NJ Right To Life Defends Kyrillos And Handlin Against Bellew’s ‘Misinformation’

Pro-Life Advocate Endorses O’Scanlon In LD13 Primary

Marie Tasy, Executive Director of New Jersey Right to Life issued a statement last night refuting the “misinformation” being circulated by State Senate Candidate Leigh-Ann Bellew and her Bayshore Tea Party Group backed running mates in the 13th legislative district Republican primary.

Tasy was quoted in a mailer sent by the Bellew/Bayshore Tea Party slate as saying that Senator Joe Kyrillos voted in favor of partial birth abortion.

In her statement to MoreMonmouthMusings, Tasy went into painstaking detail to list Kyrillos’s votes against partial birth abortion. She said that bill cited in Bellew’s mailer that Kyrillos voted for, S1909, was a “bill filled with very technical, scientific jargon that was rammed through the Senate at breakneck speed.” The bill legalized embryonic stem cell research and cloning, NOT partial birth abortion.  Tasy said that many Senators voted for the bill without fully understanding it.  Subsequently, Kyrillos voted against the funding of embryonic stem cell/cloning research with increased taxes and bonding.

Tasy noted that Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon were not legislators when the partial birth abortion and embryonic stem cell/cloning research bills were voted on.

Tasy’s statement is particularly extraordinary because Kyrillos is pro-choice on abortion.  Tasy said she is not defending Kyrillos, but setting the record straight on the misinformation campaign.

 I am not writing to defend Senator Kyrillos’ record and well known position on abortion, but to set the record straight on the misinformation campaign that is being circulated regarding his voting record and the positions of Assemblyman O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Handlin.  It should be noted that Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin were NOT  in the legislature at the time these bills were voted on and  therefore did  not vote on any of these bills.

“It says a lot about our opponents who call themselves conservatives that someone as highly respected in the Pro-Life community as Marie Tasy would take the time to refute the misinformation in their literature,” said O’Scanlon, “This is further confirmation of what I’ve been saying throughout the campaign, Bellew, her running mates, and the Bayshore Tea Party Group’s leadership have no integrity.”

Neither Bellew nor Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez responded to an invitation to comment.

Tasy’s statement can be read in its entirety below:

I am writing to set the record straight regarding some misinformation that is being circulated in mailers to voters in the the 13th legislative district. Read the rest of this entry »

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Crunch Time

As the LD 13 primary campaign enters its final days, the two competing slates seem to be employing very different strategies for getting their supporters to the polls on Tuesday.

The Bayshore Tea Party backed slate of candidates challenging the incumbent slate of GOP legislative veterans has taken to installing unreadable homemade ‘Column 3’ signs in front of the Kryillos, Handlin and O’Scanlon signs throughout Middletown.

The incumbents are knocking on doors and reminding supporters to vote.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin canvassing for votes in Middletown

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Joe Kyrillos: Like No Other

By Charles Measley

Charles Measley and Joe Kyrillos

I first met Sen. Joe Kyrillos in 2010 when I was a sophomore in college. Over the next few years I gained insight into Joe’s character and I learned just how great of a person he really is. Sen. Joe Kyrillos, like no other State Senator here in New Jersey, goes out of his way to make himself available to the people of his district. There had been countless times where I would send him an email late in the evening and within a few minutes I would receive a personal reply back from him.

Politically I am a very conservative person and while I do not agree with all of Sen. Joe Kyrillos’ views, there is much that I respect and admire about him. He always has his door open to hear all the opinions and all the facts on issues of the day, and from there he makes the best decision –not just for the people of this district –but for the people of the state of New Jersey.

The reason I decided to write this is because this morning on Facebook I saw something that really highlights Sen. Joe Kyrillos character. Eleven years ago today, my friend’s son had open heart surgery. One way or another Sen. Joe Kyrillos found out about this little boy’s surgery. Sen. Joe then wrote this little boy a hand written letter telling him to stay strong and that everything would be okay. Shortly after the surgery Sen. Joe Kyrillos personally called this little boy to make sure that everything was going well.

It is these qualities and characteristics that make Sen. Joe Kyrillos truly like no other State Senator here in New Jersey. Because he is a man of character and commitment I am voting for Sen. Joe Kyrillos in the Republican primary being heldTuesday, June 4th!

Editors note: A copy of Kyrillos’ letter to Kyle can be read below the fold:

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O’Scanlon Endorsed By NRA PAC

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon has been endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund for the June 4th Republican primary in the 13th legislative district.

In an email to their members in the 13th district, NRA-PV said,

“Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon is rated “A” by the NRA-PVF and has been a proven Second Amendment supporter throughout his tenure in the state legislature.  He has been vocal in his support of your Second Amendment rights and has stood strong against anti-gun lawmakers pushing their radical agenda in Trenton.  Declan O’Scanlon has stood by gun owners in New Jersey by consistently voting against onerous gun proposals, including sweeping ammunition bans, magazine capacity restrictions, one-gun-a-month limitation, and more.

On Election Day, remember your gun rights are at stake and Vote Freedom First by voting to reelect Declan O’Scanlon for Assemblyman in District 13.”

O’Scanlon welcomed the endorsement as a confirmation of his conservative credentials by “one of the most effective advocacy groups in the nation.”

“This is confirmation that my opponents have be lying about my record and confirmation that my opponents have no integrity,”O’Scanlon said, “The NRA knows enough to say away from my opponents,

“As the only candidate endorsed by the NRA-PV in the district, I enthusiastically endorse Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin.”

Barbara Gonzalez, co-founder of the Bayshore Tea Party Group which is supporting O’Scanlon’s opponents in the primary did not respond to a request for comment.

UPDATE

Gonzalez responded to MMM late last evening, declining to comment. “Nope….your blog has become trashy.  Just….nope,” she wrote.

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More Hypocrisy, Ignorance and Incompetence from Peters, Bayshore Tea Party Backed Primary Slate

‘Queen’ Barbara Gonzalez of The Bayshore Tea Party Group via facebook. Click for larger view

“There will be no double dipping when I am Sheriff,” Dan Peters, the Bayshore Tea Party backed candidate for sheriff said when he introduced himself to the group back in early April, and the last time he talked to MMM in person or on the phone.  Peters was referring to retired police officers working for the Sheriff’s Office, while also collecting a pension.

After repeated attempts to question Peters, MMM was finally successful in engaging the candidate on facebook a couple of weeks ago.  We asked him, given that he is collecting a disability police pension himself, if he would be working for free if elected Sheriff or if he would be giving up his pension.

Peters responded that he would implement a system whereby retired officers salaries are reduced by the amount of their pensions.  This would be a significant savings for the taxpayers, he said.

Not a bad idea, if he could pull it off.  But how could he?   He couldn’t.  Why would a retired police officer take a job with a $90,000 salary, for example, but only get paid $8000 if his/her $82,000 pension off set his salary?  He/she wouldn’t, especially if a similar job where both a pension and salary could be collected was available in another county.  Peters proposal would only result in Monmouth County losing out on the best talent.

For Peters idea (if it is indeed his idea) to work, would require statewide pension reform.  It would require legislation to be passed in both house of the legislature and to be signed into law by the governor.

Well, it turns out there is legislation pending in both the Assembly and Senate now that would accomplish the goal.   Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, who is also being challenged by the Bayshore Tea Party Group backed slate of candidates, is one of the primary sponsors of the bill.

Other Monmouth County legislators sponsoring the bill are Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande as primary sponsor and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini as cosponsor.  Senator Jennifer Beck is a primary sponsor in the Senate.

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Why I am voting against Leigh-Ann Bellew on June 4

By Art Gallagher

Yesterday I was interviewed by The Star Ledger and went on the record saying that I would be voting for Joe Kyrillos for State Senate in the 13th Legislative District Republican primary on June 4th.   Consistent with my slogan of being fair and biased, it is appropriate that I tell you, my readers and the reason my opinion matters to The Star Ledger, that MMM is now part of the story and that I have made a decision that can’t help but color my coverage of the rest of the campaign.

MMM is part of the LD 13 story, instead of just covering the story, because we’ve provided the bulk of the media coverage of the primary campaign to date and because Kyrillos’ challenger, Leigh-Ann Bellew, attacked this site in a press release, according to The Star Ledger.

On many important issues, Life and The Right to Bear Arms in particular, I am in more philosophical agreement with Bellew than I am with Kyrillos.   Despite my philosophical differences with Kyrillos, the choice between him and Bellew has become a very easy one.  Kyrillos is a very good State Senator.  Bellew is a deeply flawed candidate.  She never should have exposed herself, her family, and friends who care about her deeply to the rigors and vetting of this campaign.

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Monmouth Republicans and the Tea Party Row – A National Problem in Local Form

If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.

~Ronald Reagan, July 1, 1975

By Tommy DeSeno

Self-identified Tea Party groups are supporting primary candidates against Republican incumbents Senator Joe Kyrillos, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, Monmouth Freeholder Director Tom Arnone, Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso and Monmouth Sheriff Shaun Golden.

Normally I’d say to the challengers nothing more than, “Hey it’s a free country so have at it,” but to call America a “free country” now is becoming more cliché than reality, isn’t it?  Between Democrat Obama’s view that he has a right to kill American citizens without due process of law and Republican John Roberts ruling that I can be “taxed” on ObamaCare for not buying it, it is becoming increasingly hard to know who to trust in matters of American freedom.

When people ask me nowadays if I’d like to see a third party in politics, I tell them I’d settle for a second one.  The Democrats and Republicans are becoming that much alike.

So let me start by saying to Tea Party folks that I understand your frustration.  I too feel the need to have political ideology inform political judgment rather than concerns over electoral identity.  

The problem, my friends, is the “Tea Party” was never intended to be a third political party, and the local folks in Monmouth County are treating it like it is.  There seems to be a need to serve a full slate of candidates without regard to whether the Republican in question should be challenged, and that makes you look more election driven than ideology driven.  

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Which candidates are better known?

Why either LD 13 slate could still win

Provolone is cheese

By Art Gallagher

Monday night at the Two Rivers Republican Club of Fair Haven Meet the Candidates night, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assembly Candidate Edna Walsh got into it over which slate is better known.

While scolding the challengers for running against “the best, most conservative, delegation in the legislature,” and dismissing the Bayshore Tea Party backed candidates’ justification for running,  i.e., that Joe Kyrillos, Amy Handlin and O’Scanlon don’t share the conservative values of the district the challengers say,  O’Scanlon said, “Where have you been?  I haven’t heard from you and no body has heard of you.”

Walsh retorted, “As I go door to door, no one has heard to you.”  To which O’Scanlon scoffed.

Both O’Scanlon and Walsh are probably right.  Unless something has happened that nobody has accounted for in the last two years, very few of the legislative candidates in the district, and throughout the state, incumbent or not, are very well known.

In March of 2011, days before the new legislative map was announced, I was disgusted that Dr. Alan Rosenthal of Rutgers, the deciding vote on the commission that was designating the gerrymandered map that in all likelihood would determine the partisan composition of the legislature for the next decade, had on his own created a criteria by which the map should be determined; continuity  of representation.

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Bellew Attacks MMM

The Bellew for State Senate campaign issued a press release this morning wherein they refer to MoreMonmouthMusings and its commenters as “a sympathetic band of faux journalists who could appear on campaign reports for in-kind contributions as paid communication staff.”

The Kyrillos campaign issued a childish response to a serious issue regarding the hypocrisy of Joe Kyrillos, Declan O’Scanlon, and Amy Handlin using a taxpayer funded website to praise a group in the face that they have been stabbing in the back politically.  Calling the Tea Party silly and outrageous, the Kyrillos continues to demonstrate a distain for citizen patriots fighting to make New Jersey and America stronger. He knows that the voters are not warming up to him as they learn about his liberal voting record. So instead of engaging them at a candidate event, he and his campaign have turned to a sympathetic band of faux journalists who could appear on campaign reports for in-kind contributions as paid communication staff.

MMM is the only media outlet that carried the Kyrillos campaign’s statement calling Bellew “silly and foolish” over her press release attacking Kyrillos, O’Scanlon and Handlin for their release condemning the IRS and the Obama Administration for their illegal targeting of Conservative and Tea Party groups.

What a difference seven weeks makes.

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O’Scanlon On Offense

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon said the Bayshore Tea Party Group backed challenge of the 13th Legislative District incumbents and the Monmouth GOP county-wide incumbents, is inspired by nothing more than the need for attention and the desire for relevance on the part of the challenging candidates and of Barbara Gonzalez, co-founder of BTPG.  O’Scanlon flat out challenged the group’s integrity.

O’Scanlon made his charge directly to the faces of the challenging candidates who showed up last night, Leigh-Ann Bellew for Senate, Edna Walsh and Steve Boracchia running for Assembly, BTPG co-founder Barbara Gonzalez, along with approximately 30 other Republican primary voters at a Meet the Candidates Night hosted by the Two Rivers Republican of Fair Haven.

O’Scanlon was representing himself and his running mates, Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin at the gathering.  Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Sheriff Shaun Golden spoke on behalf of themselves and Freeholder Deputy Director Serena DiMaso.  All three men defended the conservative records of the incumbents and called out the challengers for running against the wrong candidates, dividing the party, and distorting their records to the Republican primary voters.

O’Scanlon went after the challengers aggressively on the content of their campaign, without personal attacks.

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