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Mayors advising Mayors

Governor Chris Christie has spoken of how helpful governors who have been through catastrophic hurricanes have been in counseling him to “get it right” in leading the State’s efforts in to rebuild from Superstorm Sandy.   At his press conference yesterday where he announced the appointment of Superstorm Czar Marc Ferzan, Christie spoke of how helpful governors Haley Barbour (MI), Bobby Jindal (LA) and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush have been in private conversations over the last month.

Author and former CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch, a Gulf Coast native who is committed to support Sandy survivors, thought it would be a great idea for Gulf Coast mayors who have rebuilt after Katrina and Rita to support New Jersey mayors who are now confronted with rebuilding their towns after Sandy.

Koch is in contact with a group of Gulf Coast mayors of towns with populations that range from 4,700 to 70,000 who want to advise New Jersey mayors.  Frustrated in her research for the right conduit, she reached out to MMM to get the word out.

MMM is honored to get the word out and Koch is generously volunteering to act as the conduit between mayors.  New Jersey mayors impacted by Sandy can contact Koch at [email protected]

Between the mayors, council members, legislators, legislative staff, executive staff, political operatives and members of the media who read this site daily, we can reach every New Jersey mayor dealing with Sandy recovery by the end of the day.  Please share this post with them.  If you know how to contact a mayor of a town impacted by Sandy, share this post with them.

Thank you.

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Rasmussen: 57% have a favorable opinion of Twinkies

Scott Rasmussen is reporting that 57% of Americans have a favorable impression of Hostess Twinkies and that 69% are following the news about the baking company.  31% are closely following the Twinkie news.

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Can the GOP live without social conservatives?

In a column posted on GOPUSA.com, David Limbaugh says,

The Republican Party can choose to ostracize social conservatives and their issues, or try to purge them altogether from the party and its platform. But they better be careful what they wish for, because if they do, it will be the end of the party as we know it.

Would that be a bad thing?

Limbaugh says that Christians believe not only that social issues are the most important of the day, but that the underlying disintergration of the nation’s moral fabric is the root of our economic problems.  They are probably right.  He reports getting emails and reading articles from Christians who want to double down on social issues and some even suggesting that Christians redirect their focus away from politics and toward evangelism.

That is exactly what they should do.

Redirect their focus away from politics and toward evangelism.  The GOP should not ostracise social conservatives.  Social conservatives should redirect their focus away from politics and toward evangelism because their political efforts are not working.  As the election results in Missouri and Indiana suggest, states that Mitt Romney won but where Republican social conservative Senate candidates Todd Akin and Richard Murdock lost very winnable races, the political efforts of social conservatives have become counterproductive.

Social conservatives are losing the political battles because a significant portion of the electorate who agree with their moral point of view and strive to live accordingly don’t believe that religious morality should have the force of secular law.  They are losing the cultural battle because they are fighting it politically…attempting to force their moral point of view…rather than evangelically….sharing the Good News with free people who have choices.

Eliminating choices will not convert hearts and minds.  Hearts and minds need to be converted freely before social conservatives will live in a world that reflects their moral vision.  If that happens, there won’t be much of a political fight about the issues social conservatives consider the most important.

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450,781 Powerball Winners in New Jersey

The $579 million jackpot was won by two lucky bettors.  One from Arizona and one from Missouri.  Odds are they were Romney voters.

There were 450,781 winning tickets sold in New Jersey.  8 of those tickets matched five numbers but not the Powerball.  The prize is 1 million dollars.  If the bettors had bet an extra dollar on the Power Play, the prize would have been $2 million.  I wonder if those people are happy they won the million or kicking themselves for not betting the extra buck and doubling their prize.

31 New Jersey players matched 4 numbers and the powerball.  29 of them won $10,000.  The 2 that bet the power play won $40,000.

I’d bet the 29 who won $10K instead of $40K are kicking themselves harder than the 8 who won $1 million instead of $2 million.

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How much is the Powerball Jackpot worth after tax?

Got your ticket(s) yet?

If you win, take the cash option.  Taxes are probably going up on the rich next year.

The jackpot is now up to $550 million.

Under current tax law, if you take the 30 year annuity your annual $18,333,333 will be taxed $4,583,333 by the IRS and $1,980,000 by the State if you live in New Jersey, for a net annual payment of $11,770,000.

If you take the $360,200,000 cash jackpot, the feds will take $90,050,000 and New Jersey will take $38,901,600, leaving you with a net payment of $231,248,400.

Source: USAMEGA.com

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Report: Sweeney will run for Governor if Booker doesn’t

The Star Ledger is reporting that State Senate President Steve Sweeney told three Democratic insiders that he will run for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2013 if Newark Mayor Cory Booker does not.

Booker has said that he will make a decision “as soon as possible.”

Neither man stands much of a chance to defeat Christie if his sky high approval ratings hold up.

In a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released yesterday, Booker performed the best of several Democrats in a head to head match up with Christie by losing by 13%, 53%-34%.  Sweeney was not included in the Eagleton poll.  Had he been, it is unlikely he would have polled much better than Senator Barbara Buono or Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald who each polled in the low 20’s.  In a September Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press poll, 35% of New Jersey voters were familiar with Sweeney.  19% had a favorable impression, 15% had an unfavorable impression.

Both Sweeney and Booker have federal PACs.  They both been rumored to covet Frank Lautenberg’s seat in the US. Senate, which is up in 2014 when Lautenberg will be 90.   A run for Governor, if he lost respectably, would boost Sweeney’s statewide name recognition and leave him with a better shot to compete for the 2014 Senate nomination against Booker and Congressman Frank Pallone.  Pallone is likely to seek the Senate seat only if Lautenberg does not seek another term.

The nomination is Booker’s for the asking due to his high national profile and fund raising ability.  National Democrats are hopeful that Booker can beat Christie, thereby taking the Governor out of contention for the 2016 presidential race.

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Romney will lunch with Obama at White House tomorrow

The White House has announced that former presidential candidate Mitt Romney will have lunch with President Obama at the White House tomorrow.

Could Romney be joining the administration?   Treasury Secretary?  Ambassador to Libya?

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Guadagno’s status as Christie’s running mate not yet determined

Lt Governor Kim Guadagno. Photo credit: Tim Larsen/Governor's office

Governor Chris Christie said that he has yet to talk to Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno regarding her joining his ticket for reelection.
During a press conference this morning, Christie said that he was extraordinary pleased with Guadagno’s performance as New Jersey’s  first Lt. Governor.

Christie announced that he will run for reelection on Monday in Port Monmouth. Today he said that he and Guadagno had not talked about her candidacy yet because they have been busy working on the recovery from Superstorm Sandy.

Guadagno, who also serves as Secretary of State, has served as the Christie Administration’s ambassador to the business community and heads up the Red Tape Review Commission.

While Guadagno has gotten high marks for her service as Lt. Governor, she has been dogged by allegations and litigation brought by NJ Watchdog that while Monmouth County Sheriff she inappropriately classified Michael Donovan’s position with the sheriff’s office as “chief warrant officer” when he actually held the position of “chief of the law enforcement division” so that Donovan could collect a $85,000 per year pension while also collecting his current salary.  Had Donovan’s position been properly classified, according to NJ Watchdog, he would not have been entitled to collect the pension.  Rather, he would be contributing $18,000 per year to the pension fund.

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FEMA Building Standards Saved Windnsea in Highlands

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