Not business as usual in Trenton: How Republican senators bucked Christie

Not business as usual in Trenton: How Republican senators bucked Christie (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — The word from Gov. Chris Christie’s office on the first floor of the Statehouse was heard loud and clear Thursday on the third floor, where Senate Republicans met in their caucus room overlooking the Delaware River. Time was up for Senate…

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Smoking Gun? Breitbart report points to Menendez on unreported private flight to DR

Will Senate Democrats continue to give Menendez cover if he lied to them?

The reporter who first broke the Menendez sex scandal story posted an eyewitness account of Senator Robert Menendez dining with Dr. Salomon Melgen one mile from Teterboro Airport on Easter morning of 2012, while Melgen’s private plane was being refueled for a direct flight to the Dominican Republic.

Menendez has admitted to taking three flights to the DR on Melgen’s jet.  One was paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Committee.  The other two were reported and paid for personally by Menendez…almost three years after the fact…as a result of NJ State Senator Sam Thompson’s ethics complaint filed in November of 2012.  Menendez paid $58,500 for the two flights last month.

The Dominican prostitutes who first fingered Menendez said they met him during Easter of 2012. Menendez’s and Melgen’s friend,  Dominican politician Vinicio Castillo Seman admitted that the senator was the Dominican Republic on Easter of last year, according to Breitbart.

In addition, Menendez’s and Melgen’s friend–powerful Dominican politician Vinicio Castillo Seman–recently slipped up and admitted the senator was in the Dominican Republic on Easter Sunday in 2012, at the scene of where the original alleged wrongdoing took place. “I’ve known Menendez as a friend and of my cousin Salomon Melgen,” Castillo said while attempting to defend Menendez amid the scandalous allegations that currently plague him. “No one has come forward on the allegations and evil accusations, we spend every Easter together in Casa de Campo.”

Though it is now known Menendez spent Easter in Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic with Melgen and Castillo, it is unclear how he got there. He and his staff have continually refused to answer that question.

But it has appeared for a long time that Menendez got there via Melgen’s plane. Flight path data obtained by Breitbart News and published in early February shows Melgen’s plane flew from Melgen’s home city West Palm Beach, Florida, to Teterboro, New Jersey, on Easter Sunday morning. It stayed there at Teterboro from its landing at 11:30 a.m. until taking off to head straight to the Dominican Republic at 12:50 p.m.

It is during this timeframe Melgen’s plane was on the ground in New Jersey, refueling and preparing for the flight to the Dominican Republic, that Breitbart News’ eyewitness in the area said he saw Menendez and Melgen brunching together at Arena Diner a mile or so away from the airport.

If Menendez was on the Melgen’s flight to the Dominican Republic last Easter, he’s been lying to the American people, and the Senate Ethics Committee, since early January when he paid $58,500 for the flights he’s admitted to belatedly.

Menendez and his office continue to refuse to answer whether the senator was on that flight, or if he got to the Dominican Republic that Sunday another way.

Instead, Menendez says he’s got his hand on the plough and is looking forward, quoting the Gospel of Luke.

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What if Menendez resigns or is expelled from the Senate?

Don’t count on it happening.  Senator Bob Mendendez as already survived a recall effort, an FBI investigation while Chris Christie was U.S. Attorney, Tom Kean JR and Joe Kyrillos.  There’s little reason, so far, to think Menendez won’t survive his latest scandals involving illegal campaign donations and gifts, a sex offender illegal immigrant intern and allegations of engaging with prostitutes and underage girls in the Dominican Republic.Why would Menedez resign? It’s not as if he tweeted nude pictures of himself, or anything as bad as that.

For a senator to be expelled requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate.  The Senate Select Committee on Ethics has not responded to State Senator Sam Thompson’s complaint about Menendez filed last November.  There is no reason to think the Democratically controlled Senate will even consider censuring Menendez, much less expelling him, unless the FBI’s current investigation results in an indictment and/or conviction.

But if Menendez’s seat in the Senate were to become vacant this year, it would put New Jersey politics into a fabulous turmoil that would be fun to cover and generate unprecedented blog traffic.  “Peter Williams,” if you’re reading, please cooperate with the FBI and bring the Domincan girls with you to the USofA!

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Report: Menendez Denies Wrongdoing

Roll Call is reporting that Senator Bob Menendez’s office has issued a statement denying any wrongdoing on the senator’s part related to the FBI raid last night on his friend and campaign contributor’s West Palm Beach, Florida office:

“Dr. Melgen has been a friend and political supporter of Senator Menendez for many years. Senator Menendez has traveled on Dr. Melgen’s plane on three occasions, all of which have been paid for and reported appropriately,” Menendez’s office said in a statement. “Any allegations of engaging with prostitutes are manufactured by a politically-motivated right-wing blog and are false.”

The statement does not appear in the press release page of Menendez’s website.

The Menendez statement appears to conflict with information included in State Senator Sam Thompson’s ethics complaint filed with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics last November. Thompson alleged that Menendez appeared to have accepted free travel to the Dominican Republic on Dr. Soloman Melgen’s private jet, and failed to disclose the gift traffic as required by Senate rules.   The Senate Select Committee had not responded to Thompson as of Monday

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Thompson, Dancer & Clifton Announce Reelection Bid

Old Bridge, NJ – The 12^th District Team of Sen. Sam Thompson and Assemblymen Ron Dancer and Rob Clifton today announced their plans to run for re-election and continue their fight to make New Jersey more affordable for middle-class families by cutting taxes, growing the economy and creating jobs.

“After a decade of decline, we have begun to turn the tide by working with Governor Christie to reject tax increases and other harmful economic policies that left the state with higher taxes and fewer jobs,” Thompson, R-Middlesex, Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean, said. “The property tax cap and benefits reform have begun to turn the tide on property taxes and we have a lot more work to do to create jobs and make our state more affordable for middle-class families.

“No one can match our team’s experience in fighting for common sense solutions to reduce the burden on taxpayers in our district,” Thompson added.

Thompson, a full-time legislator, is seeking his second term in the Senate after serving in the Assembly for more than a decade.

Running with Thompson is Assemblyman Ron Dancer, R-Ocean, Burlington, Middlesex and Monmouth, an Assemblyman since 2002. A former Mayor of Plumsted Township, Dancer knows first hand the priority of reducing property taxes at the local level while providing for the safety and security of our schools and community.

“Last year was the lowest property tax increase in two decades and we are committed to driving that number down further with more reforms that will reduce costs for property taxpayers, such as, reversing Court decisions that send 60% of all State School Aid to just 31 inner city schools at the expense of our rural and suburban school districts,” Dancer said. “Property taxes remain too high and we want to keep fighting to reduce the burden on our constituents.”

Rounding out the ticket is Assemblyman Rob Clifton, R-Monmouth, Burlington, Middlesex and Ocean, who is in his first term in the Assembly after serving as a Monmouth County freeholder from January 2005 until January 2012 and as Mayor of Matawan from December 1996 until January 2005.

“New Jersey is winning the uphill battle to create jobs and grow the economy without raising taxes,” Clifton said. “We cannot allow our momentum to roll backward by returning to the reckless tax and spend policies that made our state unaffordable for many families and senior citizens.

“We’re excited at the prospect of running with Governor Christie and other taxpayer-friendly candidates in the four counties we represent,” Clifton said.

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American Conservative Union Rates New Jersey Legislators

American Conservative Union, the folks who put on the CPAC conventions and who have since 1971 been rating the conservatism of members of Congress have rated the conservatism of New Jersey’s state legislators.

ACU tracked the votes on 11 pieces of legislation for Assembly members and 9 votes in the Senate.  Those who voted the way ACU favored 100% of the time were declared “Defenders of Liberty.”  Those who voted with ACU on 80% or more of the bills earned the designation “ACU Conservative.”

Those legsilators who never voted the way ACU favored, most of the Democrats, earned the designation “True Liberals of the Garden State.”

Some of the results in the Monmouth County delegation, Districts 11, 12, 13 and 30, are surprising.  At least they are to me.

If you asked me to predict who among the Monmouth County delegation would have earned a 100% conservative, “Defender of Liberty” designation I would have guessed only 11th District Assemblywoman Caroline Cassagrande.  I would have guessed wrong.  Cassagrande didn’t even make the 80% “ACU Conservative” cut.  She voted the ACU way 8 of 11 times for a 73% rating.   The 3 votes Cassagrande cast that did not meet ACU approval were for 1) for legislation that requires businesses to post notices that employees have the right to be free from gender inequality, 2) for legislation that would ban treating waste water from fracking and 3) a bill that provided tax credits for electric car charging stations.

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The Little Event

For more photos, click here

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Christine O’Donnell coming to Hazlet to raise campaign cash for Anna Little

 This is not what I had in mind when I called on John Bennett and Sam Thompson, the GOP chairmen of Monmouth and Middlesex counties, to fix Anna Little’s overdraft.:

Patriot Ticket
$250

Co-Host Sponsorship
$2,500

Other Sponsorships Available – Please Call for Details

~ RSVP TODAY – Space is Limited ~

Call 732-658-5461

Please Mail Event Contribution Checks To:
Friends of Anna Little
P.O. Box 382, Highlands, NJ 07732

Please Include: Employer and Occupation in the memo line
(Information Required by Federal/State Law – if self employed list ‘self’ and industry ie: Attorney)

~Thank You to Our Host Committee ~

Municipal Chair of Old Bridge, Anita Greenburg, Assemblyman Rob Clifton, President of Affiliated Republican Club Wayne Pomanowski & Mayor Fred Rast of Atlantic Highlands

In case you blocked it out, O’Donnell was the 2010 Tea Party candidate for U.S. Senate in Delaware who scored an upset primary victory over former Governor Mike Castle  before going on to lose badly to Christopher Coons, costing the GOP the opportunity to take what had been Joe Biden’s Senate seat.  Castle was considered a sure victor in the general election had he been the nominee.

O’Donnell was a deeply flawed candidate.

The NJ media has compared Little to O’Donnell too often.  Once would have been too often.  Now the comparisons will inevitably start again.  The only thing that could prevent The Star Ledger’s Tom Moran or Politickernj from making such a comparison is if Little fails to get enough traction against Frank Pallone to warrant any ink.

The comparisons could start, mercifully, with failure to file notices from the FEC.

Governor Chris Christie campaigned for Castle in 2010.

He also appeared at least two fund raisers for Little in 2010.  Those weren’t catering hall fund raisers.  They were held at elegant waterfront private homes.  This news makes one wonder about Bennett’s and Thompson’s clout with the Governor.  This one makes one wonder if Christie will be stumping for Little in October.

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Anna Little Reports Negative Cash On Hand

Anna Little’s congressional campaign account is overdrawn $11,321.08, according to the FEC Form 3 Record of Receipts and Disbursements, that her campaign submitted to the Federal Election Commission yesterday.

$22,188.28 seems to have disappeared overnight, between May 16 and May 17, from Little’s meager coffers.  In  the pre-primary report of activity for the April 1 through May 16 period, “Friends of Anna Little” had $13,806.95 cash on hand on May 16.  The next day, her campaign’s beginning balance was negative $8,381, according to the report submitted yesterday.

Monmouth County GOP Chairman John Bennett, Middlesex County GOP Chairman Sam Thomspon and the Bayshore Tea Party Group need to step in and right the Little campaign before it does damage to the rest of the party.  Thompson thought his judgment was better than that of the Monmouth GOP screening committee when he awarded his county’s party line to Little when her home county leaders thought better.  Bennett, while not yet chairman, supported Little in the primary against Ernesto Cullari.  Bennett and Thompson headlined a fundraiser for Little.

When MMM questioned Thompson about Little’s FEC reports in May he said, “I have a hard enough time keeping my own campaign reports straight.”  That flippant attitude is no longer acceptable.

Bennett relied on Little’s support to win the chairmanship by three votes.  Little has been taking credit for Bennett’s victory at her weekly campaign meetings at the Keyport IHOP. 

The Bayshore Tea Party Group’s leadership, despite having well earned reservations about Little, chose to support her over Cullari as an act of defiance towards the Monmouth GOP.

Thompson, Bennett and BTPG gave us this mess.  They need to clean it up.  Fast.

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Patrick Murray predicts that Cullari will defeat Little

Monmouth University Polling Director Patrick Murray says on PolitickerNJ that Ernesto Cullari will defeat Anna Little in the CD-6 GOP primary based on Senator Joe Kyrillos coattails and “the bigger issue” that some of Little’s key supporters have fallen out with her since the 2010 race.

I wonder who Patrick is referring to.

CD6 GOP
2010 nominee Anna Little hopes lightning strikes twice and she knocks off the Monmouth County organization’s preferred candidate – this time, Ernesto Cullari.  But it just ain’t gonna happen.  It’s not because the party has gotten any better at GOTV.  Fewer than 14,000 Republicans voted in the last primary – and the only reason more will vote this year is that native son Joe Kyrillos is running for Senate.  The bigger issue is that some of Little’s key supporters have fallen out with her since the last race.  Winner:  Cullari

Murray predicts that 15% of partisan voters will come out on Tuesday statewide.   If the turnout is higher in Monmouth because of Kyrillos’ favorite son status, that should favor Cullari.  Little benefits from Kyrillos’s coattails in Middlesex where she appears under the senator on the ballot. 

Despite Murray’s swipe at the Monmouth GOP get out the vote effort, the real key to this race is will be the turnout in Middlesex.   If Sam Thompson’s team gets 5000 or more voters to the polls, Little should win.   In the 2010 race less than 3800 Middlesex Republicans voted.  However the Middlesex portion of the district is much larger now since redistricting.  If less than 5000 voters come out in Middlesex and 6000 come out in Monmouth, Cullari wins.   If 10,000 come out in Monmouth because of Kyrillos, Cullari wins handily.

MMM’s prediction:  In a repeat of 2010, the race will go to a recount. 

Unlike 2010 the race, the recount won’t be resolved before the Monmouth GOP convention.  Little will get up at the convention and endorse John Bennett for Chair as a payback for headlining her $10 per head spaghetti dinner fundraiser in Keansburg.  Cullari will get up and endorse Christine Hanlon because she’s Christine Hanlon.

Little will be forced to concede on June 15 in order to pay her fines from the FEC.  She won’t have enough money to pay her recount team and the fines.  John Bennett, fresh off his defeat in the Chair’s race, will be in Florida and unable to host a spaghetti dinner to pay Little’s fines and pay the recount team.

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