Good reading

Why Do They Want to Pick on Ann Romney?

Karin McQuillan, a retired psychotherapist and author who served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, writes at American Thinker that Hillary Rosen’s recent rant that Ann Romey never worked a day he her life is part of the Obama political strategy rooted in the politics of envy.  Worse, she says the strategy is deeply rooted in Obama’s psyche as a result of his upbringing.

I guess that’s a theory that one would expect from a psychotherapist.  McQuillan makes a fascinating case.

A FUNNY GAME OF TABLE TENNIS

Closer to home, our friends at InTheLobby have a hilarious account of how Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni turned the table on U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg during the senator’s hearing this week over the fairness of toll increases and patronage at PA.

Turns out that Lautenberg as a former commissioner of the PA he had a free EZ pass for decades and didn’t pay tolls from 1978 through 2006 when the PA stopped issuing free EZ passes to cronies.

Regarding patronage, a former Lautenberg campaign staffer joined PA in 2002, and U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s son is an intern at PA now.

West Virginia U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller came to Lautenberg’s defense.  New Jersey Democrats have been silent, just as they were during Lautenberg’s dust up with State Senate President Steve Sweeney and George Norcross over the Rutgers-Rowan merger earlier this month.

The InTheLobby piece quotes The Asbury Park Press and The Star Ledger.

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Christie’s Approval Ratings Highest Ever

59% of New Jersey voters approve of the job that Governor Chris Christie is doing, according to a Quinnipiac Poll released this morning. 36% disapprove.

Republicans approve of the governor’s performance by 92%-6%.  Independents approve by 64%-32%.  Democrats disapprove by 64%-30%.

Women give Christie positive marks at a rate of 52%-42%.  Yet the gender gap remains.  Men approve of Christie’s performance by a measure of 67%-30%.

New Jersey’s traditionally Democratic urban areas are evenly split in their assessment of the governor’s job performance.  Christie scored 48%-48% in the cities.  “Philly Land” approves by 55%-38%, suburan areas approve by 60%-36%, ex-urban by 67%-29% and the shore by 65%-31%.

Tax decreases are popular in New Jersey.  

Voters approve of the way Christie is handling the state budget by 58%-35% and approve of his proposed 10% across the board income tax cut by 54%- 32%.   Voter also like Senate President Sweeney’s 10% property tax cut for residents earning less than $250,000 per year by 57%-24%.   If we have to choose, we prefer Sweeney’s plan by 49%-38%.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,607 registered voters between April 3-9.  The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.4 %.

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Front Page News?

The big story in yesterday’s Asbury Park Press was the political spat between southern Jersey lawmakers and U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg over the proposed Rutgers-Rowan merger.  Large photos of State Senate President Sweeney and Lautenberg covered most of the front page.

In case you haven’t been following, Governor Chris Christie has proposed reorganizing Rutgers, Rowan and the University of Medicine and Dentistry.  Rutgers-Camden would become part of Rowan. Rowan would get a medical school associated with George Norcross Univeristy Cooper University Hospital.  Robert Wood Johnson Hospital would become part of a medical school at Rutgers-New Brunswick, and it will be a while before there are more UMDNJ indictments.

MMM hasn’t been following it all that much.  Our young legal eagle friends at Save Jersey don’t like it because they think it will devalue their law degrees if they apply to a firm that doesn’t know the difference between Rutgers-Camden and Rutgers-Newark.  And then there’s the two idiots who don’t like the deal…that former Navy SEAL that ran for Assembly who got into it with Christie at a Town Hall meeting and Lautenberg.

If not for the idiot SEAL and the idiot U. S. Senator nobody from New Jersey who isn’t directly affected by the merger would know about it, except for news junkies like us.

Lautenberg wrote to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan alleging the proposed merger is improper and copied U.S. Attorney General Eric “Fast and Furious” Holder and New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney Paul “New Jersey is not corrupt” Fishman, thereby implying that the merger is criminal. 

Having already used “idiot” and “numb-nuts” with great fanfare, Christie’s team dubbed Lautenberg’s letter as “outrageous,” “uninformed,” and “bizarre.”

None of that was front page newsworthy.  It took Norcross and Sweeney launching  Sweeney’s 2014 campaign for Launtenberg’s job to make the front page of the APP.

Wednesday morning Sweeney emailed a scathing open letter attacking Lautenberg for opposing the merger and for his failure as a U.S. Senator to bring home Washington money for New Jersey’s higher education institutions.  Several other south Jersey lawmakers, including two Republicans, signed with letter with Sweeney. Norcross later sent a statement calling Lautenberg a “great Senator for north Jersey” who has failed southern New Jersey to the same email list.

The Sweeney/Norcross statements are not really about the Rutger-Rowan merger.  The real message is that Lautenberg’s career is coming to an end.  That message has been confirmed by the silence of Democratic leaders who have staid out of this fight.  U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Assembly Speaker Sheilia Oliver, Democratic State Chairman John Wisniewski, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker have all been silent.  No one is backing up Lautenberg. 

The message to Lautenberg…prepare for retirement… just don’t quit and let Christie appoint your replacement.  The message to Democratic donors…don’t give to Lautenberg’s 2014 reelection campaign.

So, the point of the last 460 words is that The Asbury Park Press made the 2014 race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate front page news yesterday.  That wouldn’t be so bad if there were not a U.S. Senate election between two relatively unknown candidates, U.S. Senator Bob Mendendez and State Senator Joe Kyrillos this year.

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Will Christie nominate a conservative Democrat to the Supreme Court?

Where would he find one?

This morning InTheLobby calls on Governor Chris Christie to call the Democrats’ bluff regarding their resistance to his plan to remake New Jersey’s Supreme Court into judicial body that interprets the law and away from the destructive unaccountable body that has been legislating a liberal agenda from the bench over the last four decades by nominating a conservative Democrat to the bench.

Last week, after a charade of a hearing for Christie’s nominee to the Court, Phillip Kwon, Senate President Sweeney admitted that what the Democrats really want is a Court packed with Democrats.

By nominating a conservative Democrat, one who doesn’t believe in legislating from the bench,  Christie would be calling the Democrats bluff, says InTheLobby.

Where would anyone find a conservative Democrat in New Jersey? 

What about Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik?

Hornik tells every Republican he meets that he’s really a Republican.  On his facebook page, Hornik apologizes for his Democratic registration.  “Democrat, but the people matter the most,” is how Hornik describes his politics.

Hornik first got elected in Marlboro with the help of Republicans for Hornik.  Members of the Marlboro Republican Committee remain supportive of the Mayor.

Hornik impersonated 12th district GOP congressional candidate Scott Sipprelle in 2010.

Is Hornik qualified?  That would be up to Christie’s vetters and the Judiciary Committee to decide, assuming the Judiciary Committee cares about qualifications going forward.  They clearly didn’t in Kwon’s case.

From a legal career and public service perspective, Hornik’s resume is not all that different from that of Bruce Harris, the Mayor of Chatham whose Supreme Court nomination is currently pending in the Senate.  Both of specialize in real estate, finance and commercial transaction.

Hornick doesn’t have Harris’s academic pedigree.  Harris went to Amherst, Boston University and Yale. Hornik went to University of Delaware and Brooklyn Law.    University of Delaware is good. It’s better than Rowan.  Governor Christie went to University of Delaware, so that might be good for Hornik.  Brooklyn Law is no Yale, but Geraldo Rivera, Percy Sutton, David Dinkins, Larry Silverman, Sheldon Silver all graduated from Brooklyn.

What do you think MMM readers?  Is Jon Hornik a conservative Democrat?  Would he be an activist Justice or and interpretive Justice?

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Senate Democrats Demand That Christie Appoint One Of Their Own To Supreme Court

Democrats in the New Jersey State Senate are upping the ante in their unprecedented exercise of legislative power over judicial appointments.

In the wake of their rejection of Phillip Kwon’s nomination to the State Supreme Court, the Democrats are now demanding that Governor Chris Christie nominate a Democrat to the Court.

“The governor may be entitled to his own nominees for cabinet posts, but we will not allow him to pack the Supreme Court,” Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said. “The governor must work with us to put together a balanced tandem of candidates for the court. The Senate will not consider anything less.”

NJ.com reports that Sweeney’s spokesman Derek Roseman said that Sweeney was telling Christie to nominate a Democrat.

During his press conference following the Senate Judiciary Committee’s rejection of Kwon, Christie revealed that he had complied with Sweeney’s demand of diversity in his appointment of Kwon, the first Korean-American ever nominated, and Bruce Harris, an Africa-American who is the first openly homosexual nominee.

Reshaping the Supreme Court into a less activist body that does not legislate from the bench was a hallmark promise of Christie’s gubernatorial campaign.  During his first two years in office, Christie has been openly critical of the Court and unabashed about his commitment to change it.

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Sweeney Calls Rutgers-Camden Students and Faculty Protesters A “Lynch Mob”

Senate President Steve Sweeney called Rutgers-Camden students and faculty members who were protesting the proposed merger of their school into Rowan University a “lynch mob,” according to a post at Blue Jersey.

I wonder if Congressman John Lewis will be coming back to Trenton to slam Sweeney.  Lewis came to Trenton last week to denounce Governor Chris Christie’s “in-artful” comments about the 1960’s civil rights movement in the South when calling for a referendum on same sex marriage.

I wonder if Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver will give Sweeney a history lesson about language that African Americans find offensive and then go on the Al Sharpton Show to talk about it.

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Why the push for same sex marriage now?

In a widely published OpEd piece, Rob Eichmann, the GOP State Committeeman from Gloucester County, questioned why the the State Legislature’s Democratic leadership has made gay marriage their top priority of the year.

Assembly Minority Conference Leader Dave Rible says the Democrats putting the issue on the front burner is a “slap in the face to the guy on the unemployment line.”

Both men have a point. 

Garden State Equality, the gay rights organization behind the push for same sex marriage, boasts of 86,000 members on its website.   That makes them, they say, the largest civil rights organization in the state.

That 86,000 number is questionable. 

Steve Goldstein, Chair and CEO of the GSE, told MMM that they consider any person who takes two affirmative actions for equality to be a member.  How they track that, he wouldn’t say.   I’m pretty sure they consider me a member.  Goldstein was aware that I signed up for their email list this week.  I told him that I noticed that shortly after I signed up that the the number changed from 85,000 to 86,000.  “I promise you, Art, we’re not counting you as 1,000 members.”

Goldstein finally acknowledged, sort of, that the membership claim is based upon a combination of their email list of 70,000 plus the 17,200 facebook friends they have, less a fudge factor to eliminate overlaps. Given that there is a facebook plug in on the GSE page, the fudge factor should probably be more than 1,200.

Even if GSE’s membership numbers were accurate, they would be representing less that 1% of New Jersey’s population.

The number of same sex couples who have committed to each other in the form of civil unions is a more reliable indicator of just how big this “civil rights” problem is.

According to Daniel Emmer, spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, 5,790 couples have been joined in civil unions since 2007 when the legislation designating the unions become effective.  That’s 11,580 people, statewide, that this issue impacts directly, if we generously assume that none of those unions have been dissolved by divorce.  Do they call it divorce?

One might conclude that Goldstein’s political skills are remarkable.  He has managed to make his small, be it 11,580 or 86,000 people, constituency’s concern the top priority of our state government during a time when our economy is anemic, municipal governments are making significant changes to balance their budgets and our urban schools are not educating their students.  Unemployment and foreclosures are not our top priority. Another generation of minority students are not getting educated, and Steve Goldstein has managed to make same sex marriage the most important issue of the State Legislature.

Or has he?

Goldstein has been played by the Democrats before.  Jon Corzine, while he was governor got Goldstein to agree to back off the same sex marriage issue during the 2008 presidential election cycle and the 2009 gubernatiorial election cycle.  Corzine made passionate speeches before gay audiences about how important their rights were.  He was blowing smoke.

Are the Democratic leaders of the legislature playing Goldstein again?   I think they are.   

The Democrats and their special interest donors want nothing to do with Governor Christie’s agenda for this year.  They want to raise taxes, not lower them.  They don’t want to reform education.  They don’t want to reform the civil service system so that municipalities can lower their costs and taxes.

The Democrats don’t want Christie to be an effective spokesman for Mitt Romney, especially if Romney wins the GOP presidential nomination.

That’s what this is about for the Democratic leadership. Avoiding Christie’s agenda and changing the public conversation.  It’s not about civil rights and benefits for Goldstein’s small constituency.

Whether or not it’s really about civil rights for Goldstein and GSE is another question which will be the subject of a future post.

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Marriage Equality and Religious Excemption Act: It’s over except for the theatrics

Same sex marriage will not become law in New Jersey this year by way of legislation or referendum.

Governor Chris Christie assured the Marriage Equality and Religious Excemption Act will not become law when he announced that he will veto it.  He was always going to veto it.  Yet, his call to put the question on the ballot for the voters to decide assured that it will not pass in the legislature with a veto proof majority, if it passes at all.   Legislators, from both parties who are in difficult positions personally and politically over the issue now have cover not to vote to pass the bill.

Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver assured the marriage equality question will not be on the ballot as a State constitutional amendment this fall.  A constitutional amendment requires 60% approval in the legislature before it goes to the people in a referendum.  Sweeney and Oliver have both said that they will not even allow the referendum question come before their chambers for a vote.  They say its a civil rights issue that should not be subject to the whims of the majority.  David Duke, the Klan and the Jim Crow south have been invoked in the heated rhetoric in response to Christie’s call for a referendum.

All the noble rhetoric on this issue, from both sides, is political theatrics.  Presidential and gubernatorial political theatrics.  It has been since 2008.

Governor Corzine asked the gay community not to push for marriage equality during the presidential election year of 2008 or the gubernatorial election year of 2009.  Corzine couldn’t get it gay marriage passed in the lame duck legislative session of 2009.  Had Corzine been reelected, a same sex marriage bill, without protections for the religious community included in the current bill, likely would have become law early in 2010.

Despite their holier-than-though rhetoric about civil rights, and despite Quinnipiac’s poll showing that a majority New Jersey voters favor same sex marriage, Sweeney and Oliver really oppose putting the question on the ballot this fall because they fear it will bring out conservative voters in large margins.  They fear that New Jersey’s 14 electoral votes could be at stake and that the congressional delegation could be at risk.  They remember what happened in California (of all places) and Ohio when gay marriage was on the ballot.

Christie remembers California and Ohio too.   Once again the great compromiser as outmaneuvered the Democrats and made Steve Sweeney curse.   He knows that Sweeney and Oliver would never let the question on the ballot, this year of all years.  Yet by calling for a referendum, he has killed the legislation’s chances of passing with a veto proof majority, if at all.

It’s back to court, and to the confirmation hearings for Chrisite’s nominees for the State Supreme Court, for Steve Goldstein and Garden State Equality.

Or, if what the gay community really wants if equal rights and benefits, rather than changing the definition of marriage, Goldstein and GSE could put their considerable skill into making the civil union law work. Quinnipiac says 69% of New Jersey voters support the same sex civil union law.  The problem has been that Goldstein and GSE don’t support it.  That will be the subject of a follow up post.

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Monmouth Park Privatization Deal Unraveling

Monmouth Park is in jeopardy of closing  due to a dispute over the licensing of thoroughbred races at the Meadowlands, according to a report in The Star Ledger.

The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associated successfully negotiated for the rights to the Meadowlands races on June 21.   Now the investor slated to take over the Meadowlands track, Jeffrey Gural, wants the rights back because he didn’t realize he was giving up proceeds of off-track wagering on the races.  Evidently, the Christie administration is siding with Gural and is refusing to issue the license to the horsemen.

The Meadowlands license impacts Monmouth Park because races licensed for the Meadowlands are frequently transferred to Monmouth.

As a result of the dispute, Morris Baily, the investor slated to take over Monmouth Park from the state, says he wants out of the deal, according to the Ledger.

The parties would have a lot more money to fight over, while keeping the tracks open, if  slots were permitted at the racetracks, as they are in a growing number of tracks throughout the region.

Assemblyman Ronald Dancer has introduced two pieces of legislation that would permit slots at racetracks.

A-4294 directs the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), in consultation with the New Jersey Racing Commission, to implement and oversee slot machine gambling operations at horse racing venues.

ACR-209 is a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that gives the Legislature the authority to establish slot machine gambling at racetracks. If approved by voters, the specific restrictions and control of operations of slot machines, as well as the use of the State’s share of revenues derived from the machines, would be provided by law.

“Both proposals represent an incentive for the major stakeholders in this issue – the casino and horse racing industries – to come together and work out a fair and mutually beneficial agreement. Allowing slot machines at racetracks will generate revenues that will help both industries,” said Dancer. “One industry’s success does not have to be at the expense of the other. Permitting slot machines at racing venues will preserve and enhance both.

“One unique aspect of these bills is that the DGE will consult with the Racing Commission in overseeing the operation of slot machines, without the involvement of the New Jersey Lottery Commission which exists currently,” explained Dancer. “As a result, the proceeds from expanding slots at the racetracks would not be diluted to another commission, but distributed to the industries for which they are intended.

I am open to either approach in deciding this issue. We can allow the voters to determine if amending New Jersey’s Constitution is appropriate or work through the legislative process,” commented Dancer. “The casino and horse racing industries are important parts of our state’s economy. I am confident we can reach a reasonable solution as to how we can capitalize on the market potential slot machines at racetracks will produce.”

Dancer pointed out the benefits New Jersey’s horse racing industry provides to the state, including jobs, tax revenue and preserving open space. According to the Rutgers Equine Center, horse racing employs over 7,000 workers and contributes nearly $800 million to the state’s economy. Further, 34,000 acres of the state’s 176,000 farmland acres are attributable to the horse racing industry.

Unfortunately, Dancer’s legislation has little chance of becoming law, as Governor Chris Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney are opposed to allowing slots in New Jersey anywhere outside of Atlantic City.

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Sweeney: Republicans Voted To Put People To Death

By Art Gallagher

Senate President Steve Sweeney said his Republican colleagues in the Senate voted to put people in urban areas to death when they failed  to vote for the Democrats attempt to override Governor Christie’s line item veto of  $139 million in transition aid to the cites, according to a report in The Star Ledger.

“They just voted to basically put people to death in urban areas by not funding these programs,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said after Republicans blocked an attempt to restore $139 million in aid to 21 cities and $50 million in funds for public safety in 150 municipalities.

Will Sweeney let those people die when Governor Christie offers to restore all or part of the aid to cities in exchange for Sweeney’s support of his education reforms and the rest of the property tax “tool kit?”

Will Christie get all that he wants from Sweeney or will he settle for a compromise?

July and August are usually a quiet time in Trenton, especially in a year with legislative elections.  That is not likely to be the case this year.

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