At this moment (9:14PM), the Republicans lead in all three battleground districts. However, we only have Ocean County (NJ3) and Monmouth County (NJ6/NJ12) results plus a bit from Hunterdon (NJ12). These are Republican strongholds and the results are consistent with the Monmouth University pre-election polls: Runyan eads 59-37 in the Ocean County votes and led 54-37 in the poll. Runyan looks likely to win, but it's too soon to call. DeStefano only got 2% in Ocean County so he's not draining Runyan's support. I'm nervous about Holt but he was expected to do badly in Monmouth.
Update: Holt (NJ12) and Pallone (NJ6) both win. Right now they are 51%-48% and 55%-44% respectively but not all districts are in.
In this morning's News Roundup, we had a link to a Press of Atlantic City piece about voter anger, speculating who might be the winners and losers of that 2010 cycle phenomenon.
So, today's second Quote of the Day - and perspective - is from the NJ-6 incumbent, the only Dem staring down a well-financed Tea Party candidate in New Jersey today. Via politickernj:
There's a lot of anger this year," he said, although misdirected. "I just wish that the Tea Party anger would be directed at the special interests...that I think caused these problems. - Rep. Frank Pallone, in Red Bank today
The Cook Report has shifted NJ-6 from Solid Democrat to Likely Democrat, as Frank Pallone's lead on Tea Party approved Republican Anna Little dropped from 12 points to 7 with a week to go.
Now comes Chris Christie hard-charging for Pallone, calling him "the sponsor of Obamacare". Obamacare being pure dogwhistle pitched to get people who may be without health care coverage themselves to agitate against what may be their own best interests. Yet another signal that Chris Christie's take on New Jersey is temporary.
With this ad, Christie allies himself with the shriekers, screamers and name-callers of last summer's Town Halls on health care reform. With this ad, he chooses a Tea Party candidate to pump, defusing some of the lingering resentment from the uber-right that Christie isn't 'conservative' enough, that Steve Lonegan was better.
Most importantly, Christie becomes a huckster for the national stink bomb that is the far-right's gross distortion of health care reform; not that it's problematic because it doesn't go far enough or fast enough, but for them that it dares to tie any responsibility or requirement at all to insurance companies making vast sums. Worse, with New Jersey having the 9th-largest number of uninsured people in America, quite a few of those 1.2 million living in Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset & Union counties that comprise NJ's 6th congressional district, we now have a Governor huckstering for the right-wing on their national issues - not his state issues - flying around the country doing favors for Republicans he can collect on later, and screwing up just about everything at home. Good plan!
Election Day is just around the corner, and I'm sure by now you've heard all about the challenge my friend Congressman Frank Pallone is facing in the 6th District from Anna Little - a Tea Party approved extremist.
Frank Pallone has a new 30 second ad out: Sides, highlighting his image of using government to protect against corporate abuses. What do you think, Blue Jersey?
It's been a little over 24 hours since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into effect. Now, we have real reform that lowers costs, holds insurance companies accountable and guarantees more choice for consumers. Together, we fought against and beat back powerful special interests and partisan extremists to deliver real results and meaningful reform for Central Jersey's middle-class families. Not only were we able to ensure that this reform would be deficit neutral, it will even lower the debt by slowing the growth rate of health care costs. And this was all done in an effort to bring about better, more-accessible, high-quality health care for all.
more below the fold
All the Tea Party Ladies - Sarah Palin of Alaska formerly of Alaska, who stumped for O'Donnell. O'Donnell from Delaware. Anna Little from New Jersey. And Sharron Angle from Nevada, riding into Jersey tomorrow to campaign for Little. 'Tea Party-Approved' Anna Little is the Highlands Mayor who won a primary against better-funded establishment candidate Diane Gooch. And that makes her the GOP nominee opposing long-time NJ-6 Congressman Frank Pallone, charging at him from the far-rightiest right.
And tomorrow - perfect Tea Party Lady timing - Little has one of the biggest names in the Tea Party universe coming to campaign with her: Sharron Angle. You have to think Little and Angle are both going to have a contact high from O'Donnell's Tea Party win thisclose to NJ-6. And Little, way less famous than Harry Reid's GOP challenger, will get her chance to stand next to the woman Rachel Maddow calls crazy lady Sharron Angle, the Nevada curiosity who famously runs from reporters at her own press conference.
Christie v. Palin - Also interesting, the stakes - now the losing stakes - for our own Gov. Chris Christie, who trucked his GOP wattage down to Delaware a few days ago in an early lending of his popularity to another state's candidate (a rehearsal for Iowa). He chose the loser; the more moderate Rep. Mike Castle, who was seeking to move up to more rarified congressional air.
In fact, our friend Darryl R. Isherwood wisely pegged the Castle-O'Donnell matchup as really a contest of bigger names: Christie v. Palin. Tonight: good night for Palin. Christie, not so much. Weird day tomorrow in NJ-6.
Tomorrow: Little and Angle are both hot for more off-shore oil drilling (yes, really). They oppose a woman's right to choose and want a full repeal of national health care. So, don't be surprised if you're driving by the Copper Canyon Restaurant in Atlantic Highlands, where Little & Angle will be tomorrow around 12:45pm and you see labor folks, environmentalists, health care folks, women's rights advocates. You could stop your car and join them, actually.
It's been a busy 100 days for us in Congress. From reining in Wall Street excesses with comprehensive financial regulation reform to protecting and creating American jobs, we are working hard to fulfill the mandate given to President Obama and Congressional Democrats back in November of 2008. But the next 100 days promise to be even busier.
In Congress, we have been fighting back against the constant obstructions of the Republican minority. Instead of coming to the table with new ideas to get the American people to work, the GOP is still more interested in scoring cheap political points. Whether it's arguing for repeal of health care reform that will help protect America's families, apologizing to BP for Democrats' efforts to hold them accountable for their actions in the Gulf, or denying a crucial extension of unemployment benefits for nearly three million American workers, it's clear that Republicans are more interested in fighting for corporate interests than the interests of the American people.
Despite this obstructionism, we have made some important progress. The most obvious example is the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The White House blog conveniently lays out ten parts of the financial regulation package you may not be aware of, such as prohibiting mortgage brokers from selling unaffordable mortgages simply to make higher commissions, providing consumers with free credit reports, and putting an end to the "too big to fail" mentality by preventing financial institutions from growing to such a point that their collapse would trigger much wider economic collapse.
The financial regulation reform package will prevent the excesses of Wall Street and big banks that led to the financial meltdown in 2008 and protect consumers from confusing and deceitful financial service products. We established an independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with a mission of protecting common people from excessive interest rate hikes, misleading financial products, and the leveraged risk of packaged securities that resulted in the loss of people's savings.
I had a call last night from Congressman Frank Pallone to talk about the concession by GOP NJ-6 candidate Diane Gooch to "Tea Party-approved" Highlands Mayor Anna Little. I had a few questions for him, and he had a few answers (emphasis is mine):
Question:Are you now running against the candidate you wanted to run against all along? Frank Pallone: Doesn't matter to me. Either way, the I have to run on my record and they'll make me the issue. The main thing is that it's going to be a clear divide on the issues. She's certainly a right-winger and it will be the biggest divide. She (Anna Little) ran as the Tea Party candidate, with the Tea Party's positions, on women's right to choose, on guns. But it's also about the role of the federal government.
Question:How do you see Little on the federal government? Frank Pallone: Well, I want to talk a little about activist government vs. limited government. Government should not do everything. But when we're in a recession - in tough times - that's not when the government should sit back and do less. We need to help out.
This is Franklin Roosevelt versus Herbert Hoover. When you've got recession, it's not the time for the federal government to say, Let's let everything go. The Recovery Act, the stimulus, efforts to create jobs, creating safety nets for people; federal government can make a difference for people, but she's against that. And people are going to know who they're choosing based on those issues.
Question:Diane Gooch was the candidate the GOP establishment wanted, but she wasn't the candidate who had support on the ground. How does this fact speak to you about the power of grassroots organizing? Frank Pallone: You know, the right wing thinks they'll get the the people out and do well. They think that they're the ones who have the grassroots support. I think it's important for progressives to to understand that it's important right now to get involved - knock on doors, volunteer, talk to friends.
The Right is of the opinion that they're organized. And they think that we're not.
That's a cautionary last statement, isn't it? I want to add here that Rep. Pallone will be a Speaker & Mentor at the Democracy for America national Campaign Training next Saturday June 26. We put that Training in Ocean County because that is where Chris Christie slammed Jon Corzine, whose Campaign Chair was Rep. Pallone.(Full disclosure: Jeff Gardner & I are both organizers of that Training.)
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Diane Gooch - rich, connected, and blond - was supposed to stroll easily to the GOP nomination for the chance to run against Frank Pallone in NJ-6. But Highlands Mayor Anna Little, "Tea Party-approved", had other plans and her campaign had more life, more visible signage, and way more ferocity.
And now they might have their win. politickernj is reporting that Diane Gooch - after a provisional ballot count shows her 84 votes behind - is prepared to concede.
"A recount is the only legal mechanism we have to secure confidence in the result, ensuring that no errors in the tabulation of votes have taken place," said Gooch Campaign Manager Tony Sayegh. "There are also some specific concerns we have about the treatment of Vote By Mail ballot requests, the security and custody of election materials, and electronic data cartridges arriving with error messages that must be investigated further. This will be done as expeditiously as possible; we look forward to determining a winner in the near future."
Anna Little currently holds a 6,804 to 6,720 lead over Diane Gooch with all the provisional ballots counted. The Little campaign is confident they'll maintain their lead:
Little, a tea party-backed candidate who raised one-twentieth the amount of campaign funds Gooch did, doubted Gooch could overcome the 84 vote deficit when most were recorded on electronic machines.
"She has the right to do that," she said. "I don't believe it's going to change anything."
It's a lesson I frankly forgot during the GOP primary in NJ-6: Sometimes organization plus engaged and motivated voters trumps the power of cash, and the institutional inertia of party infrastructure. I didn't see this coming:
Anna Little, the darling of Tea Parties, is declaring victory over Diane Gooch in the GOP Primary in NJ-6, and the right to oppose Rep. Frank Pallone from the right. This, despite a monster difference in their fundraising and spending - the last FEC filing pegs Gooch at about $433,000, Little at just under $22,000. And almost 50% of that came from the deep pockets of Gooch herself, the publisher of Two River Times, married to the CEO of a Wall Street brokerage firm, whose wealth runs to the hundreds of millions of dollars. Gooch, though Little was elected mayor of Highlands, also manages to be the establishment candidate, as the Monmouth County GOP Vice-Chair and universal favorite of the inertia set.
It's going to be a close call, and I assume that it's going to be a recount. I'm sure it's going to be a recount, because we need to count everyone's votes in the 6th District.
Yeah, the race is very close; less than one percent of the vote separates them - 105 votes out of 13,387 cast - and Gooch is talking recount. If I were Gooch, I'd be stammering recount too.
There's something refreshing about watching this play out. There's delight in watching the farther-right Republican best the party favorite - that can only be good for Pallone. But there's something organic and refreshing about watching civic engagement win out on the other side, like it sometimes wins out on ours. No matter who eventually wins the GOP primary, that kind of cleaning out the cobwebs feels right as rain today.
With yesterday's primary election in the books, the journey to November's general election starts right now.
While we still don't know who our opponent will be, we do know she will either be a self-funding billionaire or the darling of the tea party. We also know that, no matter what, we will be facing a well-funded right-wing assault seeking to turn back the clock to the Bush/Cheney policies that have caused so many problems for our state and nation.
I treat every election the same, no matter who is on the ballot: run hard and let the voters know of the work we've done to make their lives better. I've been fighting hard every day to deliver real results for the 6th District. I've fought to create and protect jobs, while opposing trade agreements that destroy jobs and give tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. I've safeguarded our beaches and am holding corporate polluters accountable by forcing them to foot the bill for cleaning up their toxic waste sites. And I've worked hard on health care reform that will help everyone across the nation.
But there is still much work to be done, and I simply can not continue my work without your support. So I hope you will join me at my hometown headquarters, as we kick-off my re-election campaign. It's not going to be anything fancy - just some food and refreshments - but it will give us all a chance to get to work, making sure the 6th Congressional District stays blue.
Sunday, June 13th
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Pallone for Congress Campaign Headquarters
495 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ
Please RSVP on Facebook or to matt@pallonefornewjersey.com
As I was watching the primary results come in on NJN, I was absolutely disgusted by my assemblywoman's interview tonight. So I was going to send her an email but I decided to publish it here today. I'm a strong supporter of Frank Pallone and when she argues he's out of touch, that really gets to me.
Dear Assemblywoman Angelini
I once semi-supported you since you do agree with me on the issue of marriage equality. I once thought you were a moderate Republican, but I was wrong.
Since Christie took office, you have decided to go hard right and take a stand. You are one of the lone legislators to suggest that the Christie administration sue the federal government over President Obama's health care plan (thus spending money New Jersey does not have suing the federal government over a bill that already saved New Jersey money).
When you were at Diane Gooch's party tonight, you were talking about how out of touch Congressman Frank Pallone is. I guess you fail to realize that Congressman Pallone is in the district whenever the House is not in session. Yes your districts do overlap, but you must realize that Wall Township is not in Frank Pallone's district. Unlike your claim, he DOES listen to his constituents.
Hey Mary Pat-- I got a newsflash for you-- not all of your constituents wear teabags from hats. Not all of them oppose President Obama's agenda. You are conveniently leaving out cities like Asbury Park and Frank Pallone's hometown of Long Branch. I do realize that you were in campaign mode, but most of the time state legislators and federal legislators whose districts are similar (like yours and Frank Pallone's) will work together. Obviously you are instead taking the obstructionist position that the Republicans in Washington are taking. Off hand I can't name one specific accomplishment you made for the people of the 11th district.
Going far to the right and praising Chris Christie the way that you do just might cost you your seat next November. I'll be the first one in line to work on your opponent's campaign.
Signed
An angry constituent willing to work overtime to see you defeated.
Last fall, I fought for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a reform package that will protect consumers from the financial fallout of the selfish actions of bankers and prevent taxpayers from ever having to foot the bill for another bailout when risky investments go south. It will force the banks to pay back all bailout money they received and then go further, to tighten the reigns on Wall Street's worst practices.
In my book, "too big to fail" means too big - period. No one bank - or small group of financial firms - should have the power to collapse our nation's economy in the blind pursuit of profit. At the end of the day, all the reforms in the world cannot stop all irresponsible behavior and unreasonable risk-taking. But we can ensure that the impact of such bad decision-making is limited by ending the "too big to fail" financial firms. This will both protect the financial well-being of our families, students and retirees as well as businesses small and large. Perhaps more importantly, it will end the need for big bank bailouts that punish taxpayers for Wall Street's risky decisions.
Moving forward, the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) will protect consumers from some of Wall Street's worst abuses. For too long, banks have been allowed to engage in marketing gimmickry and predatory lending practices, aimed right at those who can afford it the least - families and small businesses. The CFPA will enforce transparency and fairness in lending, ensuring that credit cards, mortgages and personal loans are understandable, affordable and free of devious fine print.
In the GOP primary in NJ-6, Anna Little gets the Conservative Party and some tea party love (but uh, not Rush Limbaugh's). And Diane Gooch gets the Chris Christie shout-out, which means more. Gooch, the Two River Times publisher with a Wall Street marriage, can self-finance - and has. We've had the benefit of Frank Pallone's clear voice in the House for 22 years, but this year we have to be alert to how angry the right wing is at those who did the most to bring health care reform. That's my 2 cents. - - promoted by Rosi.
There are only 180 days between now and Election Day. And we're going to have to fight tooth and nail to beat back those seeking to bring about a 180 degree reversal from the progress we've been making.
Since President Obama's historic election, we've brought about the change our nation is clamoring for - from making sure women receive equal pay to providing assistance to homeowners and small businesses. Moreover, the history books will surely look back on extending health care coverage to 35 million more Americans as a massive achievement.
Nonetheless, our opponents want to turn back the clock to the days when Bush-Cheney policies put the well-connected at the top of the agenda and Rove politics ruled the day. Our opponents are seeking to reverse all the progress we're making. And they have deep pockets to fund those candidates and causes who share their regressive goals.
Earth Day is a time for us all to come together and celebrate the great beauty of our planet. This is also a day to remember how fragile our environment is and to think about how we can fight back against growing threats and pollution.
I've spent my career fighting to protect New Jersey's environment - our water, our beaches and our air. This is not just an issue of importance that I talk about on Earth Day, but rather something near and dear to my heart all year long. That's why I wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update on some of the actions we are taking to protect our natural resources and treasures.
We all know how important clean beaches are to our shore economy. That's why I was proud to help pass the Beach Protection Act. This landmark legislation requires tough new water quality testing and public notification standards so beachgoers can be confident the waters they're swimming or surfing in are clean.
Nonetheless, we still find far too much pollution on our shores. Recently, Clean Ocean Action released their Beach Sweeps Report - which presented findings of over 301,500 items washing up over 132 sites statewide. Over the span of just a few months, they removed almost 4,200 bags of trash and nearly 60,000 pounds of debris from coastal habitats. The most common items found were plastic lids, caps, straws and shopping bags, as well as bottles, metal caps, food wrappers and cigarette filters. Sadly, far too many people seem to be forgetting the days - not too long ago - when our shores were closed due to dangerous and unhealthy debris.
Right now, our beaches and ocean waters are facing a new, potentially greater threat. President Obama recently announced plans to open up certain parts of the East Coast for exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas. This misguided policy is not simply troubling - it is unacceptable. So, I'm organizing colleagues, stakeholders, constituents and grassroots activists to write the President and tell him not to put our beaches in jeopardy. I hope you will join us in calling the White House or writing members of Congress.
When it comes to using online technology in communicating with constituents, (Blue Jersey community member) Congressman Pallone has never been shy about trying new things.
Previously, he held a Twitter Town Hall on health care reform, where there were some very good questions and active participation.
Now, the Congressman is trying something a bit different - using Google Moderator to solicit feedback and debate policy proposals. According to the description the Congressman posted:
Going back to my time as a Long Branch City Councilman, I've always believed it was important to give my constituents a direct line to communicate their questions, concerns, and thoughts. Technology is revolutionizing how we interact, and as the Congressman for New Jersey's 6th District, I want to use these new tools to hear directly from you.
The internet opens up new opportunities to solicit input, debate policy proposals, and raise new ideas. Using the Google Moderator application and YouTube, I want to hear directly from you, and at the end of each month I'll make a web video directly answering your questions.
The issues will change from month-to-month. I might be seeking input on questions you want asked to a witness testifying in front of my Health Subcommittee. You could want updates on the financial regulation reform and what it will mean to consumers. Or what I know about the progress being made in Afghanistan. Some months I'll ask specifically about your thoughts or questions on a certain topic; other months it will be open ended.
The end game to this new idea for interaction is to create a more open, transparent dialogue. As a Congressman I serve the people, and want to hear your input. My fight against the special interests and lobbyists is an everyday battle and I want to make sure my most ardent supporters - progressives - have a vehicle to give me their opinions and thoughts.
So.....what do you think? Send the Congressman a question or comment - its just another way to communicate directly.
Going back to my time as a Long Branch City Councilman, I've always believed it was important to give my constituents a direct line to communicate their questions, concerns, and thoughts. Technology is revolutionizing how we interact, and as the Congressman for New Jersey's 6th District, I want to use these new tools to hear directly from you.
The internet opens up new opportunities to solicit input, debate policy proposals, and raise new ideas. My Twitter Town Hall on Health Care was born out of that sentiment. Now I want to take things one step further by introducing a new way for me to interact with my constituents, Blue Jersey readers, and progressive activists. Using the Google Moderator application and YouTube, I want to hear directly from you, and at the end of each month I'll make a web video directly answering your questions.
Google Moderator allows me to get input directly from you so that everyone's voice can be heard. If you happen to like a particular question or suggestion, you can vote for it so it rises to the top and ensure that I address the issue. YouTube offers a different medium than Facebook or Twitter. It allows me to speak directly to you and inform you on the issues facing the 6th Congressional District, New Jersey, and our nation.
The issues will change from month-to-month. I might be seeking input on questions you want asked to a witness testifying in front of my Health Subcommittee. You could want updates on the financial regulation reform and what it will mean to consumers, or what I know about the progress being made in Afghanistan. Some months I'll ask specifically about your thoughts or questions on a certain topic; other months it will be open-ended.
The end game to this new idea for interaction is to create a more open, transparent dialogue. As a Congressman I serve the people, and want to hear your input. My fight against the special interests and lobbyists is an everyday battle and I want to make sure my most ardent supporters - progressives - have a vehicle to give me their opinions and thoughts. I hope I can count on your participation, and as always, you can follow my tweets @FrankPallone and my updates on Facebook.
He's the sponsor of the health care bill, and I am so against that it's not even funny. - Diane Gooch, candidate for Congress in NJ-6
I can't not take Diane Gooch's candidacy seriously. The wealthy Monmouth County GOP activist is the publisher of The Two River Times, and the Vice-Chair of the Monmouth Republican Party. And, not for nothing, Christie rocked the shore towns last year, and everybody knows it.
Frank Pallone is a big target. Knock him down - like Christie knocked down New Jersey - and you've really done something. Pallone's been in Congress for two decades, acts as Democratic Municipal Chair in his own hometown of Long Branch, and has the biggest war chest in the entire House, some $3.9 million and change.
Gooch - husband Michael is a Wall Street guy worth hundreds of millions - brings both party position and the ability to self-fund her campaign wholly if she wants to. And argue for campaign finance all you want, right now in 2010 - and particularly in expensive media market NJ - money can matter. Both those things mean Gooch doesn't have to jump through hoops other candidates, who have to spend their time raising money, have to.
Pallone, well-liked both in his District and outside it, chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on Health, which puts him right in the middle of the struggle for health care reform, upon which the Democratic Party is shredding, upon which the teaparty was born.
Pallone's also the Communications Chair of the Democratic Policy Committee. He's the message man, on health care reform, and everything else. The man can talk. So I'm trying to take Diane Gooch seriously, even after that clunky teenager quote above. I know I should. I'm trying so hard it isn't even funny.
