Jennifer Beck, hypocrite.

by: Scott Weingart

Tue Jul 10, 2007 at 04:15:00 PM EDT

Hypocrisy on ethics is nothing new for Jennifer Beck.  Avid readers of this blog may recall that the Monmouth County Republicans charged prospective candidates $1,000 for a sham screening process in order to be considered for the party's nomination.  Unlike her primary opponent Joe Locricchio, Jennifer Beck was unwilling to stand up to the corrupt county organization and forked over $1,000 for this "background check".  Adam Puharic, the man who orchestrated this "Soviet"-style tactic to keep independent, good-government Republicans like Anna Little from winning the party line, continues to serve as Monmouth County Republican Chairman even as he collects a federal government salary. 

Assemblywoman Beck's inability to stand up to ethical shortcomings in her own party stands in stark contrast to Senator Karcher's consistent, nonpartisan reform record.  In the past, Senator Karcher and Assemblyman Mike Panter have criticized Democratic ethics reform proposals that didn't go far enough.  In 2004, she was the only Democrat to vote to bring a Republican-sponsored government reform package to the Senate floor.

I'm not Jennifer Beck's campaign manager, but if I were, I'd tell her to lay off the ethics and government reform issues.  Her constituents know about Karcher's spotless reform record and they are smart enough to see through the Assemblywoman's shallow election-year press-release pandering.

If ethics were cycling, Jennifer Beck would be on training wheels and Ellen Karcher would be in the Tour de France.