It seems that Tom Kean Jr. has no problem with being surrounded by those with questionable backgrounds when it comes to racial slurs, and he has a spotty record in the state legislature when it comes to civil rights to boot.
In this morning's 'Courier Post,' Gregory Volpe states that "U.S. Senate candidate Thomas H. Kean Jr. employed on the state's dime a former state Department of Labor employee who had used the racial slur "wetback" during a meeting in front of several state employees." The Kean Jr. employee, Harry Pappas, states that Kean Jr. knew that he was being sued for using a racial slur but that Kean Jr. kept him on the campaign anyway.
This is part of a larger problem, arguably, with Tom Kean Jr.: He has a record of going against basic human civil rights and legislation that would protect the disenfranchised. When Bob Menendez gained the endorsement of an influential group of black ministers in the state, an unsavory moment in Kean Jr's voting record came to light as part of the black ministers' oppostion to Kean Jr.'s candidacy. According to Tom Hester, writing in 'Newsday,' "As an assemblyman in 2002, Kean voted against an early version of a state bill to ban racial profiling." Racial profiling is a major problem in this state and our country, but Kean Jr. obviously doesn't share such concerns for African Americans targeted for no other reason than their skin color.
Combine these two revelations with recent remarks and legislation concerning equality for gay and lesbians -- Kean Jr. wants to write discrimination into the state constitution, and he voted against a bare minimum domestic parternship law in the state senate --, and we have a senate candidate with a problem: Judging from his record and hiring practices, Tom Kean Jr. doesn't support civil rights.
So based on Voter registration, the sample is skewed. If Indie voters were breaking to Menendez by 4%, this skewed sample would have difficulty indicating that trend.
IIRC NJ median Family income is around 50k. 23 respondents said between 50k & 75, while 20 said over 100k. There is no way that nearly as many NJer’s make over 100k as between 50k & 75. IIRC 80% of Americans make 88k or under. So the NYT seems to have included more respondents of high income. So based on income, the sample is skewed.
Additionally 59 respondents said they have family income over 50k, while 33 said their income was under 50k. If I am right about NJ's median income (50k), these numbers should be equal. This represents a nearly 50% error.
To be sure, Tom Kean Jr. has faced very few crises in his life, unless one counts considering what corporate account to put hundreds of thousands of oil company stock holdings into or whether to do keg stands or beer pong with his frat buddies at Dartmouth “moments of truth.” In one of his early races – one of the few where he wasn’t appointed to office in an obvious moment of political nepotism at its worst – a Republican opponent distributed fliers saying that the only difficult thing Kean Jr. had done in his life was take a canoeing expedition down the Danube River; there might be some truth to such a claim. Compare that life experience to Bob Menendez, who lived in abject poverty as a child and worked his way through college.
In the state legislature, Kean Jr. has not faced many crises and has not had to make difficult decisions for the most part, though a recent New York Times article cites that his voted often changed with the wind, and Kean Jr. made evasion and obfuscation his central political maneuvers as a state legislator. One could claim that the recent smoking ban battle, which occurred early in 2006, was a moment of crisis since it affected many a restauranteur and patron; we all know what happened with this one, though: Kean Jr. supported the smoking ban, but, after taking thousands of dollars in contributions from casinos, voted to exempt casinos from such a ban. Talk about quid-pro-Kean at its finest.
The only major crisis that Kean Jr. has faced in his five years in the state assembly and then state senate was this summer, when New Jersey’s government shut down because of Corzine’s budget not passing. This was Kean Jr.’s moment of truth, and what did he do? He blinked, and New Jerseyans would have further suffered with pay loss if his no-decision had come to fruition. According to the Record (10-2-06) “Sen. Joseph Palaia, R-Monmouth, said Kean vehemently argued in a closed-room caucus in July that Republicans should not provide votes for a sales tax increase that Democrats said was needed to balance the budget and end a government shutdown."But if somebody didn't swing over and give a vote or two, we'd still have people out of work," Palaia said of the tax bill, which eventually passed with two Republican votes.”
This is the same state senate where Kean Jr., when New Jersey needed him most, begged his way off the state budget committee rather than contribute anything to the crippling budget debate.
Central to the office of U.S. senator is the ability to stand strong during difficult moments. In the 110th Congress, this will possibly include a nuclear standoff with North Korea, a world-defying Iranian leader, a minimum wage vote for hurting Americans, an investigation of the Bush-Cheney justifications for war, and so on. At the one time Kean Jr. has been asked to respond to a crisis, though, he blinked, and I think he would perform terribly given the same chance in the U.S. senate.
Oedipus Kean: A Two-Act Play
(based on true events)
Starring: Haley Joel Osment as Tom Kean Jr. Al Pacino as Tom Kean Sr.
(Opening Scene: Kean Jr., in front of a mirror, before a press conference):
Act I, scene I:
Kean Jr. (practicing his oral delivery, smiling slickly into the mirror): “Bob Menendez, ahem, is a corrupt politician who…took money from corrupt politicians, has close ties to a presidential administration that has a “for sale” sign in front of the White House...” Wait a second; that’s me.
Kean Sr.: Now, now, son. You’ve been handpicked for this position by the Republican National Committee and Karl Rove himself. You need to have more confidence and clearly espouse your position.
Kean Jr.: But what should I do if I have no position and instead, as the New York Times suggests, only make myself affable to whatever party I’m trying to appeal to?
Kean Sr.: (looks away, mutters to himself) The seed has certainly fallen far from the tree, hasn’t it?
(The two men head out to the press conference. A disinterested press corps begins asking questions).
Reporter #1: Mr. Kean Jr., in the past televised debate, you refused to answer questions concerning your changing positions on the Iraq War. Yes or no – would you vote for the resolution to authorize the invasion of Iraq if it was held no.
Kean Jr. bolts from the room with his father running after him.
(In the men’s bathroom):
Kean Sr.: Son, you can’t keep running and hiding whenever you are asked questions by the press. It looks really bad, and you’ve been caught doing it multiple times on YouTube.
Kean Jr. (huddled in a bathroom stall): Those, those people, they try to get me to state clearly where I stand on the issues. I just won’t do it! (shaking head back and forth) Who the heck do they think they are?
Kean Sr.: Those people are the press and your constituents, son. You have to not only answer questions for them but also stand up for their interests.
Kean Jr.: Rove told me to duck and run when the going gets tough, and that’s what I’m going to do. Say, this bathroom stall reminds me of my college days passed out on the toilet after a night drinking with my frat buddies!
Act II, scene II
(The scene: November 8th, the Kean family estate, Junior walking with his father).
Kean Jr.: Dad, I am entitled to winning this race, just as I was entitled to being appointed via nepotism to the state assembly and the state senate. I’ve… (trying to think of an original idea) been protected and privileged my entire life, never really working except for BP. I’ve even led a canoeing expedition on the Danube River!
Kean Sr.: Son (sighing to himself), you’re really not from the same mettle as I. You are far too conservative and think that the Iraq War is going well. I’ve given you a sheltered life in order to protect you from working, and you used the family name to your advantage. But it is now a family name that has been tarnished from your dirty campaign. What were you thinking in hiring a Republican hack who was kicked out of N.H. for accusing a rival candidate’s wife of participating in an orgasm cult? Why on earth did you lie about Menendez’s participation in the Musto criminal probe? If you were a bit more authentic and had a grasp of the issues, perhaps you would now be elected to the U.S. senate instead of feeling sorry for yourself and picking flowers on our family estate.
Kean Jr.: I’m not going to give up, Dad. I stand against – I mean for – stem cell funding. I am in favor of – I mean opposed – to Bush’s privatization plan. Gosh, Dad, why can’t I get anything right?
A phone rings. Before Kean Sr. can answer
Kean Jr.: Sorry, Dad, that’s Rove on the line, and I’ve always been there for the Bush administration… (pauses a moment). Can’t you appoint me to another position? Please, dad?
Tom Kean Jr. has repeatedly and viciously attacked Bob Menendez for "enriching himself" with his position in the House of Representatives. How did Menendez do it?
A real estate agent rented Menendez's childhood home to a non-profit community group from Hudson County at slightly below average market rate. Menendez later assisted the non-profit in obtaining federal funds to open up a health center for poor and uninsured Hudson County residents. The community group continued to rent the property from Menendez, and stayed in the property even after Menendez sold it.
Really. That's the whole story. There's really nothing else to it.
Yet Junior is running ads on TV and radio claiming that this is proof Menendez is corrupt, and Junior is outraged! Outraged, I say!
"A company headed by President Bush's brother and partly owned by his parents is benefiting from Republican connections and federal dollars targeted for economically disadvantaged students under the No Child Left Behind Act.
"With investments from his parents, George H.W. and Barbara Bush, and other backers, Neil Bush's company, Ignite! Learning, has placed its products in 40 U.S. school districts and now plans to market internationally.
"At least 13 U.S. school districts have used federal funds available through the president's signature education reform, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to buy Ignite's portable learning centers." (LA Times)
Start being outraged by this, Junior, and we'll maybe buy your outrage that Bob Menendez is helping the poor get health care.
New Jersey welcomed some heavy hitters from the US Senate to campaign on behalf of their respective party's Senate candidate here in the state: John McCain for Junior and Hillary Rodham Clinton for Bob Menendez. Clinton and McCain are widely viewed as favorites for their party's presidental nomination in 2008. Stay tuned for that.
With all that's riding on the outcome of the Senate race, it's disconcerting that NJ's the voting system is under scrutiny. Aparently there's a whole host of concerns ranging from less-than-competent poll workers, potential voter intimidation and (of course) the paperless electronic voting machines.
Speaking of the Senate campaign, the NY Times ran a piece this AM about Junior's relative lack of real world experience. It was once said that Junior "had never demonstrated any leadership skills beyond organizing a canoe trip down the length of the Danube River after graduating from Dartmouth." Judging from Baby Kean's paltry legislative record in Trenton, that statement is still operative.
Switching to the House races, Viola Thomas-Hughes faces long odds to overcome incumbent Frank LoBiondo, but she insists she's in it to win it. Besides said Viola, "Just because someone has served for a long time doesn't mean that person is unbeatable. While my opponent has been in Congress, we've seen tax breaks for the wealthy and no change in the minimum wage at the same time members of Congress are giving themselves a raise... . The poor and the working class are getting left behind."
I should add that Congressman Rob Andrews had nothing but kind words for Thomas-Hughes when I interviewed him for a podcast (available later today) noting that she has an articulate and progressive vision for her district. No word yet if that endorsement from Andrews comes with finanical help, but Andrews is a team player and indicated his willingness to possibly assist Viola's campaign (and Rich Sexton's, as well) when we chatted on Friday.
On that front, Congressman Frank Pallone has the second biggest campaign warchest in the entire House of Representatives, a jaw dropping $3.1 million. If my math is correct, Rep. Pallone could donate $100,000 to the DCCC on behalf of NJ candidates Stender, Gay, Sexton, Hughes, Wyka and Aronsohn and he's still be just about the biggest endowed Congressman in Washington. The mind reels, I'm sure. Anyway, here's what's at stake for New Jeresy if Congress turns blue.
Switching gears, election season also means flu season. Have you gotten your flu shot yet? The last thing we need it a bunch of democrats getting sick on election day, so get protected.
This morning (10-22), Tom Kean Jr. was the featured guest on Michael Aron's "On the Record" on NJN, so one could expect a lot of dissembling and evasion from this less-than-impressive, inexperienced Republican. To wit, Junior refused to answer Aron's questions on why he pulled out of the League of Women Voters debate with Menendez and refused to answer whether this was a tough environment for Republicans to run for office.
One particular response by Junior was truly disturbing, however. In a two-part question, Aron asked Junior, since he hadn't heard him speak on the issue, whether Junior actually believed in global warming. Junior answered that he did. First, this should say something about the candidate with whom we are dealing; if a respected reporter has to ask Junior whether he believes a scientifically-verified phenomenon is real, one knows that they are dealing with the same right-wing, anti-science ideology of the Bush administration.
In the second part of the question, Aron asked Junior whether, if he were elected to U.S. senate, he would vote against President Bush's wishes concerning the Kyoto Treaty, a landmark treaty meant to combat global warming. Rather than deign to answer the question -- after all, why should an elitist candidate who has been appointed via nepotism rather than elected to office two times have to answer questions from mere reporters and constituents? -- Junior replied that "This is a non-issue." Global warming and the threat of an environmental disaster is a "non-issue"? I didn't think I heard him right, but this is a direct quotation and isn't taken out of context; Kean Jr. flat out refused to answer whether he would fight global warming as a U.S. senator.
In closing, perhaps The Sierra Club, who endorsed Menendez for senate a few weeks ago, was onto something when they said they weren't certain that Kean Jr. would stand up to Bush when it came to global warming. Judging from this response, Kean Jr. would instead join the Republican congressional caucus in gutting our nation's most valuable laws for environmental protection.
Since I will go into the polling booth with the unwavering commitment to getting as many Republicans out of power as possible, my partisan bias in this election is pretty obvious. But even so, I think it's pretty obvious that GOP Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. gave a very sad performance last night during his debate with Bob Menendez on WhineOhWhinePointJive.
If we learned one thing about Kean last night, it's that he sticks to his talking points like a barnacle on the hull of an oil tanker. If I fined him fifty bucks for every time he said "as soon as humanly possible" with regard to Iraq, I’d have a nice bankroll to put against my fuel bills this winter.
The moderator's exasperation was pretty obvious when he tried to get the gingerbread man to answer a simple question aout whether he would still have supported the invasion if he knew then what we all know now. We've seen plenty of evasive politicians in our time, but Kean was remarkable for his dull-voiced repetition of set responses. Instead of playing artful dodger (which would have at least offered some entertainment value), Kean simply pounded away at his one-lines responses like a barroom palooka.
Towards the end of the debate, Kean seemed to realize that he should have varied his reponses a bit more. Much good did it do him. Instead, he took to yapping his way through Menendez's statements like an anxious lapdog trying to get its owner's attention.
And kudos to Menendez for offering an original response to the beloved winger hobbyhorse of a constitutional amendment making English our official language. As Menendez noted, immigrants are flocking to English language classes because they know that is the path to success in an English-speaking country. If the Bushies are truly interested in promoting the use of English, they should stop attacking public education and start supporting it.
I've voted for candidates from both parties over the years. Even though I'm convinced that breaking the Republican grip on power is the overriding priority this year, I was open to the possibility that Kean might show himself to be a candidate truly worthy of bipartisan support.
After last night, I'd say that possibility has been put to rest.
Apparently the national Democrats really think they have a shot at taking the Senate, because Howard Dean is about to put the party $5-$10 million in debt for Chuck Schumer's effort to win six seats.
And New Jersey is one of the places they're going to put the money, according to Hotline on Call, but the reason is that Menendez's weak showing to-date has meant money spent here instead of elsewhere.
While the DNC doesn't have $10M to just toss around to another campaign committee, the DNC apparently has decided to go into debt to come up with the extra cash DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer has been pleading for from DNC Chair Howard Dean. The actual amount of the loan the DNC is taking out is not known as the committee holds out hope they can raise nearly everything they need before the election. But a line of credit has been opened.
The money is not designated for specific Senate races, however, sources tell us that two races in particular were used as leverage in negotiations between the DSCC and the DNC. Those two races: New Jersey and Virginia. Apparently the extra DNC money will help soften the financial blow the DSCC was taking by incurring the extra cost of saving Sen. Bob Menendez from the challenge of Republican Tom Kean Jr. as well also trying to target Virginia. New Jersey and Virginia sport three of the most expensive media markets in the country (NYC, Philly and DC).
While this kind of stinks for us here in New Jersey, the story is illustrative of why the 50 state strategy is a good one for the Democrats over time.
Not only has Tom Kean Jr. backed out of the upcoming debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters, but now he is refusing to appear at public events which are being filmed by Menendez's campaign staff. This was the case in Montclair on Monday where candidates were asked to come and speak to about 150 members of the AARP. Kean, Jr. stood outside in the parking lot refusing to enter the room and address his intended future constituents unless Menendez's photographer agreed not to take pictures.
The New Jersey minimum wage went up by a dollar yesterday to $7.15/hour. That rate is an two dollars higher than the federal rate of $5.15. The new payraise means that a minimum wage worker in NJ grosses $14,300 for a forty hour work week. If you ask me, this is hardly a living wage, but as retail worker Kobby Hayford noted yesterday, "More money is always good. I will feel it, definitely. It's going to help because everything costs more now." He should know. And Kobby Hayford is just the type of New Jerseyan Gov. Corzine is trying to help out with the increase.
However, it's worth noting that According to Carl Van Horn, who directs the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, it would take a $12 hourly minimum wage to lift New Jersey's workers out of poverty.
Ouch.
Herb Jackson debunks Tom Kean Junior's lies about being a centrist or "independent." The Record:
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. says bipartisan cooperation is the key to solving problems in Washington. But Kean's record as a legislator shows he may not be the independent fighter he says he is. Not only does he serve in the Republican leadership in Trenton, a database analysis by The Record found that Kean voted the same way most of his GOP colleagues did at least 93 percent of the time.
Naturally Junior is whining that this isn't the whole story. So I'll fill in the gaps: not only is this guy not an independent, but he's also a scumbag. Just look at the riffraf Junior has working on his campaign. (Note to Jill Hazelbaker, this means you too!) For those of you keeping score, there is a detailed, itemized list of Junior's Rovian, radical, rightwing record in today's Record article.
Today's Trenton Times challenges the new Attrorney General Stuart Rabner to get tough on corruption in Trenton. The article cites Wayne Bryant "a notorious grazer at the public trough" as the posterboy for all that's wrong in the state legislature. No argument here. It seems like Sen. Bryant punctuates every change of direction with (yet) another scandal. I guess that's what happens to men like Bryant who have one hand on their pants and the other in the cookie jar at all times. If you ask me, Wayne Bryant would make a perfect addition for Tom Kean Junior's campaign team.
The Jersey Journal, the same publication that Xpatriated Texan rightly noted on Blue Jersey had pretty much exonerated Bob Menendez from any ethical wrondoing in the North Hudson Community Action rental deal in a 1996 article, has a new article out today that is another must-read.
Tom Kean Jr. likes to pretend that he is a "reformer" along the lines of John McCain. Of course, given the reality of McCain's own history that may be true: neither one is a straight talking reformer.
Check out this quote from Kean Jr. about the torture bill that passed the Congress.
"I would have voted with Senators Graham, Warner and McCain who believe enemy combatants have appropriate due process under this legislation. I am pleased the Senate passed the bill. The version passed by the Senate respects the guidelines of the Geneva Convention, and will help us to defeat terrorism in a manner that protects our soldiers and other heroes while respecting American values and principles."
The first thing to note is that Kean Jr. is pleased that the President of the United States will be authorized to, with the stroke of a secret pen, arrest, detain and torture any American citizen without judicial review. Frankly, that's just sick.
The second is that Kean Jr. decides to claim he would have voted with the three "mavericks" who negotiated this odious bill and not the two idiots who represent New Jersey in the Senate, Menendez and Lautenberg.
Even on a situation where we are destroying centuries of civil rights by allowing the government to arrest people without review, this asshat is playing politics.
The Zogby/WSJ Senate poll is out, and it gives Democrat Bob Menendez a 5.7 percent lead of Republican Tom Kean Jr.
The total numbers are 46.6 percent for Menendez, 40.9 percent for Kean Jr. Last month they were dead even around 30 percent.
The difference with this over the previous poll, however, is that this poll includes third party challengers for the first time.
Other recent polls have Kean Jr. with a 3-6 point lead.
Update by jmelli: The Rutgers-Eagleton poll out today has Menendez with a 1 point lead among likely voters: 45%-44% (with a 4.9% MOE) while Kean Jr leads by 2 points among registered voters: 42%-40%. Bush has an all time low 30% approval rating.
If you thought Virginia Senator George Allen's "macaca" comment was bad...
IN NEW RADIO COMMERCIAL AIRING IN NEW JERSEY, U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE TOM KEAN JR. PROUDLY SHOWCASES A SUPPORTER WHOSE RACIST, SEXIST AND ANTI-GAY VIEWS MAKE MEL GIBSON LOOK TOLERANT
Garden State Equality calls on Kean Jr. to withdraw the commercial and to apologize to New Jersey's women, people of color and LGBTI community
Contact: Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality, cell (917) 449-8918
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 -- In response to the new radio commercial of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. in which Kean Jr. proudly showcases a supporter who made racist,
sexist and anti-gay statements in The Bergen Record from 1989 through 2005, Garden State Equality today called on Kean Jr. to withdraw the commercial and to apologize to New Jersey's women, people of color and LGBTI community.
"The audacity of this candidate with low capacity," said Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality. "You'd have to be a
dim bulb, or actually share your prejudiced supporter's views, to fail to notice the supporter's years-long newspaper trail of
deeply offensive statements. Tell us, Tom Kean Jr., which is it? You can't affable your way out of this one.
Kean Jr.'s supporter, Larry Giancola of Gutenberg, New Jersey, is the only voice beside Kean Jr.'s to appear in the 30-second radio commercial that premiered yesterday.
"The most troubling thing about the commercial," Goldstein said, "is the possibility that Larry Giancola's statements over the years (detailed below) reflect Tom Kean Jr.'s own views given
Kean Jr.'s horrid civil rights record in the state legislature."
In 2002, Kean Jr. missed a vote that would have created the New Jersey Civil Rights Act. In 2004, Kean Jr. was one of only nine members of the 40-member state Senate to vote against the
domestic-partnership bill that went on to become law with bipartisan support.
“We in New Jersey’s LGBTI community were devastated when Tom Kean Jr. voted against the domestic-partnership bill that – as state law today – gives gay couples a miniscule 10 of the 1,138 rights that straight couples get with marriage. The bill took gay people from third-class to second-class citizens, a very far cry from equality, and yet Kean Jr. couldn’t even vote for that. But several of his Republican colleagues did. How dare Tom Kean Jr. call himself a moderate.”
Here is the newspaper trail of prejudiced statements that Larry Giancola made in The Bergen Record from 1989 through 2005:
Kean Jr.’s radio hero calls being gay a sin – in an extremely progressive state that’s been a national pioneer for LGBTI rights. “Recent research suggests that biological conditions that exist before birth may be largely responsible for determining whether a person is homosexual or not. I disagree with you on this and so does the New Testament. The Bible calls homosexuality sin.” [Larry Giancola, The Bergen Record, 9/24/89]
Kean Jr.’s radio hero believes there is no place in America for feminism and diversity. “We should export our college ideals of liberalism, feminism and cultural diversity.” [Larry Giancola, The Bergen Record, 12/18/05]
Kean Jr.’s radio hero disdains diversity on college campuses. “What cultural diversity has to do with expertise in one's field of work is anyone's guess. I would much rather be under the care of a competent physician then some politically correct doctor.” [Larry Giancola, The Bergen Record, 12/18/05]
Kean Jr.’s radio hero calls curriculum that teaches about race and gender “an absolute joke.” “Nowhere in this article is there any hint of really learning something useful. The academic courses mentioned -- Gender, Race and Class; History of Ethnic Fashion Design -- are an absolute joke.” [Larry Giancola, The Bergen Record, 12/18/05]
Kean Jr.’s radio hero questions the need for U.S. aid to Africa. “The United States contributes far more money to Africa than any other country, and what does it have to show for it? Africa today is no better off than it was 10 or 20 years ago. The miracle of turning Rhodesia into Zimbabwe has resulted in starvation.” [Larry Giancola, Bergen Record, 8/28/05]
Kean Jr.’s radio hero calls Americans "wimps." “The American people are turning into the biggest wimps this country has ever seen.” [Larry Giancola, The Bergen Record, 3/20/03]
Kean Jr.’s radio hero questions the resolve of the American people. “When there is the least little danger, they run for cover like rats. It will be a miracle if we keep our freedom with such brave citizens.” [Larry Giancola, The Bergen Record, 3/20/03]
Kean Jr.'s Democratic opponent, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, has compiled one of the best records on civil rights, including LGBTI rights, in the U.S. Congress. He has received a career 91 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign.
Among Senator Menendez's achievements: He has fought passionately and successfully against a U.S. constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples. He is a national leader in fighting for the right of foreign-citizen, same-sex partners of Americans to immigrate to the U.S. as married opposite-sex spouses would be allowed. And in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, he courageously led the way in persuading the federal government to offer equal assistance to all surviving families, including LGBTI families, through the Victims' Compensation Fund.
Today, Tom Kean Jr. made the only trip I know of to Camden County outside of his cash-and-dash champagne and caviar fundraiser at the Tavistock Country club. At a small business in Collingswood, Kean Jr. repeated his mantra that he supports the Bush tax cuts and that Menendez opposes them. For me, this underscores a larger problem in the Republican Party, one which we Democrats need to attack them with: they can no longer lay claim to being the party of fiscal discipline.
First, tax cuts are, generally speaking, popular measures that voters tend to support; I applaud Sen. Menendez for pointing out that Bush's tax cuts, which have directly led to a multi-trillion dollar deficit, disporportionately assist the uber-wealthy and not working class or middle class Americans or New Jerseyans. According to records, the federal deficit for 2006 alone is over $400 billion -- no responsible economist is going to call for tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy built upon the hypothesis that this will lead to increased revenues in the future, particularly with such a massive structural deficit.
If one combines Kean Jr.'s stance on Bush's tax cuts to his pro-war stance, there is an additional $350-400 billion debt added to the national deficit. The cost of the Iraq War is simply astounding, and that's not even counting the unquantifiable cost of human lives and injuries. This war has been kept of the budget record books by the Bush administration, but it exacerbates the short-and-long term federal deficit.
Kean Jr.'s stances on these two issues defy any logical stance on fiscal discipline, and Republicans need to be reminded that they cannot credibly hold to this position in contemporary American economics.
We read here two days ago that Tom Kean Jr. refused to answer a series of simple questions posed to both him and Senator Menendez by a group of military families. We were shocked that a pro-war candidate for the United States Senate would have the audacity to stonewall a group of military families. And apparently, so were the military families asking the questions:
When a group of staunchly anti-war military relatives interviewed a mildly pro-war U.S. Senate candidate last month, they did not expect to like all his answers.
But they did expect answers....
And, of course, they deserve answers. (Exactly how busy is it at Kean headquarters, anyway?)
"I really thought he would answer our questions," said group member JoAnn Sohl, a longtime Palisades Park resident whose son returned to Iraq this week after a 14-day leave. "He should have answered them. I would have a lot more respect. Our children are the ones fighting the war."
In a statement responding to the Record article, Senator Menendez - who DID answer the group's questions when asked - put it bluntly:
If you can't even explain to New Jerseyans why you would send their sons and daughters to Iraq to fight in a war that shows no end in sight, you have no right to ask them for your vote in November
In 2004, NJ State Senators Tom Kean Jr. and Ron Rice both filed a lawsuit against the McGreevey administration and received an injunction ending three proposed needle exchange pilots. These pilots were to be in three cities most affected by HIV/AIDS: Camden, Atlantic City and Newark.
Yesterday, State Senator Tom Kean Jr. voted against a bill that would permit needle exchanges in the state of New Jersey. New Jersey is the last state not to allow a needle exchange program to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS.
Later that day, a compromise bill providing for six pilot programs across the state passed the Senate Health Committee, along with $10 million more for drug treatment.
What changed? For one, New Jersey has become the last holdout in the nation, the only state in the country where a drug ad dict cannot legally obtain a clean needle.
That means addicts here are more likely to share needles, more likely to get AIDS, and more likely to pass on the agony of this disease to their infant children. ...
Gov. Jon Corzine got involved, pressing recalcitrant Democrats. So did Senate President Richard Codey, who hammered out the compromise with Sen. Joe Vitale, the committee chairman.
It was a good day for public health in New Jersey.
But it has taken way too long. You almost want to light a candle for the many people who were lost over the last decade or so while the politicians in Trenton dithered. They did not have to die.
They ... did ... not ... have ... to ... die.
I hope that line wakes Tom Kean Jr. up in the middle of the night.
This is what the New York Times writes at the end of a long article about Tom Kean Jr.'s family advantages:
“He’ll call me and say, ‘Dad, what do you think about this, what do you think about that?’ ” the elder Mr. Kean said. “What I want him to understand is, no matter what I say, he’s going to make the ultimate judgment — he’s the candidate.”
Yes, even Junior is confused about who is on the ballot. His own father still "wants him to understand" what his reponsibilities are.
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