the Mayor of Bogota, he made it known that illegal immigration was not just an administrative issue but a criminal matter that needed to be addressed.

On taxes and spending , it is also clear that Steve Lonegan is not of the center or left of center mold. In fact he stops short of declaring war on taxes and spending and makes it clear that “New Jersey’s government continues to grow beyond the people’s ability to pay.”

According to his recently launched web site, Lonegan “will fight for the forgotten citizens: the hair stylist, the legal assistant, the mechanic, the nurse, the farmer, the supermarket cashier and the factory worker” and “be the champion of the men and women who get up in the morning, go to work, and obey the law.”

I for one like what I am hearing from Lonegan but the devil is in the details and the details are what we need to hear.

If Steve Lonegan can articulate those details in an easily accessible message to the people and if they add up and are believable than he just might have my support.

But until then, I will listen closely. Unlike the race for President, I am not convinced of who is best to carry our banner in November.

In the presidential race, I was among the minority of New Jersey republicans who declared my support for Mitt Romney in September of ‘07. After witnessing the campaign that our ultimate nominee waged, I feel I was right. However in the race for Governor of New Jersey, I have no clear favorite.

Steve Lonegan does seemingly represent my views most closely but I have yet to hear from the others. Chris Christie is a blank slate to me. I, like many others know of him and know of his truly incredible work prosecuting crime but that is all I know and it’s not enough.

Even though his candidacy starts off with advantages that others do not, I refuse to give our party’s nomination to someone who wants to run like a democrat for political expediency. We have had more than enough of that. Tom Kean, Jr.’s candidacy for U.S. Senate against Bob Menendez was an example of that type of candidacy. It was the first time I could not, in good in conscience, vote for the party’s nominee. The positions that he took in that race made it obvious that a vote for him was the same as a vote for Menendez. Neither were acceptable so I wrote in the name of more deserving wished for candidate.

So Christie’s name I.D. and ability to tap into financial resources does not win me over. Where he stands on the issues is more important.

At the same time, Lonegans’s conservative credentials do not automatically make me a supporter of him. Beyond the details of his intended path to prosperity, I need to see that he has the pragmatism needed to instill a sense of confidence in voters. He also needs to demonstrate an ability to be more than a hardliner. Lonegan must show me that he can deliver our message in a manner that unifies people and crosses party lines.

If he cannot do that then all the great things that he might be able to accomplish for us are meaningless.

So I will not declare my support for any one Republican candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. I will wait to see who is most suitable on the issues and who can present those issues in the most suitable way. I will let all the candidates work hard and earn my support before I state which one deserves my support and our nomination.

That means, that Assemblyman Richard Merkt will also have my ear. As the first to really declare his candidacy, Rich Merkt deserves being heard and I welcome his presence on the stage.

I even hope that bio-tech entrepreneur John Crowley throws his hat into the ring. His presence in the contest would energize the primary battle like no other. Between his inspirational story, ingenuity, dedication and personal accomplishments, Crowley would make this a close race that would force all the candidates to be at the top of their game and as a result, the truly best man will win. Such a contest would allow us to produce a nominee that would have the very best chance of not only defeating Corzine but having the coattails to win back some seats in the state legislature.

No matter how the field shapes up though, I know that I will not be putting any effort in to nominating a Democrat-lite Republican. If that’s what New Jersey republicans want then why put up a candidate at all when we could simply vote for another 4 years of the real deal, Jon Corzine.

In the meantime, Steve Lonegan’s declaration today is exciting. He sounds like the change we need. Now he just has to prove it.

 

 Dance 

There was a dance teacher who talked of a very old dance called the Politician. “All you have to do” she told her class “is take three steps forward, two steps backward, then side-step side-step and turn around.”