Now that she survived Steve Lonegan’s challenge to her petitions, it worth getting to know the political novice who was able to get 2,285 nominating signatures in three days, Dr. Alieta Eck. That was a task that was too much for many seasoned politicians.
From the looks of how the Special Election Senate race is shaping up, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is going to win in a landslide anyway. Booker has a huge lead over Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Congressmen Frank Pallone and Rush Holt in the independent polls for the Democratic nomination. Lonegan is within striking distance of Pallone, Holt and Oliver in the Monmouth University Poll released last Friday, but loses to Booker by 16 points.
The only hope for a Republican to win the Senate seat in October is for someone other than Booker to be the Democratic nominee or for Booker to be badly wounded, politically, in a bloody Democratic primary. That doesn’t look like it is going to happen.
So far, Pallone and Holt are playing nice. Pallone is sending out emails asking people to recruit their friends to ‘Like’ his facebook page and volunteer for his campaign. Holt is posting on facebook asking non-Democrats to change parties in order to vote for him in the primary. If Oliver is doing anything, we haven’t noticed.
No one is mentioning all the shootings in Newark this week, that, if they were happening in Marlboro or Newtown, CT would be making national news. No one is asking Booker for his travel schedule or where he spends his weekends. Pallone tried to make an issue of Booker’s relationship with Governor Chris Christie, but Democrats seem to like Christie more than they like Pallone. No one is making an issue of Booker’s relationship with Wall Street, because Wall Street is investing a ton of money in Newark.
Scott Sipprelle and Rush Holt had a verbal slug fest with the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board (aka the Neptune Nudniks) yesterday. Read the APP account here.
Sipprelle and Holt will face off in their first public debate in Thursday, October 14 from 11:45 – 12:45 at the Yvonne Theater, Rider University. That debate is sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider. Ben Dworkin will moderate.
On Monday, the reformer and the rocket scientist face off at Young Israel of East Brunswick, 193 Dunham’s Corner Road, East Brunswick. That debate is co-sponsored by the Middlesex Jewish Federation and the Monmouth Jewish Federation. NJ 101.5’s Eric Scott will moderate.
Finally, on Friday October 29, Sipprelle will debate both Holt and NJN’s Michael Aron for the public TV stations “On The Record.”
He ran for Governor last year as an Independent. MoreMonmouthMusingsbroke the story that the Democrats paid for robo calls for Daggett in the closing days of the 2009 campaign. Shameless and desperate, the Dems kept making those calls even after it was all over the news that they were paying for them and after Daggett himself condemned them for doing so.
There are plenty of signs that the Democrats are equally shameless and desperate this year as the GOP is poised to take control of the New Jersey Congressional delegation with victories in the 3rd, 6th and 12th districts.
In the 3rd district, the press has finally confirmed what everybody knew. The Democrats put a 3rd party “Tea Party” candidate on the ballot to syphon votes away from Republican Jon Runyan in order to help freshman Democratic Congressman John Adler retain his seat in a traditionally Republican district.
The biggest indicator that Scott Sipprelle is winning in the 12th district is that Rush Holt has agreed to debates. Holt doesn’t even like to take live questions from his constituents. Rush is probably taking comfort from the fact that liberal Ben Dworkin of Rider University is moderating. Dworkin proclaimed his liberalness on his facebook page until very recently. He used to be the Assistant Director of Research for NJ Democratic Assembly Office.
Who would have thought that Anna Little would have been within single digits of Frank Pallone 4 weeks before election day? Who besides me, Mike Laffey, Dwight Kehoe, Bob Gordon, Barbara Gonzalez and Brian Hegarty? Russ Cote. Maybe Mickey Gooch too. He’s got 5-1 odds on Little.
Pallone hasn’t been in a competitive race in 22 years. He cut his dirty trick budget after the primary, figuring he could cruise to victory and save is $4 million war chest for a U.S. Senate race. Now he’s resorting to buying everyone pancakes and pleading for help because, in his own words, he “can’t possibly get across the finish line on November 2nd without your continued support.”
Meanwhile, the APP ( All Phoney Palloney?) read Patrick Murray’s poll and wrote a headline claiming that Pallone is leading Little “by nearly 2-1.” 2-1? Murray said Pallone has a 12% lead. 2-1 would be a 33% lead. 12% is not nearly 33%.
Even my own analysis on Murray’s poll has been bothering me:
Murray classifies a likely voter as someone who has voted in 2 of the last four general elections. Of the 333,519 registered voters in CD-6, 60,053 voted in 2 of the four last general elections; 23,750 (40%) Democrats, 27,791 (46%) Independents and 8,512 (14%) Republicans, according to GOP records of voter activity.
CD-6 has 333,544 registered voters. In the last five elections, an average of 157,000 people voted. The average is 144,000 if you don’t count the 2008 presidential election (254,543 voters) and the 2007 state legislative election(96,950 voters). Yet, only 60,053 people voted in 2 of the last four elections, the criteria Murray used to select “likely voters.” Granted, Murray used a different list than I did to measure who voted in 2 of the last 4 elections. If there is a wide disparity between the two, my analysis of his poll is as flawed as the APP headline. I think I’ll ask him about his list.
Incidentally, Real Clear Politics also rates the CD-3 race between Jon Runyan and John Adler as a toss up. RCP rates Scott Sipprelle’s race against Rush Holt as “Leans Dem.” I find the CD-12 rating hard to believe. I’m not on the ground in CD-12 as much as I like to be, but I wake up every morning to “I’m Scott Sipprelle and I approved this message.”
On September 27, the House of Representatives passed a bill introduced by Rush Holt to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Muhammad Yunus in recognition of his developing the concept of microcredit, or the extension of small loans to the poor. Due to the vision of Dr. Yunus, the World Bank estimates that microfinance institutions now serve 160 million people in developing countries.These loans have enabled impoverished people in developing countries to start businesses, achieve independence, hire employees, bring new products and technologies to remote markets, foster accountability and give borrowers the pride of running a business. For this, Dr. Yunus is deserving of praise.
Well, Rush Holt doesn’t have to go all the way to Bangladesh to find lenders willing to risk their capital to spur economic development. Despite the monstrously vindictive 2,000 page financial reform bill that Holt voted for but didn’t read, hundreds of Holt’s constituents do the same thing everyday. One of these constituents is responsible for extending loans to hundreds of local businesses through his interests in the Bank of Princeton. Loans extended by the Bank of Princeton have enabled entrepreneurs to open businesses and existing businesses to continue to meet payroll despite being under vicious assault by Holt.
If Rush Holt finds it fitting to honor a man whose vision has spurred lending in almost every place outside of New Jersey’s 12th Congressional district, then the application of logic requires Holt to honor one of his own constituents who is risking his own capital when making loans to spur economic development in central New Jersey.
The local resident that Holt should honor is Scott Sipprelle. If Holt declines to honor Sipprelle, then Holt will prove his hypocrisy.
Incumbent Congressman Frank Pallone and Rush Holt today provided the crucial votes to support Speaker Pelosi’s attempt to adjourn Congress before holding a vote to block the largest tax hikes in our history this coming January 1.
Had either of these professional politicians chosen to vote, as every Republican and 39 Democrat congressman did, in a true bi-partisan effort to prevent this massive tax hike, American workers and American businesses would have had certainty relating to the tax rates for next year. Uncertainty in these economic times is a nail in the coffin of economic recovery.
Make no mistake, Frank Pallone and Rush Holt voted today, not to lower your taxes, but to raise taxes on everyone.
The simple and sad truth is that both Pallone and Holt voted to support the ultra liberal “progressive” agenda of Nancy Pelosi, as they have consistently done in the past.
As one Republican Congressional candidate, Anna Little said, “Fifteen million Americans are looking for work, and they were looking to the Congress to block a massive tax hike scheduled to go into effect on New Year’s Day. Our unemployed friends and neighbors are smart enough to know that raising taxes on small businesses and entrepreneurs is the wrong thing to do when it comes to creating the conditions for economic growth.”
Anna Little is opposing Congressman Pallone. Republican Scott Sipprelle is opposing Congressman Holt.
In 34 days we, the people, will have the chance to send these professional politicians, Pallone and Holt, a loud and clear message. In the words of Donald Trump, “You’re Fired”.
On November 2nd, vote like your jobs, your businesses and your children’s future depends on it. Because they do!
A canvass director responsible for recruiting workers to go door to door for Congressman Rush Holt and Senator Frank Lautenberg during the 2008 general election claims that he was fired for hiring African-Americans to canvass white neighborhoods in the 12th congressional district, according to a report in the Star Ledger.
