The Star Ledger is reporting that Joe Oxley’s nomination to the New Jersey Superior Court is in jeopardy because the U.S. Justice Department will not release FBI files from the investigation into the former sheriff resulting from Solomon Dwek’s allegations.
Dwek accused Oxley of sharing information about foreclosures before such information became public, thereby giving the real estate swindler a leg up to acquire those properties. No wrong doing was discovered during the FBI investigation which included recording Oxley.
State Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), a member of the judiciary committee that screens judicial nominations, filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the Oxley files after The Star Ledger reported there existence last June. The FBI declined the request, citing Oxley’s privacy. Oxley did not respond to Lesniak’s request that he authorize the release of the files. The Justice Department declined Lesniak’s appeal if the initial rejection.
State Senator Nicolas Scutari, chairman the the senate judiciary committee, was non-commital about Oxley’s nomination:
“I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely over, but I would say that’s certainly a piece of information that we’d like and it does jeopardize it to some degree,” he said. “I don’t think Senator Lesniak is wrong in requesting that information.”
Oxley declined to comment and referred questions to Governor Christie’s office.
Oxley, an attorney in private practice, could have numerous legitimate reasons, including attorney-client privilege, for declining to authorize the release of his recorded conversations.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney needed to show American tonight that he could be the Commander of Chief of the United States military and leader of the free world. He did just that.
President Obama’s rhetoric that Romney is a “wrong and reckless” war monger fell flat.
Romney successfully intertwined the a strong American economy to successful foreign policy.
Romney used Obama’s record to devastate. Romney nailed Obama on the apology tour. While both men expressed similar visions for the next four years, Romney reminded America of the presidents record on the economy and the Middle East.
Romney was presidential. Obama was aggressive, bordering on petty.
Obama was clearly playing from behind and desperately trying to catch up. Romney would not be baited into any of Obama’s petty traps.
“My baseball career spanned almost five decades—from 1925 to 1973, count them—and in all that time I never had a boss call me upstairs so that he could congratulate me for losing like a gentleman. “How you play the game” is for college boys. When you’re playing for money, winning is the only thing that matters. Show me a good loser in professional sports, and I’ll show you an idiot. Show me a sportsman, and I’ll show you a player I’m looking to trade to Oakland so that he can discuss his salary with that other great sportsman, Charley Finley.”
If Joe Kyrillos overcomes the double digit lead that several polls give Bob Menendez in the U.S. Senate race over the next two weeks without going negative, he not only will be making political history, he will have transcended human nature and rewritten the “how to win an election as a challenger” campaign books.
As much as people complain about negative political ads, they are the only ads that work for a challenger or candidate behind in the polls.
Vice President George H.W. Bush’s “Willie Horton” ad against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential campaign is probably the most memorable political ad of all time. It is arguably the most negative…and effective…as it propelled Bush to overcome a 17% deficit in the national polls and win the White House.
Kyrillos’ campaign has been complaining that the mainstream NJ media has not been covering the campaign enough. That changed this weekend as The Star Ledger/NJ.com featured Monmouth County’s senior state senator and the U.S. Senate campaign three times in the last two days. NJTV’s Reporters Roundtablededicated a third of this weekend’s show to the Senate race.
If Joe K’s objective was to introduce himself to New Jersey as the nice guy that he truly is, his campaign is working. If he’s out to beat Menendez, it does not appear to be working. The predicate of the campaign was if Obama wins New Jersey by less that 10%, Kyrillos could beat Menendez. Yet, based upon recent polls, Menendez is outperforming Obama in New Jersey. Put another way, Kyrillos is under-performing Romney in New Jersey.
Even the jabs Kyrillos threw at Menendez in their three debates were nice. His press releases leave the harsh quotes to his campaign manager. His TV ads are nice.
If nice gets voters’ attention and overcomes a double digit deficit in the current New Jersey race, it will be a first.
The group that wants the Monmouth County Park System to stop breeding farm animals that will eventually be dinner has purchased advertising on NJ.com and launched an online petition to support their cause.
Dragan is an animal activist who used to have a radio show, “Animal Talk” on WCTC 1450AM in New Brunswick. She has been active with United Poultry Concerns in fighting the New Jersey Quail Project’s educational efforts, Quail in the Classroom, for fear that quail chicks hatched in New Jersey schools will end up being hunted. The Quail Project is sponsored by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife and sportsmans groups. She has fought horse drawn carriages in New York and Ocean County’s geese population control methods.
“Eating ‘humane’ meat & animal-products is like fornicating for virginity,” Dragan said about Whole Foods’ humane meat rating system.
Katie Couric won the night as more people saw her sitting behind Governor Romney and President Obama while the they delivered their remarks since the time she broadcast her colonoscopy.
Romney was the more presidential of the candidates. He was confident, funny and prepared. The crowd responded accordingly.
Obama joked twice about his performance in the first debate. “Just to make Axlerod sweat,” he said that he was going to prepare for the third debate coming up on Monday night the same way he did for the first. It looked to me that the same Obama who showed up at the first debate also showed up at the Al Smith Dinner.
