Letters from readers...or trolls....whatever.

We recently received the following communication to our email at njtaxrevolution.com:

r u contingent of the Republican Party? ... similar to Dems: "Victory ’09, a project of the NJDSC” (Democratic State Committee).

Regardless, any explanation for Daggett's surprisingly low tally, far lower than pre-election polls? Two-thirds of my property taxes go to the school system which, in turn, is mostly labor cost.

Wasn't Daggett the only major candidate to propose a specific, workable remedy? If so, any indication that property tax cut tied to municipal fiscal restraint (CPI cap) would garner support tho Daggett's candidacy was rejected?

Lastly, where's the best source (website) to find gov.-elect Christie's property tax plan.
Thanks in advance for any info and insight.

The first thing I would like you to know is that the email came from someone who resembles someone really close to the Daggett campaign. But that is neither here not there as the points he brings up are worth discussing.

First, as to njtaxrevolution.com being an arm of the Republican party. If you trace our history we started this web site around the time of Jon Corzine's sales tax hike. We finally had enough. Jake and I have full time jobs and are software guys. We have zero formal affiliation to the Republican party or the Libertarian Party who both link to our site. However, given that we are conservatives, it is obvious that our audience are mainly Libertarians and Republicans. We receive no outside funding from anyone. Our opinions are our own. And our editorial agenda is made clear on our site.

Regardless, any explanation for Daggett's surprisingly low tally, far lower than pre-election polls?

Frankly, I do not believe that Daggett had a surprisingly low tally. If you asked me before the election, based on the polls I would have had him between 6-8. Why? Daggett only surged in a very limited set of polls and in none of the polls that we consider the most trustworthy did he ever crack 12. Recognize that there are media outlets in this state that wanted Chris Daggett to do well. Why? Because they wanted to support the incumbent and Jon Corzine never cracked 42% in any legitimate poll. That means that he could not win without a split election three ways and the third candidate needed to get 9% or more.

When you couple Daggett's real core support (probably around 3-5 when you consider the last minute 'open to change' respondents) and his ballot position, he performed within the margin of error.

Wasn't Daggett the only major candidate to propose a specific, workable remedy? If so, any indication that property tax cut tied to municipal fiscal restraint (CPI cap) would garner support tho Daggett's candidacy was rejected?

We have no idea whether or not Daggett's remedy here was workable or not and neither does he. To declare that property taxes are too high and it is all about school salaries and fiscal restraint is somewhat questionable. There are many budget busters in every town and municipality in this state including:

- Abbott school redistribution
- Growth within formerly rural towns resulting in major capital expenditures
- Redundant spending on town infrastructure
- Too many municipalities and too much government infrastructure
- COAH requirements that force density on towns that don't want it

I will support the NJEA here (I know, shocker) and not allow the schools to be blamed for every property tax ill. There are some loose spending towns however there are also many towns that try their best but the budget is distorted by expenses outside their control through historical practices.

Lastly, where's the best source (website) to find gov.-elect Christie's property tax plan.
Thanks in advance for any info and insight.

I suppose this is a snark as a result of waking up and finding your candidate didn't win so it is forgiven. We went public on our opinion here as to the strategy in the Philadelphia Daily News. Jon Corzine spent 24 million dollars to attempt to defeat Chris Christie. It is clear to us that the Christie campaign made a specific decision to provide "just enough" information to avoid Corzine's negative advertising machine which twisted almost every moment of Chris Christie's life knowing that he didn't have the funds to fight back to every single attack. Specificity was not the Christie campaigns friend and you can thank Jon Corzine for that.

As a matter of fact, we can thank the New Jersey Democratic party for the lack of any real campaign for any statewide office. It wasn't that long ago that Frank Lautenberg campaigned without actually showing up anywhere or saying anything. Even our normally Democrat friendly newspapers trashed him for that. But he did it because he knew he could get away with it. We at NJTaxRevolution would love it if all candidates would stick to the campaigns instead of mud fights. But that isn't NJ is it.

As to the gentleman who submitted this email, I really respect your enthusiasm and am glad you are fighting for your beliefs and trying to make New Jersey better. Whether you supported Daggett, Corzine or Christie, I love the knowledge that this writer exhibits in his letter whether or not I agree with it. We need a lot more people in this state like him.

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Democrats caught funding Daggett!!!

With Corzine's support stuck at no better than 42%, the candidacy of Chris Daggett has always been a bit too convenient. While we have not suggested that Jon Corzine has directly colluded with Daggett, we didn't rule out a connection between the two campaigns. Now the news comes out that Corzine's campaign paid for Daggett outreach to voters (from Instapundit and PolitickerNJ.com):

The Democratic State Committee now admits paying for a robocall to Somerset County voters that slams Republican Chris Christie and promotes independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett.

A Democratic spokeswoman says the party’s chairman, Joe Cryan, was not aware of the robocalls when he denied that the state committee had anything to do with them yesterday afternoon.

Cryan, who told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday afternoon that the Democratic State Committee had “absolutely” nothing to do with the call, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The call angered Republicans and further fueled conspiracy theories that Daggett is in cahoots with the Corzine camp. A disclaimer at the end says it was paid for by Victory ’09, “a project of the NJDSC” (Democratic State Committee), and gave the committee’s Trenton address.

Jon Corzine will say and do anything to get elected. And Team Corzine now admits to perverting this New Jersey election so that their inferior candidate who cannot win in a straight up fight can increase his chance of winning. And combined with the questions about absentee ballots, there is a pattern that does not bode well for the legitimate voters in this state.

Read the entire article here.

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Absentee Ballots in NJ

As the perennial question of voter fraud rears its head in New Jersey (not without good reason), one has to wonder about the changes made to the absentee ballot laws in the Spring. I don't even recall seeing these changes reported and since I monitor New JErsey news daily, I would suspepct that very few people notice the passing of this legislation. I am sure that this is the beginning of this story not the end.

But I do have some questions. Why was this law changed at all? And who was responsible for the added piece about individuals being able to request ballots for up to 10 people? When it is too intrusive to require identification to vote in this state, why would we enact laws that would seem to serve one purpose-fraud.

And to those people who would cry that these questions are unfair conspiracy theories, just review the "messenger ballot fraud" case guilty pleas in Atlantic City just a few days ago.

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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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Corzine and Obama Billboard - Keep what going?

As I am driving to Trenton today to catch and Amtrak to DC, I notice a billboard with Barack Obama in the foreground and Jon Corzine in the background. In large bold letters the billboard reads "Keep it going". That made me start to think...what is Jon Corzine trying to tell me? To understand the billboard, you must understand how Corzine or Obama define IT.

Let's take a shot from Obama's perspective:

Keep IT Going!

- does he mean New Jersey politicians voting in lockstep with you regardless of the impact on the state?
- could he mean that he wants more Acorn volunteers working in Trenton, Newark and Camden hustling "voters"?
- maybe he means NJ should keep adding more and more citizens to the roles of public assistance as jobs are driven from the state
- how about, keep the unions in charge of the state

Or from Corzine's perspective:

Keep IT Going!

- keep New Jersey as the state with the worst business climate
- keep New Jersey as the state with the highest in the nation property taxes
- Democrats in New Jersey could keep filling up the federal corruption dockets and going to jail
- Citizens in New Jersey can keep electing politicians who do not listen to their concerns and see them as a unending piggy bank for special interests
- Jon Corzine could keep paying off cronies when investigators dig into his ethics violations
- keep leading the charge to drive productive business out of the state
- pushing more and more of our citizens to states with a more family friendly tax policy
- laughing with his Democrat buddies knowing that no matter how many Democrats are arrested and jailed for corruption, they will be more to take their place!

I guess I get it after all.

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Shocking news: NY Times endorses Corzine

(Tongue placed firmly in cheek) In a breaking news development today, the New York Times has endorsed Jon Corzine. The endorsement is unique for its sophmoric cheap shots on Chris Christie and Christopher Daggett while attributing "pragmatic" ideas to Corzine. And for his small ideas, Corzine apparently deserves another four years.

Here is my issue with this endorsement and Corzine in general. Our state is sufferring from rot deep within the core. The political system is a patronage mill monolith that will not be changed by a get-along-to-go-along politician like Corzine. We already have seen the lengths he will go to coddle unions and spread money around to keep people quiet about the ethical lapses he perpetuated to get it done. In all, he is a small man, with small ideas and absolutely zero leadership.

As for issues, the state had financial problems during good times. And when the economy went south, the state has taken a hit FAR greater than it should have. New Jersey has been bleeding jobs for 10 years due to its practice of driving business out of the state to friendlier business climates. And what are the top issues being talked about by Jon Corzine? Abortion, Christie's weight, mamograms and George Bush. And the voters of the state let him get away with it.

I guess the bright spot is that at least in this election, the Democrats actually let their candidate campaign unlike the last senatorial campaign when Frank Lautenberg was not allowed to be seen or engaged in public.

The joke is on the average New Jersey voter because they keep letting Corzine and the Democrats get away with providing no plan, no leadership and mudslinging. I was thinking the other day that deep down given the current trajectory of the state, I know that my family has to leave New Jersey. It really isn't a question of whether but when. No responsible person would sit idly by while the Democrats continue their quest to turn New Jersey into Michigan.

This state needs something different. I don't know that Christie is perfect but he has shown leadership as Federal attorney taking on the rot. I KNOW that Corzine will not even try. He isn't a leader and never will be. The New York times is right:

Mr. Corzine is hardly the perfect politician. Most New Jersey voters find him astonishingly inarticulate, and his credentials as a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs do not seem as impressive as they did before the financial meltdown in 2008. He has poured lots of his personal wealth into this race, far too much of it for biting — and sometimes juvenile — attacks on Mr. Christie.

Only in New Jersey would this represent a incumbent candidate's shining achievements worthy of an endorsement by the "paper of record".

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Christie's plan vs Corzine's plan

Governor Corzine continues to attack Chris Christie over his "lack of a plan". The compliant media repeats his assertions. So I deicded to go to each of the web sites and compare the plans of these two men.

First the Christie web site regarding his "plan":

•I believe we can and we must lower taxes. Lower taxes will invite back businesses, jobs, employees, residents and students. More people paying taxes means more revenue.

◦Reduce the personal income tax. This year alone, Jon Corzine raised income taxes by $900 million.
◦Reduce corporate business taxes. Jon Corzine raised taxes on businesses by $270 million this year.
◦Restore property tax relief for everyone.
◦Eliminate the “double-taxation’ on New Jersey S-Corporations.
◦Eliminate special interest labor union giveaways that increase taxes. End the use of project labor agreements on public construction projects which ultimately raise costs and taxes.
◦2/3 majority vote to impose new tax or to increase existing tax.

•I believe we can and we must control spending and enforce accountability.

◦Use the line-item veto.
◦Elect independent state auditor.
◦Eliminate 2/3 political patronage jobs.
◦Eliminate pensions and benefits for part-time workers.
◦Immediate freeze on proposed new agency rules and regulations.
◦Sunset provisions for all new programs after 4 years.
◦Transparency – put everything online with searchable databases.

•I believe we can and we must fight for priority programs like education and our urban communities, without fail.

◦CityTrak. Enforce accountability to demand results. Measurable goals will save money, ensure efficiency and encourage innovation.
◦First Houses Program. ◦Exempt new residents from income tax.
◦Retaining New Jersey’s urban minority students by expanding New Jersey Education Opportunity Fund.

•I believe bringing sustainable, quality jobs to New Jersey’s the key to our future.

◦Create the New Jersey Partnership for Action to promote economic growth and job creation. Just look at PA….what we need is an executive who makes this their number one priority.
◦Garden State Growth Zones. Combing existing economic zones to create a super zone to attract new private investment and jobs.
◦Putting New Jersey Back to Work. Focus on worker retraining for unemployed New Jerseyans and connecting with them with businesses looking for a specific skill set.
◦Provide grants for public four year institutions and community colleges for renewable energy related curriculum and training.
◦Renew NJ and the Choose New Jersey Energy Campaign. Consolidate all renewable energy manufacturing efforts and have New Jersey undergo a brand makeover to market and sell New Jersey’s resources to energy producers, innovators and developers.
◦Incentivize energy manufacturing with tax credits. 100% of the corporate business taxes or the insurance premium tax for any wind turbine and manufacturing facility that locates in New Jersey.
◦New Jersey will create higher-paying clean energy production jobs in the next four years. Commit to a 5/1 ratio of higher-paying, clean energy production jobs to lower paying, efficiency jobs. While New Jersey has one of the strongest renewable portfolio standards in the country, according to the US Energy Information Administration, the state actually ranks 43rd when it comes to generating renewable energy.

Now the Corzine plan from his website:

Dealing with the national economic emergency: As the governor said in the State of the State, the economy is priority 1, priority 2 and priority 3. The Corzine administration will continue to work tirelessly to address the immediate hardships caused by the crisis, ensure that all New Jerseyans are treated fairly, and see to it that the state is poised to prosper once the recovery takes hold.

Creating jobs and putting New Jersey on a sound fiscal footing: Recovering from the current crisis is just the beginning. Governor Corzine will keep looking for ways to stimulate job creation even as he continues to stabilize the state’s long-term financial practices.

Providing affordable healthcare for all: Even as the Obama administration makes progress on a national healthcare plan, Governor Corzine is ensuring that all New Jersey resident have access to appropriate and affordable healthcare.

Keeping education a top priority: New Jersey schools – from preschools up to universities – are second to none. The Corzine administration will continue to make sure progressive education programs are funded and our children have the chance they deserve.

Protecting the middle class: Too often in a fiscal crunch decisions get made that place undue burdens on the middle class. Governor Corzine has vowed to defend the middle class and find innovative, progressive ways to generate the revenues needed to fund essential programs and balance the budget.

Be a partner, not an obstacle: Governor Corzine’s partnership with President Obama, his cabinet, Democrats in the US Congress and here in New Jersey is well-known. As the country moves in a new, more progressive, direction that attempts to undo to the damage of the Bush years, it’s critical that New Jersey has a leader who is in sync with that vision and will not let New Jersey get left behind.

Christie's plan contains policy objectives and specific actions to support his approach. Corzine's plan is a series of fell good generalities with no action proposed to solved them. Much like his term as Governor, all words with no concrete plans.

Which candidate has no plan? It seems clear to me.

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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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Corzine's Stature Problem - He's a Figment!

Jon Corzine has a problem. He is an incumbent Governor on a state that is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democrat party and he is losing badly. He can spin it any way he wants but it won't change facts. As a conservative who still lives here, I can sympathize with his problem. He now wants to focus on turnout. But given his polling, there is no guarantee that turnout will go his way. People do not like the man. And you have to wonder why.

Jon Corzine's big problem is that he is a figment. From thefreedictionary.com:

fig·ment (fgmnt)
n.
Something invented, made up, or fabricated: just a figment of the imagination.

Everything he has done in politics has been image and nothing more. The problem with image construction (IE figments) is that when you poke them, there is nothing there. Corzine's history with Goldman Sachs and his spreading his personal wealth around got him the Democratic nomination for Senator. Because he was the last man standing when McGreevey became a gay American and our former Governor, he got the nod. And then he had to do something.

The result has been horrific. Governor "I didn't take this job to be scrooge" shepherded us to a complete mess BEFORE the economic downturn. And now he has to campaign on his record. And he doesn't have one. A figment.

I recently spoke to an acquaintance who regularly debates me on political issues and is frankly a typical reflexive NJ Democrat whether or not he admits it (he claims to be independent) . A scan of his voting patterns would tell the truth. But this person owns a very successful local business. He also is very active in supporting various charitable activities as his kids grow into more day to day responsibility of the family business. And he is looking at property in South Carolina. I was shocked. His answer: "We are all tired. I have written too many checks to the State of NJ in the past month. And at some point, it isn't worth it".

And so goes a state on autopilot with a figment in charge. We need a leader. Any while I have no idea whether Chris Christie will be that leader as his people don't respond to blogs like us. But I DO KNOW that Jon Corzine isn't a leader. He is a figment.

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Corzine runs from NJ 101.5 Debate

Jon Corzine announced that he was not going to participate in a governatorial debate being held by NJ 101.5. NJ.Com reports:

The campaign for Gov. Jon Corzine said he will not participate in a gubernatorial debate on the radio station New Jersey 101.5 FM during the final legs of the campaign, according to the station's website.

"Jon Corzine has now become the first candidate for statewide office in almost 20 years to turn his back on our one million listeners by refusing to appear on New Jersey 101.5 to talk directly to New Jersey voters about the issues that are important to them," said Eric Scott, news director for 101.5 FM.

The Governor decided instead to agree to debate on public broadcasting radio. Jon Corzine reminds me of Sir Robin from Monty Python's Holy Grail. He pretends to be a tough competent governor and then "bravely runs away" every chance he gets from making tough decisions, fixing the state and now even talking about his record.

While Senator Entitlement Frank Lautenberg was able to hide from the voters and not bother to show up for anything, I suspect Corzine will have a much harder time. Apparently his strategy is to hide until late in the camapaign and then send his vote stealers out to give out cigatettes to buy votes in Trenton, Camden and Newark. OR better yet, offer another $2,000,000 to hire "homeless and drug addicts" as part of his senatorial get out the vote efforts. Remmeber Governor? We do.

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Corzine's silence on why he should be re-elected

We are back after some much needed rest, relaxation and contemplation over politics and the state of our state and the country. I tried successfully to avoid news of New Jersey politics as I was out of state. It was much harder to avoid the next saga of Obamamania as the national news was pre-occupied wiith Czars and children's educational propaganda. I also had a couple of long drives under my belt where I was not allowed to listen to news so I got some real thought time in.

One reflection I had was about our Governor. This has been an extremely strange election season. Why? Because Jon Corzine has not really given anyone a reason to vote for his re-election. It is almost as if he knows that his record is so poor that it wouldn't be worth trying to convince anyone otherwise. And his media people seem to agree with him.

So he is left trying to trash Christie. And maybe in a normal year here in NJ, that would suffice. The same state that allowed Frank Lautenberg to hide out for the entire last camapaign does not seem to be in the same mood this time. Two thousand people attended the tea party we recently passed on the word for those in North Jersey. This is a different year.

Sometimes silence is golden. Sometimes it is chrystal clear.

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