Thank You Jesus
|
Sure Host here you go,
Can you explain how a Governor can appoint his homosexual lover to post as important as homeland security for the state, when he had no credentials for the position or wasnt even an US citizen?
Quote:
http://observer.com/20060925/2006092...s_wiseguys.aspBy Steve Kornacki
New Jersey’s Democratic elite has developed a well-worn reputation for cockiness.
And for good reason: Since 1972, only two Republicans—Tom Kean Sr. and Christine Todd Whitman, each elected and re-elected governor—have won statewide elections in New Jersey, and only once did their victory margin exceed one percentage point.
But cockiness also explains the predicament that Garden State Democrats now face: Six weeks before what figures to be the most Democrat-friendly midterm election in a generation, it is very possible—if not probable—that they will squander what should have been one of their party’s safest Senate seats.
Through scandals that would have killed off an ordinary state party, New Jersey’s Democrats thrived this decade, growing more confident with each win that they’d found a recipe for immunity. But now there is fear that they overreached and, in 2006, nominated the one man to whom their misdeeds will actually stick.
The national implications couldn’t be more dire: If Robert Menendez, New Jersey’s appointed Democratic incumbent, fails to hold off Republican Tom Kean Jr., Euclid himself couldn’t devise a majority-producing formula for the Democrats.
For now, the Menendez-Kean race is essentially a tie, something of an achievement in its own right for New Jersey’s G.O.P., which typically enjoys all the September success of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. What’s more, the most recent polls haven’t even measured the impact of a recently revealed federal criminal investigation of Mr. Menendez, the consequences of which Democrats privately describe with words ranging from “pretty bad” to “fatal.”
That quiet angst, though, isn’t entirely owed to the investigation itself, which was launched by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie two weeks ago. It has more to do with context. Just consider what else is in the news in New Jersey these days.
There’s Jim McGreevey, some 22 months after skipping town with federal investigations into his gubernatorial administration swirling, who barged back into our lives last week to let us know that the sexual affair with the unqualified Israeli sailor he appointed as his state’s homeland-security advisor actually began while Mrs. McGreevey lay in a hospital bed clutching the couple’s newborn daughter. If that’s not enough, Golan Cipel, Mr. McGreevey’s supposed romantic partner, has himself re-emerged—to declare that the governor had actually liquored him up with Jägermeister and tried to rape him.
There’s also John Lynch, the onetime New Jersey Senate president (and Mr. McGreevey’s political godfather), whose plea agreement on federal corruption charges landed on the front page of last Friday’s Star-Ledger—right next to the news that Mr. McGreevey had been smitten with Mr. Cipel “from the first kiss.”
And then there’s this week’s report from a federal monitor essentially charging Wayne Bryant, a powerful state senator and loyal cog in the feared Camden County Democratic Committee, with shaking down administrators at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to secure a no-show job for himself.
And those are just the biggies.
It may be hard for someone in, say, Kansas to understand this, but this is far from the first time that New Jersey Democrats have handed Republicans political ammunition this potent. But it has never mattered—until now.
In last year’s governor’s race, Republicans tied Jon Corzine, through his obscene personal campaign contributions and politically reckless business dealings, to a host of unseemly—and even indicted—characters. But Mr. Corzine won by 10 points: Few voters believed that the former Goldman Sachs C.E.O. would dirty himself doing business with ward-heelers.
The same goes for 2002, when Democrats switched a wheezing, wounded Robert Torricelli out of a Senate re-election race that he was about to lose, instead coasting home with the innocuous Frank Lautenberg.
Mr. Menendez may not be so lucky.
The public, even before word surfaced that U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie was probing his past role as a Union City landlord, already seemed inclined to tie Mr. Menendez to the sins of his party. The Senator has since intimated that Mr. Christie, a G.O.P.-appointed prosecutor, is motivated by politics and swears that the matter is overblown. It may well be.
But Mr. Menendez was always playing a risky game, betting that he—and, more importantly, New Jersey’s voters—had heard the last of some of the uglier chapters from his days as Hudson County’s Democratic boss.
Like earlier this decade, when he used his fierce and unforgiving muscle to paralyze the government of Jersey City. And why? To teach a lesson to the mayor, a man named Glenn Cunningham, who had run afoul of Mr. Menendez.
Tragically, Mr. Cunningham died two years ago. The city shut down for his funeral, and some 4,000 residents made their way to the armory for the ceremony. Mr. Menendez was barred from coming anywhere near it. But who delivered a eulogy? Why, Chris Christie. Of course.
Maybe, for both New Jersey Democrats and Mr. Menendez, the old saw is true: What goes around, comes around.
|
Now a wee bit of US senator Torricelli's foleys and how the very upright and ethical state of New Jersey handled it.
Quote:
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLI...ace/index.html TRENTON, New Jersey (CNN) -- Buffeted by scandal and trailing in the polls, Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-New Jersey, announced Monday he was dropping his bid for re-election -- a move that could prove pivotal in Democratic efforts to maintain control of the Senate.
"I will not be responsible for the loss of the Democratic majority in the United States Senate," the embattled incumbent declared. Calling it "the most painful thing" that he's ever done, Torricelli said he was asking attorneys to go to court to have his name removed from the ballot.
"Don't feel badly for me. I've changed people's lives," an emotional Torricelli, 51, said. With typical self-confidence, Torricelli rattled off what he considered to be his political and legislative accomplishments, and relayed how Democratic leaders had tried to dissuade him from his decision.
The withdrawal from the race, just five weeks before the midterm elections, complicates Democratic efforts to hold onto the Senate. Republicans need just one more GOP senator to wrest control of the chamber from Democrats.
Torricelli's race had once been viewed as an easy win for his party, but Republicans have successfully made the incumbent's ethics troubles -- stemming from illegal 1996 campaign donations and questionable gifts -- a campaign issue this year.
Torricelli's decision sent Democrats scrambling for a replacement to face Republican Doug Forrester in November. Democratic Gov. James McGreevey, who attended the news conference, said party leaders will make a replacement decision by Wednesday.
But Republicans vowed to challenge any effort to remove Torricelli as the official Democratic candidate, noting the state deadline for such a change had passed. According to the New Jersey attorney general's office, the vacancy deadline is 51 days before the general election. As of Monday, the general election was 36 days away.
"The laws of the state of New Jersey do not include 'we-think-we're-going-to-lose-so-we-get-to-pick-someone-new' clause," Forrester said at a news conference, blasting the "desperate attempt to retain power."
The question of who would be on the ballot appeared to be destined for the courts.
Even before Torricelli's announcement, party officials were looking at possible alternative candidates, including U.S. Reps. Robert Menendez and Frank Pallone. Former Democratic Sens. Bill Bradley and Frank Lautenberg, a longtime rival of Torricelli, were also among those political figures party strategists were considering as replacement candidates, sources said.
Bradley, a popular figure in New Jersey politics, was being courted to enter the race, party sources said. But people close to Bradley expressed doubts that the onetime basketball star and Rhodes scholar would enter the race.
A former congressman, Torricelli had replaced Bradley in the Senate with his 1996 election. He proved to be an effective fund-raiser for his party, especially as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the last election cycle.
Earlier in the day, Torricelli's campaign had called reports of his possible withdrawal "misleading rumors," but, after a day of rampant speculation about his political future and talks with party leaders, Torricelli decided to throw in the towel.
Torricelli's campaign has been hurt by an ethics controversy, and new polls showed him trailing Forrester by double digits. A weekend poll by the Newark Star-Ledger placed Forrester ahead of Torricelli by 13 percentage points.
Torricelli was admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee this summer, following an investigation into whether he had improperly accepted gifts from businessman David Chang, a campaign contributor who earlier this year pleaded guilty to violating federal election laws.
Torricelli, who once served in the office of Vice President Walter Mondale, said he made mistakes, but insisted he was not guilty of all the charges leveled against him.
"When did we become such an unforgiving people?" he asked.
He had earlier apologized to voters for his behavior. In July, he delivered a speech on the Senate floor, citing "lapses of judgment" and vowing to take "full personal responsibility" for what happened. (Full story)
In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle praised Torricelli as "an untiring fighter for the families of New Jersey" and said "his voice will be missed" in the Senate.
Before Torricelli's announcement, a source close to Menendez said that he is torn about whether he would run.
Menendez is in a close leadership race for the Democratic caucus chairman in the House and he is concerned about jumping into a battle that, the source said, is already set up as a "losing proposition."
On the other hand, the source said that Menendez knows how important the Democratic majority is in the Senate.
A combative and aggressive politician, Torricelli made news both on the campaign trail and off. His romantic life was often in the spotlight. He dated prominent women, including Bianca Jagger, a human rights activist and the former wife of rock star Mick Jagger, and Patricia Duff, a wealthy Democratic donor.
Written by CNN Producer Sean Loughlin with reporting from CNN Correspondent Jonathan Karl, Capitol Hill Producer Dana Bash and Political Editor John Mercurio.
|
How can a candidate pull out after the ballot deadline, and thenthe state and national democratic party can get a new candidate on the ballot when by New Jersey law they should have been SOL. I can tell you, the NJSC which is controled by go figure democrats.
Now Host like I said earlier I CAN post more than 5 pages of the shit the democrats have pulled in Jersey but I have neither the time or energy to do so.
I truly hope these do not count as "feeling" posts becuase I have given you a few examples of how this state works. I am suprised you do not live here, this
is a democrats wet dream state, next to Washington DC that is, where you can be a convicted crack smoking felon and still get elected to a council seat as long as that 'D" is infront of your name.
__________________
Where is Darwin when ya need him?
|