Wayne’s World Is Back

There’s a lot going on this weekend and in the coming weeks.  Wayne is here to tell you all about it.

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Why the push for same sex marriage now?

In a widely published OpEd piece, Rob Eichmann, the GOP State Committeeman from Gloucester County, questioned why the the State Legislature’s Democratic leadership has made gay marriage their top priority of the year.

Assembly Minority Conference Leader Dave Rible says the Democrats putting the issue on the front burner is a “slap in the face to the guy on the unemployment line.”

Both men have a point. 

Garden State Equality, the gay rights organization behind the push for same sex marriage, boasts of 86,000 members on its website.   That makes them, they say, the largest civil rights organization in the state.

That 86,000 number is questionable. 

Steve Goldstein, Chair and CEO of the GSE, told MMM that they consider any person who takes two affirmative actions for equality to be a member.  How they track that, he wouldn’t say.   I’m pretty sure they consider me a member.  Goldstein was aware that I signed up for their email list this week.  I told him that I noticed that shortly after I signed up that the the number changed from 85,000 to 86,000.  “I promise you, Art, we’re not counting you as 1,000 members.”

Goldstein finally acknowledged, sort of, that the membership claim is based upon a combination of their email list of 70,000 plus the 17,200 facebook friends they have, less a fudge factor to eliminate overlaps. Given that there is a facebook plug in on the GSE page, the fudge factor should probably be more than 1,200.

Even if GSE’s membership numbers were accurate, they would be representing less that 1% of New Jersey’s population.

The number of same sex couples who have committed to each other in the form of civil unions is a more reliable indicator of just how big this “civil rights” problem is.

According to Daniel Emmer, spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, 5,790 couples have been joined in civil unions since 2007 when the legislation designating the unions become effective.  That’s 11,580 people, statewide, that this issue impacts directly, if we generously assume that none of those unions have been dissolved by divorce.  Do they call it divorce?

One might conclude that Goldstein’s political skills are remarkable.  He has managed to make his small, be it 11,580 or 86,000 people, constituency’s concern the top priority of our state government during a time when our economy is anemic, municipal governments are making significant changes to balance their budgets and our urban schools are not educating their students.  Unemployment and foreclosures are not our top priority. Another generation of minority students are not getting educated, and Steve Goldstein has managed to make same sex marriage the most important issue of the State Legislature.

Or has he?

Goldstein has been played by the Democrats before.  Jon Corzine, while he was governor got Goldstein to agree to back off the same sex marriage issue during the 2008 presidential election cycle and the 2009 gubernatiorial election cycle.  Corzine made passionate speeches before gay audiences about how important their rights were.  He was blowing smoke.

Are the Democratic leaders of the legislature playing Goldstein again?   I think they are.   

The Democrats and their special interest donors want nothing to do with Governor Christie’s agenda for this year.  They want to raise taxes, not lower them.  They don’t want to reform education.  They don’t want to reform the civil service system so that municipalities can lower their costs and taxes.

The Democrats don’t want Christie to be an effective spokesman for Mitt Romney, especially if Romney wins the GOP presidential nomination.

That’s what this is about for the Democratic leadership. Avoiding Christie’s agenda and changing the public conversation.  It’s not about civil rights and benefits for Goldstein’s small constituency.

Whether or not it’s really about civil rights for Goldstein and GSE is another question which will be the subject of a future post.

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Schiano heading to the NFL

The highest paid employee of state government is quitting his job.

Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano has accepted a five year deal to be he head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to ESPN.

Kyle Flood, the Scarlet Knights offensive line coach has been named interim head coach or Rutgers, according to News12.

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Freeholder Serena DiMaso’s First Meeting

Freeholder Serena DiMaso

Freeholder Serena DiMaso will participate in her first regular public meeting of the board tonight at the Hall of Records, 7PM.

There will be a ceremonial swearing of our newest freeholder at the beginning of the meeting.  DiMaso was officially sworn into office moments after she was elected by the Monmouth County Republican Committee on January 14.

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Marriage Equality and Religious Excemption Act: It’s over except for the theatrics

Same sex marriage will not become law in New Jersey this year by way of legislation or referendum.

Governor Chris Christie assured the Marriage Equality and Religious Excemption Act will not become law when he announced that he will veto it.  He was always going to veto it.  Yet, his call to put the question on the ballot for the voters to decide assured that it will not pass in the legislature with a veto proof majority, if it passes at all.   Legislators, from both parties who are in difficult positions personally and politically over the issue now have cover not to vote to pass the bill.

Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver assured the marriage equality question will not be on the ballot as a State constitutional amendment this fall.  A constitutional amendment requires 60% approval in the legislature before it goes to the people in a referendum.  Sweeney and Oliver have both said that they will not even allow the referendum question come before their chambers for a vote.  They say its a civil rights issue that should not be subject to the whims of the majority.  David Duke, the Klan and the Jim Crow south have been invoked in the heated rhetoric in response to Christie’s call for a referendum.

All the noble rhetoric on this issue, from both sides, is political theatrics.  Presidential and gubernatorial political theatrics.  It has been since 2008.

Governor Corzine asked the gay community not to push for marriage equality during the presidential election year of 2008 or the gubernatorial election year of 2009.  Corzine couldn’t get it gay marriage passed in the lame duck legislative session of 2009.  Had Corzine been reelected, a same sex marriage bill, without protections for the religious community included in the current bill, likely would have become law early in 2010.

Despite their holier-than-though rhetoric about civil rights, and despite Quinnipiac’s poll showing that a majority New Jersey voters favor same sex marriage, Sweeney and Oliver really oppose putting the question on the ballot this fall because they fear it will bring out conservative voters in large margins.  They fear that New Jersey’s 14 electoral votes could be at stake and that the congressional delegation could be at risk.  They remember what happened in California (of all places) and Ohio when gay marriage was on the ballot.

Christie remembers California and Ohio too.   Once again the great compromiser as outmaneuvered the Democrats and made Steve Sweeney curse.   He knows that Sweeney and Oliver would never let the question on the ballot, this year of all years.  Yet by calling for a referendum, he has killed the legislation’s chances of passing with a veto proof majority, if at all.

It’s back to court, and to the confirmation hearings for Chrisite’s nominees for the State Supreme Court, for Steve Goldstein and Garden State Equality.

Or, if what the gay community really wants if equal rights and benefits, rather than changing the definition of marriage, Goldstein and GSE could put their considerable skill into making the civil union law work. Quinnipiac says 69% of New Jersey voters support the same sex civil union law.  The problem has been that Goldstein and GSE don’t support it.  That will be the subject of a follow up post.

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Gingrich Preparing for New Jersey Primary. Romney’s Lead in Florida Restored

Buoyed by his stunning victory in South Carolina, New Gingrich is preparing for a nomination process that could extend into the summer.

Calls have gone out to conservative activists throughout New Jersey looking for grassroots networks to get out the vote for the former Speaker of the House in the Garden State’s  June presidential primary. 

The Gingrich campaign is advertising on cable television in New Jersey.

But the Gingrich campaign may be getting ahead of itself.  After leading the polls in Florida immediately after his South Carolina victory, Gingrich has fallen back to second place, behind Mitt Romney, in the Rasmussen Poll conducted last night.

According to Rasmussen, Romney has restored his lead in Florida back to where it was before Gingrich’s South Carolina win on Saturday.   Romney is supported by 39% of likely voters to Gingrich’s 31%.  Rick Santorum is favored by 12% and Ron Paul has the support of 9% of those expected to vote on Tuesday.  Only 7% are undecided.

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Governor Christie’s Press Conference

Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno will hold a press conference this morning at 11am.

View it live here:

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Same Sex Marriage Passes Senate Judiciary Committee

Christie Calls For a Referendum

The Marriage Equality and Religious Exceptions Act passed the New Jersey Senate Judiciary committee this afternoon on a partisan 8-4 vote. Democrats Nicholas Scutari, Nia Gill, Nellie Pou, Paul Sarlo, Brain Stack, Loretta Weinberg, and Joe Vitale voted for the bill.  Republicans Kip Bateman, Michael Doherty, Joe Kyrillos and Kevin O’Toole voted no.

While at a Town Hall meeting in Bridgewater, Governor Chris Christie called for putting the question on the ballot in November.  Back in Trenton, Senate President Stephen Sweeney quickly rejected Christie’s call for a referendum, calling it a civil rights issue that should be decided by the legislature, not the people.

Former Governor Jon Corzine’s Public Advocate, Richard Chen, said that Women’s Suffrage was on the New Jersey ballot in 1915 and was defeated, passing only in Ocean County.

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Sarah Palin and Christie’s underwear

Yes, there was a GOP presidential debate last night.  Mitt Romney tried to go after Newt Gingrich. Gingrich brushed off the shots, calling them lies, and referred the national audience to his website for his rebuttals.

The entertainment value has been on the under-card;  the battle among the front runners’ surrogates.  Chris Christie called Newt Gingrich an “embarrassment to the party” and an “influence peddler.”  Sarah Palin responded by calling Christie a “rookie” with his “panties in a wad.”

Palin went on during her appearance on Fox Business to call Christie an embarrassment, citing his use of a State Police helicopter to attend his son’s baseball game last June.

Christie doesn’t think much of Palin.  He kept her out of his 2009 gubernatorial campaign and let it be known to 2010 Republican congressional candidates that she was not welcome in New Jersey if the GOP candidates wanted his help on the trail.

But Christie can’t restrict Palin on the national stage and he can’t respond to her in-kind.  Gender sensibilities prohibit Christie from commenting on Palin’s underwear or taking another personal shot at her.   A woman can get away with taking a shot like that against a man, but not the other way around.  Palin, and Gingrich, know that.

For his own political future, and for his present role as a Romney surrogate, Christie needs to come up with a way to neutralise counter-punches coming from Palin.  He needs to do so in a way that increases his standing with both women and men, while diminishing Palin’s.

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Halfacre To Become Director Of Alcoholic Beverage Control

Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre was nominated by Governor Christie today to become the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The nomination requires the advice and consent of the State Senate. 

Halfacre, who is expected to resign as Fair Haven’s mayor and from his prosecutor jobs in Rumson and Little Silver, is replacing Jerry Fischer who has held the ABC job since 2000.

Halfacre will be leading the 50 person division which regulates nearly 10,000 liquor licensees throughout New Jersey.  The division is charged with implementing the new law that allows New Jersey wineries to ship their products to out of state customers on a limited basis and that allows out of state wineries to ship into New Jersey.

When reached for comment, Halfacre said to pull his ad. He referred all other questions to the Governor’s office.

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