Can you get yourself re-elected by lying to voters?
Of course you can. Candidates circling the ethics drain do it all the time. And that's what Republicans Caroline Casagrande & Mary Pat Angelini are banking on; if they suggest to enough voters that rising Democrat Vin Gopal is a crook, maybe they can keep their jobs.
The GOP's clearly concerned that Gopal might win. He's an effective, eloquent and inspiring candidate. Gopal's entire team, among other nods, won Democracy for America's national endorsement (disclosure: it was my pleasure to alert DFA to their strengths). Asbury Park Press endorsed Gopal, too, urging voters to consider him over Mary Pat Angelini.
So. What did Casagrande and Angelini do? They sent mail , produced by NJ GOP but approved by the two of them, that attempt to tar Gopal with the crimes of Perth Amboy Mayor Joe Vas, who went to jail for corruption. This kind of crap is right out of the Karl Rove playbook; create a scary-enough bogeyman and the voters will do what you want.
Assemblyman Joe Malone (R) has decided to retire: "After serving for nearly 20 years in the Assembly, I have decided that it is time to conclude my tenure in the Legislature. I am proud to have served my constituents and consider it an honor to make sure their voices were heard in Trenton."
This being New Jersey, this great honor does not include letting constituents choose a successor in a primary. Rather, as we have seen so often from both Republicans and Democrats, Malone waited until June to make sure voters had no voice.
Last week, then-Republican Chair Jay Webber sent a public letter to Democratic Chair John Wisniewski to "get the process jumpstarted" on redistricting public hearings, stating that "we believe those hearings have been delayed long enough" and that they were "eager to hold multiple hearings to listen to New Jerseyans' views on this once-a-decade event.
They apparently weren't all THAT eager though, based on my experience today. More details below the fold.
A letter came to light today, via politickernj, from a Somerset County Democratic state committeeman to John Wisniewski, suggesting Wisniewski resign from the NJ Assembly, and bylaws be drawn to keep elected officials from serving the state party committee forevermore. And at least one Democratic County Chair - Somerset's Peg Schaffer - is on board with that.
Frankly, that's a hard case to make. Joe Cryan, Joe Roberts and Bonnie Watson Coleman all ran the Party from the Assembly. And Asm Jay Webber runs NJ GOP. That begs the question why the hell the Dems should alter bylaws for what only may be an issue right now - if it's an issue at all.
And the public relations here is dicey. Awful, maybe. I'm sure Joel Shain - former Orange mayor, who once primaried and lost to Dick Codey - didn't intend this, but a letter asking the Democratic State Chair to demote himself and have less power than he is already perceived to have, well ...not cool. Even though, face it, with notable exceptions the Democrats have a serious swagger deficiency, despite their number advantages. That's what Shain's getting at, asking Wisniewski to choose, and pick only the Party. But I think there's another problem.
Transparency & accountability: Try to find the state committee folks who represent your county, people in Shain's position -
Or the wiki. Note: NJDSC parliamentarian Regan McGrory is thorough & very responsive to requests for info. I've asked her for that list, and I expect to post it - but I think those names should be listed on their site, and nobody should have to ask for it.
Who runs the show? The reality is that the state committee is a rubber stamp. In theory, NJDSC's primary function - and Wisniewski's - is to enact the will of its members. And committeemen like Shain are elected to express that will - our will. And the Chair's supposed to be guided, at least in part, by those locally-elected to the state Party. In practice ... very different. The state committee may have power they don't exercise, and at any rate we never hear about it. It's top-down, all the way. We know that the people running the show - really running it - are the professional Dems, the class comprised of high-level state electeds, and Democratic staffers. They're good people - don't get me wrong, from time to time, Blue Jersey even lobs a person or two into the front office - and they're fully committed, good Democrats. It's reasonable that key daily decisions are made by them - they're there every day.
The problem is, in their party capacity they're not answerable - except to each other, and for their jobs. They don't report to you. County & state committee people can be a key to change, and greater accountability, but they have to hear from the rest of us that we expect that. And the beginning of expecting them to exercise their power, is seeing who they are, and locally contributing feedback to them. And I expect the NJDSC to work overtime to promote that.
A good start ...I want more: The Party Democracy Act has been a lever to dislodge centralized control, giving party activists (on both sides) a better shot at tracking what really goes on. It's a good process. And if the state committee is actually nothing more than a rubber stamp - except on rare occasions when they make news, or shock the hell out of the party Chair - then maybe we should be asking why that is, and how actually to have our voices heard when our Party takes action, defines itself, or does battle with an impudent Governor who thinks it's his way or the highway.
I'll post the elected members of the NJ Democratic State Committee, reps from all 21 counties, when I get it. Meanwhile, consider this an Open Thread on Shain's letter to John Wisniewski.
Blue Jersey, what do you think? Text of the letter is after the jump.
Fresh off the Christie statewide cage match victory lap, and to celebrate a "new era of Republican leadership", NJGOP is running a contest to design a new logo.
We give all contestants full creative freedom, but ask that participants submit two logo designs utilizing our nickname "NJGOP" as well as our more formal name, "New Jersey Republican State Committee".
All contestants full creative freedom ... That isgenerous. Got ideas? Post them here. No obscene words, please, restrain thyself. More NJGOP guidelines: Color scheme is red, white & blue. And use the State of NJ, capital (sic) dome, Republican elephant and/or American flag.
GOPosaurus
Personally, we're big fans of the GOPosaurus, morphed on Daily Kos from the Bush era Republican logo. But maybe you'll come up with something even better. Here's a couple sites to get you started - LogoYes and CoolText.
Ooh, the winner gets a tour of the Statehouse (which, perhaps we should remind NJGOP is not quite part of the "new Republican era") plus a special photo opportunity!
What do you think the new NJGOP logo should look like? Flip to the jump page for the first submission we got last night.
I was watching the football game yesterday and saw the trailer for the upcoming movie about John Crowley, a bio tech millionaire and his family which is scheduled to come out on January 22. Here is a little bit about Crowley's story:
He is best-known as the founder of several biotech companies devoted to curing genetic diseases. After his two youngest children were diagnosed with Pompe Disease, Crowley became the CEO of Oklahoma City-based Novazyme, a biotechnology start-up that was conducting research on a new experimental treatment for the disease.
Sarah Palin is currently on a book tour following the release of "Going Rogue." We know that during the election, she was considered persona non grata by the Christie campaign and NJ GOP. Following the election, it appears she's not going to be making any stops here either:
So unless they add some stops to the tour, she'll still have to see Jersey from some place outside of the Garden State. I know all you Blue Jersey Palin fans won't know how to deal.
Oh, the conservatives aren't going to like this one very much; Chris Christie .... again! .... is bringing another GOP demi-star ahead of their poster girl, Sarah.
As potential presidential candidates stream in and out of the state to boost the Christie campaign and the GOP, let's remember first who is notcoming to New Jersey and why, particularly Sarah Palin. Christie:
"This is about New Jersey issues and New Jersey, and I don't think having Governor Palin here would do me, or frankly the state, a whole lot of good in the sense that we need to talk and focus on what the New Jersey issues are," Christie said during a radio interview on New Jersey 101.5 FM. "I hope MayorGiuliani will continue to be supportive and be here and work with me, but other than that, I think the people of New Jersey have to hear from me and that's the person they'll be electing."
Ah. So it's about New Jersey issues, unless he thinks someone from outside of New Jersey can help him, which obviously he doesn't think Palin can. But apparently, he does think the Governor from Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty's got game because Christie's got the welcome mat rolled out:
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he will head to New Jersey next week to campaign for that state's Republican candidate for governor.
[snip]
Pawlenty made his comment to reporters after his weekly radio show at the Minnesota State Fair. He didn't give any details.
Maybe Tim Pawlenty has a unique knowledge of New Jersey all the way from Minnesota. After all, Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house in Alaska, and Pawlenty can only see Wisconsin.
Our offer still stands for Blue Jersey to pick Sarah Palin up at the airport whenever Christie's super-duper right wing base can convince him to let her come. Now Newt, Pawlenty, Rudy, Santorum, and Romney will have all come to town for Christie, while Sarah Palin continues to have to talk to the hand, and not the NJ GOP. Maybe Palin needs Diane Allen and Kim Guadagno to fight for her to be allowed in the Garden State too.
The problem, according to Moody's, is that "Through several administrations, the state has utilized non-recurring solutions to resolve budgetary gaps, leaving the state with a sizeable structural imbalance, one of the highest debt burdens, one of the lowest-funded pension ratios, and one of the highest post-retirement health insurance liabilities in the country."
After singling out that section of the report, they continued:
Among those "several" administrations is the last one controlled by the Republicans, the
Whitman/DiFrancesco administration. The Republicans in that era created most of the "structural imbalance" cited by the investors' service. Standard & Poor's will also cite the state's "above average" debt burden and pension problems as a credit weaknesses in a report due this week.
Christine Todd Whitman greatly expanded the debt burden, borrowing more than $11 billion in so-called "contract" debt, bonds that were sold without voter approval. Part of that went into the pension fund and part for school construction, but all of it should have gone before the voters. That would have set a precedent that might have precluded later Democratic governors from trying the same trick, which they did with glee.
And it would have saved hundreds of millions in interest payments. Moody rates the state's "general obligation debt" -- the type approved by the voters -- at Aa3, which is a high-quality rating. But because it is not secured by the state's assets, contract debt is rated a notch lower, at A1. The lower the rating, the higher the interest rate. This is a good reason for borrowing only with voter approval. That's what the state Constitution seems to require, but both parties have been adept at exploiting loopholes.
We've written many times on this blog about the games that have been played by all parties involved, but this is a clear accounting of the groundwork laid by the GOP, which our own party capitalized on. But that's not all the GOP holds a share of the blame for:
As for that big pension deficit, again the Republicans laid the groundwork back in 2001 when they raised pensions 9 percent even after the internet bubble was beginning to rapidly deflate and the value of the pension fund was dropping. Again, the Democrats supported this move and have since moved to add more unfunded liabilities to the system.
More bi-partisan responsibility, when all we get is partisan blame. But wait, there's more:
As for that question of unfunded post-retirement health benefits, the blame falls entirely on the GOP. Back in 1995, Whitman ended the practice of setting aside money for future retiree health-care commitments and switched to a pay-as-you-go basis. The problem with that approach is, the further you go, the more you pay. The cost of retiree health benefits rise by hundreds of millions every year. With no fund, that all has to come out of current expenses.
And while the GOP criticizes Corzine and the Democrats, the Ledger reminds them of the void that is their own candidate and his ideas:
But the standard-bearer for Kean's party, gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie, also refuses to come up with any ideas for addressing the deficit.
Well, he's come up with one: He's going to cut the income tax. That's a nice idea, but that just makes the so-called "structural" deficit worse unless he has a plan for reversing the Republican moves that created that structure. If Christie has such a plan, he's not sharing it with the voters.
So far the savior from the party that helped create this mess has offered solutions that will help exacerbate the problem. But people have short memories and the GOP is counting on that, because if history is a prelude of things to come, they're far from the saints they would have the voters believe.
These days, the open secret among Trenton Republicans is that Chris Christie is long on sound bites and short on substance. Despite being criticized by rivals throughout the primary campaign for his lack of specific proposals, Christie has coupled his message of "I'm not Corzine" with vague promises to cut taxes and spending while offering no real plan to achieve those goals. As excitement grows among GOP insiders over their first serious chance to retake Drumthwacket since 1993, it makes sense why they would keep mum on their candidate's inability to articulate a fact-based, comprehensive vision for where he wants to take New Jersey. From a purely tactical perspective, the strategy seems to be working. Working, that is, so long as they can keep their secret from the rest of us. That's not an easy effort to sustain with an educated electorate, and Assemblyman Jay Webber revealed yesterday what many already know: Christie's platitudes are shadows on the wall.
Ed Mazlish is a blogger who shares many New Jersey conservatives uncertainty over whether Christie is the real deal or a country club type cut in the mold of Tom Kean and Christie Whitman. Folks like Mazlish watched during the primary as Christie trotted out Bret Schundler and Rudy Guliani (one could devote an entire diary to this man's bona fides within the movement) to assure voters that he was a true conservative. Since June, they have also seen Christie dance the post-primary shuffle back to the political center. Whether or not the Republican standard bearer can hold together the disparate elements of his party may explain why he has been purposefully evasive in his policy pronouncements. Judging by recent polls that may make sense in the short term, but as Mazlish's account of his encounter with Webber makes clear, not even the most loyal of Republicans are fooled.
Webber is one of Christie's biggest boosters. Recently named by the campaign as GOP State Chairman, he was enjoying lunch yesterday when Mazlish approached him with a few questions. The transcript of their conversation is available on the blog Conservatives with Attitude, but here are the highlights:
Mazlish: Can you tell me why I should support Chris Christie in November?
Webber: Because he will cut spending and cut taxes.
Mazlish: Can you tell me specifically what spending he will cut and what taxes he will cut?
Webber: Go to his website... I think he has 63 specific proposals for reducing the size and scope of government in NJ.
Mazlish: I have been there, and I was just there this morning. I blogged a comment about the 10 specific points he has on the page for how he will cut spending. There are no specifics there.
Webber: I don't think he needs to tell you specifically how he is going to cut spending and taxes until he gets to Trenton.
Mazlish: You don't think that I have a right as a voter to know before an election specifically what his plan is, what his goals are and how he will accomplish them?
Webber: It sounds like his message isn't resonating with you, and that's fine.
As Webber's words reveal, New Jersey Republicans are bereft of ideas to solve the significant challenges we face and move our state forward. This is not a new phenomenon. They are borrowing a page from the 1993 playbook. Like the Christie Whitman GOP of yesteryear, they will say anything to regain power, the long term consequences be damned. It's now no secret that Republicans do not want to talk specifics. It's our responsibility as progressives to make sure New Jerseyans do.
Michael Steele is in town today stumping on behalf of Chris Christie, even if Blue Jersey has done more publicizing of the events than the campaign. But apparently Steele wasn't briefed well, because he's still shooting for Sarah Palin to see Russia from Trenton:
Steele afterwards said he looked forward to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin campaigning for Republicans across the country, including New Jersey and Virginia, to what best fits her schedule.
Christie, however, said he does not plan on having Palin, who has announced her resignation as governor effective July 26, campaign in New Jersey. Christie said he wants to focus his campaign on New Jersey's issues and how he would address the state's problems.
What I wouldn't give for some follow up questions. Here's just a few I would have liked to see asked by an intrepid reporter:
1. Does Michael Steele plan on bringing Palin into NJ over the objections of Christie?
2. How does Chris Christie think that keeping the focus on NJ means bringing in National figures like Steele, Rudy and Romney?
3. Athough they don't want Sarah Palin to stand on stage in this state, would they accept financial support and a check to the PAC?
4. Will she come in for a private fundraiser if they don't want her out in public?
And those are just the questions pertaining to today's quotes. What questions would you like the media to be asking?
A spat among two new GOP state committee members, Donna Ward and Rob Eichmann, and new state chairman Jay Webber over whether to accept last year's national Republican platform has escalated.
At issue is a motion made at the GOP's organizational session June 17, where two new Republican committee members, Donna Ward and Rob Eichmann, wanted the party to accept the national Republican platform from last year's presidential race. Among other things, the platform says, "We assert the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life, which cannot be infringed." Such language could add potency to Gov. Jon Corzine's ongoing attack on Christie's anti-abortion stance in moderate New Jersey.
Here's what they had to say:
"Why does the Republican State Committee not want to call ourselves Republican and support the platform of the Republican National Committee?" Ward and Eichmann wrote in the missive, which they also sent to the national Republican chairman, Michael Steele. Steele is expected to appear with Christie in South Jersey tomorrow. "We want Republicans, first and foremost the New Jersey Republican State Committee, to proudly and loudly proclaim that we are Republicans!"
And they also said this:
"We hope that the committee is open to all points of view in the Republican family . . . but we came away from (the session) with some concerns," according to the letter. "Failing to adopt this resolution is tantamount to saying that the New Jersey GOP really isn't Republican at all."
Maybe they should reach out to Chris Christie's web designer and tell them to stop hiding his values behind technical difficulties. But the GOP State chair wants you to think it's all a misunderstanding due to not following the right process:
"It's inaccurate," Webber, a Morris County assemblyman, told The Auditor. "We've got two new members of the state committee, who are obviously enthusiastic but misguided. The committee would have no problems supporting the positions but they didn't follow the process."
Possibly while Michael Steele is in town with Chris Christie today pitching the virtues of Sarah Palin coming for a visit, he may also check and see whether Christie and the state party support the platform he helped the National Party put in place. If Christie does, maybe he can include that on the values page when they finally are able to resolve those "technical difficulties."
With New Jersey being one of only two states with off year elections, you can expect many of the big names to come through the state. While the Governor will have the President in on Thursday and the Christie campaign will have Michael Steele on Monday, Jay Webber has turned the party to a familiar name:
GOP State Committee Chairman Jay Webber confirmed Friday that Gingrich will headline a July 24 event at the home of Sal and Lisa LoBiondo, a Montville couple who are active in Republican politics.
Invitees to the private fundraiser will pay $1,000 each for a cocktail reception, $5,000 a plate for dinner.
It's not known how many people will attend.
Webber called Gingrich "an interesting figure who has a lot of insights on current events."
It's probably a smart move by the new chair because Newt is one of the few names with drawing power in their party. We should keep track of all the people who come to town while Sarah Palin is turned away. Romney has been here, Steele is coming, Rudy has been prominent and Newt will be helping the effort, while Palin is quarantined from the NJ GOP. Her treatment prompted this reaction from one conservative, pointed out by Fred Snowflack:
The message of the New Jersey GOP is loud and clear: not only is Sarah Palin is not welcome here, but neither are conservative Republicans. The GOP in in this state is a pathetic simulacrum of the party of Ronald Reagan - a political Potemkin Village populated by party hacks too busy shaking the plum tree to realize the ground beneath them is giving way.
At best, her presence here would have boosted the morale of the conservative faction of the Party - if only temporarily. I?m actually relieved that the Christie campaign made its intentions known, as this will serve as a warning to Mrs. Palin to avoid this particular pit of vipers
We'll see if Newt is able to tamp down that sentiment, because if conservatives stay home, Christie's got problems. An interesting note, the party website has the "Evening with Newt Gingrich" listed, which is basically a private house party with a former elected official, but not the Christie/Steele tour du Jersey which involves their party standard bearer and National Chairman. Make of that what you will.
Chris Christie to visit Gloucester County Monday @ 1:00 pm with GOP Chairman Michael Steele 130 North Woodbury Rd. Pitman, NJ 08071
And then they will campaign in Ocean City with the 1st District candidates at 5pm. In fact, NJ Republicans seem so excited about Steele's arrival, that there is no mention anywhere on the State GOP site, the Atlantic County GOP site, the Gloucester County GOP site or Chris Christie's site. But the Democratic national Committee was aware and had this to say:
"Instead of offering solutions to the problems facing New Jersey, Chris Christie is surrounding himself with ultra-conservatives like Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele, who time and time again have failed to offer solutions to the problems we face. Christie and Steele?s vision for the future is out of line with the values of New Jersey voters.
Funny they should mention values, because it's been twenty days now since Christie lost his shared values. Maybe while they're talking about Palin, they can discuss those missing values.
For a preview of Michael Steele, here is a video put together by TPM recapping his first 100 days as chair.
One of the goals of each campaign has been to define the cause of the economic problems. Republicans would like you to believe everything happened under the Democrats in the last 7 years, even though when they are candid their own members acknowledge that's not the case. Democrats refer to the global economic recession and say that despite our difficulties, they took action to help us be better prepared. Thurman Hart, in his most recent NJ Voices takes a look at how other states are coping with his post, "At least we have a budget:"
This is not the case in California, where the deficit shortfall of $24.3 billion is almost as large as the entire New Jersey budget ($29.84 billion). The state is actually going to issue IOUs to vendors - which will do nothing to keep vendors from going broke. In a rather unusual twist, the Republican Governor is calling for higher taxes, but lawmakers in his own party are balking. Perhaps we should just expect strange news from California, though.
In Illinois, they still don't have a budget. In that state, the Republican Governor's call for tax hikes are being thwarted by Democrats in the statehouse. Governor Quinn wants to increase the flat tax from 3.0 to 4.5 percent, while increasing the personal exemption from $2,000 to $6,000. Possible tax hikes for gasoline, liquor, and cigarettes, as well as increased fees for state services such as drivers licenses are also a sticking point.
In New York, no one can decide who should run the State Senate - so major pain is expected throughout the state as funding for state services literally disappears overnight. Unable to accurately determine the input from the state, counties cannot send out property tax bills. Governor Patterson said today that New York City might lose as much as $6 billion in revenue from expired tax laws if the stalemate lasts a full month.
On the other side of the keg, Pennsylvania - once again - has no budget ready to begin its fiscal year. The sticking point here is, again, taxes. Governor Rendell wants to raise taxes from 3.07 percent to 3.57 percent - which is railed against as a sixteen percent hike. Fair enough, I suppose, but people in New Jersey would kill to have even the higher tax rate (but, perhaps, not if we had to let the state own liquor stores in return).
Follow me below the fold to see who else is struggling to pass their budget with.
Brian Donohue over at the Ledger Live absolutely nails the NJ GOP "outrage" voiced during Thursday's budget vote. The Republicans decided that they would solicit letters to read on the floor, rather than do anything to help solve those problems. Donohue manages to capture what was there, what wasn't and just what didn't add up with this brief comment:
And there was some disconnect, for sure. Most of the letters came from working class types struggling to get by - a group largely spared by Corzine's budget, which raises income taxes on the wealthy.
As a taxpayer, it was depressing to watch, really. It would have been nice to hear the opposition party, one after another, stand up and suggest line-item cuts or specific revenue items that they wanted to see in the budget.
That's right. It would have been nice, but unfortunately the elected GOP leaders in the legislature have adopted the Christie model of critiquing without governing. And they were so busy giving voice, that they didn't bother to mention the people they were "speaking for" weren't targets of the actions they were condemning. The NJ GOP is real good at sending out press releases, but finding some workable specifics of what they would do different seems to be the hurdle they are unwilling or unable to cross. Everyone realizes taxpayers are upset, but the NJ GOP isn't doing anything to fix the problem except critique. That's not governing.
Nearly every statement sent out by New Jersey Republicans tries to place the blame squarely on the leadership of Democrats for our current budget situation saying how over the last 8 years, the world has fallen apart. As if they have had no role in creating what we are dealing with today and didn't hold any positions of leadership in this state in the past. But in the heat of the moment, Assemblyman Malone slipped and said what we all know. That Republicans share the blame and the responsibility for this "dilemma" too. Let's go to the video:Somebody writing the GOP talking points must not have seen what Assemblyman Malone said, because his own leader tried to act like it's all the blue guys fault:
Assemblyman Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) blamed Democrats for creating a "fiscal crisis" over the past eight years, saying that New Jersey's economy has lagged behind the rest of the nation.
I think the Minority Leader needs to talk to both his budget chair and their communications people. Someone was off message and I'm guessing it was Joe Malone, who was the one telling the truth.
Gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie is expected to pick Jay Webber, a freshman Republican Assemblyman from Morris County, as the new GOP State Chairman. Webber, a strong conservative, would replace Tom Wilson as head of the state party organization.
Webber's selection, which must be ratified by a vote of the Republican State Committee, will likely please conservatives who made up most of Steven Lonegan's 42% in Tuesday's primary election.
So is this Chris "the Moderate" Christie picking the Conservative to lead his party? It's going to be fun watching him do this conservative/moderate two step. Take note, his first big decisions and he leans right. His next decision will be his choice for running mate.
The New Jersey Republican State Committee is facing severe financial difficulties and has not paid several staffers in recent weeks, according to several sources familiar with the state party organization. GOP State Chairman Thomas Wilson, who is expected to be replaced when his term expires in June, is among those who have not received a paycheck. There are unconfirmed reports that at least two Republican staffers are preparing to leave because they have not been paid.
So the party of fiscal responsibility has little cash and lotsa debt. They aren't even paying the boss himself now. And why does the GOP state chair get paid in the first place, has he earned a performance bonus along the lines of those at the financial companies? We know it's not a retention bonus because both Christie and Lonegan have said they would replace Tom Wilson as state chair.
It's amazing that while the GOP can't even balance their own checkbook, they're trying to sell to the voters the notion that they can balance the budget.
If you've been enjoying the Republican Primary campaign for Governor via traditional media, you're in for a treat. The food fight has spilled over to the intertubes. First, it's facebook surrogates gone wild between. Here we have an exchange between Lonegan Consultant Rick Shafton and Christie brother Todd Christie:
On April 6, Todd Christie sent Shaftan a private message on Facebook.com, writing "Can't wait to dance on your political grave."
Three days later, Shaftan responded, "Lighten up dude. This is nothing compared to what's coming up. It just gets better!"
Todd Christie wrote back with what Shaftan took as an ominous message: "This is fun for you messing with peoples lives. Payback comes in many forms,,,,at any time. Enjoy."
Ah family. Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison talked about the difference when it's family involved in a situation:
"Typically what a candidate can do in this situation is fire that staff member and distance themselves from that person's name and therefore abdicate any responsibility," she said. "It's really tricky to fire your brother."
Even though the apparent timeline shows Todd Christie making first contact, the Christie campaign is of course placing blame:
"This is ridiculous - a paid campaign staffer initiating and then purposefully provoking an opponent's family member in an online chat, and then forwarding the exchange to the media. This is nothing more than a distraction from the real issues of the campaign," he said.
So by real issues they mean talking about the monitor contracts? Anyway, they didn't stop at facebook because we now have Lonegan needling Christie on Twitter. After their teabagging together in Morristown, Lonegan sent out this tweet:
Chris Christie booed in his own backyard at the Morristown Tea Party
- Steve Lonegan (@lonegan)
I don't think Christie will care that he was booed if he wins the primary, but it's still providing some good entertainment as they learn to incorporate technology into their campaigns.
