Quote of the Day

by: Jason Springer

Sun Oct 12, 2008 at 10:07:00 PM EDT

"Mr. LoBiondo has not responded to a single one of the numerous and specific issues I raised yesterday. He did not deny that he has broken his contract with the voters," Kurkowski said. "He did not deny that his record has led to financial ruin, record deficit spending, a tanking economy, or a failed foreign policy that has cost this great nation its standing in the world- all of this is in direct conflict with the "Contract" he signed 14 years ago. He cannot refute anything I have said. He cannot argue with the facts. He has broken his contract - and should thus be fired."

Quote of the Day

by: Hopeful

Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 04:32:53 PM EDT

"There's no point in my mucking up the debate dais at the next debate," Stein wrote The Press of Atlantic City in a letter Wednesday, "which is precisely why Mr. LoBiondo saw fit to personally shake my hand and invite me to the next round, even though I've criticized him severely in my Web site and attempted to do so again on Tuesday night."

I've heard Republicans blame Bill Clinton for everything, but Frank LoBiondo still surprises me.

by: Hopeful

Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 01:58:50 AM EDT

"I wasn't the only one last night asking LoBiondo to explain his role in this scandal," Kurkowski said. "He was supposed to be looking out for taxpayers and for the Coast Guard. As usual, LoBiondo refused to take responsibility for his actions, passing the buck to-and this is a new one-Bill Clinton. As far as I know, President Clinton wasn't the chairman of the Coast Guard subcommittee."

That's really pathetic. Here are the major dates in the Washington Post article on Deepwater:

Deepwater, awarded in 2002 and modified in 2005,...

The first problems appeared in 2004, ...

Bill Clinton wasn't even President!  But even if Bill Clinton personally programmed the computers that miscalculated the weight of the ships and made the radios that were not waterproof, LoBiondo still bears major responsibility.  After all, we already knew he wasn't running the shipyard.

Kurkowski (NJ2) reacts to debate, brings up LoBiondo's link to Deepwater

by: Hopeful

Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 01:29:23 AM EDT

"This was a strong showing by Sen. Obama," Kurkowski said, "and he touched on topics that are very relevant to the Congressional race here in South Jersey."

"As Obama stated early on, the question we must ask of ourselves is how did we get into this situation in the first place-both economically and internationally," Kurkowski said. "This is about accountability, and it is a question McCain dodged all evening long, just as my opponent is doing."

"Sen. Obama asked his opponent to take responsibility for rubber stamping the policies of the Bush administration for eight years, and he refused to do so," Kurkowski said. "McCain did not refute Obama's assertions about his role in getting us into Iraq and plunging us into this economic mess, just as my opponent has not and cannot refute my assertions about his record. McCain and LoBiondo can try to change the topic or hide behind empty rhetoric, but the voters aren't going to buy it. The times demand better. I know for a fact that Voters are demanding better."

Next, the link to Frank LoBiondo and Deepwater.

Democratic statements on McCain's speech

by: Hopeful

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 01:17:37 AM EDT

"I urge my Republican and Independent friends to think about what this convention is showing us regarding the choice we face this year," Kurkowski said. "I invite all of my neighbors in South Jersey to join me in defeating my opponent [Frank LoBiondo], a man who stood idly on the sidelines as history passed him by, as we've sank into hard economic times and this great nation has lost its role as a global leader."

"The Republicans' presentation tonight was a national embarrassment," Kurkowski said, "from their video exploiting horrific images of 9/11 for political gain, to the offensive speech of Senator Lindsey Graham, whose personal attacks on the Democratic candidates were beneath any national official-accusing his colleagues of supporting 'surrender.' This was a sad night for the Republican party. It is noteworthy that the delegates to the Republican convention declined to applaud Sen. Graham throughout his address; it appears that even the GOP hard core are not prepared to associate themselves with the character assassination and manipulation of people like Sen. Graham. For all of his admirable service to this nation, Sen. McCain is ready to count himself among this crowd, and not to contradict their angry, disingenuous rhetoric."

Hillary Clinton:

The two party conventions showcased vastly different directions for our country. Senator Obama and Senator Biden offered the new ideas and positive change America needs and deserves after eight years of failed Republican leadership. Senator McCain and Governor Palin do not.

After listening to all the speeches this week, I heard nothing that suggests the Republicans are ready to fix the economy for middle class families, provide quality affordable health care for all Americans, guarantee equal pay for equal work for women, restore our nation's leadership in a complex world or tackle the myriad of challenges our country faces. So, to slightly amend my comments from Denver: NO WAY, NO HOW, NO McCAIN-PALIN.

The Money Battle -- Republican and Open Seats

by: huntsu

Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 08:33:09 PM EDT

The middle column shows where we are doing better than the Republican.  You expect that Dems would do well in NJ1 (see notes below about what a joke NJ1 is), but we are winning the money game in NJ3 and NJ7 as well -- overwhelmingly.

Cand.	2Q$	CoH	Adv	Cand.	2Q$	CoH
Andrews (NJ1)	$72,240	$15,611		Glading (NJ1)	TBA	TBA
Kurkowski (NJ2)	$172,772	$89,773		LoBiondo (NJ2)	$205,422	$1,491,954
Adler (NJ3)	$738,683	$1,463,747		Myers (NJ3)	$241,762	$155,406
Zeitz (NJ4)	$114,053	$124,535		Smith (NJ4)	$143,300	$503,944
Shulman (NJ5)	$234,249	$258,381		Garret (NJ5)	$293,963	$649,003
Stender (NJ7)	$494,265	$1,100,000		Lance (NJ7)	$191,107	$80,792
Wyka (NJ11)	$11,112	$15,540		Hot Rod (NJ11)	$121,330	$717,893

One source of mystery is Dale Glading, who is running in NJ1 against the alleged candidate Camille Andrews (whose fundraising once again demonstrates she is not a real candidate).

A search for Glading, Republican, NJ, House on FEC.gov produces no results for contributions or disbursements of any kind.  No July Quarterly report has been filed, but at the least as of primary day Glading had raised no money.

That means, as near as I can tell, there are no real candidates running in NJ1.  Sheesh.

Update: This is updated to include the pre-primary filing numbers.  The CoH numbers were accurate last night, but after the comments it was updated to include the whole quarter.

No switcheroo in NJ2

by: Hopeful

Sat Jun 14, 2008 at 09:03:21 PM EDT

Magazzu, the Cumberland County Democratic chairman, gave his backing to Kurkowski several weeks ago, but the national political dynamic has changed greatly in that time.

Democratic voter registrations have increased greatly, and voter turnout in the presidential primaries has been tremendous. Many anticipate a large voter turnout in November as well for the general election.

Democrats really should respect the voters and decide to run before the primary, not afterwards.

Democrats make good showing in NJ2

by: Hopeful

Wed Jun 04, 2008 at 09:15:54 PM EDT

Frank LoBiondo (R): 15,712
David Kurkowski (D): 15,771

It's the first time the Democrat got more votes than LoBiondo.   (Admittedly, Donna Ward (R) got 1,980, and this is actually more votes for LoBiondo than he's gotten since 2002.).  

I wouldn't bet against LoBiondo, since he got 172,779 in the last Presidential election year, but it's another sign of the long-term trends in this district.

Democratic registration surges

by: Juan Melli

Tue May 27, 2008 at 04:26:26 PM EDT

Over half a million voters registered as Democrats since late 2007. The 512,508 newly-registered Democrats represents a 48% increase in registered Democrats in New Jersey. In 2007, 24.9% of registered voters were declared Democrats while 19.3% were Republicans. Today, 35.8% are Democrats and 22.2% are Republicans. Unaffiliated and other voters dropped from 54.2% to 42%.

Thanks to the surge in partisan affiliation, Democrats now hold a partisan registration advantage in four additional Congressional districts that were previously dominated by Republicans: NJ-2 (LoBiondo (R)), NJ-3 (Saxton (R)), NJ-4 (Smith (R)), NJ-7 (Ferguson (R)). That advantage will be incredibly helpful for GOTV efforts, especially in the very competitive 3rd and 7th districts.

The greatest gains for Democrats came in NJ-3, NJ-4, NJ-11 and NJ-12 which each saw Democratic registration increase  by over 60%. Republicans now hold a partisan registration advantage in just two districts: NJ-5 (Garrett (R)) and NJ-11 (Frelinghuysen (R)). In the 5th, the Republican registration advantage dropped from about 51,000 to 31,000 and in the 11th it dropped from about 66,000 to 46,000.

"This is more than a trend, it's a remarkable increase in Democratic voters that will have a lasting impact," said Democratc State Committee chairman Joe Cryan. "The people can't wait to bring the Bush era to an end and the best way to do that is to elect Democrats. It's not enough that the Bush Administration is coming to a close, the voters are rejecting everything with the Republican brand name."

Republican registration increased by a more modest 18% which means the partisan advantage for Democrats more than doubled from 240,089 to 600,723.

Is reading the news too much work for an editorial board?

by: Hopeful

Thu May 22, 2008 at 07:55:21 PM EDT

A hardworking moderate who understands the need for bipartisanship, LoBiondo, 62, has worked to improve homeland security in his district...

"Worked" is a interesting choice of words: As readers of this blog know, Frank LoBiondo was a key figure who supported the Lockheed Deepwater program against critics and reformers.  The program went to on waste over 20 billion dollars while providing the Coast Guard with non-functional ships.  That's his major contribution to "homeland security."   You'd expect an Editorial Board to know better, but to my knowledge their paper has never reported on the matter.  Maybe they should get a subscription to the New York Times, or if they can't afford it, the Gloucester County Times, or failing that, use the internet.

The Primary in NJ2

by: Hopeful

Wed May 21, 2008 at 05:26:09 PM EDT

His goals for the next term include increasing the federal government's Corporate Average Fuel Economy, better know as CAFE standards. He said the country wants the troops home from Iraq, but not at a time when Iran is poised to gain influence through an American void. He also wishes to unmangle the $300 billion Farm Bill, something he characterizes as subsidies for millionaires that passes only crumbs to needy farmers.

You'd almost think Frank LoBiondo was a Democrat, though his plan to occupy Iraq until it no longer borders Iran sort of gives it away. Still, he knows how to run now that his party has been completely discredited. Meanwhile, his challenger sounds interesting:

These are critical times for this country. The economy is in an unprecedented state of turmoil, and the outlook is dismal. People are losing their jobs, their homes and their savings. Businesses are reporting drops in sales and many are going into bankruptcy. Prices are soaring on everyday purchases such as gasoline and wheat. Our best and brightest are being put at risk; injured, maimed and killed in a very unpopular war. Our civil liberties are being taken away at an alarming rate in the interest of an ill-defined "war on terror".

Sadly, Donna Ward turns out to be a Ron Paul / Murray Sabrin Republican, which means every sensible statement will be balanced by two crazy ones. Still, I congratulate her for recognizing the mess that Bush and his sycophantic Republican Congress made of the country and Constitution.  (I'll confess that I'm a little worried about Ward's chances -- not because LoBiondo has over a million dollars in the bank -- but because her campaign director thinks she is running in district NJ1.)  

LoBiondo and Ward are correct that the country needs change, but the correct solution is to vote for Democrat David Kurkowski.  

Salem County News Roundup

by: Hopeful

Sat May 03, 2008 at 09:04:07 PM EDT

Matt Friedman of Politicker NJ has a worthwhile profile of David Kurkowski of Cape MayCounty, who is taking on Frank LoBiondo in NJ-2:

"I would say that I'm socially fairly liberal, but that I'm fiscally conservative. I have these two careers as a small businessman, so I know what it means to run a business and watch every dollar and make sure you get a good return on the investment," said Kurkowski.

It will be interesting to see how long in my life we'll see Democrats defensive about this, since to anyone in Generations X or Y, it's obvious that the last three Republican Presidents are responsible for nearly the entire national debt. I wonder if Deepwater was a good investment for Coast Guard.

That said, I will praise Frank LoBiondo's work on the Coastal Heritage Trail.  His bill was passed.  

LoBiondo's Credible Challenger

by: Martin

Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 08:51:28 AM EDT

In Cape May, Kurkowski has been a strong supporter of saving the historic Beach Theatre, refurbishing the Washington Street Mall, building a new convention center and getting wireless Internet.

In his first comments to the Press of Atlantic City, Kurkowski lays out a general strategy for the November election:

"I'm committed to peace and prosperity. I believe the wartime economy has had a tragic effect on our country. I lay a lot of blame on LoBiondo and his support of Bush and the war. I will be attacking him on many issues,"

Cumberland County, and other NJ-02 counties such as Atlantic Co., have cleared their party lines for Kurkowski, and CC Chair Lou Magazzu, who once ran unsuccessfully against LoBiondo, seems to be an unofficial advisor to Kurkowski. The two other candidates, Viola Thomas-Hughes, who ran a spirited, but resource-deficient, campaign in 2006, and another candidate, Bridgeton schoolteacher Celeste Riley, have both apparently cleared the way for Kurkowski.

Frank LoBiondo votes for ethics reform? Not really.

by: Hopeful

Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 10:49:54 PM EDT

It might not surprise you that Representative Frank LoBiondo (NJ2), one of the few "moderate" Repulicans voting yea on Vote 122, actually tried to defeat the measure in Vote 121.   At least Reps. Frelinghuysen, Garrett, and Smith, and lame ducks Saxton and Ferguson, were open about their votes to kill it both times.  It'll be interesting to see if local papers notice LoBiondo's trick... Anyone willing to bet that they will?

Frank LoBiondo calls for Bipartisanship

by: Hopeful

Mon Jan 28, 2008 at 10:22:22 PM EST

"Last week, the President rightly set the tone for how the Congress and the Administration should work together to solve the issues facing the country. In cooperation with Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader Boehner, the President agreed upon an economic stimulus package to calm the anxiety of American families, including those in South Jersey. It is a legislative package that will be considered by the full House this week and one that I intend to support. Tonight, the President highlighted additional economic initiatives and other key domestic issues that I hope the Congress can again find bipartisan cooperation on.

USAspending.gov and New Jersey

by: Hopeful

Fri Dec 14, 2007 at 12:38:24 AM EST

Today witnessed the launch of USAspending.gov, which was created by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act by Tom Coburn and Barack Obama.  The site enables tracking of $1 trillion in federal spending on contracts, grants, earmarks, and loans.  The bill faced serious opposition, including anonymous holds by some of the biggest porkbarrel spenders (including Ted Stevens), but in the end, Coburn and Obama prevailed.

So what kind of data does this site give us?  Well, how about the top 100 recipients of federal money, or say which congresspeople rake in the most pork.  And that's just scratching the surface.

And, to my surprise (especially for a government site), an API is available to make it easy to extract data.

It seems to me that we should take a look at the spending in New Jersey and try to understand what is going on. 

For my district, Frank LoBiondo's NJ2, we find the perhaps amusing fact that the #1 and #3 Products or Services Sold are:

1.  Toxic Substances Support Services
3.  Fruits and Vegetables

Wow, that's a combination you don't like to see.  Only 22.8% of the money spent is awarded through full and open competition. 

I think this is a potentially fantastic site, since you can literally see every contract in your district and the profile of each contractor.  Frankly, however, I don't have the expertise to interpret all this data.  But if nothing else, we can check out contracts when someone attracts attention in the news.

I'd like to suggest that you (yes, you!) look at your district and poke around in the database.  What do you think?

Two South Jersey Maps

by: Hopeful

Tue Nov 06, 2007 at 10:50:25 PM EST

Another map, this one from National Atlas:

Your assignment is to compare them.

Third Quarter Republican Numbers

by: Hopeful

Mon Oct 15, 2007 at 10:45:10 AM EDT

	individual (in)	committee (in)	total (in)	spent (out)	donated (out)	Cash on Hand
Frank Lobiondo	60,245	81,650	155,285	66,941	92,600	1,515,698
Jim Saxton	73,385	23,100	105,818	35,207	12,000	1,393,210

The bottom line is that both these Republicans have ensured that they have a large warchest to face any challengers.  (This is more important than usual, since the NRCC is not likely to have much money to come to their aid.)  The main difference between them may be due to the fact that Saxton faces a strong challenge from Adler while LoBiondo does not (yet) have one.  LoBiondo therefore acts as a kind of money launderer -- More than his $60,000 in individual contributions to "his" re-election efforts flowed outwards to local ($30,500 to Atlantic County, and more to state legislators) and national ($20,000 to the NRCC) Republicans.  Saxton, meanwhile, gave only contributions to various Republican Representatives around the country.

Mike Ferguson's filing is not yet available.

PoliticsNJ: LoBiondo is in trouble, Whelan and Van Drew leading

by: Hopeful

Thu Aug 23, 2007 at 03:15:10 PM EDT

Internal polls in both districts show the Democratic challengers with a lead against the GOP incumbents.

With a "major Republican player" badmouthing LoBiondo anonymously, and Republican Francis Blee supporting Whelan, the wheels are coming off the Republican party in South Jersey.  Meanwhile, everyone understands that Van Drew or Whelan will sooner or later be a strong challenger for Congress.

LoBiondo Condemns Himself, Republican Congress

by: Hopeful

Sun Aug 12, 2007 at 12:39:26 AM EDT

"It's a massive problem that's only getting bigger," LoBiondo said.

The congressman pointed out that every time someone pumps gas into their car, some of that money goes toward the trust fund and then it's distributed back to the state through a formula that's re-evaluated every five years.

New Jersey gets close to a fair share of that money, LoBiondo said, but there isn't enough money to begin with in the fund.

It's nice to hear that my congressman understands the problem. But, why isn't there enough money?

"The money isn't what it used to be 10 to 15 years ago," he said.

LoBiondo asked, does that mean the government should raise the gas tax, or can an alternative be found?

"With gas prices the way they are, there was no sentiment to raise the gas tax," he said.

"10-15 years" means the 1994-2006 period when LoBiondo served his entire career and his Republican friends controlled Congress.  Gas prices, of course, were not high during most of that period, but by LoBiondo's own admission that's when the government failed.  Too bad LoBiondo didn't show any leadership then, or now.  Still, I'm glad he "hopes that serious talks will begin about finding another solution."  Who knows, if he serves in Congress another 12 years, maybe he will have an idea for a change.