"This election will be defined by turnout like few others before it. Many Democrats are sitting on the sidelines and not considered to be likely voters at this point. They may be unenthusiastic about their governor, but can they be prodded to the polls for other reasons? If not, Christie may eke out the win,"
That about sums it up. At this point, it's all about who and how many people show up at the polls.
Congressman Andrews appeared on Fox News to discuss the healthcare bill in Congress. As the conversation devolved, the Congressman gave tthis response:
"Could we have just a minute of fair and balanced just as an exception here?"
Well that line didn't sit well with the host, Gregg Jarrett. Here's the video of the exchange:
Joe Ferriero has been on the stand defending himself at his trial and when pressed on using his influence to help get business, here was the exchange that took place:
Honig suggested that Ferriero set up a new business where he would recommend municipalities to pursue for business and use his "influence" to help get the grants get passed.
"By me having relationships," Ferriero asserted, backing away from the word "influence."
"Influence - that's your word," Honig said, referring to an e-mail between Ferriero and David Spatz, who eventually was hired by GGC to write grant applications.
"It's not a bad thing," Ferriero responded.
That's right, influence itself is not a bad thing. It's how you use that influence that determines whether there are problems. The defense rested their case today and the jury is scheduled to begin deliberations on Monday.
Governor Corzine is tired of Chris Christie discounting the role of the larger economic difficulties facing our country that are having an impact on our state and was very candid in this recent interview:
When I ask him about Christie's complaints that businesses are fleeing New Jersey for lower taxes elsewhere, Corzine flashes anger. "That's complete bullshit!" he snaps. "There is a recession. This guy's description of New Jersey is a caricature of what it actually is. He's the most negative human being of what the status of New Jersey is." Corzine brings up Christie's May 18 interview with Sean Hannity, when he said he might refuse Obama's stimulus funds. "He was buying into the Sanford-Jindal-Palin view," Corzine says, almost incredulously. "Now you don't hear any talk about it."
Silly Governor, Chris Christie can't be held responsible for things he said in the primary. He was just trying to get votes. That's why in the general, he has lost his shared values, is no longer identified as a conservative Republican, is willing to take more stimulus funding and is missing his mandate-free insurance on his website now too.
Chris Christie waited just 28 minutes into the debate last week before he brought up the name Joe Ferriero. It was predictable and perhaps the only surprise is that he waited that long.
Well browsers got another surprise if they were looking for information on Ferriero as he began his trial last week by going to joeferriero.com. They may have ended up finding out news about Christie himself as the site was apparently redirected to christiefornj.com.
But a few hours after the Auditor inquired about it, the web address started appearing as a broken link. Responding to the mystery of the forwarding website, Senator Weinberg had this to say:
"It sounds to me like one of those mysterious Chris Christie things that must be somebody else's fault," said Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), Corzine's running mate and Ferriero's longtime nemesis. "I think this is going to be one of the great unsolved mysteries of the campaign, along with what Chris Christie's plan to lower taxes in New Jersey is."
Way to stay on message by the LG candidate tying even the lack of information on the website to his lack of a plan on taxes. And of course on cue with Weinberg mentioning they would say it's someone else's fault, the Christie campaign spokeswoman said "We don't have anything to do with it." What a surprise. I'm sure the website just magically started forwarding and then just in time, stopped when someone realized what was going on.
Responding to criticism during the debate of his property tax plan, which Adam wrote about here the other day, Chris Daggett took on Chris Christie's lack of any plan at all:
"It's easy to criticize when you have no plan of your own. I would like the tooth fairy to come as well but the tooth fairy is not going to come.
Christie may have trotted out that pathetic "hope can be real again" slogan in his close, but hope isn't going to produce a plan for Christie to deal with the problems facing this state.
Jeff and Rosi sent along word from Trump Plaza in Atlantic City where Governor Corzine spoke at a dinner hosted by Congressman Pallone in his honor. During his speech, the Governor said:
"We are not turning over the keys to the statehouse to the people who wrecked the whitehouse."
They'll have more from Atlantic City on the dinner and the conference itself over the weekend.
Matt Friedman yesterday wrote a piece talking about some of the questions raised by social networking including who you friend and whether you unfriend people when they get in trouble. Jay Lassiter had this take on it:
"It's just about who do you lie down with in cyber space... The appearance of a relationship is convincing enough," he said. "I guess we take a risk. Every person we friend could end up being The Unabomber."
There doesn't seem to be a clear standard yet for social media and what happens when the people who use the platforms become a liability because they are connected to you. Do you unfriend people if they have their own troubles and is the appearance of a relationship online convincing enough? Does it become a bigger story if you unfriend or remain friends?
At the endorsement by Latino leaders yesterday of Governor Corzine, Senator Menendez offered some stinging critiques of the Christie/Gauadagno ticket on everything ranging from comments they've made about the dangers of Newark, to turning down stimulus funds and what Christie's opinions of Sonia Sotomayor really mean. Here's how the exchange ended:
Menendez closed with a parting elbow at Christie, noting that he had to go, and wasn't in the habit of driving the wrong way down one-way streets, a slapshot at the Republican gubernatorial candidate's car accident in Elizabeth seven years ago, which occurred when he was trying to get to a swearing-in ceremony.
"You want to know what the best decision I made as governor was?" said a beaming Corzine, who rose at the podium as Menendez shot out of the room amid cheers. "He just left."
In Morristown, Donald Cresitello lost the Democratic Primary in June to Zoning Board Chairman Tim Dougherty 62% to 37%. Democrats want Cresitello to support the Dougherty in the General, but he can't bring himself to do that leaving for some colorful reactions:
"Donny, what the hell are you doing?" says one enraged Democratic Party member. "Take it like a man. You lost."
But Cresitello isn't backing down himself:
"I'm not going to support Dougherty because of what they did to me in the last week of the campaign," says Cresitello. "They ran flyers with bags of money in front of me, saying I never saw a development project I didn't like. They damaged my reputation by telling voters I'm a racist. They told people I hated Obama. They damaged my reputation with African Americans, which was an outstanding reputation."
It looks like the Mayor is not willing to forgive and/or forget.
Obama had just wrapped up his health-care speech to Congress and was outside with the first lady, shaking hands with security personnel while walking to his limousine, when U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, standing with Riben, caught his eye.
"President Obama called out to me as he walked by and I introduced my guest to him," said Holt, D-12th. "I told him, "This was one of the people you were talking about tonight,'" as he introduced Riben of Monmouth Junction to Obama.
Riben lost her coverage when her one year contract working for AmeriCorp wasn't renewed. She has taken a part time job, but it doesn't offer health insurance. She has pre-existing and chronic conditions. This is who the President is talking about.
Goodness knows you wouldn't want your little Johnny or Janey indoctrinated with such radical ideas as taking responsibility for their own lives.
How dare the president presume to tell your children to pay attention to their teachers, listen to their parents and grandparents and "put in the hard work it takes to succeed?" Who is he to suggest that "when you give up on yourself you give up on your country?" Geez, if kids believed that sort of drivel, they'd never be able to blame the rest of the world for their failures.
Yes exactly, what a terrible idea to put in the minds of young children. Some people will oppose anything
Seriously, sometimes Chris Christie would be better off giving a no comment. First, Christie reminded us that the motorcycle hit him when trying to explain how he hit someone while going the wrong way down a one way street. Now in his next version of the story, he can't seem to remember anything except for this:
"I have never spoken to the man since I helped put him in the ambulance that day," Christie said.
No shit he put him in the ambulance. Christie was going the wrong way down a one way street, regardless of whether he thinks the man on the motorcycle got in his way or not. And Christie really showed an awful lot of concern for the man he put in that ambulance not talking to him since that day.
A tweet sent out earlier this evening by Congressman Frank Pallone reminds us of another priority for the labor movement along with healthcare right now:
Labor Day reminds us that Congress must pass Employee Free Choice Act to level the playing field, now weighted against Unions.
In an August 26 joint letter to Representatives Frank LoBiondo, John Adler and Robert Andrews, Bishop Joseph A. Galante of Camden and Bishop John M. Smith of Trenton called for the adoption of "fair and just" healthcare reform:
Stating that health care reform is a "moral imperative and vital national obligation," the bishops note the unique perspective of the Catholic community. "Our teaching insists health care is a right and should not depend on where your parents work, where you live, where you were born or how old you are. Our tradition insists that the moral measure of health care reform is how it touches the weak and vulnerable, babies in their mother's womb, and the very sick and old at the end of life, those without access and power."
Andrews has been on board, but Adler and LoBiondo have been critical and voiced their opposition to what is currently being discussed, whatever that actually is. As members of Congress head back after a summer of overheated rhetoric, we still have to wait and see whether we end up getting that "fair and just" reform.
Following the memorial service for Senator Ted Kennedy last evening, Senator Menendez is in Boston today with other Senators to pay tribute to his life and legacy. Menendez sent out this tweet, which I think makes an appropriate quote of the day:
The Lion of the Senate roars no more, but in each of us the Dream will never die.
You can see Menendez's full statement in honor of the man he said "affected as much progress from his position in the Senate as anyone ever has." What will you do to make sure that the dream truly does never die, because the torch truly has been passed now.
You can watch the funeral for Senator Kennedy streaming here. It seems that all the networks are carrying it live:
The public is losing its window into their own government. And that is a trend that should scare everybody. Pretty soon the only people who will succeed in New Jersey politics are those politicians that can out-spend everyone and dominate and manipulate the last place voters still get their information - paid media.
There are still many good reporters trying to get the job done, but he points to the statehouse media being a shadow of its former self, an issue that we have touched on regularly on Blue Jersey as cuts have been made. He acknowledged how sites like www.newjerseynewsroom.com and www.hardnewsnj.com have grown from the failures of the print media, but also recognizes that they can't replace what readers used to have.
The Home News Tribune article today takes Chris Christie to task over his loan situation and his explanation for it:
Chris Christie came across many a wrongdoer in his years as New Jersey's U.S. attorney, including a fair number of tax cheats. In fact, he once boasted in a 2005 press release that his office had prosecuted "every variation of tax fraud and method of evasion." And we'd bet Christie heard - and scoffed at - more than a few claims of innocence and ignorance through all those years, criminals insisting that it was all a big mistake.
Now Christie is the one accused of some questionable tax affairs - failing to report on federal tax returns and financial disclosure forms a $46,000 loan he gave to a subordinate. His excuse? It was an oversight. And as for why he's different from all of those tax cheaters he caught, Christie said that in his case it really was unintentional.
Isn't that what they all say?
This is, at best, an egregious blunder on Christie's part. It would be bad enough for any citizen or candidate, but Christie's a former U.S. attorney who should certainly know better. His gubernatorial candidacy has been built primarily on his reputation as a political corruption-buster. He is being presented to the voters as the pristine candidate, the one untainted by political machinations and poised to clean up New Jersey government.
They go on to compare Christie to other situations and say Democrats should be careful, but that last line really is the bigger problem for Christie. He has painted a perfect picture for the voters and each story that comes out chips away at what he is hoping people will see. Here's my question, If Chris Christie was still the U.S. Attorney, what would he do if someone gave an explanation like Chris Christie, the candidate for Governor?
Assemblyman Burzichelli didn't mince words yesterday when commenting on the Assembly GOP policy committee holding a discussion on corruption:
"It's bizarre that their discussion today never delved into legislation to combat one of the more egregious ethical lapses currently on the public's mind - whether law enforcement officials should be allowed to use their public positions to plan election campaigns with political strategists and use their office for personal political gain.
"Without that legislative discussion, nobody should take this partisan sideshow seriously."
There are plenty of discussions and changes that need to occur, but a partisan policy committee hearing during the heat of an election, by either side, is not going to produce the results this state needs.
We had plenty of coverage of the Governor at Netroots Nation yesterday. Yesterday while there for the panel, he met with a group of progressive bloggers and sharply criticized Christie's discussions with Rove: (Via Think Progress)
It is hard to understand how a lawbreaker gets the reputation of being the king of law enforcement, and uses that as a platform. It's the Hatch Act.
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