Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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Atlantic City Conservative Attorney Will Challenge Christie In GOP Primary

Atlantic City Attorney Seth Grossman will kick off his campaign to deny Chris Christie the GOP nomination for governor this morning outside the Revel Casino and in Newark across from Red Bull Stadium this afternoon.

The former Atlantic County freeholder and Atlantic City councilman who was arrested with Steve Lonegan for trespassing outside of one of Governor Jon Corzine’s Town Hall meetings in 2008 wants the State to refuse to pay bonds that were not approved by the voters and to cap public pensions at $50,000 per year per retiree. He says New Jersey is in the same mess it was in three years ago when Christie took office, but now its a bi-partisan mess, not just a Democratic mess now.

Grossman told MMM that he has raised $5,000 for his endeavor thus far.  He hopes to raise $15,000 by the end of this week to open an office.  If he can raise another $45,000 by the end of February, he hopes to hire a campaign manager and appeal to national conservatives to who are upset with how Christie embraced President Obama after Superstorm Sandy for the rest of the $388,000 he will need to qualify for State matching funds for the primary.

In a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this morning, 64% of New Jersey voters, including 87% of Republicans, say that Christie deserves to be reelected.  The Governor has raised well over $2 million for his reelection campaign and will not take State matching funds for the primary.  Christie will not be in New Jersey for Grossman’s announcement.  He is in California for a fundraising tour including an event at the home of facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

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Scharfenberger Announces Buy Middletown Program To Boost Economy, Reduce Property Taxes

In his inaugural address upon becoming mayor of Middletown yesterday, Dr. Gerry Scharfenberger, PhD, announced that the Township will be rolling out a “Buy Middletown Property Tax Benefit Card” program that will enable resident to save a percentage of the amount they spend at participating businesses on their property taxes.”This is a win/win all around,” said Scharfenberger, “businesses benefit from increased sales volume and foot traffic, taxpayers benefit in that they have a simple, effective way to lower their property taxes, and the town benefits by stimulating the local economy.  We also feel that this program will make Middletown more attractive to businesses looking to open in the area.”

The program will start after it passes legal review.

Upon taking the helm of Middletown, Scharfenberger lavished praise on outgoing Mayor Tony Fiore:

“No amount of hyperbole can capture the spectacular job done by Tony Fiore these past two years as mayor.  Anyone who sits in this chair knows the enormous responsibility you take on.  Mayor Fiore was strong-willed, outspoken and a tireless fighter on Middletown’s behalf, regardless of the issue.  His leadership during Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath was phenomenal and made all the difference to Middletown coming through the disaster as well as it did.
Under his watch, the Middletown Township Committee was able to save the swim club at no cost to the taxpayers, bring a world class ice rink to town, institute single stream recycling, which doubled the number of pickups while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars, renew Middletown Day with 100% private donations, and secure significant increases in employee benefit contributions, saving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, just to name a few.

As I have said in the past, anyone who says this is a part time position is sadly mistaken, and Mayor Fiore is living proof of a person who devoted himself 24 hours a day, seven days a week to the job.  As a fellow member of the committee feel fortunate to have him as a friend and colleague and grateful for what he has taught me about leadership and dedication to public service.”

Fiore remains a member of the Township Committee.

Scharfenberger’s prepared remarks can be downloaded here.

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Goldstein leaving Garden State Equality post

Steven Goldstein, the Founder and Chairman of Garden State Equality, the gay rights advocacy group, announced this evening in a email to his membership that he is leaving his employment with the group to take a full time lobbying position for Rutgers-Newark.

One of the great joys of my career, along with founding Garden State Equality in 2004 and leading it since, has been teaching this semester at Rutgers Law School in Newark.  I have always loved academia.  As most of you know, I even returned to school in mid-career to study to be a rabbi, a lifelong aspiration from which I’ve been on leave to serve as Garden State Equality’s Chair and CEO.  I’ll resume my rabbinic studies for certain.  But now I have the chance work at a university full-time, as Rutgers-Newark has asked me to become Associate Chancellor for External Relations.  I have accepted the offer.  My last day as Chair and CEO of Garden State Equality will be Sunday, January 20th, our Inauguration Celebration Brunch.

Troy Stevenson will take over as Chairman and CEO effective January 12.  Stevenson was GSE’s Managing Director and Goldstein’s deputy prior to becoming the field director of President Obama’s reelection campaign in Pennsylvania.

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Pa rum pa pum pum

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Happy Hanukkah

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Can the GOP live without social conservatives?

In a column posted on GOPUSA.com, David Limbaugh says,

The Republican Party can choose to ostracize social conservatives and their issues, or try to purge them altogether from the party and its platform. But they better be careful what they wish for, because if they do, it will be the end of the party as we know it.

Would that be a bad thing?

Limbaugh says that Christians believe not only that social issues are the most important of the day, but that the underlying disintergration of the nation’s moral fabric is the root of our economic problems.  They are probably right.  He reports getting emails and reading articles from Christians who want to double down on social issues and some even suggesting that Christians redirect their focus away from politics and toward evangelism.

That is exactly what they should do.

Redirect their focus away from politics and toward evangelism.  The GOP should not ostracise social conservatives.  Social conservatives should redirect their focus away from politics and toward evangelism because their political efforts are not working.  As the election results in Missouri and Indiana suggest, states that Mitt Romney won but where Republican social conservative Senate candidates Todd Akin and Richard Murdock lost very winnable races, the political efforts of social conservatives have become counterproductive.

Social conservatives are losing the political battles because a significant portion of the electorate who agree with their moral point of view and strive to live accordingly don’t believe that religious morality should have the force of secular law.  They are losing the cultural battle because they are fighting it politically…attempting to force their moral point of view…rather than evangelically….sharing the Good News with free people who have choices.

Eliminating choices will not convert hearts and minds.  Hearts and minds need to be converted freely before social conservatives will live in a world that reflects their moral vision.  If that happens, there won’t be much of a political fight about the issues social conservatives consider the most important.

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There is no emergency evacuation of Atlantic Highlands

Atlantic Highland Police Chief Jerry Vasto announced via reverse 9-11 call this morning that the borough in not subject to a mandatory evacuation due to the coming nor’easter, contrary to news reports.

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MMM Predictions for Election 2012

By popular demand (from Matt Rooney and a Democratic operative who doesn’t want people to know he/she talks to me) your favorite blogger is shifting his focus away from the Sandy Aftermath and back to politics on this election eve.

Rooney said, “Let’s hear your projection, Gallagher.”  My response: “The power will be off at my house for the rest of the week.”

Here are my predictions:

Read the rest of this entry »

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