Kyrillos calls on Menendez to release his travel records
A prominent reporter with one of New Jersey’s largest media outlets told MMM that The Daily Caller’s story about US Senator Bob Menendez covorting with prositutes in the Dominican Republic and paying them $400 less than agreed is “extremely thin, our resources are spread thin.” The reporter said that it will be the editors’ judgement about what to do with the story.
The Daily Caller story included video of the women who charged Menendez paid them less than agreed for sex, and referred to aircraft records of a Menendez donor’s private airplane landing at Teterboro Airport, a short drive from Menendez’s Hudson County home, and flying to the Dominican Republic during the time last spring when the incident is alleged to have occurred.
State Senator Joe Kyrillos’s campaign spokeswoman called on the incumbent to release his schedule and travel documents for the time of the alleged incident.
“Like the recent Secret Service sex scandal in Colombia, the allegations reported today are deeply disturbing and raise serious questions,” said Kyrillos Campaign Communications Director Meaghan Cronin. “Senator Menendez must do the right thing and help settle this matter by immediately releasing his schedule and travel documents from the time the alleged incidents occurred. The people of New Jersey deserve answers today.”
Two women charged that US Senator Bob Menendez agreed to pay them $500 for sex but they only received $100 in the end, according to a report on The Daily Caller.
The women say they met Menendez at the Dominican Republic resort Casa de Campo, an upscale 7000 acre resort described as “a grown up Disneyland, everything you want is right there,” by Robb Report contributor James Frank, last spring around Easter time.
Daily Caller said that Menendez spokeswoman Tricia Enright refused to answer questions on the subject. “We’re not going to respond to a completely false accusation,” she wrote in an email.
In their first quarters as party chairmen, Democrat Vin Gopal bested Republican John Bennett in the fundraising battle by over $10,000.
According to their reports filed with the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission, the Monmouth County Democrats raised $38,647.50. and spent $28,096.01. The Democrats started the quarter with only $957 in cash. As of September 30th they had $11,509.
The Monmouth GOP ended the quarter with almost $2,000 less cash than it had when Bennett was elected. The GOP reported raising $28,296 and spending $30,284. Former Chairman Joe Oxley left Bennett with $34,790. Of the $28K Bennett raised, $6000 was donated by the Election Fund of Assemblyman Dave Rible and $3000 was donated by Senator Jennifer Beck’s campaign account.
Gopal’s large donors were Local Union 400 IBEW ($3500), the Middletown Democrats ($1850), Plumbers and Pipe fitters Local Union #9 ($1000) and the Uliano Law Firm of West Long Branch ($1500).
Gopal raised $20,710 in contributions of $300 or less. Bennett raised $9,802 in donations of $300 or less.
“The Monmouth County Democrats are organizing at a grassroots level because residents across the county are beginning to realize there is a very clear difference between the two political parties,” said Gopal, “At our convention last June, we had a turnout of over 90% of our county committee with hundreds of new county committee members entering the political process, many of them first time contributors to our party,”
” With party standard bearers like Barack Obama, Bob Menendez and Frank Pallone, people see that we are building and we are organizing. The Monmouth County Democratic Party is fighting for middle-class taxpayers, fighting for small business owners and working to protect our environment. There is a clear difference between the two county parties and our messages and people across the county are beginning to recognize these differences.”
“My baseball career spanned almost five decades—from 1925 to 1973, count them—and in all that time I never had a boss call me upstairs so that he could congratulate me for losing like a gentleman. “How you play the game” is for college boys. When you’re playing for money, winning is the only thing that matters. Show me a good loser in professional sports, and I’ll show you an idiot. Show me a sportsman, and I’ll show you a player I’m looking to trade to Oakland so that he can discuss his salary with that other great sportsman, Charley Finley.”
If Joe Kyrillos overcomes the double digit lead that several polls give Bob Menendez in the U.S. Senate race over the next two weeks without going negative, he not only will be making political history, he will have transcended human nature and rewritten the “how to win an election as a challenger” campaign books.
As much as people complain about negative political ads, they are the only ads that work for a challenger or candidate behind in the polls.
Vice President George H.W. Bush’s “Willie Horton” ad against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential campaign is probably the most memorable political ad of all time. It is arguably the most negative…and effective…as it propelled Bush to overcome a 17% deficit in the national polls and win the White House.
Kyrillos’ campaign has been complaining that the mainstream NJ media has not been covering the campaign enough. That changed this weekend as The Star Ledger/NJ.com featured Monmouth County’s senior state senator and the U.S. Senate campaign three times in the last two days. NJTV’s Reporters Roundtablededicated a third of this weekend’s show to the Senate race.
If Joe K’s objective was to introduce himself to New Jersey as the nice guy that he truly is, his campaign is working. If he’s out to beat Menendez, it does not appear to be working. The predicate of the campaign was if Obama wins New Jersey by less that 10%, Kyrillos could beat Menendez. Yet, based upon recent polls, Menendez is outperforming Obama in New Jersey. Put another way, Kyrillos is under-performing Romney in New Jersey.
Even the jabs Kyrillos threw at Menendez in their three debates were nice. His press releases leave the harsh quotes to his campaign manager. His TV ads are nice.
If nice gets voters’ attention and overcomes a double digit deficit in the current New Jersey race, it will be a first.
The final debate of the race between U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and State Senator Joe Kyrillos for a 6 year term in the U.S. Senate was taped for television yesterday afternoon. It will air at 9:30 this morning on ABC in Philadelphia and at 11 on ABC in New York. NorthJersey.com reports on the debate here.
Kyrillos will be attending the 14th Dushahra Celebration in Edison this afternoon at 3:50. This morning he makes a South Jersey swing, appearing at the Southern Jersey Jewish Coalition Brunch at the Hotel ML in Mount Laurel at 10:30. At 11:20 he will be attending the Blackwood Pumpkin Festival before heading to Atlantic County for the Smithville Irish Festival at 1:20.
Governor Chris Christie will be campaigning with Kyrillos in Princeton tomorrow, 10:30am at the Princetonian Diner on Route 1.
The group that exposed corruption at ACORN, NPR, NJEA and SEIU has recorded employees of the Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America, the community organizing arm of the Obama campaign encouraging people to vote twice and helping them to do so in the upcoming presidential election.
Think voter fraud is not a problem in New Jersey? Watch the video until the end. A New Jersey Democrat in front of a Bob Menendez sign recognizes O’Keefe from the ACORN video sting. Its pretty funny.
Joe Kyrillos had a much stronger performance last night in the NJ 101.5/Verizon FIOS1 debate against Bob Menendez than he had last week at Montclair State.
In his opening statement Kyrillos framed the hour as a choice between Menendez’s “Corzine economic strategy of more spending, more taxes and more debt.” With the exception of $46 billion in defense spending cuts Menendez touted, more spending, more taxes and more debt were at the heart of all of the accomplishments the incumbent pointed to as his justification for another term. Throughout the hour Menendez called for more federal spending as the way to improve the economy while Kyrillos called for a “private sector stimulus package” of lower tax rates and less onerous regulation.
Menendez answered the Corzine label by tying Kyrillos to George W. Bush and former Governor Christie Whitman.
“Bob is laughable,” Kyrillos said to the charge that he favors millionaires over the middle class. “Bob protects lots of millionaires. Jon Corzine is one of them, along with the many others he takes money from.”
” I can’t believe you’re still talking about that,” Kyrillos said in answer to Menendez asking “Why would your not reject Mitt Romney’s 47% comment?” “I issued a statement right way saying I support 100% of Americans. Mitt can say what he wants. You issue a lot of press releases Senator, you should read some of mine.”
Each candidate got to ask the other two questions.
In his second question to Kyrillos, Menendez confronted Joe on his “War on Women,” citing 6 votes Monmouth’s senior State Senator cast against funding for women’s health care and a vote that he “walked out on” regarding an equal pay bill. Kyrillos handled it well, point to the “millions” he voted for in women’s health care funding over his career and the need to balance the budget. Regarding the equal pay bill, Kyrillos said, “that was not a women’s bill, it was a lawyers bill. “I don’t women want to sue their bosses. I want them to be the boss!”
Kyrillos questions to Menendez were consistent with the “Corzine economic strategy” theme he had set for the debate. In his first question, Joe asked if, given the economy since Menendez has taken office, would the incumbent senator do anything differently. Menendez rattled off the same talking points he used in both debates so far and proudly said he would do everything the same.
In his second question to Menendez, Kyrillos asked what the incumbents jobs plan, “besides spending more and raising more taxes.” Menendez took the bait and rattled off the federal monies he’s brought to New Jersey’s BioTech companies, solar energy companies and transportation projects.” “That’s all government spending,” Kyrillos said. “No, no, no,’ said Menendez trying to amend his answer before moderator Eric Scott cut him off.
As well as Kyrillos performed, there was no game changing moment that will dominate the news. As he did the the first debate, Menendez performed very well. He has a well practiced script of talking points that he accesses with ease and will not divert from.
The final debate will be on Sunday October 14 at 3PM, during the second half of the Colts/Jets game and the Lions/Eagles games. The will be broadcast on ABC television. Set your DVR.
Who do you think won the second senatorial debate?
