Governor Chris Christie and Danny Shields in Highlands earlier this year. Shields, an owner of Windansea, is Sen. Jennifer Beck’s husband.
Governor Chris Christie sounded like a candidate for President of the United States during an address to a private luncheon of the Republican National Committee this afternoon in Boston, according to a report at Politico.
The meeting was closed to reporters at Christie’s insistence, Politico said, but the site obtained a recording from someone in attendance.
Christie’s theme: Republicans need to stop debating, focus on winning and he knows how to win.
“We are not a debating society,” Christie said. “We are a political operation that needs to win.”
“I’m in this business to win,” he said. “I don’t know why you’re in it…I think that we have some folks that believe that our job is to be college professors. Now college professors are fine, I guess. You know, college professors basically spout out ideas that nobody ever does anything about. For our ideas to matter, we have to win because, if we don’t win, we don’t govern. And if we don’t govern, all we do is shout into the wind. So I am going to do anything I need to do to win!”
Gov Chris Christie and HUD Sec Shaun Donovan at Bahrs Landing, Highlands, 4/29/13, photo by Art Gallagher
Much is being made in the political media today about the “harsh assessment of libertarianism” and its most popular current spokesman, Senator Rand Paul, that Governor Chris Christie delivered in his remarks during the Aspen Institute forum with fellow Republican governors Bobby Jindal, Mike Pence, and Scott Walker last night.
Politico published an edited clip of Christie’s comment on “esoteric, intellectual” libertarianism that made it sound as if the Aspen forum was the kick-off of the 2016 Republican presidential primary between Paul and Christie:
Dem Lt. Gov candidate Milly Silva. photo via twitter
PoltickerNJ is reporting the Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono has selected Milly Silva, an Executive Vice President of SEIU 1999. A formal announcement is planned for Monday.
A high level Democratic source confirmed the selection with MMM.
Buono’s campaign kept the “short list” of possible running mates under very tight wraps in an effort avoid the controversy and inter-party bickering that occurred over Buono’s selection of the State Democratic Party Chairman for several weeks during the spring. Buono’s first choice for chairman, Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell was not embraced by party leaders, leading to an anticipated challenge by State Senator Ray Lesniak. All sides finally compromised on Passaic County Democratic Chairman John Currie becoming State Chairman.
The campaign was caught off guard by the information leaking this early, as they had hoped to announce the candidate on the statutory deadline, July 28, in order to avoid another round of second guessing from the likes of Lesniak, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.
Silva, 43, of Montclair, is married (to a man) and has young children. A career union organizer, Silva is a graduate of Columbia University and the Spence School, a private prep school in New York City. She represents low wage health care workers for the SEIU.
State Senator Barbara Buono, the Democratic nominee for governor, yesterday said that the many Democrats who have endorsed Governor Chris Christie for another term did so to get more Sandy recovery money for their communities.
Buono, the Democrat running against Christie for governor, said she believes many of the endorsements are “transactional.”
“A lot of the folks have said that they’re endorsing him because they’ve received assistance for Sandy and they need more. And you know what, they do need more,” she said. “And this is a governor that’s shown that he can be vindictive.”
Christie’s campaign spokesperson Kevin Roberts said that Buono hit a reprehensible and insulting new low by suggesting that Sandy aid was subject to horse trading.
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon went further, saying that Buono is unfit for public office.
Spring Lake Mayor Jennifer Naughton and Council members Janice Venables, Bob Dasheff and Priscilla Reilly joined Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long and Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider in throwing their support behind Christie despite Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal’s attempts to enforce party discipline.
Gopal issued statements critical Long’s and Scheider’s endorsements of Christie, prompting the Governor to say that the 27 year old chairman represents the “politics of yesterday.”
Regarding today’s endorsements, Gopal said, “Spring Lake is an overwhelmingly Republican town. When Councilwoman Venables ran council last year, her mail pieces asked people to vote Democratic locally but not the rest of the ticket. The Monmouth County Democrats, as a county party, strongly supports Senator Barbara Buono for Governor. She will fight for working families throughout this county and state.”
Venables was a Monmouth Democratic Freeholder nominee in 2010.
Congressman Frank Pallone has the weakest support of the four candidates vying the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a Kean University poll released yesterday, three weeks into the ten week campaign for the nod.
Of the 366 likely Democratic voters Kean surveyed, only 6% say they will vote for Pallone of August 13. 49% say they favor Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Congressman Rush Holt and State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver each are supported by 9%. 5% favor an other candidate and 22% are unsure.
In a June 10 Quinnipiac poll that did not include Oliver, Pallone came in last with 9% to Booker’s 53% and Holt’s 10%.
Pallone had $3.7 million in campaign cash as of his March filing with the Federal Election Commission. Booker had $1.6 million and Holt had $797 thousand.
Steve Lonegan is leading Dr. Alieta Eck, 45%-15% among the 321 Republican voters Kean surveyed.
Governor Christie’s approval rating is 70% and wins reelection over State Senator Barbara Buono by 30 points, according to the Kean poll.
Tessa Bitterman, State Senator Barbara Buono’s 23 year old daughter, sent a fundraising email to her mother’s supporters this morning where in she declared she is gay and blasted Governor Chris Christie for vetoing same sex marriage.
Growing up, my mom was always there for me no matter what. I’m gay and from an early age I felt free to express myself with my mother, knowing she would always support me for who I am.
As a gay American I have a stake in what our governor says about marriage equality. And I have been deeply shocked by Chris Christie. As governor, he has been a giant roadblock to New Jersey achieving equality for all. By failing to support marriage equality, Christie is blatantly delegitimizing an entire group of people.
I have also seen Chris Christie misrepresent himself as a moderate to New Jersey – that’s why it’s even more important to stop him before he takes his radical show on the road when he goes national after this election.
Hundreds of Monmouth County residents got the hell off the beach this morning to witness Adam Schneider, the Democratic Mayor of Long Branch, endorse Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, for another four year term leading the Garden State.
Guv Chris Christie accepting Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider’s endorsement. Photo by Art Gallagher. Click for larger view.
Christie was swarmed by boardwalk visitors anxious for a photograph and to shake his hand as he exited his vehicle outside of McLoone’s Pier House. It took him 20 minutes to work through the crowd while making the short walk to the veranda for Schneider’s announcement.
Schneider declared that he is a proud Democrat who took the difficult step of making a cross party endorsement because “Christie doesn’t care what national Republicans think, he is working for the people of New Jersey.”
Schneider said mentioned to a Christie staffer, Christopher Stark, that he might vote for the governor at a meeting in January after Christie chastised House Republicans, particularly Speaker John Boehner, for holding up legislation authorizing federal relief for Superstorm Sandy recovery.
“He wrote that down,” Schneider said of Stark, “I knew I would be hearing from the governor. He called from his cell phone, not a government phone number.”
After agreeing to endorse Christie, Schneider called 30-45 of his Democratic friends to give them the news before it became public. “Some were disappointed. Most said, What’s taken you so long?”
Governor Chris Christie is schedule to deliver an address entitled “Cooperation and Collaboration: A Conversation on Leadership” this afternoon, 4PM at former President Bill Clinton’s Clinton Global Initiative is Chicago.
Congressman Frank Pallone has the weakest support of the four candidates vying the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a 
