A Message From Scott Sipprelle

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Cities Sunk Sipprelle and Little

Urban Democratic strongholds in Trenton and Plainfield figured prominently in the outcomes of the Congressional races in NJ 12 and 6.

In the 12th district,  Trenton voters provided Rush Holt with 8,044 votes to Scott Sipprelle’s 437.  Holt won the entire district by 13,836 votes.

In NJ-6, 43% of Frank Pallone’s margin of victory came from Plainfield were he won 7950 votes to Anna Little’s 667.  Democratic sources told MMM that Pallone spent $30,000 to get out the vote in Plainfield.

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A Message From Scott Sipprelle

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Tracy and I are so grateful for your tireless support and friendship. It has been the thrill of a lifetime to have had the opportunity to address your concerns and represent your aspirations.

While this campaign will be quickly forgotten, the cause which united us will not, and can not, fade. More important than winning one election is our shared and urgent priority to repair the nation.
Please stay committed to the cause.

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Scott’s “Trail Mix” for November 1

It is time. We have knocked. We have walked. We have talked. We have worked and toiled and extended ourselves in a passionate and committed campaign. The collective efforts have been heroic and inspiring. We have a mere 24 hours of “prep” remaining and then the boxer will enter the arena and the bell will ring. We are ready.

Final Contrast

If you need one last reminder what this election is all about, if you need to view a final contrast between the visions of reform versus the failing status quo, then please take 26 minutes to view the third Sipprelle-Holt debate on NJN here:

Final Sipprelle-Holt Debate

Victory Night

Please join us at the Princeton Westin at Forrestal Village (just off Route 1) on election night. Festivities begin at 7pm.

Last Chance to Contribute Financially

Feel free to send our “Donate” link to fence-sitters who only finance “winners.” 

Donate Here

Thank you for your continued demonstration of passion and purpose in our campaign for America’s future.

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No Passion For Pallone

If turnout at pre-election rallies are an indicator of voter turnout, Anna Little will be the Congresswoman from the 6th district of New Jersey during the 112th Congress.

Last night at the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands some 300  Republicans, Tea Partiers and Independents rallied with Little, the Monmouth County ticket of Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder candidates Rob Clifton and Tom Arnone and the Atlantic Highlands Council ticket of Lou Fligorand Jake Hoffman.   Across the hall, 30 people (a generous estimate) mingled with Frank Palloneand the Monmouth County and Atlantic Highlands Democratric candidates.

300 are expected again tonight for the GOP team at Bachstadt’s in Middletown with Governor Christie.  If the Monmouth Democrats are rallying tonight they won’t have a headliner.  Presidents Obama and Clinton are elsewhere.  Corzine wasn’t invited.

Turnout will be the key to victory.  All signs point to a broken glass turnout for Republicans, i.e. Republican voters will crawl through broken glass to vote.  There are no signs of Democratic voters being so motivated.

I’ve been worried about Plainfield where Democrats outnumber Republicans 12-1.  Plainfield has been part of the district since the last census in 2000.  Pallone has ignored it until very recently.  There is no passion for Pallone in Plainfield. 

Reading the popular blog Plainfield Today, I learned that the Democrats are divided there after a contentious primary where the “New Democrats” defeated the establishment lead by Assemblyman Jerry Green for the local offices.  There is no competitive local race to boost turnout in Plainfield. That race was won in June and the anti-establishment sentiment prevailed.  While there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about Plainfield, I still praying for a snow storm there and only there.

In Middlesex County, the Republicans are running their best campaign in memory.  They have a legitimate shot of cracking the Democratic stronghold in that county which will boost both Little and NJ-12 candidate Scott Sipprelle.

Murray Sabrin says that if Little wins the GOP will pick up 100 seats in the House. I hope that happens.  However, and I could be wrong, but from where I sit Little shocks everybody and defeats Frank Pallone by a larger margin than Scott Sipprelle defeats Rush Holt and by a larger margin than Jon Runyan defeats John Adler.  There is no passion for Pallone.  There is plenty of passion against Pallone.  There is even more passion for Little.

Little’s MONEY BOMB that we started on Friday night has raised over $9000 as of this morning.  Let’s double, or better, today.  Donate here.

More importantly, turn out the vote.  Talk to your friends, families and co-workers.  Make it happen.

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Rally With The Governor Tonight

Governor Christie will be rallying Anna Little, Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Rob Clifton, Mayor Tom Arnone, Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger and Kevin Settembrino and hundreds of their supporters at Bachstadt’s Tavern, 8 Bray Ave, Middletown. 

The event starts at 7PM. 

In Middlesex County, Governor Christie Stops at the Middlesex County Victory Office with Scott Sipprelle and the Middlesex County Republican Ticket

Start Time: 6:30PM

Location: Middlesex County Victory Headquarters

4095 Route 1 South
Located in the South Brunswick Square Mall
Monmouth Junction, NJ

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A Common Sense Election

By Ernesto Cullari

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Monmouth University Poll: Sipprelle Slipping

By Art Gallagher

The gap that Scott Sipprelle needs to close in order to return Rush Holt’s career to plasma  has widened from 5% to 8%  in the last two weeks, according to a Monmouth University Poll released this afternoon.

Holt has widened his support in Middlesex County to 10%, 52%-42% vs a 4 point margin, 50%-46% in the earlier poll.  Sipprelle still leads among Independents in the district, but only buy 11% vs 15% two weeks ago.

“While he’s not out of the woods yet, Rush Holt appears to be solidify his standing among voters in this district,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

That’s a puzzling conclusion from Murray, given that Holt’s support has remained constant at 51% in the two polls Monmouth conducted.  “Undecided and other” have doubled as a percentage of respondents in the current poll, from 3% to 6%.  Among Independents, “undecided and other” has increased from 7% to 9%.   Rather than Holt solidifying his support, it would appear that Holt’s negative ads have been taking on toll on Sipprelle’s support and/or that Scott has failed to give Independents a reason to come out for him over the last two weeks.

The most surprising number both of Murray’s NJ-12 polls is Sipprelle’s favorability rating.  In the October 13th poll, 41% of the respondents did not know enough about Scott to form a favorable or unfavorable opinion, including 44% of Independents and 24% of Republicans.  In today’s poll, the “no opinion” number dropped only 2 points to 39%, including 42% of I’s and 24% of R’s.  This is particularly surprising given Sipprelle’s radio and TV advertising throughout the summer and fall.

Just as Holt is “not out of the woods,” Scott has not been knocked out and can still win this race, though time is running short.  Fast, and expensive adjustments are necessary for him to win.

Scott needs to “let it hang out”  and let the Independent voters know the more human side of himself.  Elections are not won on debating points.  To a large extent they are won on likeability.   Scott has been argumentative and a bit strident since the second debate.  He’s argued with Holt’s commercials and he’s argued with the Asbury Park Press.  He’s been defending himself instead of convincing the voters he’s going to fight for them.  The “I don’t know and I don’t care” clip from the second debate that Holt is using on TV hurts.  It shows a side of Scott that those who challenged him back in convention season saw a great deal of, but that the electorate does not need to see in the closing days of the campaign.   A feel good, emotion provoking TV spot with his family and voters could turn the tide.  It would have to be written, produced and booked tomorrow, but Scott has the resources to make that happen.

Focus on increasing the turnout in Monmouth County where Scott has a 60%-35% lead, according to Murray.  Let Holt have Trenton and the rest of Mercer.  Any resources spent there are a waste at best and possibly counterproductive in the last four days of the campaign. Close the gap with Middlesex Independents with the new ad.  Play it during  NFL games if there are spots available.

Play this ad as often as possible:

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Sipprelle Calls Holt Ad Defamatory, Asks 101.5 To Take it Down

Princeton, October 27, 2010 – Slamming Congressman Rush Holt’s new radio ad as “defamatory” and “knowingly false and misleading,” as well as is non-compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, Republican Scott Sipprelle today issued a letter through his attorney, Brian M. Nelson of Menna, Supko & Nelson, LLC, calling on Millennium Radio New Jersey (101.5) to cease and desist playing the advertisement on their airwaves today.

Holt’s ad falsely alleges that Sipprelle somehow manipulated his property tax bill through participation in a volunteer advisory committee in the Borough of Princeton. In addition to being refuted by Sipprelle, the charge was labeled as “ludicrous…not even possible” by the Borough’s Democrat-appointed Tax Assessor in a Trenton Times article yesterday, who added “that the committee and its members were in no position to know what the outcome of the revaluation would be while it was going on.”

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2010/10/sipprelle_slams_rep_holts_camp.html

“Rush Holt’s defamatory and knowingly false charges against me are the latest and most blatant signs of desperation from a career politician who will to say or do anything to cling to power,” said Sipprelle. “Mr. Holt knows that he can’t run on his record, so his only hope is to run me down. His actions are a disgrace and he should be ashamed of himself. In addition to asking Millennium Radio to take these ads down, I am requesting a public apology from Mr. Holt to the voters in this district, and an admission that his ads are simply not truthful.”

Sipprelle cited Holt’s 2000 campaign against former Congressman Dick Zimmer as evidence that the incumbent has a sad history of misleading campaigns ads being pulled from the airwaves. (Source: “Democrats’ ad is taken off the air,” Star-Ledger, 8/19/00)

“This is a pattern of dishonest behavior from Mr. Holt and it’s completely consistent with how he governs as a Congressman,” said Sipprelle. “For twelve years in Washington, Rush Holt has not allowed the facts to get in the way of his or Nancy Pelosi’s agenda so why would he worry about the facts during his political campaigns?”

Holt’s ad is not only untrue, it is also in violation of campaign finance regulations for failing to have the proper “Paid for by” disclaimer at the end of the spot.

“This is typical of entrenched, out-of-touch career politicians like Congressman Holt,” said Sipprelle. “He is violating a legal requirement that he himself voted to create. This is just another example of arrogant Members of Congress exempting themselves from the laws they pass for the American people and underscores why we need to change Congress. I am asking the voters of the 12th Congressional District to stop Rush Holt on November 2nd and vote for a new direction.”

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Rush Holt’s Shameless Manipulation of the Bean Family

Re-posted and updated

By Art Gallagher

It is sad to watch a highly esteemed member of our community be so easily manipulated by a heartless politician shamelessly fighting to save his career.

Make now mistake about it. Rush Holt is, and has been, manipulating Greg and Linda Bean, the former editor of the Greater Media Newspapers and his wife, for his own desperate political purposes.

Back in September, Greg accused this blog of conspiring with the Sipprelle campaign to play “dirty tricks” on the Holt campaign. Bean said he was convinced that the Sipprelle camp had put me up to posting “Abram Spangel’s” Rush Holt Champions Infanticidepost and that Spangelis a pseudonym of mine. The truth is that the Sipprelle campaign wanted to distance themselves from Spangel’s posts before Greg reacted to that one. I am not Spangel. Bean milked the controversy he created for a couple of weeks in his column in the Greater Media newspapers and on their website. I maintain that Bean was looking to attack Sipprelle and used this blog as his excuse to get started.

In case your unaware, Greg and his wife Linda lost their son Coleman to suicide in September of 2008. Coleman had served two tours in Iraq and was seeking treatment from the VA for post-traumatic stress syndrome. Holt and Bean blame Coleman’s suicide on a “gap in the system” that doesn’t serve members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), reservists who are not assigned to a unit. Greg wrote:

“He fell through the cracks. He had no advocate, no Army machinery to help him find his way through the system. He felt he was literally on his own. He made appointments with the VA to have an ulcer treated and to obtain treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Those appointments were postponed. He was still waiting when he took his own life.”

Holt reached out to console the Beans after their loss. Whether his initial gesture was genuine or political only he and God know. Since then, Holt has obviously been exploiting his relationship with the Beans for political purposes. During the spring of this year Holt promoted the legislation he introduced “to close the gap” in mental health care available to members of the IRR with great emotion and fanfare. He had the Beans testify in Washington and “earned” a lot of free media in the central jersey papers.

In his closing remarks at the Rider University debate with Sipprelle, Holt brought up the Bean legislation–“out of nowhere”–it had not been a topic during the debate–as a reason to reelect him.

Now the Holt campaign has an ad featuring the Beans tugging on the heart strings of 12th district voters, as if Holt’s efforts on their behalf are a reason to give the congressman another term:

In the ad, Greg Bean says Rush Holt has “worked on this (legislation) tirelessly.” Holt hasn’t work on it tirelessly.

Linda Bean says, “what we are talking about is legislation that will save someone’s life.” The legislation will not save anyone’s life.

Greg says, “Congressman Holt has actually been better than his word.” He hasn’t.

Holt approved the message and he has orchestrated the manipulation of the Beans.

Holt’s Congressional website, the one we taxpayers pay for, says the legislation he introduced in memory of Sgt. Coleman Bean has passed the House and awaits action in the Senate. It has not passed the House. It is buried in the Military Personnel sub-committee of the House Armed Forces Committee. Holt lied to the Beans and he is lying to his constituents on the website they are paying for.

Holt’s Congressional site, the one we pay for, goes on to say that on July 28 the House unanimously passed his amendment to allocate $20 million into the Fiscal Year 2011 Department of Veterans Affairs budget for direct advertising and the use of online social media for suicide prevention outreach. The House passed the funding bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and it awaits Senate passage.

Amendment to what bill Holt doesn’t say. But that it awaits passage in the Senate means it hasn’t happened.

If Rush Holt actually has worked tirelessly on his Bean legislation, he is incompetent. The legislation is not law. It is a campaign piece. It will not save any lives. If Rush Holt has been “better than his word” that is because his word has never been any good.

There is a strong argument to be made that Holt is incompetent. In the current Congress he has introduced 38 pieces of legislation. None became law. In the 110th Congress he introduced 52 bills. None became law. In the 109th Congress Holt introduced 50 bills. One, a resolution (not a law) passed the House and the Senate. That resolutionrecognised the 40th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s promulgation of Noestra Aetate. None of them became law. And so it goes.

Holt knows that the legislation he introduced for the Beans will never become law. He’s just using them for his campaign.

Hopefully the Beans will not be too bitter, or embarrassed, when they smell the coffee.

And hopefully Greg’s involvement in Holt’s campaign hasn’t cost him his column at Greater Media. His byline has been removed from their websites. Maybe that is just temporary until the election is over. If not, my offer to Greg to be published here stands.

UPDATE

Greg Bean’s column is back at Greater Media!  MMM is pleased that GM didn’t pull a NPR on GB.

For such a good writer, you would think Greg would have better reading comprehension. 

In his first column back from his trip to Colorado to celebrate his brother’s birthday, Grego takes another swipe at this blog.  His headline, The truth isn’t always apparent at first blush , is a reference to my questioning the absence of his byline on the Greater Media sites last week in the original post of this piece.  As you can see by scrolling up a few lines, I expressed my hope that Greg’s involvement in the Rush Holt campaign did not cause him to be NPR’d by GM. Greg said, “…because my column didn’t appear in the paper, and my name wasn’t in its usual place on the newspapers’ website, the local right-wing bloggers said I must have gotten fired. ”   That’s not what I said at all!  The truth of what I said was apparent at first blush, just as it is at this second blush.  You just have to read it and not twist it.

Funny, Greg used to complain about this blog being written anonymously.  When he wrote about this blog in September, accusing us of conspiring to commit “dirty tricks” against the Holt campaign, he named the blog but didn’t link to it.  Now he doesn’t even name it, refering to MMM as “local right-wing bloggers.”  That’s OK.  This piece will be picked up by CNN’s news feed (which is why I am really reposting it, I could care less what Greg did last week) and Greg’s won’t.

Sad, that while Greg obviously read the original posting of this piece, he who thinks he has a special gift for spotting dirty tricks, didn’t mention the dirtiest trick of the NJ-12 campaign….the one played on him by Rush Holt who lied about getting the bill named for Greg’s son passed by the House of Representatives.

He also didn’t write about the dirty trick Holt is perpetuating by falsely advertising that Scott Sipprelle used his volunteer service in Princeton for his own financial benefit.  As Sipprelle has protested, Holt has falsely, and knowingly, accused Scott of a crime.  That’s a pretty dirty trick.

No, Greg used his first column back from his brother’s birthday party to defend NPR’s right to fire Juan Williams.

I’m proud to be a “right-wing” blogger.  When will Greg come clean about his leftist leanings and stop ranting about phantom “dirty tricks” to advocate for his candidate? Why won’t Greg, and Rush Holt for that matter, simply argue their ideological cases, rather than fabricating dirt about their opponent?  Why?  Because they know they would lose if they were honest. 

They’re going to lose anyway.

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