Menendez chokes back sobs in Union City

Photo credit: Star Ledger

Politickernj is reporting that U.S. Senator Bob Menendez cried emotionally, “twice choking back sobs,” at a Union City daycare center earlier today.

State Senator Joe Kyrillos’ claim that he is the “women’s candidate” in New Jersey the U.S. Senate race is reportedly what brought Menendez to tears.

Menendez and a cohort of Democratic women were at the Union City daycare center to take a page out of the Obama playbook by accusing Kyrillos of being anti-woman, according to a report on NJ.com

“That fact of the matter is, on all of the issues that matter most to the women of New Jersey, state Sen. Joe Kyrillos has been on the wrong side,” state Sen. Barbara Buono said at a campaign rally held in a Union City daycare center. “For every stride Sen. Menendez has made to uplift and support women in New Jersey and across the nation, Sen. Kyrillos and his allies took a step — a leap — backward.”

The Kyrillos campaign fired back with a statement from Communications Director Meaghan Cronin:

“Sadly, aided by some partisan politicians, Bob Menendez today tried to deflect from his record of failing women by attacking Joe Kyrillos. The truth is women have been hurt by Bob Menendez’s votes and policies.  In fact, there are 780,000 more women unemployed today than there were three and a half years ago. What does Menendez’s record show: increased debt, reduced jobs and cuts to Medicare. No wonder he wants to draw focus away from that. While Menendez continues to play politics, a ticking time bomb awaits New Jersey families. While he continues to talk and not act, the threat of a massive tax increase that will hurt women and all taxpayers continues to grow. Bob Menendez promised us better, but gave us so much worse.” 

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Menendez Out Raises Kyrillos in Second Quarter Money Race

U. S. Senator Bob Menendez raised nearly $400 thousand more than his challenger, State Senator Joe Kyrillos did during the quarter that ended June 30th.   Menendez raised roughly $1.7 million to Kyrillos’ $1.3 million.  During the first quarter, Kyrillos out raised Menendez by $100 thousand.

Menendez has $10 million in cash to Kyrillos’ $2 million.

“I am grateful for the support of so many people for my campaign, which is about so much more than re-electing one person as Senator. It’s about the middle class of New Jersey and what matters most to all of us,” said Senator Menendez. “These resources are invaluable to me as I prepare for a long hard fight in the Senate race. Contributions from regular people who hold a tremendous stake in this election serve as a bulwark against the very real possibility of my opponent turning to corporations and billionaires to fund his campaign.”

The Kyrillos campaign said that the $3.1 million they have raised to date puts them in the top tier of U.S. Senate candidates, both incumbents and challengers, throughout the country.

“Bob Menendez has raised millions of dollars from special interests,” said Kyrillos Campaign Manager Chapin Fay. “Oil companies, banks and Wall Street are all kicking in big bucks. And like Jon Corzine did in 2009, Menendez will have more money in this race. But no amount of money can explain away Bob Menendez’s failed record on jobs and the economy. We are right on pace for Joe Kyrillos to have the resources necessary to get out his job growth message.”

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Christie to Monmouth County Residents: Conserve water, don’t use fireworks

Water emergency to be repaired by July 4th

Gov. Chris Chrisite boarding a State Police helicopter on his way to address a power outage in Atlantic County after addressing the press in Monmouth County about the current water crisis. Photo by Art Gallagher

Oceanport, NJ- Governor Chris Christie implored Monmouth County residents to conserve water and to express their patriotism by not shooting off private fireworks for the duration of the water crisis caused by the major infrastructure failure at New Jersey American Water Company’s Swimming River water treatment plant.  Addressing the press at the Wolf Hill Recreation area in Oceanport, Christie said “if a lot of things go perfectly” the water crisis will be over by the July 4th holiday.

Christie announced that residents of twenty two towns should boil their water before drinking or cooking.  Those towns are : 

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Kyrillos campaign’s statement on Dwek

“Senator Kyrillos has built a sterling reputation throughout his career, and this is a shameless oppo dump from the Menendez political machine. The fact of the matter is that Senator Kyrillos never did anything to help this man at any time.  And furthermore, the second it was clear that this man was a con man, Senator Kyrillos, unlike others, immediately gave his campaign contribution to charity and documented that with the Election Law Enforcement Commission.”

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CD-6 Primary: It will all come down to turnout

On the day Anna Little won the endorsement of the Middlesex County GOP, she became the favorite to win the 6th congressional district nomination.  Despite that all of the candidates, Democrat and Republican are from Monmouth County, the new 6th is a Middlesex County district. 

With no presidential contest on the top of the ballot and the U.S. Senate race uncompetitive, turnout is likely to be very low.  13,000 voters decided the 2010 primary race between Little and Monmouth County GOP Vice Chair Diane Gooch by less than 90 votes.  This time out, I’ll be surprised if there are more than 6000 votes.

Based on name recognition, Little should be considered the favorite.  She scored an upset in the last primary. She was the general election candidate in 2010 and she was a countywide candidate for Freeholder in 2006.

Coming into the race, Ernesto Cullari, the Monmouth County GOP endorsed candidate was a complete unknown, except for readers of the triCityNews where he was the token conservative columnist.   The nomination in both Middlesex and Monmouth Counties was his for the taking because no one else wanted it.  Little was running for the U.S. Senate nomination against Joe Kyrillos.

Little has been once again running against the Republican establishment who turned her away for the congressional nomination twice and never wanted her as freeholder candidate.  She won the office of Freeholder by one vote at a raucous January 2006 convention and was denied the nomination for reelection in 2007.

But it was during a meeting with Kyrillos in early March, before the Monmouth County screening/candidate selection and after Cullari announced his candidacy, that Little give up her Senate bid and decided to make another run for Congress.   Kyrillos did not want a primary challenge from the pesky Little.  Little did not want her career to end with a primary loss to Kyrillos.   The independent minded elected officials and municipal chairs of the Monmouth GOP were not going along with the deal.  They knew Little was no more of a threat to Kyrillos than Badar Qarmout.

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Senator Joe Kyrillos’ Response to Senator Bob Menendez’s Campaign Kick-off

“The voters of New Jersey know the truth behind Sen. Menendez’s record…” 

Middletown, May 21…Senator Joe Kyrillos released the following statement today regarding Senator Bob Menendez’s campaign kickoff in Union City. Mr. Menendez is seeking another term in the United States Senate.

“The voters of New Jersey know the truth about Sen. Menendez’s record,” said Senator Kyrillos. “Since Mr. Menendez has been in office, our national debt has almost doubled and our national deficit has nearly quadrupled. Our unemployment rate continues to hover above 8 percent—that’s 20 million unemployed or underemployed people across the country. New Jerseyans see what Senator Menendez is doing is not working- and we need a change. I have worked with Governor Christie to turn around a state that was on the brink of bankruptcy. We’ve balanced our budgets, created jobs, and strengthened the economy without raising taxes. We need reforms like that in Washington, not more of the same from Senator Bob Menendez.”

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NY Times: Kyrillos has “a plausable path to upset” Mendenez

The New York Times FiveThirtyEight blog has shifted its rating of the New Jersey U.S. Senate race between likely GOP nominee, State Senator Joe Kyrillos and incumbent Senator Bob Menendez from Safe Democrat to Likely Democrat.

In New Jersey, Robert Menendez, a Democrat, has middling approval ratings and is below 50 percent in the polls against the most likely Republican nominee, State Senator Joseph Kyrillos. Mr. Kyrillos would need to catch some breaks to win the race — his fund-raising has lagged Mr. Menendez’s so far, and he might need Mr. Romney to be more competitive in New Jersey than Republican presidential candidates have been in recent years. Still, there is a plausible path to an upset, and so we now classify the race as Likely Democrat rather than Safe Democrat.

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Menendez Continues to Poll in Very Dangerous, Corzine-like Territory

It is clear Menendez doesn’t care about holding ‘individuals’ accountable. See no evil. Hear no evil. Time and again, he has proved unwilling to put his oversight role on the Senate Banking Committee above his self-serving double standard. The people of New Jersey can no longer afford to play second fiddle to Menendez’s political allies.

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Menendez’s Self-Serving Double Standard

Menendez calls for ‘system controls’ when JP Morgan makes a risky bet with its own money, but looks the other way when individuals and families lose their savings with MF Global

Middletown, May 15…When individuals and their families lost their savings with MF Global, Bob Menendez protected his ally Jon Corzine by steering the Senate Banking Committee’s investigation away from the CEO’s role in the collapse. Yet, when asked about JP Morgan’s loss resulting from a risky bet, Menendez called for ‘system controls.’  Menendez’s self-serving double standard of protecting his political allies- like Jon Corzine and the rest of the executive team- while calling for everyone else to play by the rules has got to stop.

“The collapse of MF Global and the risky bet placed by JP Morgan clearly demonstrate that regulators need to take a closer look at Wall Street practices and institute reforms to protect investors and the economy as a whole,” said Joe Kyrillos, who has been calling for Menendez to recuse himself from the banking committee’s investigation citing conflict of interest.

“People who took advantage of the lack of controls on Wall Street need to be held accountable. Menendez has again proved that he is not willing to put his personal ties aside to serve as an unbiased congressional investigator. The people of New Jersey deserve someone who is looking out for their best interests- not the best interests of past political cronies.”

Two Piscataway physicians, Drs. John and Alieta Eck, who provide charity medical care to the needy, had an investment account with MF Global that was completely wiped out as a result of the collapse. The Doctors Eck lost $200,000 and rightly demand answers from a thorough Senate investigation.

“The fact that Menendez failed to even mention the CEO Jon Corzine by name demonstrates that he is putting his personal relationship with the CEO ahead of the customers of MF global and the people of New Jersey. This requires a fair and comprehensive investigation, not a political whitewash,” said Dr. John Eck.

In an interview on MSNBC yesterday discussing the JP Morgan loss, Menendez said, “What I care about is not an individual, I care about a system. Having system controls to ensure that no matter who is at the head of a company, this can’t happen.”

It is clear Menendez doesn’t care about holding ‘individuals’ accountable. See no evil. Hear no evil. Time and again, he has proved unwilling to put his oversight role on the Senate Banking Committee above his self-serving double standard. The people of New Jersey can no longer afford to play second fiddle to Menendez’s political allies.

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Victim of MF Global Fraud Joins Senator Kyrillos in Asking Menendez to Recuse Himself from MF Global Investigation

Family practitioners John and Alieta Eck lost $200,000 in non-investment MF Global account

Middletown, April 4… Today, Piscataway family practitioners, Drs. John and Alieta Eck, joined Senator Kyrillos in asking U.S. Senator Bob Menendez to recuse himself from the Senate Banking Committee’s investigation into the collapse of MF Global. The Doctors Eck had $200,000 in a non-investment account that was completely wiped out as a result of the company’s collapse. They have not received any repayment of their money from MF Global.

“My wife and I were devastated when money that we though was safe was taken from us with no explanation. We were counting on this money for our retirement, and now we many never see it again. We stand firmly with Senator Kyrillos in asking Bob Menendez to step aside from the MF Global investigation proceedings. The fact that Menendez failed to even mention the CEO Jon Corzine by name demonstrates that he is putting his personal relationship with Corzine ahead of the investors of MF global and the people of New Jersey. This requires a fair and comprehensive investigation, not a political whitewash.”

Yesterday, Senator Kyrillos, called on Menendez to recuse himself from the Senate Banking Committee investigation, citing a conflict of interest.

“Recent press accounts and Menendez’s own actions during investigatory hearings are making it seem as if he is trying to protect the man who appointed him to the Senate. As a Senate committee with direct oversight of the MF Global regulators, it is Menendez’s duty to put his personal ties aside, and get to the bottom of this. That is why he needs to recuse himself from further proceedings immediately.”

Last week during the hearing, Senator Menendez made it a point to steer the Committee’s investigation away from Corzine’s role in MF Global collapse: See no evil. Hear no evil.

Previously, the Star Ledger’s Auditor shed light on the Menendez duck: “Menendez [is] not keen to question Jon Corzine on MF Global scandal on Senate Banking committee.”

The column continued, saying Menendez doesn’t want to be “questioning the man who handed him his current job.”

WATCH VIDEO: Menendez makes it a point to steer the Committee’s investigation away from Corzine’s role in MF Global collapse: See no evil. Hear no evil.

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