GOP Insiders: BLM Republicans rather than MLK Republicans?

By Rubashov

David Wildstein has been a Republican candidate, an elected Republican office holder, a Republican campaign manager, a Republican political consultant, and a high-ranking appointee in a Republican administration. His PoliticsNJ and PolitickerNJ political blogs supported the rising political fortunes of childhood friend Chris Christie. When Christie was United States Attorney, Wildstein’s blogs would often break stories before established media outlets had even got wind of one.

After Bridgegate, Wildstein joined with fellow Republican political consultant Ken Kurson to start New Jersey Globe. And when Kurson found himself in some trouble, it was a Republican President who granted him a pardon. By any measure then, David Wildstein is a Republican insider.

We thought about this when reading a column Wildstein posted on Friday, bidding farewell to New Jersey Globe reporter Nikita Biryukov. Wildstein wrote:

“Frankly, I can’t help but have pride in the careers of some of journalists who began their career working for me, including three of my first hires: MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki, who spent three years as a reporter at my old site, PoliticsNJ; and the Boston Globe’s James Pindell, who spent a few years at PoliticsNJ and is now the nation’s premier expert on New Hampshire presidential primaries; and POLITICO’s Matt Friedman, who was just developing his snark and perhaps had not yet owned a cat. Reporters I’ve helped train now work at the Philadelphia Inquirer, POLITICO in Washington, Roll Call, National Journal, Advance Publications, and other news organizations, and I wear that with a badge of honor.”

Wait… he’s a Republican, right? So, why didn’t anyone he mentored go on to work at Fox or Newsmax or National Review? Why isn’t conservative media represented at all?

Steve Kornacki and Matt Friedman are among the most knee-jerk corporate Democrats writing today. They, along with everyone Wildstein recruited, worship big government power and push a relentlessly Establishment line. They all became what Leftwing populist Jimmy Dore calls media “shitlibs”. All good little members of the MSM – mainstream media – and all dedicated to splitting the American people into marketable silos, creating the reality described by journalist Matt Taibbi in his book, Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another.

Just the other day, Nikita Biryukov was bashing Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli for daring to question Governor Phil Murphy’s unfunded mandate LGBTQ+ curriculum that teaches anal sex to grade school children. As only a very young man could, Biryukov wrote: “Many LGBT issues are considered settled in New Jersey.” Considered by whom? The corporate, media, government, and academic establishment? The One Percent?

You may ask: But Wildstein is a Republican, right? A former GOP campaign manager, an insider in the Bergen County Republican Organization, a GOP mayor, a former consultant to the NJGOP, one of Governor Christie’s top appointees… How is it that he unerringly recruited and produced employees who hate traditional values, who hate conservatives, who hate the platform of the Republican Party? Why was this man rewarded for doing so? And why does he continue to be rewarded by the GOP?

People like David Wildstein are turned on by power. Very early on, they learn to mimic the attitudes and language of those who have power in the institutions they wish to be a part of. In the Republican Party in New Jersey, that means the corporate elite, the lobbyist community, and the Trenton establishment. These are not conservative people. They do not hold with traditional values or with any of the party platforms since Ronald Reagan captured the nomination in 1980.

They are exactly what you would expect corporate people to be… woke. They are exactly what you would expect people who lobby for woke corporations to be… paid to act woke. They mind their language and keep in fashion. And people who want to get ahead in the GOP do the same and act like they do.

That goes for party people – staff and such – all those appointees who keep the engine going. And that’s why it goes the way it does. That’s why, as Tucker Carlson recently observed: “And you wonder why you no longer recognize the party that you vote for.”

And it’s not just the Republicans in New Jersey. This is as much the case in Washington, DC…

The Google lobbyist and the GOP Leader.

Of course, not all Republican leaders are in lock step with the Establishment. Many actually listen to the members of their party and to the people who vote for them. Republican elected officials who listen to average party members and voters tend to do better at elections than those who simply try to mimic Establishment attitudes. Anyone who has closely watched the campaign of GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli has been impressed by his ability to listen to what average voters have to say.

Did you know the Establishment actually runs finishing schools for wokeness that Republican operatives are enrolled in before going out and imparting their wisdom to candidates, party committees, and campaigns? They go by names like the Center for America Women and Politics or CAWP. It’s part of Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics and it claims to be bi-partisan – in that it trains both Democrats and Republicans. Yes, it may be bi-partisan, but it is 100 percent woke and in service to the modern fascism of identity politics. Catch this language from a statement CAWP put out last year:

“The Center for American Women and Politics was founded to examine and disrupt the gender bias built into America’s political institutions. But these institutions – formal and informal – were also constructed to privilege whiteness. To uphold that privilege, entire communities have been dehumanized, exploited, endangered, and disempowered. Our work has made us keenly aware that changing institutions built to uphold the power of white men is difficult, and it requires those who benefit most from these power dynamics to call for and actively participate in their disruption. It also requires changing who holds power within those institutions.

We denounce the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, as well as the systemic racism, sexism, transphobia, and inequity that their deaths illuminate. We condemn the long history of police violence against Black Americans and the legal system's failure to respond. We state unequivocally our commitment to anti-racism and to our continued work to transform political institutions to make them more inclusive and responsive to the demands and experiences of all Americans.

…committing to anti-racism also means educating those who are privileged within racist systems to confront their own privilege, and to become both active and accountable in transforming these racist systems.”

No Republican should be a part of an organization that puts out racialist slop like this. As the party of Lincoln – the party that was formed to end slavery and the party that ensured civil rights for all – Republicans should follow the color-blind path of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. NOT the racist neo-fascism of BLM.

This is the kind of nonsense Republican operatives are being fed before they are handed the keys to run things. This is why there is a disconnect between party operatives and grassroots activists. It’s simple: They are NOT on the same page.

To be sure, the people who run CAWP are racialists. Their ideology is fascist rather than Marxist, because there is no mention of economic class.

In White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making, Duke University Professor Nick Carnes cites studies showing that while a majority of Americans work in blue-collar employment, only 2 percent of Congress were blue-collar workers before being elected and only 3 percent of State Legislators are employed as blue-collar workers. Carnes and others hold that this disparity reflects the economic decisions and priorities of legislative bodies in America. But in the happy-clappy rainbow fantasy world of the One Percenters who run CAWP, Oprah Winfrey is oppressed and the Appalachian family living in a shack are the oppressors. Based on their skin color. The Germans had a word for this.

Conservatives, traditional Republicans, those who believe the party is something more than a racket must demand and keep demanding a seat at the table. Understand that you are not going to be liked, get past it, and keep insisting on an accommodation. They want to keep you out. It is up to you to muscle your way in.

“It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so, and will follow it by suppressing opposition, subverting all education to seize early the minds of the young, and by killing, locking up, or driving underground all heretics.”

Robert A. Heinlein

If only the Star-Ledger had the moral mettle of the Atlantic City Press.

Once upon a time in America… newspapers provided a safe space for the exchange of ideas.  They kept the drama in check, maintained a rational balance, and never let their emotions get the better of them.

You need only read an editorial written by the Star-Ledger’s Julie O’Connor to know that those days are long gone.  Today’s media is all wrapped up in the moment and very, very emotional about it.  There is no civil exchange of ideas, just the daily line that the Establishment media is right… and the average working man and woman is wrong.  And if you disagree with them, they call you a “racist”. 

Once upon a time in America… newspapers didn’t tip their hand as to whose side they were on.  You couldn’t tell if they were leaning Democrat or Republican – and they tried not to give it away until their endorsement a few days before an election.  Now there’s no hiding who they support and what they are.  As the Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran wrote last year:  “Voters will be standing in the booth Tuesday, and our core mission is helping them decide which lever to pull.”

With a “core mission” like that, it sounds like the Star-Ledger needs to register itself as a political action committee.

Of course, there are still a few – very few – old style newspapers.  About the same time the Star-Ledger was publishing its “core mission”, the Atlantic City Press wrote: “Telling readers how to vote, however, is contrary to the mission of newspapers and other media, which is to extend the public’s experience and perspectives.  Newsgathering organizations give the public eyes, ears and memory beyond the capability of an individual.  People want them to be reliable and credible.  When the media start making judgments, their audiences wonder if they’re altering their content to support that judgment too.”

Once upon a time in America… colleges and universities were safe spaces for the exchange of ideas.  Freedom of thought and of speech was respected – even when disagreed with. 

Now look at them.  They threaten those they disagree with and – if they show up anyway – they get violent.  Who would have believed that students would one day get violent over the idea of being exposed to a different point of view?  The parallel to another time, and other students, is an exact one.  And that ended in book burning.

Recently a Sussex County Democrat wrote:   "Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state."  He went on to explain that Fox News should be banned because, in his view, it was “propaganda”.  The idea that this Democrat is aligned with an institution of higher learning – in this case the Sussex County Community College – is chilling. 

The safe space for civil discourse, the safe space for the exchange of ideas, is fast disappearing.  And when society’s “betters” behave irresponsibly – equating words with violence – what do we expect from the “unhinged” elements of society?  Who is teaching society how to hold a civil, rational discussion with someone with whom they disagree?

Instead, by equating words with violence, the editors, reporters, faculty, and administrators are telling society that they engage in violence (with words) and so it is okay for others to engage in violence (on their terms).

The problem with writers like Julie O’Connor, Tom Moran, Matt Arco, and Matt Friedman is their lack of humility and lack of intellectual curiosity.  Their moral certainty has closed the book on considering any viewpoint but their own.  They are good… everybody else is evil.  That makes for a pretty darn predictable writing style.  Pretty darn boring. 

There has been a lot of social change in America.  O’Connor-Moran-Arco-Freidman and the like are in a rush to make everyone conform to those changes.  They believe it to be a moral imperative that any diversity of opinion be labeled and then stamped out.  But they are acting out at a very dangerous time in the world. 

Democracy defeated the older models of totalitarianism because it produced both freedom and prosperity.  Totalitarianism failed to produce either freedom or prosperity.  Now there is a new model of totalitarianism – Chinese fascism – that is quite good at lifting people out of poverty and making them prosperous.  Prosperous… but not free. 

If we lose our safe spaces for civil, rational discussion.  If we lose the ability to exchange ideas.  If we convince our people that they must be “protected” from the freedoms in Bill of Rights – from being exposed to speech they disagree with, from the right to self-defense.  What will we be left with?  Will we embrace the Chinese model if it ensures prosperity and protects us from the “threat” of freedom?

We have been warned before about the inorganic imposition of new cultural ideas on society.  We have been warned about what happens when you are not patient, by that old-fashioned liberal, Mrs. Lillian Smith.  A Southern writer, she was a pioneer in the battle to end segregation. We recommend her book, The Winner Names the Age.  In it, you will find this passage she wrote when she accepted the Charles S. Johnson Award for her work:

“It is his millions of relationships that will give man his humanity… It is not our ideological rights that are important but the quality of our relationships with each other, with all men, with knowledge and art and God that count.

The civil rights movement has done a magnificent job but it is now faced with the ancient choice between good and evil, between love for all men and lust for a group’s power.”

“Every group on earth that has put ideology before human relations has failed; always disaster and bitterness and bloodshed have come.  This movement, too, may fail.  If it does, it will be because it aroused in men more hate than love, more concern for their own group than for all people, more lust for power than compassion for human need.”

“We must avoid the trap of totalism which lures a man into thinking there is only one way, one answer, one option, and that others must be forced into this One Way, and forced into it Now.”

Politico deleted anti-Semitic Tweet (is that in their playbook?)

Few blogs are as unrelentingly anti-religious as Politico.  In New Jersey, the blog has pursued an agenda clearly at odds with traditional religious beliefs, be they Judeo-Christian or Islamic.  Bloggers like Matt Friedman appear to think that their worldview – fashionable, secular, and centered on sexuality – is the measurement by which everyone else’s religious views are to be judged.  Friedman openly mocks what he doesn’t want to understand.  There are the ignorant and then there are the invincibly ignorant.  He is the latter.

But now the entire Politico enterprise is being called into question, and its anti-religious bias is even making it onto the pages of the benign Wikipedia…

In April 2017, Politico magazine published a wild conspiracy-theory article that tried to link President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin with a Jewish outreach organization Chabad-Lubavitch.  The article was  widely condemned.  Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League said Politico was conjuring up anti-Semitic myths about Jews. 

And Wikipedia details Politico’s own anti-Semitic Twitter scandal:

Politico was accused again of anti-Semitism, when an article depicting imagery of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders next to money trees, was published. Sanders being the only Jewish presidential nominee was targeted for the amount of wealth he accumulated over his entire life time [60] Politico staff writer Michael Kruse wrote the article detailing the senator’s wealth, writing that Sanders “might still be cheap,” according to one of the senator’s friends, “but he’s sure not poor.” To share the story Politico’s official Twitter account used the quote, Sanders “might still be cheap, but he’s sure not poor,” managing to combine two anti-Semitic tropes (Jews are cheap; Jews are rich). The tweet was later deleted. [61]

Hypocrisy, thy name is POLITICO.  Before calling on others to resign over a re-tweet (as opposed to full length, original content, articles), maybe the staff at Politico should lead by example and cut-off their own heads first?  Just a thought.

Clergy calls out State Democrat Chairman’s attack on religion

In an open letter to State Democrats, a member of the New Jersey clergy questioned Democrat Chairman John Currie’s motives for encouraging the media to attack religious leaders…

Chairman John Currie

NJ Democratic State Committee

196 W State Street

Trenton, NJ 08608

Dear Chairman Currie:

I am writing to you because I am disgusted with the offensive way the state Democratic Party, of which you are Chairman has used Matt Friedman and the Politico website to smear, attack and denigrate people of faith.  You seem to think that you are above God, that in order to achieve salvation, we need only drink the Koolaid offered by the State Democratic Party and its allies in the media. 

To be a Christian is to follow The Christ. That means to order your life to the discipline of the Word of God – not the word of your political party.  We take our instruction from the Bible and not from the Star-Ledger or the Record or a political blog or a political party.  When we follow the tenants of our faith, you and your allies in the media should not try to label us as “haters”.  

My faith tells me that the “LGBT lifestyle” is wrong and that it is contrary to the Word of God.  That does not make me a “hater” like you and your friends like to call us.  It makes us Christians.  Please let me share this story with you, a story from my life, and then you can decide whether you and your party and the Matt Friedmans of the world should call me a “hater”.

I am a nurse. As the AIDS epidemic hit Dayton, Ohio, in the early 80’s I volunteered for the Dayton Area AIDS Task Force.  I personally cared for many men as they were dying of AIDS.

The only medicine available at the time was the toxic, previously banned for human consumption, AZT.  From the disease and medicine, these men could barely take care of themselves. As a nurse, I helped take care of their daily needs, including bathing, toileting, dressing, and feeding them.  I wiped their bottoms, gave them their medicine, took them to their doctors.  I also did their eulogies and officiated over the memorial services.

Many clergy and church people stepped up to take care of these men and minister to their families.  The accusation that the clergy is “hateful” towards LGBT people is false.  I remember when the late Cardinal O’Connor was alive, he would go to the AIDS wards in New York hospitals, not just to pray for these men, but he helped feed them. He would take off his clerical robes, roll up his sleeves, and help bathe them.  But your party and agenda driven reporters want to accuse all clergy of being haters bigots and homophobes. In so doing you show your hatred and bigotry to Biblical Christians, Torah Jews, and adherent Muslims. That’s a lot of people.

In New Jersey, LGBT identified persons have been given more rights, more protections, more attention than any other socioeconomic group in the state, with the possible exception of illegal aliens.  This has all been done at the expense of the 1st Amendment rights of people of faith. This is by design. The New Jersey legislature has passed a plethora of bills in the last several years that deal with alternative lifestyles. Including enabling children to change sexual identity, mental health services, without parental consent at the expense of the taxpayer. They are now forcing children and teachers to be indoctrinated about the contributions of LGBT identified persons in every subject beginning in eighth grade.  The contributions of other citizens perhaps even more qualified and more accomplished will not be taught because they’re not LGBT.

You and your media allies with your hate, will not rewrite Holy Scripture or destroy our faith.  Political parties will not be allowed to intrude into religion and make it bend to their political will. 

I am here to tell you today that your politics is intruding into our religion.  You cannot judge us by your political yardstick which is your faith.  When we don’t comply, you should not set your Matt Friedmans upon us to mock religion and call us names. 

If you don’t know the difference between theology and politics, then perhaps we can teach you.  We preach against adultery, but we encourage adulterers to attend our church.  We preach against substance abuse, but we minister to those who suffer from it.  We preach against sodomy, but all are welcome in our church. We stand with the Bible, but we do not treat any “sinner” different than another.  And rest assured, that begins with the sinner in the mirror every morning.  The ground is level at the foot of the cross. 

To this end, I would like to invite you to attend a public discussion on this subject.  We can work with your schedule. 

Please let us know what week works best for you. 

Thank you,

 Rev. Greg Quinlan

Pastor Phil Rizzo: The Christian the Democrats want you to Hate…

And Julie O’Connor, and the Star-Ledger, and Matt Friedman, and assorted other politicos and hacks too.  Hate is their game…

Why is the media shilling for “designated terrorist group” CAIR?

715 residents of New Jersey died on September 11, 2001.  For most, it was a horrific death.  Perhaps Politico’s Matt Friedman has forgotten, or the Bergen Record’s Hannan Adely is too young, or the Star-Ledger’s Rob Jennings just doesn’t care.  We all know Julie O’Connor’s problem… staring in the mirror too long making sure her tin halo is just so politically correct that she forgets all but her own self-image.

For much of the past two weeks, elements of the media have appeared obsessed by the fact that a local party chairman in Sussex County had “re-tweeted” some “tweeter trains” that contained images or language some “might” consider “offensive”.  Of course, the term “offensive” is very subjective. 

The Star-Ledger does not find the burning of the American flag to be offensive – at least to the point that they have never, to our knowledge, called for the resignation of any public or party official who supported the burning of the American flag.  It seems burning the American flag does not rise to the level of “re-tweeting” a “tweet” – such is the mindset of the Star-Ledger.

Apparently dipping a Christian cross into a jar of urine, and calling it art, also does not register as “offensive” in the subjective reasoning of the media.  But a “re-tweet” containing a negative comment about a Muslim congresswoman – who even fellow Democrats acknowledge is anti-Semitic – that apparently merits two weeks of continuous commentary.  It is a funny old world we live in.

As part of the “re-tweets” story, the media has approvingly published statements made by the New Jersey chapter of CAIR, which is short for Council on American-Islamic Relations.  CAIR put out a statement that labeled these “re-tweets” as “anti-Muslim” and “Islamophobic, racist, and xenophobic” and called for the resignation of the local party chairman.

It appears that the media deliberately suppressed something very important about CAIR.  Something most readers would want to know… 

CAIR has been designated a “terrorist organization” by one of America’s closest Islamic allies in the Middle East.  That’s right… a “terrorist organization”.  Don’t you deserve to know that?

It wouldn’t take much effort for a journalist to find out.  Even one of today’s journalists.  Wikipedia explains that CAIR is “a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide.”  Wikipedia goes on to note:

Critics of CAIR have accused it of pursuing an Islamist agenda[5][6][7] and have claimed that the group is connected to Hamas[8] and the Muslim Brotherhood,[9][7] claims which CAIR has rejected and described as an Islamophobic smear campaign.[10] Due to apparent ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the government of the United Arab Emirates has designated CAIR as a terrorist organization.[11]

A “terrorist organization”?  That is a very serious matter.

Hamas?  So much has been written about this group’s anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.  So much written about its violence and terrorism, attacks on civilians, on women and children, the murder of Islamic rivals, the use of civilians as human shields, and the conscription of children as soldiers… that you would think even people as thick as Matt Friedman and Rob Jennings would have it together enough to work up a line or two about it. 

Hamas, together with several charities it runs,[438] has been designated by several governments and some academics as a terrorist organization. Others regard Hamas as a complex organization with terrorism as only one component.[439][440] Israel outlawed Hamas in September 1989[441] The United States followed suit in 1995, as did Canada in November 2002.[442] The European Union outlawed Hamas's military wing in 2001 and included Hamas in its list of terrorist organizations in 2003,[443] …Egypt,[448] Saudi Arabia,[449] Japan,[450] New Zealand,[451] Australia and the United Kingdom[452] have designated the military wing of Hamas as a terrorist organization.[453] The organization is banned in Jordan.[454] (Wikipedia)

Imagine being connected to an organization where “terrorism” was a “component”?  And imagine the media ignoring it? 

The Muslim Brotherhood?  Quite a few nations have designated that a   “terrorist organization” as well, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia… these are all Islamic nations and all strong American allies. 

We have offered CAIR the use of these pages to explain how it came to be designated a “terrorist organization” by one of America’s Islamic allies.   

What is most alarming about this story is the media’s apparent focus… on “re-tweets” while a designated “terrorist organization” feeds a willing media its statements, judging what is or isn’t “offensive”, calling on “offenders” to resign, and generally behaving as if it has the moral high ground.  Is the media lazy or culpable? 

If culpable. If the media really does believe in suppressing the truth about CAIR, then no sane person should ever cooperate in helping them do their job again. Walk away. Ignore their phone calls, texts, and emails. Don’t help them write if they won’t be honest about CAIR. Starve them of content. And let their advertisers know what they are up to. They’ll go away soon enough.

State Dems scrap direct attack, use Politico’s Friedman to attack Christian religion.

Sources from within the Democrat Party in Trenton now say there will not be a “direct attack” on traditional Christian religions (and, by implication, traditional Judaism and Islamic traditions as well).  We are informed that the Democrats had planned to issue a press release yesterday, which would have attacked the Baptist pastor who has been asked to review the Sussex County GOP’s Twitter page to remove objectionable content, in keeping with the party’s platform and its traditional values. 

Two sources within the Democrat Party informed us that this attack would focus on the fact that the Baptist faith in particular (and traditionalist Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in general) is not “pro-LGBTQ+ enough” to satisfy the Democrat Party and the media, as represented by Politico’s Matt Friedman.  We all remember Friedman as the “hatchet man” for the “mastermind of Bridgegate” when said “mastermind” ran the blog PoliticsNJ.

Apparently, Friedman got his assignment this morning.  Generally, his handler is Jay Lassiter, a pro-LGBTQ+ Democrat operative from South Jersey.  We understand that Friedman is pursuing his assignment as we write.  This will be interesting, so stay tuned…

McCann dissing Jewish voters in CD05? What will NJGOP do?

Once again, "Stumbling John" McCann has pissed down his leg.  A liberal both by habit and instinct, McCann couldn't help but go overboard when trying to "improve" his conservative credentials.  So McCann brought in a controversial figure who has been linked in the media with some rather unsavory folks of the "blood and soil" variety.

This is what so-called GOP "moderates" do, like last year when they trashed a Sikh in race in Southern New Jersey.  Instead of winning on ideas -- and ideas are cross-cultural and colorblind -- they go with personalities, trying to turn a candidate into a celebrity, and when that fails, they go straight to what they think their party's base is really all about. And it isn't, but they don't know that.

Here is what was reported this morning in Politico, by Matt Freidman:

The former chairman of Bergen County‘s Republican Party is slamming a congressional candidate for raising money with Sebastian Gorka, a one-time adviser to President Donald Trump who wore a medal associated with a Hungarian group that collaborated with Nazi Germany.

“It’s absolutely despicable. It shows that I have to assume that John McCann approves of this man,” said Bob Yudin, who chaired the Bergen County GOP from 2008 to 2016 and backs McCann rival Steve Lonegan for the GOP nomination in the 5th Congressional District. “This man seems to have sympathy toward fascists and Nazis, and this act of accepting support from him disqualifies John McCann in all ways and manners from being my congressman.”

...The 5th District has approximately 67,000 Jewish residents, or just over 9 percent of its population, according to the Jewish Data Bank. That’s the second-largest Jewish population of New Jersey’s 12 congressional districts.

You can read the full column here:  https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/03/23/mccann-slammed-over-ties-to-former-trump-adviser-gorka-325596

Gorka has been accused of selling his endorsement to candidates looking for readymade "Trump" cred.  The Washington Examiner reported (February 22, 2018):

Sebastian Gorka doesn’t want to talk about his special friendship with Danny Tarkanian, the insurgent Republican challenging incumbent Sen. Dean Heller in the Nevada GOP primary.

Asked at CPAC whether he sold Tarkanian his endorsement, the former White House strategist bristles. “No, because that would be illegal,” Gorka tells me in his English accent, taking care to emphasize each word. “I was given an honorarium.”

As the Washington Examiner first reported, the timeline of payments and speeches and endorsements is as follows: Gorka endorsed Tarkanian on stage in Nevada on Dec. 20. Disclosures filed with the Federal Electoral Commission show that the candidate paid the speaker $5,000 the day before.

The campaign later confirmed the payment and claimed it’s not unusual for politicians to pay speaking fees to their endorsers. But a search through FEC records shows the opposite. In the last three election cycles, only two candidates ever made such payments.

Asked if it is normal for him to get paid for speaking gigs with politicians, Gorka guffaws: “Me getting speaking fees? Every week, yes.”

You can read the full column here: 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sebastian-gorka-denies-selling-danny-tarkanian-his-endorsement-for-5-000

McCann's event with Sabastian Gorka is March 28th.

The NJGOP is trying to expand its base along the lines of demographics.  We don't know what demographic group they are shooting for with someone like Gorka, but we advise them to take the path of ideas.  Ideas are open to everyone. 

Friedman rides to the aid of PoliticsNJ pal Raj Mukherji

Earlier today, Matt Friedman, the writer/vendor/lobbyist (for Politico makes money doing all three) came to the defense of his old colleague from PoliticsNJ, Raj Mukherji.  Within hours he was joined by David Wildstein, the former editor of PoliticsNJ who wrote under the name "Wally Edge". 

Back at the old Publius Group -- the outfit that owned and operated PoliticsNJ --  Raj Mukherji was Wildstein's second in command, where he and Friedman hung out with such handjobs as Steve Kornacki and Tom Druce.  Remember him?  Druce killed a homeless guy.  Just ran him over on the street and when the cops came he told them he had hit a deer.  What a wonderful guy!  And at the head of them all was Wildstein, the so-called "mastermind" behind Bridgegate, followed by Raj Mukherji.  Yeah, this guy...

And now these moes are running interference on behalf of Democrat Senator Troy "the man" Singleton.  That's right, the same Troy Singleton who was Speaker Joe Roberts' bagman.  Yep, that Joe Roberts.  The Democrat who, after raising property taxes in New Jersey moved to Republican-controlled Florida to escape high property taxes.  Roberts has his state pension check forwarded there, so he's still screwing us.  Troy was with this guy and now he complains about another legislator's Dukes of Hazard tattoo?  That's some balls you have, Troy, some balls.

And Troy, admit it, as a red-blooded man you used to perk up when Daisy Duke came on the screen... come on Troy... admit it.

Democrat shill Friedman digs for dirt on Singh

Let us never forget on whose knee this critter was raised.  Matt Friedman learned his trade from the notorious Wally Edge (AKA David Wildstein of Bridgegate).  Like Wildstein, whose blog was an integral part of the Christie project, Friedman uses his position at Politico to push a specific political agenda.

Instead of reviewing public documents put out by the Office of Legislative Services and discovering that Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-01) is abandoning his conservative past now that he's a candidate for Congress, Friedman is trolling the college-era Facebook posts of Van Drew's Republican opponent, Hirsh Singh.  Is that a handjob move by Friedman or what?

Friedman ignores real policy switches like this:

Van Drew recently took his name off two very important bills, according to the New Jersey Legislative Digest, put out by the Office of Legislative Services:

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/digest/012218.htm

Co-Prime Sponsors Withdrawn:

S539(Van Drew,J)Death penalty-reinstates certain

SCR35(Van Drew,J)Minor child med procedures-notify parent

S-539 would restore the death penalty for persons convicted of certain murders.  The bill's statements lists the following:  "(1) the victim was a law enforcement officer or correction officer and was murdered while performing his official duties or was murdered because of his status as a law enforcement officer or correction officer; (2) the victim was less than 18 years old and the act was committed in the course of the commission of a sex crime; (3) the murder occurred during the commission of the crime of terrorism; (4) the defendant was convicted, at any time, of another murder; or (5) the defendant murdered more than one person during the same criminal transaction or during different criminal transactions but the murders were committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct."

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/S1000/539_I1.HTM

Yes, Jeff Van Drew took his name off this legislation.

SCR-35 is a proposed amendment to the state constitution stating that "the Legislature may provide that a parent or legal guardian shall receive notice before his or her unemancipated minor or incompetent child undergoes any medical or surgical procedure or treatment relating to pregnancy, irrespective of any right or interest otherwise provided in the State Constitution."

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/SCR/35_I1.HTM

This legislation simply applies the same parental notification standards to the evasive medical procedure of abortion, that exist for every other medical procedure.  It looks at abortion as a medical procedure... not as a sacrament or mystical rite of passage.

And Van Drew withdrew his name from this as well.

Instead of real reporting, on real issues, Freidman has turned Politico into a kind of "Mean Girls" online "burn book." Freidman has never met a policy debate he could understand, so for him it must be all about the shoes.  "Oh, that's so fetch... on Wednesdays we wear pink."

Friedman has done this before.  We all remember how he tried to personally destroy the reputation and future well-being of Synnove Bakke.  We also remember how he, and others, refused to take a polygraph to determine if they had made similar comments in unguarded moments. 

We remember too how another website had weirdly endorsed the Orwellian idea that there should be permanent corporate surveillance of Twitter and Facebook.  As well as a "news" blog, never forget that Politico is a vendor for corporate lobbyists and the political establishment.  As with all such ventures, Politico is the sum of its paymasters.

Matt Friedman has become the bully boy of Establishment Democrats in New Jersey.  He picks on weak candidates or those without the experience to defend themselves -- and he does so by invading their private space, trolling on Facebook to find something from long before they had entered public life.  Knowing what he got up to in his younger days, he uses that as a mirror to his victims.

Bullies like Matt Friedman need a take down, so let's turn it over to...

Exchange outs Politico reporter as anti-Catholic bigot

Read this exchange between a woman from Sussex County and Politico reporter Matt Friedman.  It perfectly illustrates what is wrong with so-called "journalism" today.  Politico's Matt Friedman behaves like an ideological combatant -- as if he were the media wing of ANTIFA. 

In this exchange, Friedman places our Judeo-Christian tradition alongside Wicca (the worship of Satan) and trashes Roman Catholicism.  Friedman defends Islam and its practices, including Sharia Law,  as "no worse" than what Christians and Jews get up to.  Friedman also trashes Buddhism. 

Friedman willfully ignores modern day slavery -- with its human trafficking and child exploitation.  He clearly shows that he would rather try to attach someone to the slavery that happened over 150 years ago than to address the slavery happening today.  He even stoops to trashing the Roman Catholic church in an attempt to deflect blame away from his ideological comrades. 

No Republican, conservative, decent Democrat, or traditional liberal should ever be foolish enough to place their trust in this shill again.

From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 1:09 PM
To: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: LD 24

Good afternoon Matt,

Take a look at this.  Can you believe our Democrat candidates are standing next to a flag with Wiccan symbols on it?  The purpose of this flag is to show that witchcraft is on equal footing with our Judeo-Christian tradition.  Please look into this and let me know what you are doing about it.

- - -

From: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 1:13 PM
To: Sussex Gal
Subject: Re: LD 24

Hey. I don’t think I’m interested. Unless Wiccans fought a war to preserve and spread slavery…

I’d need something more than the murder of Hansel and Gretel.

NOTE:  Who is Friedman accusing of fighting a war "to preserve and spread slavery"?   A Hank Williams Jr. flag, a Dukes of Hazard tattoo, is not the same as fighting a war "to preserve and spread slavery". 

Subject: FW: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 1:16 pm
To: Sussex Gal

*attempted murder. Gotta brush up on my fairy tales.

- - -

From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 1:40 PM
To: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: RE: FW: LD 24

So you are good with devil worship?  I guess you forget all those child-molestation trials a few years ago.  Short memory.  

Well, if slavery is your issue, then how about that Islamic crescent? 

Check out where the FIFA cup will be played:   https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/qatar-abuse-of-world-cup-workers-exposed/

This is happening today.  Now will you do something?

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 1:45 pm
To: Sussex Gal

So in that case I guess you’re going to condemn the Catholic church, too?   

- - -

From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 1:52 PM
To: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: RE: LD 24

Why did you go there?  Condemn the Catholic church for what Matt?  Why would I condemn the Catholic Church?  Did a Bishop use slave labor to build the new FIFA stadium?

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 1:54 pm
To: Sussex Gal

You are saying that Wiccans are somehow responsible for child molestation because some people who practice the religion went on trial for it. And you don’t see how that idea is turned around on Catholicism?

- - -

From: Sussex Gal

Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 2:21 PM
To: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: RE: LD 24

Matt, are seriously trying to argue that the Roman Catholic religion is the same as the practice of Wicca witchcraft?  Are you saying that Church practice uses sex in the same way that Wiccans do?  What is wrong with you?  The Church calls what some clergy did by its proper name: evil.  Wicca rejects that.  There is no evil in Wicca.  

Why have you deflected on the issue of the slavery happening today?  Why won't you address that?

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 2:27 pm
To: Sussex Gal

This is one of the dumbest exchanges I’ve ever had.

You’re painting an entire religion with the actions of a few. If Wicca is responsible for child molestation because a Wiccan priest committed the act, then by your logic Catholicism is responsible for the child molestation committed by some of its priests. That’s your logic, not mine.

And why do the abhorrent labor practices in Qatar represent the entirety of the world’s biggest religion? You’re not going to get an argument from me on how horrible Qatar and some other oil-rich middle-eastern countries treat migrant workers. But don’t you think you could find examples of horrible labor practices and atrocities in predominantly Christian countries? Hindu countries? Buddhist countries? And yet, you’re not holding those religions responsible for the sins committed by some of their practitioners. Why’s that?

- - -

From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 2:58 PM
To: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: RE: LD 24

Why the insults?  Matt, the Roman Catholic church recognizes evil.  Wicca witchcraft does not.  You put forward YOUR argument that Roman Catholicism and Wicca are on equal footing.  YOU attempted to paint the worship of God and the worship of Satan as one in the same.  It is not my logic, it is your logic.  You raised it.  You argued it.  You own it.  That makes you a bigot.

As for your deflection on behalf of Islam.  Name some religious states (Qatar is an Islamic state) that are doing the same as Qatar?  Name some Christian countries? Hindu countries? Buddhist countries? Name some.  

Now why don't you do your job as a journalist and report fairly on this?  I remember when it was BIG NEWS that a Republican Senate candidate in Delaware was involved in Wicca (but then became a Christian).  Her PAST was a BIG DEAL and got lots of ink.  This is the present.  Report on it.  

- - -

From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 3:00 PM
To: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: RE: LD 24

Let me add this.  At a time when slavery is happening right NOW.  When the United Nations says there are 48 million in slavery TODAY.  No candidates should be carrying around banners with symbols on it of nations or ideologies that are involved in the slave trade TODAY!

Instead of dredging in the muck of the past, try opening your eyes to what is going on TODAY.

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From:Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 3:16 pm
To: Sussex Gal

Kind of amazing that you don’t even recognize you threw the first insult. Look back at the exchange.

It’s also funny that you’re generalizing about entire religions and calling me a bigot. You can find atrocities committed by people in virtually every major country in the world, by people of virtually every major religion. Yet you only demonize a couple of those religions.

Here’s an example of religious oppression going on in a Buddhist country right now: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/05/rohingya-muslims-driven-myanmar-pictures/. What about ethnic cleansing in Serbia in the early 90s?  It goes on and on and on and on…  

Our constitution does not elevate any religion above any others. If you do, that’s your business. But it’s not my concern.

There is nothing newsworthy about some people holding a banner with the symbol for every religion they could think of. There is something newsworthy about an elected official standing in front of the symbol of the confederacy, which launched a war to separate from the United States so it could perpetuate slavery. That’s my news judgement. I really don’t care if you disagree.  

- - -

Subject: RE: LD 24
From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 4:09 pm
To: "Matthew Friedman" <mfriedman@politico.com>

Did you forget Hansel and Gretel?  Yeah, it is amazing.  

I guess you never read up on Wahhabism.  Under some of the most wealthy, dominant sects of Islam, slavery is not only doctrine but it is practiced.  Nations like Qatar practice state slavery.  You don't care.  You called it in one of your emails a "migrant worker" problem and a "labor practices" problem.  No, not "migrant workers", they are slaves.  They have been trafficked.  No, not "labor practices", it is called slavery.

Am I "generalizing" about Sharia law and what it means to women who must live under it?  In your "news judgment" (whatever that is) I guess I am.

Then there is Wicca.  You call it a "religion" and place it on the same level as our Judeo-Christian tradition.  That's sick.  There is nothing religious about the worship of evil.  

Then you smear Buddhism by claiming that a "Buddhist country" is committing religious oppression.  You obviously don't understand Buddhism, because to do that is a rejection of Buddhism, not the practice of it.  That is not the way with Islam, which clearly instructs believers to wage jihad.  When Christians act un-Christian, you cannot blame the teachings of Christ.  But you do and that makes you a bigot.  You look for an excuse to hate and nurture your excuses.

It is much more important for you to play with symbols because you lack the balls to take on the real evil around you.  Wally Edge taught you well. 

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 4:18 pm
To: Sussex Gal

Wait a second. Didn’t you write that Wicca rejects the concept of evil? Now you’re saying Wicca is “about the worship of evil.” That’s contradictory. But who am I to argue with you, an expert on religion?

- - -

Subject: RE: LD 24
From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 5:00 pm
To: "Matthew Friedman" <mfriedman@politico.com>

No Matt, when you reject the Judeo-Christian concept of good and evil and embrace "evil" things for their own sake you do end up worshipping evil.  But why am I even trying with you?  You are obviously an apologist for Wiccan witchcraft and maybe you know more than you are letting on.  

Who would have ever thought that we'd get a member of the media to go on the record in defense of Wicca.

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 3:19 pm
To: Sussex Gal

This is the Qatari flag. I don’t see it on the banner. Do you?

https://www.google.com/search?q=qatar+flag&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJwtbL4Y7WAhUJrFQKHdBSATMQ_AUICigB&biw=1242&bih=559#imgrc=608buoVMPNRIbM:

- - -

From: Sussex Gal

Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 3:44 PM
To: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: RE: LD 24

It is all symbols with you isn't it?  Very childish.  Qatar is an absolute monarchy and its official religion is Islam.  Their particular kind of Islam is Wahhabism.

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 3:44 pm
To: Sussex Gal

Your. Whole. Story. Pitch. Was. About. Symbols.

- - -

From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 4:18 PM
To: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Subject: RE: LD 24

And no, it was about a political rally.  It was about a flag flown at a political rally, not a rock concert.  But you focus on the rock concert and ignore the political rally.  Some reporter!

You are looking at a long dead emblem of a dead country, with nobody alive today who ever carried it into battle, and you are desperately trying to connect people to it.  To apply meaning to it.  That is a punk move.  So that you can feel better than them "redneck" and go home and buy your cheap products made with slave labor and maybe take a look at something on the internet made with slave labor too. 

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman < mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 4:29 pm
To: Sussex Gal

You are sad.

- - -

Subject: RE: LD 24
From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 4:55 pm
To: "Matthew Friedman" <mfriedman@politico.com>

Not as sad as a political reporter who ignores campaign rallies but trolls rock concerts looking for a gotcha.  What a joke!

- - -

Subject: Re: LD 24
From: Matthew Friedman <mfriedman@politico.com>
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 4:57 pm
To: Sussex Gal

And Parker Space’s confederate flag tattoo?

- - -

Subject: RE: LD 24
From: Sussex Gal
Date: Tue, September 05, 2017 5:18 pm
To: "Matthew Friedman" <mfriedman@politico.com>

You obviously know his body a whole lot better than I do.

- - -

What is most shocking about this exchange is that Politico's Friedman refuses to call what is happening in Qatar by its real name -- slavery.  In Friedman's eyes it is an issue about how "Qatar and some other oil-rich middle-eastern countries treat migrant workers."  Friedman likens it to an immigration issue (the better to bash Trump?) when, in fact, the United Nations and groups like Amnesty International have clearly identified it as a case of human trafficking and slavery.   But Friedman dismisses it as merely an issue of "labor practices."  So on top of being a bigot, Politico's Matt Friedman is a slavery-denier too. 

Migrant workers in Qatar helping to construct offices for the 2022 World Cup reportedly haven't been paid after a year of toiling in the desert heat in slum like conditions. Sharan Burrow from the International Trade Union Confederation thinks Qatar should be boycotted until fundamental labor laws are in place.

Brindle op-ed "an October surprise" says Herald

Jeff Brindle, the executive director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, got his wish.  But we bet he didn't expect this line from Sunday's New Jersey Herald story on an opinion column he wrote for the Observer.  Writing about and in direct reference to Brindle's column, the Herald wrote:

"It's patently unfair that this Primary Election-style October Surprise landed just days before the election." 

That's it.  The executive director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJELEC) has now written a hit piece labeled an "October Surprise" by a major New Jersey newspaper.  How can this guy continue to do his job?

Brindle destroyed NJELEC's reputation.

Brindle waded into partisan political campaigns in two legislative districts when he posted a column on David Wildstein's old website, Observer.com (formerly PolitickerNJ.com, AKA PoliticsNJ.com) which was quickly picked-up by Wally Edge alumnus Matt Friedman over at Politico.

For the record, here is what Wally Edge wrote about Jeff Brindle at the time of his appointment:

Brindle was active in Republican politics before taking a post at ELEC. He worked as a political consultant in the 1970's, served as New Brunswick GOP Municipal Chairman, worked on the legislative staffs of State Sen. John Ewing and Assemblymen Walter Kavanaugh and Elliot Smith, and as Deputy Somerset County Clerk. He was the Republican candidate for State Assembly in the 17th district in 1977, but lost the general election to Democrats David Schwartz and Joseph Patero. He joined state government after Thomas Kean's election as Governor and was the Communications Director at the Department of Community Affairs from 1982 to 1985.

http://www.politickernj.com/wallye/30639/elec-picks-ex-gop-operative-executive-director

Old Wally knew his stuff.  By-the-way, did you catch the name of Brindle's political godfather? 

For someone who is supposed to be a fair-dealer in these matters, Brindle's tone and language in his Observer column is in marked contrast to what he employed in the past.  For instance, when commenting in 2015 on the more than $3 million raised by a SuperPAC named the General Majority PAC, Brindle was positively sanguine about it:  "Usually, an election with just Assembly candidates on the ballot is a low-key affair.  But the involvement of the independent committees is definitely adding some drama this year."

And where was Brindle's commentary when the General Majority PAC -- with the aid of Alex Baldwin -- raised over $5 million the same day his Observer column came out?

"Drama," is it?  Well compare that with Brindle's breathless -- and deeply subjective -- alarm in Thursday's Observer column:

"The active participation of Stronger Foundations Inc. in the Republican primaries in the 24th and 26th legislative districts is a fresh example of why legislation needs to be enacted to require registration and disclosure by independent groups.

The group has spent $275,100 on these primary races in North Jersey, but the public knows very little about where the money is going or what the group’s agenda is."

As opposed to what?  The General Majority PAC? 

We know that "this group" spent $275,000 on two primary races in New Jersey., which Brindle, using the group's disclosures with NJELEC, was able to break down.  From these disclosures, Brindle was able to discover that the money was being spent on advertising and polling, as well as who was behind the group and why it was organized:

"To its credit, Stronger Foundations Inc. filed independent expenditure reports with ELEC, showing it had spent $63,300 in the 24th district and $211,800 in the 26th district as of May 25.

Among the information the public can glean from Stronger Foundations expenditure reports is that that the group is working with MWW Group, a highly regarded public relations firm, and McLaughlin and Associates, a nationally respected polling firm.

...A Google search did indicate that the person who registered on behalf of the group is employed by International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 in Springfield. The union helped spear-head last year’s successful efforts to raise the state gas tax and enact a new long-range transportation improvement plan. It’s political action committee also is a top contributor to New Jersey campaigns."

Brindle then writes this most curious sentence:

"A voter reading the independent expenditure reports filed by Stronger Foundation Inc. wouldn’t know any of this."

Well hell, has he seen what information is required by NJELEC to file a political action committee subject to full disclosure?  To find out anything really useful about the mission or policies or current political goals of any organization subject to full disclosure by NJELEC, you would have to use Google and find the group's website or news articles written about it.

At present, NJELEC requires only the vaguest information be disclosed by political action committees and those filing an A-3 are required to disclose practically nothing at all.  As weak as the NJELEC's D-4 PAC registration form is to start with, it soon becomes useless as an organization grows, adds or removes leadership, or changes its direction.  Why isn't the D-4 required yearly?  Without a yearly D-4, even for basic information, any voter would have to consult Google.

And yet, knowing this, Brindle bangs on and on about "the group" painting an ever-darkening picture of what is -- at the final accounting -- perfectly LEGAL behavior that has been codified as such by the UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

Writing as one might about gay marriage, Brindle employs phrases to give the impression that something very bad is going on when, in fact, it is perfectly legal and has been ruled so by the highest Court in the land:

Let's start with the headline:  "Mystery Spender on NJ Races Again Shows Need for More Disclosure."

"...the public knows very little about where the money is going or what the group’s agenda is."  Under NJELEC's weak rules, they never do.

"These groups do have a First Amendment right to be engaged in the electoral process and spend unlimited sums. That much is clear. At the same time, the public has a right to know who is behind the group and what it stands for."  That is Brindle's opinion (and we agree) but unfortunately, neither NJELEC or, more importantly, the United States Supreme Court appear to agree with us.  And, as Brindle works for NJELEC (and it follows federal law, we assume), why is he painting this nefarious picture?

"Political parties, candidates and political action committees are subject to registration and disclosure requirements. Why shouldn’t the same guidelines apply to these groups?"  Brindle knows darn well why -- the Supreme Court said so.  Besides which, Brindle's NJELEC "registration and disclosure" requirements are a joke and are out-of-date.

"...If they finance advertisements that do not specifically call for the support or opposition to a candidate in their communications, there is no filing requirement at all. And anyone familiar with the process knows it is easy for high-powered operatives to finesse the language and avoid reporting."  Once again, Brindle full well knows that this is federal law.  As for finessing language, that is precisely what he is doing here.

"Disclosure is important because independent groups can become surrogates for candidates they support, undertake harsh attacks against the opponent, and do so with no accountability."  Yes, we agree, but -- once again -- no law made in New Jersey will overturn a U.S. Supreme Court decision.  So, why are you writing as though it would?  Simply to paint a nefarious picture?

"At the same time, the candidate who benefits from the independent spending can claim to have no association with the group, thereby not being accountable for its activities."  Now this shows Brindle to be something of an accomplished liar.  He darn well should know that it is illegal for a candidate to have an "association" with such a group.

"Because it is the mission of the Election Law Enforcement Commission to bring disclosure of campaign finance information to the public, the staff often will dig more deeply into these organizations to ascertain where its support comes from. When that information can be obtained, ELEC makes the information available to the public."  So NJELEC is doing opposition research on groups operating legally under the Constitution of the United States of America?  Why?  Because E.D. Brindle thinks the law is wrong and so a little spying is in order?  And you are using taxpayers' money for this?

"The public, however, does not have the time nor inclination to investigate these groups and therefore is often robbed of the opportunity to make informed opinions about a group’s motives or even the veracity of its message."  Maybe they don't care about it in precisely the way E.D. Brindle does -- or whoever put him up to writing this obvious hit piece.  In any case, it is NJELEC Brindle's "motives" that are at question here because, after all, they are taxpayer-funded.

"This is why it is important for the Legislature to pass legislation that would bring greater transparency to the process by requiring registration and disclosure by independent groups. Both parties have introduced bills to bring about more disclosure."  Yes, we agree, start with an annual D-4 for those who currently do disclose and then fashion legislation that will pass Constitutional muster.  Don't spend a lot of taxpayers' money and waste a lot of taxpayer-paid staff's time only to have your law chucked out by a federal court.  If your staff have so much free time on their hands, cut some and save the taxpayers some money.

"...If the primary figure is any guide, these largely anonymous groups will once again dominate the general election at the expense of more accountable political parties and candidates.  It is long past time for matters to be set right in New Jersey by bringing balance back to the electoral system, by strengthening the political parties, requiring registration and disclosure by independent groups, and offsetting the growing influence of organizations that would often operate anonymously."  This is coming from the man who, in 2015, dismissed this as little more than "drama"?  What's changed? 

What this is, is a hit piece, written by a political consultant turned career bureaucrat with a mentor named Tom Kean.  It was a disgraceful act for NJELEC's executive director to wade into partisan political campaigns the weekend before an election and offer his words in a way he knew or should have known would have an outcome on that election.

Jeff Brindle is himself an undisclosed independent expenditure.  We cannot be sure who put him up to this.  What we can be sure of is that he should go, for so long as he is at the head of NJELEC its veracity is in question and its trustworthiness is shit.

Jeff Brindle just destroyed NJELEC's reputation

Jeff Brindle is the NJELEC executive director who recently waded into partisan political campaigns in two legislative districts.  Brindle posted a column on David Wildstein's old website, Observer.com (formerly PolitickerNJ.com, AKA PoliticsNJ.com) which was quickly picked-up by Wally Edge alumnus Matt Friedman over at Politico.

For the record, here is what Wally Edge wrote about Jeff Brindle at the time of his appointment:

Brindle was active in Republican politics before taking a post at ELEC. He worked as a political consultant in the 1970's, served as New Brunswick GOP Municipal Chairman, worked on the legislative staffs of State Sen. John Ewing and Assemblymen Walter Kavanaugh and Elliot Smith, and as Deputy Somerset County Clerk. He was the Republican candidate for State Assembly in the 17th district in 1977, but lost the general election to Democrats David Schwartz and Joseph Patero. He joined state government after Thomas Kean's election as Governor and was the Communications Director at the Department of Community Affairs from 1982 to 1985.

http://www.politickernj.com/wallye/30639/elec-picks-ex-gop-operative-executive-director

Old Wally knew his stuff.  By-the-way, did you catch the name of Brindle's political godfather? 

For someone who is supposed to be a fair-dealer in these matters, Brindle's tone and language in his Observer column is in marked contrast to what he employed in the past.  For instance, when commenting in 2015 on the more than $3 million raised by a SuperPAC named the General Majority PAC, Brindle was positively sanguine about it:  "Usually, an election with just Assembly candidates on the ballot is a low-key affair.  But the involvement of the independent committees is definitely adding some drama this year."

"Drama," is it?  Well compare that with Brindle's breathless -- and deeply subjective -- alarm in Thursday's Observer column:

"The active participation of Stronger Foundations Inc. in the Republican primaries in the 24th and 26th legislative districts is a fresh example of why legislation needs to be enacted to require registration and disclosure by independent groups.

The group has spent $275,100 on these primary races in North Jersey, but the public knows very little about where the money is going or what the group’s agenda is."

As opposed to what?  The General Majority PAC?

We know that "this group" spent $275,000 on two primary races in New Jersey., which Brindle, using the group's disclosures with NJELEC, was able to break down.  From these disclosures, Brindle was able to discover that the money was being spent on advertising and polling, as well as who was behind the group and why it was organized:

"To its credit, Stronger Foundations Inc. filed independent expenditure reports with ELEC, showing it had spent $63,300 in the 24th district and $211,800 in the 26th district as of May 25.

Among the information the public can glean from Stronger Foundations expenditure reports is that that the group is working with MWW Group, a highly regarded public relations firm, and McLaughlin and Associates, a nationally respected polling firm.

...A Google search did indicate that the person who registered on behalf of the group is employed by International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 in Springfield. The union helped spear-head last year’s successful efforts to raise the state gas tax and enact a new long-range transportation improvement plan. It’s political action committee also is a top contributor to New Jersey campaigns."

Brindle then writes this most curious sentence:

"A voter reading the independent expenditure reports filed by Stronger Foundation Inc. wouldn’t know any of this."

Well hell, has he seen what information is required by NJELEC to file a political action committee subject to full disclosure?  To find out anything really useful about the mission or policies or current political goals of any organization subject to full disclosure by NJELEC, you would have to use Google and find the group's website or news articles written about it.

At present, NJELEC requires only the vaguest information be disclosed by political action committees and those filing an A-3 are required to disclose practically nothing at all.  As weak as the NJELEC's D-4 PAC registration form is to start with, it soon becomes useless as an organization grows, adds or removes leadership, or changes its direction.  Why isn't the D-4 required yearly?  Without a yearly D-4, even for basic information, any voter would have to consult Google.

And yet, knowing this, Brindle bangs on and on about "the group" painting an ever-darkening picture of what is -- at the final accounting -- perfectly LEGAL behavior that has been codified as such by the UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

Writing as one might about gay marriage, Brindle employs phrases to give the impression that something very bad is going on when, in fact, it is perfectly legal and has been ruled so by the highest Court in the land:

Let's start with the headline:  "Mystery Spender on NJ Races Again Shows Need for More Disclosure."

"...the public knows very little about where the money is going or what the group’s agenda is."  Under NJELEC's weak rules, they never do.

"These groups do have a First Amendment right to be engaged in the electoral process and spend unlimited sums. That much is clear. At the same time, the public has a right to know who is behind the group and what it stands for."  That is Brindle's opinion (and we agree) but unfortunately, neither NJELEC or, more importantly, the United States Supreme Court appear to agree with us.  And, as Brindle works for NJELEC (and it follows federal law, we assume), why is he painting this nefarious picture?

"Political parties, candidates and political action committees are subject to registration and disclosure requirements. Why shouldn’t the same guidelines apply to these groups?"  Brindle knows darn well why -- the Supreme Court said so.  Besides which, Brindle's NJELEC "registration and disclosure" requirements are a joke and are out-of-date.

"...If they finance advertisements that do not specifically call for the support or opposition to a candidate in their communications, there is no filing requirement at all. And anyone familiar with the process knows it is easy for high-powered operatives to finesse the language and avoid reporting."  Once again, Brindle full well knows that this is federal law.  As for finessing language, that is precisely what he is doing here.

"Disclosure is important because independent groups can become surrogates for candidates they support, undertake harsh attacks against the opponent, and do so with no accountability."  Yes, we agree, but -- once again -- no law made in New Jersey will overturn a U.S. Supreme Court decision.  So, why are you writing as though it would?  Simply to paint a nefarious picture?

"At the same time, the candidate who benefits from the independent spending can claim to have no association with the group, thereby not being accountable for its activities."  Now this shows Brindle to be something of an accomplished liar.  He darn well should know that it is illegal for a candidate to have an "association" with such a group.

"Because it is the mission of the Election Law Enforcement Commission to bring disclosure of campaign finance information to the public, the staff often will dig more deeply into these organizations to ascertain where its support comes from. When that information can be obtained, ELEC makes the information available to the public."  So NJELEC is doing opposition research on groups operating legally under the Constitution of the United States of America?  Why?  Because E.D. Brindle thinks the law is wrong and so a little spying is in order?  And you are using taxpayers' money for this?

"The public, however, does not have the time nor inclination to investigate these groups and therefore is often robbed of the opportunity to make informed opinions about a group’s motives or even the veracity of its message."  Maybe they don't care about it in precisely the way E.D. Brindle does -- or whoever put him up to writing this obvious hit piece.  In any case, it is NJELEC Brindle's "motives" that are at question here because, after all, they are taxpayer-funded.

"This is why it is important for the Legislature to pass legislation that would bring greater transparency to the process by requiring registration and disclosure by independent groups. Both parties have introduced bills to bring about more disclosure."  Yes, we agree, start with an annual D-4 for those who currently do disclose and then fashion legislation that will pass Constitutional muster.  Don't spend a lot of taxpayers' money and waste a lot of taxpayer-paid staff's time only to have your law chucked out by a federal court.  If your staff have so much free time on their hands, cut some and save the taxpayers some money.

"...If the primary figure is any guide, these largely anonymous groups will once again dominate the general election at the expense of more accountable political parties and candidates.  It is long past time for matters to be set right in New Jersey by bringing balance back to the electoral system, by strengthening the political parties, requiring registration and disclosure by independent groups, and offsetting the growing influence of organizations that would often operate anonymously."  This is coming from the man who, in 2015, dismissed this as little more than "drama"?  What's changed? 

What this is, is a hit piece, written by a political consultant turned career bureaucrat with a mentor named Tom Kean.  It was a disgraceful act for NJELEC's executive director to wade into partisan political campaigns the weekend before an election and offer his words in a way he knew or should have known would have an outcome on that election. 

 Jeff Brindle is himself an undisclosed independent expenditure.  We cannot be sure who put him up to this.  What we can be sure of is that he should go, for so long as he is at the head of NJELEC its veracity is in question and its trustworthiness is shit.

The grassroots Left rejects ACR-4 and SCR-188

Matt Friedman made an interesting observation today on the attempt by a few Democrat machine bosses to re-write the state constitution to establish a one-party democracy.  He noted that even the liberal groups that sought the Democrat Party's support in reforming the redistricting process oppose what they are trying to do with ACR-4 and SCR-188.

He quoted Ms. Analilia Mejia of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, who wrote:  "NJ Working Families has advocated for a comprehensive package of voting rights and process reforms that together would ensure New Jersey voters interests come first.  We were deeply disappointed to see just one element of this comprehensive voter empowerment package make it to this stage of the legislative process, but we look forward to working with legislators in strengthening New Jersey's democracy and making sure every eligible voter has a real voice."

Of course, the only part of that comprehensive package that the bosses care about is the bit that can be manipulated to give them more power -- in this case, unfettered power.

We think activist Ralph Nader is on to something in a book he published in 2014 called "Unstoppable:  The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State."  Nader cites several examples of successful Left-Right alliances and argues that, regardless of ideology, activist grassroots groups represent the same disenfranchised electorate.  It is for the benefit of the political class and its corporate crony partners that we are effectively split and set at each other's throats.  Together, we represent over 90 percent of the voters and we could bring real reform to the political process if we could see our common dilemma and common opponent.

So we applaud Analilia Mejia and the New Jersey Working Families Alliance for refusing to support one-party democracy and its plainly fascist intent.  Every legislative seat is the people's seat.  No seats should belong to an innately corrupt enterprise like a political party.  Bring in the Iowa redistricting plan and cut 40 competitive districts.  Let everyone's vote count equally regardless of where he or she lives.

Friedman makes the point that not one citizen or organization testified in support of ACR-4 or SCR-188, which in our opinion, exposes the move for the top-down boss scumbag deal that it is.  He cites Assemblyman John McKeon, one of the sponsors, as deriding some of those who showed up to testify against his fascist attempt to impose one-party democracy:  "...much of the opposition was from tea-party Republicans, some of them married to each other."

Wow, what a hand job!  What's the big deal with bringing your spouse to Trenton to exercise your rights as a citizen and human being to address those of "power"? 

We understand that some of those honorables who exercise such power would never consider bringing a spouse to Trenton, but that's only because they wouldn't want them to meet the she or he who occupies the same role in Trenton.  It must terrify some politicians to see married couples showing up in Trenton.  It could start a trend.. 

They are vendors NOT journalists

As if it needed to be clearer, Matt Friedman's page on Politico included this salesman's pitch yesterday:

Want to make an impact? POLITICO New Jersey has a variety of multi-platform solutions available to reach and activate the most influential people in the Garden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Share your message with our influential readers to increase awareness and drive action. Contact Chris Falls to find out how: cfalls@politico.com.

The message:  Hire us as your vendor.

This goes beyond blurring the line, it jumps it.  "Multi-platform solutions... to reach and activate... Have a petition you want signed?  A cause you are promoting?"  Wanna bet that "cause" will get better treatment than Synnove Bakke did?