(HIGHLANDS, October 13) – Republican Congressional challenger Anna Little – an independent wife and mother who, unlike her 22-year incumbent opponent, Frank Pallone, has never voted for, and will never vote for, Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker of the House of Representatives – today reiterated that she “gets it,” and asked if her opponent even understands the term.
“People greet me all the time when we’re out knocking on doors,” said Little, “and household after household, I hear the same thing – ‘Anna, you get it.’
“When working families in the Sixth District tell me they’re having a hard time making ends meet, I get it.
“When they tell me they’re upset that the politicians in Washington don’t seem to care about what their constituents back home think, I get it.
“When they share with me the difficulties of trying to make the mortgage payment, save for the kids’ braces and maybe put away a little something for college or even a weekend getaway down the Shore, I get it.
“When mothers tell me of their concerns over the government takeover of healthcare, and their fear that they’ll no longer be able to see the doctor of their choice, whether for themselves or their children, I get it.
“When seniors tell me of their anger that the bill Frank Pallone voted for cuts Medicare by $500 billion, I get it.
“When I’m told that taxes are too high, and government spends too much, and we’re drowning in a river of red ink thanks to politicians like Frank Pallone, I get it.
“That’s why 200 people came out to walk with us in the Columbus Day Parade in Long Branch on Sunday,” continued Little. “But 200 people didn’t come out to walk with Frank Pallone. Fewer than a dozen did.
“I guess that’s because Frank just doesn’t get it. Does he even understand the term?
“Remember, you cannot change Washington without changing the people we send to Washington!”
Just like the famous movie, the “Wizard Of Oz,” one has to look past the curtain in order to see the real story. I had that in mind the other day when I spoke to a voter regarding my opponents website and campaign literature.
I first thought that they were “wizards” trying to hide behind the curtain until the election is over. I said this because their website and literature are devoid of any issues or platform. It’s as if they were trying to “hide behind the curtain” until Election Day is over because of their liberal “tax & spend” positions, which aren’t selling across America.
But I came to find out who the REAL “wizard behind the curtain” really is. You see, NJ Election Funding Reports became available the other day, and that’s where you will find out who is behind the curtain trying to pull all of the levers. Facts are powerful messengers.
The NJ Election Report records show that one of my opponents, Eric Houghtaling is receiving large amounts of Labor Union cash for his campaign war chest. At least 80% of his campaign funding, currently $5,500, is from Labor Union donations to his campaign. And there’s still 20+ days left in the campaign. That’s a large “purchase” of a candidate my friends, but I wonder, are there more barrels of cash to come?
Now, here’s the bigger problem about Eric’s union ties. According to the IBEW400 website Eric is the Political Director of his electrical workers union, so this is sounding like Neptune’s own version of the Louisiana Purchase and Cornhusker Kickback; with the union trying to influence what goes on in Neptune. I have no problem with labor unions as an organization; my problem lies with Union’s attempting to sway political election outcomes.
Are Unions the “Great & Powerful Oz?”
Or, is this for “street money” to help re-elect Frank Pallone? We’ve seen what unions do to help turn out the vote for the Democrats. We don’t know though, because even at this late date, Eric shows no expenses for his campaign. Now that’s strange, what else is Eric hiding behind the curtain?
What we DO know is that we’ve seen what the Unions did in the 2008 election in order to help elect Obama. We also saw the unions out in great force at the Town Hall meeting across America, trying to drown out our voices. We also know that the Service Employees International and other unions held great sway over the formation of the disaster called Health Care Reform. Taxpayers suffered because of their over reaching influence.
The implications of a Union “purchase” of a Township Committee seat here in Neptune becomes even scarier because, like the Health Care bill, we won’t know what’s in Eric’s “bills” until and if he wins a seat, because he won’t say what he’s for..
Think, Is this what WE want in Neptune?
Elections have consequences and we’ve seen the consequences of the 2008 election. The lack of a platform & the barrels full of union cash must concern you, the voter.
We should be electing people with platforms and plans, not people to put what they are for on paper or can be bought by large donations. My campaign website, www.neptune2010.com does just that, where I actually talk about positions and issues.
You can do something about this. I have established a special election fund in order to defeat the Union Influence in Neptune. You can go to our website and make an online donation to tell the Unions that we don’t want them influencing Neptune from the Township Committee dias. If everyone reading this article donates just $25 to fight the Big Unions, it will send a powerful message. Actually, no donation is too small.
Even if you aren’t from Neptune, a donation will help defeat Frank Pallone by helping my campaign turn out more voters for our column. I’m not hiding behind a curtain. I can’t be bought off by large donations because most of mine are small donations from families like yours. Tell the Unions to “go home.”
On the left, the State Democratic Party released a video trying to knock the Governor’s rising approval ratings down a peg or two. It’s not working.
On the self-proclaimed right, Paul Mulshine and Steve Lonegan knock Christie, and the national conservatives who have embraced the Governor, every chance they make. That’s not working either.
Detractors of Christie’s policies, on both the left and the right, would have much more success if they argued their issues on the merits, rather than personally attacking. If their issues, and not their political agendas were what they really cared about.
Like so many in the media elite, Stile doesn’t understand the Tea Party. We’ll find out on November 2 if they are the “Fringe” party. I don’t think we are. As the Republican Party establishment has been shocked by the wave that the real mainstream, as represented by the Tea Party, has made throughout the primary season, I think Stile and the rest of the media elite are going to be shocked on November 2. They will find that it is they that are on the fringe and have been for quite sometime.
There’s a better chance of seeing Governor Christie mingling with President Obama at the private dinner reception in Cresskill on Wednesday than finding him on stage with Sarah Palin or any other Tea Party gathering, for that matter.
The pugnacious, rant-and-ramble governor may sound like a Tea Party activist from time to time, and Glen Beck may be smitten with a severe case of political man-love, but in reality Christie wants as little to do with them as possible. He prefers the high ground of the GOP establishment, perched at a safe distance from the roiling Tea Party tide.
I didn’t know that the President was dining in Creskill tomorrow night. Attention Bergen County readers: avoid Knickerbocker Rd.
Christie may not be a Tea Party celebrity like Sarah Palin or Glen Beck. But he gets it. His “Put Up or Shut Up” message to the GOP establishment is what will bring the GOP and the Tea Party together. Palin and Beck may be the instigators on the fringe. Christie is the bridge.
Stile doesn’t get Christie anymore than he gets the Tea Party. “Put up or shut up” are not the words of someone who “prefers the high ground of the GOP establishment, perched at a safe distance from the roiling Tea Party tide.”
Pundits of every persuasion are trying to put Chrisite in a box. He’s not conservative enough for Mulshine or Lonegan, so he must be a RINO. He’s not as strident in his language as Palin or Beck so he must be establishment, a Whitman Republican.
Christie can’t be put into a box because he is not an ideologue. He doesn’t just think outside the box. As we have seen with his Education Reform Agenda, he breaks the box.
When Christie was seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination last year he said that while he is his own man, two of his heroes or role models were Ronald Reagan and Tom Kean, Sr. When we discussed that in April of 09, I admit that I was skeptical. Having watch him govern for 9 months, his description of how he would govern makes a lot more sense to me than it did at the time.
If this very funny video, courtesy of NJ.com , Christie describes how it is that he managed to balance the budget with a 9% spending decrease and no new taxes.
Ok, the Tea Party proved it can win Republican primaries and this is a good thing. Now they are tasked, through the candidates they support, with winning the general election and they aren’t doing such a great job. Or, at least, in Delaware they are not.
Christine O’Donnell, who has been put through the MSM PR meat-grinder, just released her first major commercial and it strikes all the wrong notes. We have been served up a second grader’s rendition of “Chopsticks” when what was needed was Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto.
Here is a list of important communication concepts that candidates need to keep in mind. Consider them Political Communications 101:
1. Never repeat a charge again you.
Example: If your opponents are calling you a Witch… don’t say “I’m not a witch.”
2. Always keep the message on what you want to be talking about.
Example: “Coons welcomes tax increases. I just disagree with him.”
3. Always keep it personal
Example: “Coons welcomes tax increases. I just disagree with him, just like the majority of you do too, that is why my opponent has restored to a vicious, mean, negative campaign against me. Sorry, Mr. Coons, but all the mud in the world won’t mask the fact you want to increase taxes, increase spending and continue the depression we find ourselves in.”
4. Always give irrefutable general closing statements.
Example: “What America needs is a growing economy. What Delaware needs is less taxes and more jobs. What you need is what I hope to offer, a new voice in Washington.”
So how did Christine O’Donnell do on her first major commercial?
First statement: “I am not a witch.” – Ohhhh boy. This is not going well.
Second statement: “I’m nothing you’ve heard” – that is even worse. Now she is refuting unknown charges. This begs the questions, “Why, what have you been charged with?”.
Third statement: “I am you.” – Not getting better. Refutably taking liberties with my personal identity is the quickest way to a rebuttal that starts with “Oh, no you are not… You’re a big bag of crazy”.
Fourth statement: “but none of us of our happy…” – Finally getting better. The next couple statements create an offense to parley a closing remark with.
Closing statement: “I’m going to Washington to do what you’d do” – Not good. Who are you talking to? I don’t know and neither do you. How about, “I’m going to Washington to cut taxes and the size of a bloated government that has grown without restraint.” – Now that is something I can vote for.
Too many times good candidates get poor consulting transforming a difficult campaign into a losing one. This is exactly one of those time. It’s not too late to turn this around but O’Donnell will never win with this message. Take a page from The Gipper and invoke optimism with a clear intent for lower taxes and smaller government.
“We have been forced to implement this work stoppage due to the Legislature’s failure to approve a routine bond transaction for the fifth and final year of a transportation program that was approved under the previous Administration,” Commissioner Simpson said. “Because of the Legislature’s failure to act, thousands of engineers, planners, designers and construction workers will be put out of work and project schedules will be disrupted.”
The Transportation Trust Fund Authority transaction involving the sale of up to $1.25 billion in bonds and the refinancing of up to $500 million in existing debt was anticipated to occur before the end of September to carry projects forward into the spring of 2011.
