Action Needed To Oppose the Reproductive Freedom Act in NJ!

Contact: Marie Tasy

Where and when will we hear GOP leaders not only denounce this mandated bill as illegitimate; but denounce it on the premise of it being unconstitutional and downright harmful to the very same demographic who are continuously targeted by the same advocacy groups and lobbyists fueling Planned Parenthood based on race, skin color and socio-economics status?

This isn’t the “same old fight”. There is more at stake, so much more than we realize. What is concerning is the absence of the GOP leadership’s voice on this specific matter.

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TO OPPOSE THIS BILL, BY CLICKING HERE.

Here are the facts:

The  NJ Reproductive Freedom Act (S3030/A4848) was introduced in the Senate and Assembly on October 8, 2020.  The purpose of the bill is to protect and expand access to abortion and contraceptives.    It is a radical abortion bill that places women's lives in jeopardy and is so extreme that it will allow abortions up until birth. 

Senate sponsors are Senator Lorretta Weinberg(D-37) and Linda Greenstein (D-14).   The Assembly bill was introduced on October 20th and referred to the Assembly Health Committee.   Sponsors are as follows:
Asw. Valerie Vanieri Huttle (D-37), Mila Jasey (D-27), Raj Mukherji (D-33), Annette Chaparro (D-33), Joann Downey (D-11), Angela McKnight (D-31), Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-15), Annette Quijano (D-20), Yvonne Lopez (D-19). Asm. Herb Conaway (D-7), Andrew Zwicker (D-16), Anthony Verelli (D-14), Joe Danielsen (D-17), Britnee Timberlake (D-34). 

Listed below are some of the provisions in the bill.  

Explicitly guarantee, to every individual, the fundamental right to reproductive autonomy, which includes the right to contraception, the right to abortion and the right to carry a pregnancy to term.” Codifies 1982 NJ Supreme Court Decision, Right to Choose v. Byrne which protects the right to abortion and exceeds protections established under the U.S. Constitution.  The bill will apply to all residents “and those who come to this state” including those who are incarcerated.

All abortions, including late term abortions will be allowed throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy. Enshrines in law that living babies in the womb capable of feeling pain have no rights at any stage of pregnancy, even if they are viable and at full term.  The bill says “a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus shall not have independent rights under the laws of this state.” 

Invalidate existing laws and prohibits the future adoption of all laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, resolutions, policies, standards or parts thereof, that conflict with the provisions of the bill.  Expressly invalidates all rules and regulations promulgated by the NJ Board of Medical Examiners which regulate and apply exclusively to termination of pregnancy.  This will also invalidate NJ’s conscience clause which has been in effect since 1974 which protects the right of individuals to refuse to perform or assist in abortion procedures. 

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TO OPPOSE THIS BILL, BY CLICKING HERE.

Permits non- physicians to perform abortions.  Under the bill, qualified health care professionals licensed under Title 45 can provide abortions services in the state. Defines health care professional as “person who is licensed or otherwise authorized to provide health care services, including, but not limited to a physician, advance practice nurse, physician assistant, certified midwife or certified nurse midwife. “

Exempts prosecution for individuals “terminating or attempting to terminate the individual’s own pregnancy; or acting or failing to act in any manner, with respect to the individual’s own pregnancy, based on the potential or actual impact on the individual’s own health or pregnancy.”  It will essentially gut the NJ Safe Haven Infant Protection Act which has saved the lives of 77 precious newborns since its enactment.  The bill “eliminates the requirement that a medicolegal death investigation be conducted in a case where a fetal death occurs without medical attendance.”  This language will grant immunity from prosecution for cases, including, but not limited to the Prom Mom, where infants have been born alive and left to die, or through a deliberate act, are killed, therefore rendering the NJ Safe Haven Infant Protection Act obsolete.  

Mandates annual allocation of taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood under Title X in the state budget. 

Requires all insurance carriers to provide coverage for abortions and expands coverage for contraceptives to a long term (12 month) supply.    Religious employers could request an exclusion if the required coverage conflicts with the religious employer’s bona fide religious beliefs and practices. 

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TO OPPOSE THIS BILL, BY CLICKING HERE.

If McCann's event was any smaller he could have held it in a restroom stall.

As he haplessly makes his way to the filing deadline, "Stumbling John" McCann held a hilariously under-attended fundraising event this evening.  To fill the room McCann resorted to bringing in a Democrat political consultant and managed to get just enough people for a seance.

Just who they were conjuring up is anyone's guess.  We believe it to be the ghost of Nelson Rockefeller.

Meanwhile, over at Steve Lonegan's campaign, they were basking in the aftermath of a very successful fundraiser headlined by national conservative Republican leader Steve Forbes.  Instead of sitting next to a Democrat and some guy who was fired by Trump, like McCann was, Steve Lonegan was standing with Steve Forbes and Senator Gerry Cardinale (R-39) -- and Lonegan's event was attended by over 100 major donors.

Poor "Stumbling John"... foiled again!

McCann thinks he's backed by the wrong Steve Rogers

We all know who Steve Rogers is.  He is the character behind the mask in those Captain America comic books.

So when someone named "Steve Rogers" endorsed John McCann for Congress, McCann responded by calling him "an American hero."  He must have been thinking it was Captain America.

But it wasn't.  This Steve Rogers, the one who endorsed McCann, ran for Governor in the GOP primary last year and came in... fifth place.  Fifth place out of five candidates running. 

Rogers picked up 14,187 votes to Rudy Rullo's 15,816 votes to Hirsh Singh's 23,728 votes to Jack Ciattarelli's 75,556 votes to Kim Guadagno's 113,846 votes.  Rogers picked up just 858 votes in Bergen County.

We don't know how he managed it, because Rogers has all the makings of a good candidate.  He is articulate, handsome, with a good resume... but somehow he didn't click with voters. 

We know that he put off many movement conservatives -- especially donors -- by assuming that he had become "the leader of the conservative movement in New Jersey" just because he offered himself as a candidate.  Rogers' support of career liberal McCann won't strengthen his image among movement conservatives,  who remember McCann when he ran for Congress in 2002 as a clone of liberal U.S. Senator Arlen Specter.  McCann said that he wanted to give voters "a choice" besides Pro-Life conservatives Scott Garrett and Gerry Cardinale.  He soon dropped out due to lack of money.

McCann went on to become  what the Bergen Record (November 18, 2017) called the "longtime right-hand man to Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino" -- a Democrat who ran on the same ticket as Hillary Clinton in 2016.  How Rogers squares this is a matter for his conscience and we wish him well.

Is Rendo endorsement the first shot in a GOP civil war?

We were thinking about that stupid statement by that fellow we thought we liked, Carlos Rendo, and who we were prepared to forgive for his anti-religious musings and his work as an immigration attorney.  The statement was made yesterday, by Rendo, in an attack on Republican Steve Lonegan, on behalf of John McCann.

Rendo told InsiderNJ that, of the two, McCann was the "only candidate with an actual record of putting taxpayers first."  

It's funny Rendo put it that way, because "Putting Taxpayers First" is the title of the 2007 book written by Steve Lonegan.  In it, Lonegan provides the blueprint for the conservative movement on how to address New Jersey's worst-in-America business climate and poor record of job creation, the state's highest-in-the-nation property taxes, subsidized COAH housing, the public employees union-dominated education system, and the activist judiciary -- among other things.

We can't expect the younger generation to remember what it was like after party liberals like Christie Whitman and Paulie DiGaetano lost Republicans our majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.  Under Democrats McGreevey and Corzine, the Democrats grew government with tax hikes and new regulations -- and always with Republican support.  Conservatives watched dismayed as the GOP provided the votes to end the death penalty for serial killers, child rapists/ murderers, cop-killers, and terrorists.  

While this was happening, John McCann was threatening to run for Congress, telling GOP leaders that Senator Gerry Cardinale and Assemblyman Scott Garrett were "too conservative" for the 5th District.  McCann's candidacies are cyclical.  Like the cicada, he surfaces from the mud about once a decade.  McCann called himself an "Arlen Specter Republican," going left on the issues, mimicking the Democrats' platform on such issues as abortion and gun-control.

Meanwhile, Steve Lonegan was organizing the modern conservative movement in New Jersey.  He led the fight against the Newark arena taxpayer rip-off, fought  state government borrowing without voter approval all the way to the Supreme Court, winning key concessions and transparency.  The Court's decisions in Lonegan I and Lonegan II paved the way for the (then Senator Leonard) Lance Amendment.  Lonegan organized conservatives to sue to stop eminent domain and taxpayer-funded elections.

Lonegan pulled off the unheard of accomplishment of defeating two statewide ballot questions -- stopping government-funded embryonic stem cell research and a sales tax increase.  Lonegan broke the back of the Corzine administration's plans to hike tolls on state roads and he successfully organized conservatives to stop the RGGI fuel tax.  Again, and again, and again, Steve Lonegan was the essential man -- leading the conservative movement forward, providing hope to the GOP in its darkest days.

Steve Lonegan became the glue that held the conservative movement together in New Jersey.  He took over the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and made it the premier chapter in the nation.  His fundraising prowess saw to it that conservative initiatives had resources.  When the GOP opposed same-sex marriage in 2009-10, it was Lonegan who made the calls to ensure they had the funding.

Because of Steve Lonegan, Chris Christie tacked right in his 2009 campaign for Governor, and New Jersey elected -- and re-elected -- a Pro-Life, Pro-Second Amendment Governor, something the Whitman/DiGaetano wing of the GOP had long held was an impossibility.  Lonegan held seminars, put together conventions, organized demonstrations and rallies -- a flurry of grassroots activity unheard of in the NJGOP.  He nurtured the careers and helped fund the campaigns of younger conservatives like Mike Doherty, Michael Patrick Carroll, and Alison Littell McHose.

Under Steve Lonegan, AFP became the thing that SRM and ARV have most desperately needed in the last few cycles -- a superPAC able to independently hit the Democrats and hold them to account.  Lonegan's relationships with national conservatives ensured that the efforts of groups like the General Majority PAC would not go unchallenged.  

All this ended abruptly when Steve Lonegan departed New Jersey to work on the national scene.  AFP became a shell of its former self.  Activism died overnight.

And the NJGOP, the SRM, the ARV?  Unprecedented losses over and over again.  You have to go back to the period after the Watergate Scandal (do any YR's or CR's even know what that is?) to find a time when New Jersey Republicans held this few seats in the Legislature.  Next up... the culling of the GOP's congressional delegation in New Jersey.

The Republican Party in New Jersey has been studiously ignoring its conservative base for years.  Meanwhile, its once dominant "country club" crowd has gone Democrat and is now fielding candidates from its ranks against GOP incumbents like Jon Bramnick.  In 2001 there were more so-called "wingers" than "country-clubbers" -- 17 years later, the country-club set is kidding itself if it still believes it counts for more than 20 percent of the party's registered voters. Now it is a discussion between populist "Trump" Republicans and their ideological comrades of the more traditional  "Reagan" right.  It's not your party anymore, Ms. Whitman.

Steve Lonegan's return to New Jersey politics could be a great shot-in-the-arm for the NJGOP, for SRM, and for ARV.  Lonegan has the relationships to bring national conservatives into New Jersey to take on groups like the General Majority PAC.  As we speak, a superPAC composed of medical professionals is forming -- the first of many.  

Unfortunately, there is this Rendo endorsement.  Normally, the endorsement of some moe from Hudson County who got elected mayor in Bergen County wouldn't count for much.  But this guy was the establishment's choice for Lt. Governor, so many conservatives are conflating his move with the establishment's wishes.  This misunderstanding could lead to conflict, which could become a very debilitating civil war at a time when resources are thin and the congressional delegation is at stake.

Right now, New Jersey Congressional Republicans are not speaking with a single voice on any issue and they are certainly not following the President in any collective fashion.  There are a lot of GOP messages out there.  Taking back CD05 is going to be a formidable challenge, with holding CD02 perhaps more difficult.  Congressman Frelinghuysen has been taking a terrific beating for months and faces a very attractive opponent.   If Josh Gottheimer doesn't wake up with a sore ass every morning, if Jeff Van Drew isn't sledge-hammered regularly, if Rodney doesn't learn how to punch back... the Democrats with all their money and all their superPACs are going to move on new opportunities.  It is time to stop them.

Does anyone really believe that a candidate like John McCann can even piss straight?  For years he's lived in the moist dirt of county patronage politics, sucking up what the boys -- Republicans and Democrats -- feed him.  McCann is where he is because he threatened to run in a primary against conservative Republican incumbent Gerry Cardinale.  That's right, this asswipe thought it was a good idea to primary Senator Cardinale and make SRM spend money it didn't have, so there would be less to spend fighting the Democrats in November.

Oh, and at the time, McCann was the patronage employee of Democrat Sheriff Michael Saudino, who would have had to sign-off on his antics.  No conflict there, right?

At the time, Bergen County GOP boss Paulie DiGaetano was messing in a divisive primary of his own (one he couldn't raise money for) and dissuaded McCann by promising him the Congressional nomination.  Paulie got crushed in the primary and here we are now.  McCann thinks the nomination is his by gift from a party boss who couldn't raise the money required to fund his own legislative race!  Does anybody think Josh Gottheimer is going to take this clown seriously?  Josh will be able to campaign fulltime in CD11.

Steve Lonegan's presence on the ballot has given new life to the state's conservative movement.  It has energized the base, made them happy, and caused them to think well of the GOP.  Carlos Rendo's stupid move has jeopardized that and the conspiracy theories are already circulating.

John McCann can't raise the money, can't stir the troops, won't rally the base, and will only provide Josh Gottheimer with the leisure to make mischief in another district.  But maybe that's all beside the point.  Perhaps his loyalties are still with Democrat Saudino?  As has been suggested, perhaps he is one of them?

Oroho Endorses Lonegan for Congress: Declares Sussex County Lonegan Country

State Senator Steve Oroho, (R-Sussex), today announced his support for conservative Republican Steve Lonegan in his campaign for congress in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District.

"Steve Lonegan will go to Congress to cut taxes and create jobs," Oroho said.  "We need his determination and focus now, more than ever.  That's why I'm supporting Steve Lonegan for Congress in Congressional District 5, a district Steve has won in the past, albeit for different offices."

Oroho was referring to the 2009 Republican Primary and the 2013 Special Election for U.S. Senate when Lonegan crushed Cory Booker by 20 percent.

"Sussex County has strongly supported Steve Lonegan in the past and will do so again in 2018," Oroho said.  "New Jersey needs Steve's leadership in Washington, DC. and we're going to do our part to help him get there."

"People who know Steve Lonegan know that he's a person of great integrity and determination.  Steve is a gentleman who is always there to help his party, our region, and the country.  Steve knows what it is to overcome obstacles.  He believes that the safety net should be a trampoline, not a hammock,"  Oroho added.  

Lonegan expressed his admiration for Senator Oroho's leadership in the state legislature.

"Senator Oroho has been a strong and courageous leader for Sussex County in the state legislature," Lonegan said.  "He consistently fights for the interests of Sussex County -- smaller government, the right to life and the right to bear arms -- all are important issues in Northwest New Jersey and I share Senator Oroho's commitment to them."

Lonegan has already been endorsed by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Bergen County State Senator Gerry Cardinale, Mrs. Ann Kievit, President of the Northwest New Jersey Taxpayers' Association, Rev. Greg Quinlan, President of the Center for Garden State Families, on behalf of New Jersey for a Conservative Majority, Alexander Roubian, President of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS), and United States Senator Ted Cruz, and Warren County State Senator Mike Doherty.