Christie Wins! And we now have hope.

Chris Christie just gave his acceptance speech as the new Governor of our state. He balanced the concerns of the citizen of Hamilton to his family member's history in the state. I sent my wife a message that maybe, just maybe we get to stay in this state that we love with a Governor who understands why we have considered leaving. Right now, I am sitting in a hotel in California. I am here because it is part of my real job, my life and the sacrifices I make every day to take care of my family and their future.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like a part of the solution instead of a part of the problem. Our President and Jon Corzine look at people like me and Jake as parasitic hosts that only exist to extract revenue for their latest spending whim. My young son looks at me as Dad, who he misses when I am gone. And for once in a long time, I feel like we will have a Governor who understands the difference.

Congratulations Chris Christie. The real work is still in front of all of us. Godspeed.

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NY-23 Shocker: Scozzafava out - Now it's Daggett's Turn

Politico has reported that Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for the NY-23 House seat. From this article on the announcement:

Republican Dede Scozzafava has suspended her bid in next Tuesday’s NY 23 special election, a huge development that dramatically shakes up the race. She did not endorse either of her two opponents -- Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman or Democrat Bill Owens.

The decision to suspend her campaign is a boost for Hoffman, who already had the support of 50 percent of GOP voters, according to a newly-released Siena poll, and is now well-positioned to win over the 25 percent of Republicans who had been sticking with Scozzafava.

The NY-23 race has been interesting due to the fact that the Republican party put up a candidate they thought could win who was well to the left of Barack Obama. And in reaction, local conservatives put up backed Doug Hoffman who has come from behind and as of last week was either in a dead heat or ahead of the Democratic party candidate Bill Owens. The net is that Scozzafava decided she could not win and dropped out of the race.

Fast forward to New Jersey. As we have said all along Chris Daggett cannot win despite his ardent campaign staff. He will likely net a total of something less than 10 percent of the vote, serving only to be a spoiler. And frankly, if his candidacy only serves to help Corzine eek out a win(and Corzine then subsequently does what he promised which is to continue to destroy the business climate in the state and raise taxes), not only will he be completely unelectable for statewide office, he might have a hard time getting elected dog catcher. Toxic would not be a strong enough word.

Daggett has run a strong campaign given his resources. If he really wants to make a difference in this state, he should drop out now and live to fight another day. Unless of course his real reason to be in this race is to siphon votes from one or the other candidate. And if that is the case, toxic would be the correct word.

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Daggett can't win. So why is he in this?

I continue to struggle to understand the candidacy of Chris Daggett. He is an independent candidate for governor and he is polling between 5-17 percent depending on whose poll you are looking at. Of course, I will likely get a comment on this about how he is charging and is going to win the race (and the email of the commenter will be a link to the Daggett campaign). But we are now late in the race and he has no chance of winning. So why does he continue?

Does he have aspirations to run for another office sometime in the future? Not sure. This isn't like the national stage where a big run here will equite to a book and speaking tour. And increased awareness. But it doesn't make sense here. The minute he loses in November he is once again a nobody except among party faithful - oops, he represents no political party so that logic is out. Run for something else? Democrats aren't going to stick to him long and Republicans will brand him toxic for splitting the anti-Corzine vote. No future in that either.

So what is left? The nagging feeling I keep getting is that his candidacy only serves to help one person and one person only. Jon Corzine. To that end, I tried to review Daggett's election filings. They can be accessed here. The only obvious trend I was able to take from an analysis of his donors was that they significantly trend toward one industry - financial services. I checked Christie's donors to see if I could get the same trend however I didn't see the same thing there. Another thing concerned me about Daggett's donors. They haven't increased as his awareness has increased. As a matter of fact, his big ticket donors seem to have dried up. Contribution limits or something else?

Do I believe that Corzine has set up Daggett as a stalking horse in this race? I doubt it. But would I accept the notion that Corzine's people arranged for a third party candidate to receive enough funding to damage his opponent? You bet.

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More NJ Democrat Corruption: Funded by Jon Corzine

Another Democrat NJ politician is going to jail for corruption. From the Philadelphia Enquirer:

A federal jury has found former northern New Jersey political boss Joseph Ferriero guilty of fraud conspiracy.

The panel returned its verdict Thursday, the third day of deliberations after a 2 1/2-week trial.

Ferriero, the former head of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud and two counts of mail fraud.

You sometimes wonder how our 'political bosses' in New Jersey maintain their hold on power? From this article at the Corner on National Review:

Guess how much money Jon Corzine and his family gave to Ferriero over the years?

$441,600.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie held a conference call moments ago. Highlights:

I experienced a lot of these days and led the office when this case was indicted
. . . Joe Ferriero abused a position of trust and the position of trust of his co-conspirator in order to line his own pockets. His leadership of the Bergen County Democratic Organization was a disgrace . . . This should be a day of great joy in Bergen County.

So New Jersey, do you still believe that Christie is the one who throws his weight around? Corzine is concerned when Christie lends a friend money that gets paid back. Yet NJ voters don't care that everyone Corine pays off gets a cool half mil?

Sickening. You cannot fix corruption when you are funding it. Period.

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Newsflash NJ Voters - Corzine wants you to know: Christie is fat.

I guess when your entire record as Governor of the most taxed state in the country with the third worst financial problems, you make the campaign about...your opponents weight.
From the New York Times:

It is about as subtle as a playground taunt: a television ad for Gov. Jon S. Corzine shows his challenger, Christopher J. Christie, stepping out of an S.U.V. in extreme slow motion, his extra girth moving, just as slowly, in several different directions at once.

In case viewers missed the point, a narrator snidely intones that Mr. Christie “threw his weight around” to avoid getting traffic tickets.

The truly sad part of this advertisement is that this is what our sitting Governor believes is relevant to running the state of New Jersey. He screams about Christie throwing his weight around and allegedly "influencing" a traffic ticket while hiding the fact that he has OUTRIGHT PAID OFF his girlfriend, he brother and others who could shed light on some serious breaches of ethics regarding backroom deals in negotiating union contracts. And after three years, he still refuses to come clean.

All while our great state continues to deteriorate. And his plan for the future? More of the same. The person who is throwing their weight around (and by weight I mean CASH, earned from Democratic Party affiliate Goldman Sachs) is Jon Corzine. And he is doing it to deflect attention from his record. And he believes the voters of New Jersey are too stupid to notice. He may be right.

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Christie's 46k loan to a friend? And Corzine's 470k loan to a major union negotiator.

According to the New York Times, Chris Christie made a loan and failed to declare it on his campaign forms. From the Times:

A contrite Christopher J. Christie, the Republican former prosecutor running for governor on a platform of corruption busting and ethical reform, apologized Tuesday for failing to report a $46,000 loan to a top aide on his tax returns and financial-disclosure forms.

Christopher J. Christie, the Republican candidate for governor, on Tuesday.
“When I make mistakes, I’m going to admit them,” he said, adding that he had already amended some of those filings and would finish the rest by Friday. “It was certainly nothing that I was trying to conceal or hide.”

Ok. I suppose that he is guilty of some administrative violation and maybe poor judgement in helping a friend. But let's balance that against Jon Corzine's 470,000 loan to Carla Katz his alleged girlfriend and a major union representative from the states top union. Remember this?

Senator Jon S. Corzine provided a $470,000 mortgage to the president of a union that represents thousands of New Jersey state employees in late 2002, then forgave the debt two years later.

Senator Jon S. Corzine with Carla Katz at a ball in the Pierre Hotel in 2002 .
The union president, Carla Katz, was Mr. Corzine's girlfriend at the time. The senator said on Wednesday that an investment company he owns gave her the mortgage, then canceled it in December 2004, several months after they had stopped dating.

So he made a loan and forgave it for ten times what Christie has allegedly done. And this loan and other communication is at the heart of ethics charges against Corzine. And Christie is still collecting on the loan to a friend. Seems like Corzine has picked chosen an outrageously stupid bone to pick.

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Corzine won't tolerate corruption...except when he does.

The Washngton Post today had an article discussing this week's corruption arrests of mostly Democrat politicians and reached into Corzine's cabinet. From the article:

Corzine has not been implicated in the investigation, but the scandal did reach his Cabinet; Joseph Doria, commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, resigned after FBI agents raided his home and office Thursday. Doria has not been charged.

Corzine was close to Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III, 32, one of the three mayors arrested. The governor lives in Hoboken and attended Cammarano's inauguration ceremony on July 1. Cammarano, a former Hoboken council member, is accused of taking $25,000 in bribes from an FBI informant posing as a building developer who needed expedited zoning approvals and permits.

All of this has been business as usual with politics in New Jersey. But the real howler is this Corzine comment:

Corzine said he was "sickened" by the arrests and called on all those public officials to follow Doria's lead and resign, even though none has been convicted. "I will not tolerate even the hint of corruption," Corzine said.

Ah, come on Governor...you have tolerated massive corruption in your ranks since you entered into politics. Your Senate colleague from New Jersey was the center of a major corruption investigation that precipitated Lautenberg's return. Your girlfriend was considered so honest that the union she worked for while dating you (only a major public employee union with a direct conflict of interest for you) dumped her after you negoiated significant contract. And how about those emails you won't share Governor? And why did your opponent the Federal attorner convict 128 of your Democrat friends for corruption versus 0 for your state Attorney General.

I know Governor Corzine. You don't tolerate corruption. Except when you do. Which is always.

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Christie. Corzine and Democrat Corruption

Reviewing the new Corzine add that shows Chris Christie leaving a congressional committee convened to attack him for alleged no bid contracts. The humorus past of this add is that it almost seems to have been prepared and filmed BEFORE Christie was "invited" to the House committee hearings. Does it not bother anyone that this heharing was convened to assist Corzine in attacking Christie.

Let's review:

1. The House has no interest in investigating Charlie Rangel accused of several tax violations and abusing housing rules intended for poor families.
2. The House has no interest in investigatiing Jack Murtha's bribe steering to his son, trashing and pre-judging our troops in Iraq and continual person of interest in a major corruption scandal.
3. The House has no interest in investigating Nancy Pelosi's accusation that the CIA lied to congress desppite evidence that it is Pelosi who lied.

But they do have time to bring in a New Jersey Federal Prosecutor who is running for Governor and also put away 128 of their friends. Curious.

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Corzine's Palin Problem - and each NJ Citizen's $60,656 bill

A spokesman for Jon Corzine was quoted in the Associated Press attempting to use the typical New Jersey bogeyman argument against Christie by invoking Sarah Palin:

For their part, Democrats in both New Jersey and Virginia were eager to link their rival GOP contenders to Palin.

"Her positions are certainly consistent with where Christie's been," Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy said. "They would both deny a woman the right to choose and they oppose new gun control legislation. And like Palin, Christie's staked out Conservative right-wing positions on rejecting the federal stimulus money, which would create thousands of jobs."

The first thing about this quote is that it is so trite that it boggles the mind that any intelligent human being could believe it. However, that clearly doesn't represent a lot of people in New Jersey because they routinely fall for this drivel. Let's get something straight. Two of three topics referred to in this quote (gun control and abortion) are federal issues. The governor of this state really has little say in the matter and therefore their position amounts to mere window dressing for partisans.

As for "rejecting federal stimulus" money, I think that a large number of New Jersey residents would like to hear in detail what stimulus money is coming to our state. Along with that, we would love to hear what the corresponding debt load assigned to our residents would be especially since the citizens of this state receive roughly 61 cents for every dollar we send to Washington (from the Tax Foundation). So, following that reasoning, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the average citizen now owes $37,000 dollars because of the stimulus that didn't stimulate. Given New Jersey's productivity in government contribution, that equals a debt load of $60,656. Sure, let's talk about that Mr Corzine.

But all of this is really silly. Talk of abortion and gun control is just changing the subject and may be fine during the good times. But these aren't good times. And frankly, we have plenty to talk about. Namely, Jon Corzine's record. He can trash Christie all he wants but he now has a real record and interestingly enough, that is the last thing he wants to run on.

He doesn't want to run on his ethically challenged relationships while negotiating multi-million dollars contracts with unions. He lies to the people about saving money this year in the budget which is far more than the last budget Gov Codey submitted. He doesn't want to run on the massive debt he has added to our state and its choking debt service. And he doesn't even want you to see him in person because he only looks and sounds halfway decent after an ad agency touches up his photo, voice and adds music. This man inspires no one. He has not led this state and has been and utter and complete failure. His claim to fame of being a successful businessman has been thoroughly debunked by his complete lack of business sense. That is the record we should be discussing.

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Lonegan goes back to purely negative campaigning...

While driving back from an aborted trip to New York this morning due to train issues, I heard a new Lonegan ad attacking Chris Christie and accusing him of assorted violations of something or other. The problem with this ad is that it is just like the sea of other negative ads Lonegan unleashed. This one got a job, that one got a job...blah blah blah.

This negative ad is exactly what has been wrong with Republicans in the state for too long. Instead of competing with ideas, Lonegan is throwing mud. Does he not know that this didn't against Menendez, or Corzine or anyone else lately. To become Governor, each of these candidates needs to describe why and how they will be different than Corzine. However, Lonegan's attack ads just sound like more losing Republican strategy from the same losing Republican NJ strategists.

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Property Tax Gimmicks - Lonegan is right!

A recent Christie add attempted to play the typical New Jersey entitlement card by attacking Steve Lonegan's tax plan. The comment in question was where Lonegan called the state's property tax rebate system a "gimmick". The joke here is that Christie's ad people have so little respect for New Jersey voters that they really expect people to get fired up over this. And they are probably correct. New Jersey's voters frankly so routinely vote against their own interests, they are only outdone by Michigan voters.

While you may not agree with Lonegan's tax proposals, he is absolutely correct about one thing. The property tax rebate program is a complete joke. It was instituted to provide political cover for weak politicians in both parties who didn't have the courage to deal with the issues behind property taxes spiralling out of control. It was then perpetuated as a give away program for people who didn't pay property taxes AT ALL. If that isn't a gimmick, I don't know what is.

And kudos for Lonegan for bringing it out. And shame on Christie for acting like a New Jersey Democrat. If you really want to change this state, bad policy like the rebate program need to be looked at seriously.

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Christopher Christie for Governor-No longer rumors

We have it from a reliable source that while the official announcement will not be made for a few weeks, Christopher Christie is filing papers to run for Governor of New Jersey.

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Please say it is so....Chris Christie for Governor

I received this in my inbox yesterday:

Subject: Message from Senator Kyrillos

Dear Friend,

I spent time over the weekend with my good friend, former US Attorney Christopher Christie and I am very encouraged by what I heard.

Chris is being urged to run for Governor by Republicans, Independents, and even some prominent Democrats. They've read what the newspapers wrote about what Chris achieved as our state's US Attorney, and they're telling Chris that he can provide the leadership and make the tough decisions needed to fix our broken state.

Chris's record of integrity and effectiveness has been praised by virtually every paper in the state, as well as the New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer.

By contrast, NJ Monthly's January profile had this to say about Jon Corzine:

"It's hard to imagine a governor more qualified to fix the state's finances and less able to get the job done."

Our state's problems are too great, our taxes too high, our economy too distressed.
We need a leader like Chris Christie. Stay tuned! I have a feeling we will hear some good news real soon.

Sincerely,

Senator Joe Kyrillos

If an announcement is imminent, this is great news for the state of New Jersey.

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Chris Christie has resigned. Democrats breath a sigh of relief.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Two down, one to go? New Jersey U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has announced his resignation, effective Dec. 1, after nearly seven years at the office.

It's a sad day when the state of New Jersey loses the only adult fighting corruption on behalf of taxpayers. Christie has successfully prosecuted 130 public corruption cases without an acquittal. He will be missed as I guarantee you he will be replaced by a lightweight who will make the NJ Attorney General look like...well...another lightweight attorney. Sad but true.

Here is hoping that Christie will run for Governor.

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