Our guest was Lon Hosford, a Tea Party activist who challenged Leonard Lance in the NJ CD7 GOP primary last year.
My partner/co-host former Senator Dick LaRossa shocked me when while introducing Hosford he referred to Lance as a RINO that is “unfortunately our 7th district congressman.”
As much as I disagree with some of Lance’s votes, most notably his votes for “cap and trade” and “cash for clunkers,” I think the RINOplasties that much of the right wing of the NJ GOP and the Tea Parties often engage in is counter productive. Especially while we are in a minority, conservatives damage our ultimate cause of reducing the size of government when we are aggressively intolerant of Republican office holders and candidates who are too moderate for our liking.
Many of us need to learn Politics 101 from the NJ Democrats. Three weeks ago the NJ Democratic Party was deeply divided over the pension and benefits reform bills. Their coalition of unions and progressives were enraged with the legislative leadership and those “turn coats” that joined with the Republican legislators to pass the bills. There was some talk of leadership challenges to Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.
Less than ONE WEEK later they were united against their common “enemy,” Governor Christie and the Republicans. Blue Jersey ran an anti-Sweeney ad, which is now gone from that site, urging progressive not to support Sweeney should he run for governor. There was no movement to challenge Sweeney’s reelection to the Senate.
New Jersey Republicans, particularly ideological conservatives and Tea Partiersdon’t have that level of maturity and sophistication. Many of us would rather purge those who don’t pass our ideological purity test and potentially lose an a “safe” seat to a Democrat than do the work required to educate and pursuade our friends, families and neighbors to vote for Republicans.
You can probably imagine that we had an interesting debate on the show. You don’t have to imagine. Listen to it:
During the second half hour of the show Dan Jacobson, publisher of the triCityNews, MoreMonmouthMusings contributor, and Independent candidate for Assembly in the 11th legislative district called in. Dan made some excellent points about the damage conservatives have done historically, particularly in 2006, by sitting out elections and letting Democrats take over. Dan also had some surprisingly nice things to say about the Tea Party.
During the last 20 minutes of the show Hosford, LaRossa and I talked about the difference Tea Parties can make and the power of using social media to do so.
I hope you tune in next Tuesday from 5PM-6PM for the LaRossa and Gallagher: Real Jersey Guys On The Radio Show sponsored by Repatriot Radio. The show is broadcast on WIFI 1460 AM and on the Internet at wifiam1460.com
I got a message from my radio partner Richard LaRossa that he might miss the show this afternoon…he’ll be calling in from a train if he makes it.
Richard arranged for Lon Hosford to be our guest for the hour. Hosford ran for the GOP nomination for Congress in the 7th congressional district against Leonard Lance. I don’t know that I can sustain a conversation with him for an hour and I haven’t prepared an hours worth of material for a solo show.
So please MMM, call into the show. The number is 609-447-0237.
We can talk about what ever you want to talk about.
The show is sponsored by Repatriot Radio and is broadcast on WIFI AM 1460. You can listen via the Internet here.
Senate President Steve Sweeney’s line of bull nearly cost him his life today as a lightning stike just missed him during an on camera interview with the Philadelphia Fox-TV affiliate.
Sweeney’s been lying all week. Not just about the budget and the Governor’s prick. I invited him onto the LaRossa and Gallagher “Real Jersey Guys” Radio Show to talk about the State budget and his now famous remarks to Tom Moran about the Governor. Rather than turn us down because we would challenge him, Sweeney’s spokesman Chris Donnelly said the Senate President was booked all week and suggestted we try at another time. Since then Sweeney’s been a rotten media whore.
That’s ok, former Senator Dick LaRossa and I did fine without him. Here’s a recording of the show:
Senate President Steve Sweeney has been invited onto LaRossa and Gallagher: The Real Jersey Guys Radio Show this afternoon from 5PM-6PM to discuss the State budget and his remarks about Governor Christie as reported on The Star Ledger’s Tom Moran.
We offered Sweeney as much or as little of the hour long show as he would like. His staff promised to get back to us with a yes or no as soon as possible, but it is possible that Sweeney will just call into the show.
The show, sponsored by Repatriot Radio, can be heard every Tuesday from 5PM -6PM on WIFI 1460 AM on your radio dial or right here on your computer or smart phone.
Your calls into the show are welcome and encouraged. The call in number is 609-447-0236.
The bromance between Governor Chris Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney appears to be on the rocks.
In recent weeks Christie has shifted his rhetoric from slamming the “do nothing” Democratic legislature to singing the praises of Sweeney for compromising with him over “landmark” pension and benefit reforms which Christie declared on national TV was a “model for America.”
The pension and benefit reforms were signed into law last Tuesday during a Christie-Sweeney love fest ceremony at the Wall Memorial in Trenton. That left only two days for the legislature and the Governor to settle on a State budget.
Rather than negotiate with Christie over elements of the budget he had proposed, the Democratic legislature passed their own budget that exceeded the amount of revenue that Christie had certified by $600 million and increased the “millionaires tax” by 20%.
Christie received the Democrats budget on Wednesday evening. His choices were to veteo it outright, conditionally veto it, either of which could have led to a government shut down, or to use his line item veto power to cut specific spending items that the legislature had passed.
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, the Assembly Republican Budget Officer, said of the Democrats, “they played chicken with the wrong guy.”
Christie made $900 million in line item cuts that have the Democrats squealing like a Ned Beatty in Deliverance.
Sweeney reacted with a profanity laced interview with Tom Moran of The Star Ledger. Sweeney called Christie “a rotten prick” and said he wanted to “punch him in the head.” The Senate President likened the Governor to “Mr. Potter from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,” the mean old bastard who screws everybody.”
Former Senator Richard LaRossa and I will be talking about the budget and the political fallout of the budget this afternoon on our radio show, LaRossa and Gallagher: The Real Jersey Guys on WIFI 1460 AM on your radio dial and here on your computer or smart phone.
As of now we don’t have any guests scheduled for the program. We hope you will call in to the show, 609-447-0236, with your questions and comments about the budget, the Christie-Sweeney tiff or anything else New Jersey you want to talk about.
Yesterday there were four real Jersey guys on the radio from 5PM-6PM for what might have been the last LaRossa and Gallagher Radio Show on WIFIAM1460.
I’m not knocking THE Jersey Guys, Casey, Rossi and Bob Ingle on Fridays, formerly of 101.5 FM. I enjoyed their show and listened to it whenever I was on the road in the afternoon. My favorite all time show was Casey screaming, “YOU’RE LOSING VOTES RIGHT NOW” at gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie during the 2009 primary campaign while Christie was trying to finesse an answer to a particularly blunt question.
I think 101.5 was nuts to cancel the show that they themselves promoted as the most successful afternoon radio show in the country. I doubt the petition to get the show back on the air will make any difference, but if you want to be part of it, you can do so here.
As good as the show was, my friend Tommy DeSeno is right. As talented as they are, Casey, Rossi and Ingle are not really Jersey guys. Casey’s from California, Rossi from Brooklyn and Ingle from Georgia. They’re not Jersey guys like the four natives who were on the radio yesterday afternoon, my partner Senator Dick LaRossa born in Trenton on July 1 (Happy Birthday Dick!), Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre, and yours truly.
Straight Talk On The Pension and Health Care Reforms
While our show was not nearly as funny as THE Jersey Guys, it was the most informative and honest report of the pension and benefits reform package anywhere to date, if I do say so myself.
My hat is off to Declan O’Scanlon for coming back on the show for second week in a row knowing that I was not buying the hype of the “landmark” nature of the reforms and for answering our questions frankly.
O’Scanlon is high on the impact the reforms are making compared to what would have happened if the status quo continued. However, with only a little dancing, he did acknowledge that without significant economic growth, New Jersey will be in deep doo doo as the taxpayers increase their state pension contributions by $500 million each year over the next seven years. That doesn’t include the municipal pension contributions that come from property taxes.
Botton line…there is a very real possibility that the pension reforms in particular will lead to large tax increases on the state and local levels and/or draconian spending cuts. O’Scanlon did not dispute that. He argued things would be much worse had the administration and legislature done nothing.
During the second half hour Halfacre was upbeat about 1) the fact that the deal could have been done at all given the historical nature of things in Trenton, and 2) the savings Fair Haven taxpayers will realize from the health care end of the reforms.
The highlight of the show was Halfacre’s explanation of how he and the Fair Haven Council have been able to lower property taxes three years in a row and counting: 1) Saying no, 2) Pissing people off, 3) Standing firm when the pissed off people are yelling at you, 4) Doing all of that and getting reelected.
Why was Tuesday’s show perhaps the last LaRossa and Gallagher Show? Dick and I are thinking of changing the name of the show to The Jersey Guys or The Real Jersey Guys. We’re hoping Millennium Radio will issue and cease and desist letter or maybe even sue us so we can get lots of free publicity and beat out Deminski and Doyle on Tuesday afternoons.
Yesterday afternoon on the LaRossa and Gallagher radio show I asked Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon how the $790 million dollar hole in Governor Christie’s proposed budget would be filled. Christie’s budget assumed $300 million in savings during the coming fiscal year from healtcare reform. The legislation likely to be passed in the Assembly only yields a savings of $10 million this year. Last month the State Supreme Court ruled that the state must spend $500 million more than Christie budgeted on Abbott district school spending.
O’Scanlon pointed to increased revenue projections and to yet to be determined savings from the new healthcare deal, but acknowledged that he and the other legislators crafting the budget have tough choices to make between now and June 30 when the budget must be passed.
June 30 is the deadline for the state budget to be enacted. June 30th is also the expiration date of the current union contracts for 48,000 state workers. Once the pension and benefits reforms are passed by the Assembly tomorrow, there will be an intense sprint to meet those deadlines in one week.
Mark Magyar, a former deputy policy chief in the Whitman administration and the policy director for the 2009 Daggett for Governor campaign,writing at NJ Spotlight, raises the possibility that Governor Christie could impose a new contract on the state workers.
The 1968 public employee collective bargaining law gives the governor and mayors the power to impose contracts on non-uniformed employees. Christie would be the first governor to use that power.
Magyar says that negotiations with the unions started late and have been on hold while Christie and the legislature worked on the pension and health carereforms. Christie has proposed a 3.5% pay cut.
I’ve been scratching by head trying to figure out why Christie and the Republicans in the legislature have been celebrating the health care reforms that only yield $10 million, rather than $300 million, in savings while the Democrats are waging a civil war over the deal.
O’Scanlon says the health care deal agreed to is not Reform In Name Only, that they will produce real savings over time. That might be true. But it seems like another kick the can down the road.
If Christie exercises his executive power to reduce the cost of government now by imposing union contracts that recover the savings given up the the health care deal we would know that we got real reform. Not delayed reform. That would be turning Trenton upside down.
Andrews served in the Colorado State Senate from 1998 through 2005. He was the minority leader and led the GOP back to majority control. As Senate President, he helped pass bills establishing education vouchers, expanding charter schools, extending tort reform, cutting the capital gains tax, reducing union control of state employees, requiring parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion, and restoring the Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms.
Andrews will be with us for the first half hour of the show, 5-5:30.
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon will be joining us for the second half hour. O’Scanlon has represented the 12th legislative district since 2008. His hometown of Little Silver is part of the new 13th district which he will represent if reelected in November.
O’Scanlon is Republican Budget Officer and Policy Co-Chair. He will be giving us extremely timely insights into the State budget and the pension and benefits reform bill.
You are invited and encouraged to call into the show with your questions and comments. The call in number is 609-447-0236.
The show can be heard on WIFI AM 1460 or here on your computer or smart phone.
For those of you who missed it, the first LaRossa and Gallagher Radio Show featuring former Senator Richard LaRossa and your favorite blogger was broadcast on Tuesday afternoon at 5PM on WIFI 1460 AM and on the Internet at WIFIAM1460.com
Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore was our first guest. As my friend James said after the show, we exposed Fiore as a Republican as he discussed the challenges and accomplishments of the Middletown Township Committee in putting together their first budget in the era of the 2% cap.
At the 48:28 mark of the show we had an exclusive guest call in, Congressman Anthony Weiner. Keep in mind the show was on Tuesday. Weiner was still in denial of his fate.
Former State Senator Dick LaRossa and your favorite blogger will have our first radio show Tuesday from 5PM till 6PM on WIFI AM 1460 and here on your computer.
Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore will be our guest. Fiore will address the recent round of labor negotiations in Middletown as well as the pension and benefit reforms currently being proposed in Trenton.
You are invited to call into the live show at 609-447-0236.
