AUFC Attacking Garrett from Afar

As first reported by Herb Jackson over on his blog, Americans United for Change are coming to New Jersey with their Bush Legacy Tour bus tomorrow.

Their target is our very own Representative Scott Garrett, who has voted with President Bush 86% of the time. They are also going after Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen.

Their chosen location: Newark? At the Newark Bears Stadium? After Newark, they're taking the bus down to Trenton. Who gave them a map of New Jersey's Congressional Districts? This is the bus no one in the District will actually see.

I realize the idea is to get the bus into the papers, and get people like me to write about it, but that would happen regardless of where they chose to park it. Why not put it in Sparta or Bloomingdale, where Garrett and Frelinghuysen split the town? Or maybe in Paramus next to his office and a mall where people can park and look at the thing? Or any of the District's colleges, park and rides, train stations, etc.?

If their goal is to go into the towns and Districts of Bush's most ardent supporters, they really dropped the ball on this one. They have a button on their website for people to click if they want the bus in their town. They really need to add another one for the Congressional Districts they're supposedly targeting.

Shulman's $215K 2nd Quarter

While I haven't received any official numbers to date, it seems Rabbi Dennis Shulman had a rather impressive second quarter of fundraising. The Express-Times ran this in a story on Saturday:

Of the approximately $565,000 Democrat Dennis Shulman's campaign has raised to date, $119,000 came from online donations, campaign manager Jeff Hauser said. Shulman is challenging U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Warren.

If that total amount holds, with total donations of $349,969 listed on their last filing, that means Shulman may have raised roughly $215,000 last quarter.

For some perspective, Paul Aronsohn raised $74,421.65 over the same time period in 2006. It also would mean that by the end of July, Shulman's campaign is within roughly $12,000 of what Aronsohn raised throughout the last campaign.

Once I have official numbers I'll post them.

DCCC Attacking Garrett on Oil

Update: You can listen to the ad here.

Seems when the DCCC decided to name Dennis Shulman as an emerging race, they meant top 13 in the nation. The DCCC is coming after Representative Scott Garrett in a new radio ad using a Bush Impersonator:

"Wanted to thank you for continuing to support the Big Oil Energy Agenda,” the impersonator says. “‘Preciate you voting to keep giving billions in tax breaks to the big oil companies. Sure, gasoline is over four bucks a gallon and the oil companies are making record profits, but what’s good for Big Oil is good for America, right? I guess that’s why they call us the Grand OIL Party. Heh, heh, heh.

The DCCC has also announced they will also be doing web videos and targeted e-mails in select Districts.

Fanning running in the Fifth

Ed Fanning of Dumont will be joining Representative Scott Garrett and Dennis Shulman on the ballot in November. Fanning will be running as a member of the Green Party. So far, he's had 88 people visit his website.

Bergen Reformers Bloodbath

Well, the Real Bergen Democrats went down in flames yesterday:

With 93.5 percent of Bergen County votes counted late Tuesday, the incumbents appear to have defeated the challengers by about 3 to 1.

According to the returns, Ganz received 18,383 votes, McPherson received 19,276, and Walton got 18,890.

On the challengers’ slate, Skiba got 6,302 votes, Hoernlein got 6,468 votes and Rasul got 5,476.

"The results show a mandate for the Bergen County Democratic Organization," said Bill Maer, a spokesman for the county Democrats. "This shows that the voters are comfortable with the leadership we’ve shown over the last few years."

Maer's statement is a little misleading. What he should be saying is that 11.8% of registered Democrats are comfortable with the leadership, because that's how many people actually voted for McPherson when compared to registered Democrats.

But, credit where credit is due, you don't win elections with the people that decided to stay home. Inside Bergen highlights the beating The Real Bergen Dems also took at the County Committee level. And the pay-to-play goes on...

Obama vs. McCain

When I started telling people this was the race I wanted in the middle of last year, even I didn't believe it was likely to happen. I just hope it lives up to my expectations. Honest disagreements are what politics is about, but my sincere hope is that each side actively keeps it out of the gutter.

Shulman's Statement

Dennis Shulman won a decisive victory in tonight's Democratic Primary in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District and immediately promised to change the corrupt, special interest politics of Washington."

"We need to change the way we do business in Washington," said Shulman. "We need to get our country back on track -- lower health care costs, lower fuel costs, and fix the mortgage crisis that has put our economy on the verge of recession. Unfortunately, the special interests and their lobbyists are standing in the way."

"And Scott Garrett is part of the problem. He's taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from the banking and financial industries that are responsible for this country's mortgage crisis - and he has voted their interests every step of the way. He recently voted against legislation to help families hurt by the mortgage crisis meltdown - and that is simply unacceptable," said Shulman.

"I want to thank the people of New Jersey for their support and compliment our opponents on running spirited campaigns. I intend to wage a vigorous campaign challenging Garrett and the special interests - and I intend to win in November."

Record Endorses Shulman

The Record has endorsed Dennis Shulman as the Democrat to take on Representative Scott Garrett in the fall.

Abate Getting Nasty

Well, the earlier dust up over at Blue Jersey definitely pales in comparison to what has being going on for the last 24 hours. Camille Abate sent out a rather nasty mail piece attacking Dennis Shulman regarding his comments made regarding Iraq. In response, there has to be a record breaking number of comments regarding the Abate mailer I still have yet to receive.

While I'm concerned about how easy it will be to paint Shulman with the Federal investigation into the BCDO's top people (I could write the ads in my sleep); Abate's campaign over the last two weeks or so has planted some seeds of concern about the type of Representative she'd be.

First there was the talk on health care from the New Jersey Herald debate:

Shulman said he would encourage bipartisan discussion to establish such a program, but Abate said she would not "because there has been too much talk already," inciting applause from the audience.

I'm not sure why that comment sent chills down my spine, and nobody else has focused on it. The idea of replacing one ideologue with another is rather unappealing. Barry Goldwater understood that politics demands compromise, and it's one of Representative Scott Garrett's worst traits as a Representative that he is so unbelievably partisan.

Second, this whole mailer business. Why?

In a year where a record number of new voters are being brought in or returned to the process with the promise of a rejection of the politics of the past, this type of mailer should have been left on the shelf.

Overselling and underachieving are the hallmark of Garrett's time as our Representative (ex. AMT's still there; our tax dollar return has gone down). As I noted earlier, most voters know that no single Representative has the power to bring the troops home. Therefore, no Representative can be "trusted" to do the job, because "trusting" them to do the job implies a power they do not possess.

My hope is, should Abate win, her campaign will recognize that this sort of mailer won't inspire those undecided people to come to her side.

Indie Filing Deadline

Wally Edge reminds readers that June 3rd is the deadline to file as an Independent candidate for Federal office. I know I have said before I wouldn't run, and despite the words of encouragement to jump in again I received over the weekend, I'm really not in a position to this year. Maybe 2010.

Clinton: Damn the Rules

Here's something to think about: Senator Hillary Clinton is saying she'll take the fight for Michigan and Florida to the convention floor. They broke the rules Clinton had agreed to, and so the votes were tossed.

Does America really need another President so comfortable with bending and breaking the rules?

Debate Tonight

The New Jersey Herald is one of the sponsors for the debate tonight between Camille Abate, Roger Bacon and Dennis Shulman. I can't make it, but if anybody takes a video I'd love to see it.

Challengers for the congressional seats representing Sussex County will face off tonight in a debate in Sussex County Community College's new Performing Arts Center.

The debate at 6:30 p.m. will showcase the Democratic candidates running for the Fifth and 11th congressional district seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Shulman's First Ad

Rabbi Dennis Shulman released his first ad today:

Clinton: To Hell With Economists

Well, this is a scary thought:

Clinton raised questions about Obama's ability to connect with working-class Americans while dismissing economists who have said her plan to suspend gas taxes over the summer would do little good.

"I'm not going to put my lot in with economists," Clinton said when asked to name an economist who backed her proposal.

Back in 2006, economists at the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve banks started sounding the alarms about where the economy was headed. I was scoffed at when I'd bring this up during presentations. I would argue they were pretty much on the money.

Now, we seem to have two candidates who want us to eliminate the gas tax for the summer. Economists have panned the idea as having little impact for the consumer, because there's no guarantee any of the drop in price would be passed on to the consumer.

Then, you have to add in the fact we as taxpayers would have to borrow money to replace the transportation funds to repair bridges so they don't collapse like the one in Minnesota. So not only is there no guarantee we wouldn't be hosed at the pump, we'd be paying the money back with interest.

I know I don't comment much on the Presidential race, but this comment is absolutely too ridiculous to ignore.

Missed One

Representative Frank Pallone, who deserves a tremendous amount of credit for kick starting the relisting of the Ringwood Superfund Site, endorsed Dennis Shulman in his quest for the Democratic nomination here in the Fifth.

Shulman On Blue Jersey Radio

Democratic hopeful Rabbi Dennis Shulman will be on Blue Jersey radio, tonight at 8:30. Now that they've moved the time, I might actually be able to listen to the show live.

Garrett Shmorgishborg

So much to read, this is a round-up of Representative Scott Garrett and other news from the web:

*A lot is being made of the polls released by Camille Abate, and particularly Dennis Shulman, each shows Garrett being unknown and unpopular in the District, causing CQ Politics to remove our District from the Safe Republican category.

*Blue Jersey's Scott in NJ took the time to compile a great chart tracking the money race. It's no different surprise Garrett holds a large lead in cash on hand.

1. Garrett: $457,521.36
2. Shulman: $245,549.80
3. Abate: $103,193.05

*Garrett railed against government spending over at The Hill Blog. He and his colleagues at the RSC hope to introduce an amendment to tie spending increases to growth in the GDP. This is one way to defund the Iraq war in a hurry.

*Garrett also used a bit of revisionist history in his Op-Ed calling for the end to the AMT. He neglected to mention a patch could have been passed much sooner than it was, however Garrett was one who led the charge to protect a loophole enjoyed by less than 60,000 people at the expense of the millions impacted by the AMT.

That's it for now...

Democrats, Garrett and Taxes

Over at Blue Jersey this week there was a conversation about whether or not a Democrat could take the Fifth. A number of ideas crossed people's minds, largely centered around Representative Scott Garrett's social voting record. One thing that was missing, both from the comments on the original post and the response from Dennis Shulman's campaign, was a huge issue here in the Fifth: Taxes.

Our District is one of the most heavily taxed in the nation, and anyone running against Garrett is going to have to talk about it to get people listening.

Let's be honest, every time a Democrat talks about raising taxes on the most wealthy Americans to fund a program, they're talking about our District. Garrett's opposition to government expansion rings true with a lot of people, because they know they'd end up paying for it and haven't been happy with the return on investment at a lot of levels.

According to the Census Bureau, 46.9% of the families in our District make over $100,000 a year. This compares with 22.6% of the nation as a whole. The more popping figure are families making over $200,000. The nation has 4.4% at that level, where our District has 14.8%.

Although some could argue cost of living adjustments would be factored in, anybody who deals with the AMT knows that won't save our District from a higher bill. While Garrett has failed to deliver relief from the AMT, and actually voted against patching it at least once, it doesn't change the fact roughly 20% of the District are on the verge of having to pay it.

It is a primary issue for many voters in the District, and although completely ineffective in actually getting anything done to fix the AMT, people like what Garrett has to say about abolishing the AMT.

What also hurts Dems in our District is what happens with the State regarding property taxes. According to the Star Ledger, 17 of the top 50 towns in average property tax burden fall within the Fifth District. Camille Abate addresses the fact unfunded mandates and such raise people's property taxes when Federal dollars don't come through, but it's the last point on her issues page.

Garrett's philosophy of ending many Federal programs and returning "control" to the State is probably where Dems can make their greatest inroads. Not only has our return on the Federal tax dollar not improved with Garrett, but his voting record and statements are such that he wants more of the property tax burden to fall on our District's shoulders.

That's all well and good for a guy who has been accused of using a farm subsidy to lower his own property taxes. Since, supposedly, he's not paying his fair share now, it won't affect his bottom line if his neighbors have to pay more.

I guess my point in all of this is that Garrett's greatest strength, his verbal stand on taxes, needs to be turned into his greatest weakness. Things like his votes for deficit popping budgets; votes against small business tax cuts for owners in our District when they're among the highest taxed in the nation; and his votes against funding that will have to be replaced with property tax dollars are really how to make people rethink their support for him.

Garrett talks a good line on taxes, and any Dem that wants to take him down is going to have to show that Garrett is just that: Talk. Once a candidate establishes that, and people are listening, the rest of Garrett's record can be discussed.

Pink Murray

Big hat tip to Eric over at Red Jersey for finding this one. A serenade to Dr. Murray Sabrin, candidate seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate, done in the key of Pink Floyd:

Filing Day Fun

Well, those hoping Representative Scott Garrett might face a challenge in the Republican primary have been disappointed. Garrett will be running unopposed in June. However, there were a lot of interesting occurrences:

On the Congressional level, previously announced candidates Camille Abate and Dennis Shulman were joined by Roger Bacon of Phillipsburg. This permitted Wally Edge to make a joke.

Bergen

On a more local level, the Real Bergen Democrats are mounting a challenge to Joe Ferriero's BCDO. Here's how The Record explained the situation:

Freeholder incumbents David Ganz, Bernadette McPherson and Vernon Walton, backed by Ferriero, will face a challenge from former Hasbrouck Heights Councilwoman Carol Skiba, Tenafly Councilwoman Carol Hoernlein and newcomer Aishaah Rasul.

In the county clerk race, former Westwood Councilwoman Gail Frasco of the Real Bergen Democrats will go up against Diane Testa, Fairview's borough attorney and administrator. Republican incumbent Kathleen Donovan does not have a primary challenger.

[snip]

"This is not a reflection on the [BCDO's] county candidates, since this is being done purely for political purposes to get as many county committee seats in the 37th District," said Bill Maer, a spokesman for the BCDO.

No, I'm fairly certain it's a reflection on the BCDO and how it's run, and by extension how the county is run.

Carol Hoernlein, for one, has been fighting the fight against Papa Joe for a long time. I highlighted a blog post by her last year, and good government types on the Democratic side of the aisle should be happy to have her on the ballot.

I write about the ills of pay to play, probably not enough, and anyone who signed up for the Democratic primary to vote for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton should think about voting in the June primary. When I was on the trail in 2006, I would often say the corruption people were furious about down in Washington was going on right here, but with Papa Joe playing the role of Tom DeLay.

Should the Real Democrats fail at knocking out Freeholders Bernadette "EnCap" McPherson or David Ganz, the Republicans will have their own slate going in November. However, it won't be decided with out a primary of their own. Once again, The Record:

Republicans are not immune to a primary contest as two freeholder candidates aligned with U.S. Senate candidate Murray Sabrin, including his wife, will face off against a slate endorsed by the Bergen County Republican Organization.

Florence Sabrin and Paul Mladjenovic will vie for the two seats against Christopher Calabrese and Jeffrey Heller.

It should be interesting to see how this all plays out. The Record has a complete list of people filing to run in the June primary in Bergen.

Sussex

Both candidates for Freeholder, current Republican Freeholder Phillip Crabb and Democrat Donna Griff will be running unopposed in June.

When I find info regarding Passaic and Warren counties, I'll post it.