Spadea lands candidate against Oroho

Franklin Borough Mayor Nicholas Giordano, a Republican, recently bragged on Facebook that he had voted for both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.  The Mayor, who is said to be seeking a political appointment at the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority (SCMUA) while dodging questions about a land deal that benefits his family, has been a controversial figure since replacing longtime Mayor Paul Crowley in January.

CONSTITUENT:  Don't talk conservative when you brag about voting for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama Mayor.

Franklin Mayor Nick Giordano: Yup cause I vote best candidate at the time not by party.

"He's a critter in a big hurry," said one county insider, while another dismissed Giordano as "Mayor Thuglife".

Mayor Nicholas Giordano:  Obama was the "best candidate".

Nonetheless, Giordano seems ready to heed former GOP candidate turned talk radio host Bill Spadea's call for candidates to primary the anti-debt Republicans who stood up and took on the Transportation Trust Fund debacle after 25 years of deficit spending, debt, and lies to cover up the can being kicked down the road.  He's told supporters that he's preparing to run and will launch a recall effort against Senator Steve Oroho (R-24).

The Mayor has also trashed the state League of Municipalities for taking a position opposite his on the TTF.  On Facebook, Giordano exhibits a stunning lack of knowledge on the subject of how the TTF is funded, operates, and about the Tax Restructuring legislation passed on Friday.  Just one example is that Giordano insists that the 23 cents a gallon tax is on home heating oil and is unmoved by evidence to the contrary.

Given Bill Spadea's political history, a Giordano candidacy makes sense.  Spadea's campaign manager in his last attempt at elected office (Assembly) was none other than Tea Partier Leigh Ann Bellew.  She challenged Republican Senator Joe Kyrillos in 2013 the year after she ran Spadea's effort against conservative darling Donna Simon.  Her campaign was dreadful and ended even more dreadfully.  A popular video was circulated to describe the effort, start to finish:

This is the way with so many "Tea Party" members.  Rational discussion is suspect.  It is the anger that matters (aka, "Heart and Soul").  Welcome to Spadea's toilet.

Recent Polling: Support for Gun Rights Surges

For better or worse, the New Jersey system of having three legislators from two different chambers is what we have to work with.  And because resources are scarce, legislators tend to run as teams each election cycle.  That can complicate candidates' chances especially when they don't match up with their team mates.

A case in point is Legislative District 16, where conservative Assemblywoman Donna Simon was defeated for re-election by 70 votes -- simply because Republican turnout was anemic. District 16 would be a dream district for Republicans in most states, where the GOP has captured and held solidly Democrat, union-dominated, and gritty urban districts by generating a high turnout among Pro-Second Amendment, Pro-Life, and Traditional Values conservatives.  A solo Donna Simon would have crushed a far-left candidate like Andrew Zwicker, who would be an anomaly in most of America.

This will be a problem again in 2017, when consultants and strategists get down to fashioning a campaign plan into which 3 different candidates can fit.  They often have to knock all the hard edges off some candidates to make them match the smoothest of their running mates -- but what they are often left with fails to motivate Republican issue voters.

That's a pity, because support for core Republican issues is hardening.  Take the gun issue as an example.  Fresh data from the Rasmussen Polling organization finds that 75% of likely voters in America now say the right to bear arms is important, with 54% who say it is "Very important."  That up from 68% who said it was important three years ago, including 49% who said it was "Very important."

And for those NJ GOP aficionados who still believe that they can get through a contested primary being on the wrong side of this issue, check this out:  76% of Republicans believe the "Right to Bear Arms" is "Very important" -- with another 18% thinking it "Somewhat important."  Independents break 63% (Very Important) to 19% (Somewhat important).  Even a majority of Democrats believe that the "Right to Bear Arms" is important -- 26% (Very important) and 25% (Somewhat important).

68% of voters say they would feel safer living in a neighborhood where they can own a gun rather than one where no one could have a gun for their own protection.  This breaks out for Republicans as 81% (own guns) to 16% (no guns), Independents 71% (own guns) to 14% (no guns), and Democrats 53% (own guns) to 37% (no guns).

A New York Daily News/Rasmussen poll released yesterday finds that 61% of American Adults agree with the statement, "The NRA supports gun policies that make all Americans safer." This includes 35% who Strongly Agree.  In  the same poll, by 51% to 38% Americans say that "more gun control is more likely to make it harder for law-abiding citizens to purchase a gun rather than keep guns out of the hands of criminals, people with mental illness and suspected terrorists."

And despite the efforts of Democrat critters like Vinnie Prieto and Steve Sweeney, 69% of likely voters believe the shooting incident in California last week is a terrorism issue, vs. 20% who think it a gun issue.  GOP PRIMARY WARNING:  Among GOP voters those numbers are 86% to 7%.

Political Correctness goes down big too.  83% of Americans say it is more important for the United States to guarantee freedom of speech than it is to make sure nothing is done to offend other nations and cultures.  Similarly, 82% think it is more important to give people the right to free speech than it is to make sure no one is offended by what others say.  71% of Americans see political correctness as "a problem" -- for Republicans that rises to 85%, Independents are a strong 74%, and even Democrats post a healthy 58% who believe that P.C. is a problem.

Use the data and begin now to fashion bold campaigns for 2017.