CAIR-NJ targets Pascrell/ pushing Election Day Voter Registration

By Rubashov

There is a shocking solipsism to the statements coming from CAIR-NJ and its partners – like American Muslims for Palestine New Jersey (AMP-NJ) and the Palestinian American Community Center (PACC). They keep insisting that humanity is divided into “sides” and that only those who they identify as being on their side can experience loss and suffering.
 

But that is a false construct. There are no sides, only actions. When a “soldier” rapes a woman, murders her, and then displays her body so that other “soldiers” can desecrate her corpse – that is an action against humanity itself. The members of CAIR-NJ, AMP, PACC share our common humanity and must, on some level, understand that what those men did is an action against all humanity, of which they are a part.
 

Later today, CAIR-NJ and American Muslims for Palestine New Jersey (AMP-NJ) will take a crack at Congressman Bill Pascrell. They are holding a “Joint Press Conference Calling on New Jersey Officials to Support Ceasefire in Gaza.” They must know the futility of a ceasefire that does not acknowledge Hamas’ deliberate attacks on civilian noncombatants, but neither group ever mentions this or the civilian women and children who have been adducted and held by Hamas.
 

They plan to hold the press conference at Congressman Pascrell’s office in Paterson. It is set for 1pm today.
 

CAIR-NJ and AMP-NJ’s press release reeks of an almost pathological solipsism:
 

“CAIR-NJ and AMP-NJ continue to mourn Israel’s massacre of Palestinians stand firmly in unwavering solidarity with Palestinians and their right to freedom. The two groups continue to call on New Jersey elected officials to respond to Palestinian civil society and Palestinian American’s calls to action as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza rapidly climbs.”
 

Screw humanity. We only care about our “side”.
 

CAIR-NJ and AMP-NJ are specifically targeting Pascrell because they believe they can exercise political power at the polls:
 

“Aside from issuing a statement on October 7 in support of Israel, Rep. Bill Pascrell has remained silent in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza, even as Israel launched an airstrike on a hospital in Gaza, killing over 500 Palestinians, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza from the past week to over 1,000. The congressman represents a sizeable Palestinian and Muslim constituency.” 
 

Which brings us to CAIR-NJ’s number 1 ask for New Jersey legislators: A bill that allows voter registration at polling places.

Currently, voters who recently moved to New Jersey must also live at their address for 30 days to be considered a resident. One month to show that you have skin in the game is too much for CAIR-NJ. They argue that changing this “is more reflective of who we are as a country”. What with homelessness on the rise and borders-in-name-only perhaps it is, but is that a good thing?
 

Given that residency requirements to vote (or even run for office) are notoriously weak – essentially you live where you say you live – the 30-day rule is all that is keeping us from the possibility of roving voters. Imagine people showing up on election day to throw an election one way or another. Hey, I moved in with my friend today, I say I live here so I can vote. Nothing would prevent them from moving on to a new voting district for the next election.
 

The legislation is A1966/S247. 19 Democrats are proposing it in the Assembly. The Senate version is cosponsored by Vin Gopal and Andrew Zwicker, among other Democrats. There’s one Republican cosponsor: Jon Bramnick.

Here’s Bramnick explaining why he believes this is a good idea: 

Marks & Pappas argue: Far-Left Democrats are preferable to Moderate Republicans

A precedent is being set within New Jersey’s Republican family. It is the precedent of fratricide. That if you disagree on issues of substance – or even those of perceived “loyalty” to a national figure or, dare we say it in New Jersey, the national party platform (for there is none here) – then it is okay to kill your fellow Republican outside the arena of the primary.

The tradition of old was that these matters were settled in the internecine contests in June and that afterwards both winners and losers joined together in commonality to defeat the real enemy, the common foe. This method was created by men who had been to war, who had trained hard, unit pitted against unit, who had their likes and dislikes even within their own unit, but who understood that they had to put all that aside and fight together – if they wanted to survive.

But the draft ended a long time ago – before many in politics today were even born – and military service is no longer the commonplace it once was. Now we hold grudges, nurse them, fondle them, and make them the reason why.

And so we come to Martin Marks and Harry Pappas. They have formed a third ticket in the District 21 Assembly race. Like the Democrat Party candidates, they are running against incumbent Republicans Jon Bramnick and Nancy Munoz.

Marks is a former Republican mayor and Pappas is a former Democrat county chairman. Both have publicly stated that their campaign is about defeating the incumbent Republicans. Marks and Pappas acknowledge they have no chance of winning themselves and indeed they have not even taken the necessary measures to mount a serious campaign in terms of resources, organization, policies, or time.

Marks and Pappas are present in the race for the purpose of killing the Republicans. And in killing the Republicans, Marks and Pappas will play an important role in electing Democrat candidates Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman.

They are not just any Democrats. They are pink pussy-hat wearing members of Action Together New Jersey – a far-Left organization that supports the policies of the so-called “Jihad Squad”, so often criticized by President Donald Trump. They support Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ Green New Deal and are actively cohabitating with an Islamic group that campaigns for the anti-Semitic BDS Movement. This group has been designated a “terrorist” organization by one of America’s closest Islamic allies – and we have just sent troops there and they are actively engaged!

How can helping to engineer the election of two such dangerous, far-Left Democrats be thought of as a “conservative” act? It is an act of delusion by anyone advancing it.

Whether you like him or not, Jon Bramnick is the Republican Leader in the Assembly, and as such, he is our Colonel. If you have a disagreement with your commanding officer, you do not replace him by allowing the enemy to kill him.

Harry Pappas is clearly a fellow-traveler of the Left. His actions on behalf the Democrats are transparent. Worse is the so-called “idealism” expressed by Martin Marks. This “idealism” is like that of Jane Fonda, who hated the policies of her country so much that she called for the execution of American military personnel.

In killing the candidacy of Nancy Munoz, Martin Marks will be derailing one of the most important issues on the agenda of social conservatives: The Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act. Assemblywoman Munoz is the legislation’s prime sponsor in the Assembly and its most outspoken proponent.

Both the U.S. State Department and the United Nations have warned about the rise in human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and children. These and other national and international agencies have warned against the kind of porous borders created as the result of policies like Governor Phil Murphy’s illegal Sanctuary State scheme.

Due to the hard work of legislators like Assemblywoman Munoz – and activists like Rev. Mandy Leverett, Rev. Greg Quinlan, Rev. Dominick Cuozzo, Rev. Phil Rizzo, Gabriella Brandeal, Josh Jalinski, Barb Dedeyn, Theresa Yarosh, and many others – the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act has enough bi-partisan support to become law. The defeat of Assemblywoman Munoz at the hands of Marks & Pappas/ Mandelblatt & Gunderman would be a horrible set-back for those currently enslaved or about to be enslaved by human traffickers.

Martin Marks should have taken this into consideration before launching his petulant jihad against those with whom he has some disagreement, on behalf of those with whom he agrees on nothing. As in the Vietnam War – to any thinking man – the sins of your own should always be preferable to the tyranny of others.

Rev. Mandy Leverett has been working with victims across New Jersey – from all walks of life. Marks should have talked with her and met some of those victims before deciding to bring down the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act.

But all that is past now. Martin Marks has done what he has done –aided or guided by ex-Democrat Party boss Harry Pappas. The question now becomes… Who will follow him? Who will compound this?

A precedent is being set within New Jersey’s Republican family. It is the precedent of fratricide.

Why would Pappas & Marks choose a Liberal group to host a debate?

Harry Pappas is the former chairman of the Union County Democrat Party machine. Martin Marks is the former Mayor of Scotch Plains. They are candidates for two Assembly seats in a six-person race in District 21.

Some have said that Pappas and Marks are acting in concert with far-Left Democrat candidates Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman. They say that Pappas and Marks want to skim enough Republican votes away from incumbents Jon Bramnick and Nancy Munoz so that the Republicans lose.

The latest thing to raise an eyebrow or two is the debate that Pappas and Marks agreed to participate in with the Democrats. Pappas and Marks say they’re “conservative” – but why would anyone calling themselves “conservative” agree to a debate hosted by a Liberal group like the League of Women Voters?

The League of Women Voters (LWV) hasn’t hosted a Presidential debate since 1984, when Democrat Walter Mondale faced-off against incumbent Republican Ronald Reagan. That’s because the LWV isn’t only concerned about getting more people out to vote – it takes ideological positions on controversial issues.

The League of Women Voters is a pro-abortion, anti-Second Amendment, pro-illegal immigration, pro-ObamaCare organization. Here is just a sampling of what you will find on the group’s website:

League Joins Amicus Brief in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission: The case involves a bakery in Colorado which refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple citing religious objections. The brief that the League joined argues that allowing the bakery to refuse service violates public accommodations laws and opens the door to discrimination of other groups.

League Urges U.S. House to Pass Clean Dream Act: Members of the League's Lobby Corps will be visiting with members of the U.S. House urging passage of the Dream Act of 2017. The legislation will ensure that the 800,000 "dreamers"--young immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. by their parents--can establish legal residency within the country.

We believe that the proliferation of handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons in the United States is a major health and safety threat to its citizens… Strong federal measures to limit the accessibility and regulate the ownership of firearms by private citizens is necessary for consumer safety.

The League of Women Voters United States (LWVUS) and the League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) filed an Amicus Brief in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Juliana et al v. United States. The Leagues continue to support the 21 young people from across the United States who have filed a landmark constitutional climate change lawsuit against the federal government, via the Eugene, Oregon- based organization, Our Children's Trust.

“Besides Planned Parenthood, the bill has drawn opposition from groups such as the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters.”

To mark the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, the League of Women Voters of Texas guest blogged on the new abortion restrictions in their state.

So why are Pappas and Marks participating in a debate hosted by such a biased Left-wing organization? If they truly are conservatives, like they claim, they will demand a neutral host. But if they are shills for the Democrats… well, we will know soon enough.

On Bramnick, Murphy Democrats put virtue-signaling before racial justice

In an attempt to distract attention away from the attempted cover-up of a rape within his own administration, Governor Phil Murphy and the Trenton Democrats have attacked Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick, a trial attorney, for his firm’s pledge to zealously defend those accused of sex offenses. That is right, Jon Bramnick’s law firm believes in the Bill of Rights and the very American idea that someone is innocent until proven guilty.

Not long ago, so did every good liberal…

The Innocence Project is not a group that anyone would call right-of-center. They take up the cases of those they consider to have been wrongly convicted – and wrongful convictions happen when law firms don’t do what Jon Bramnick’s firm promises to do… to defend their accused clients zealously.

The Innocence Project reports that the first DNA exoneration happened in 1989. There have been 367 DNA exonerations to date. All people wrongly accused or let down by lawyers who didn’t do what Jon Bramnick’s firm is being attacked for doing.

These innocent people – mainly men – served a total of 5,907 ½ years in prison for crimes they did not commit. The average time served in prison before exoneration was 14 years.

The average age at the time of their wrongful conviction was 26 ½ years. The average age at exoneration was just under 43 years.

42 percent of these cases involved cross-racial misidentification. 225 of those falsely accused and convicted were African-American. That is 61 percent.

Most exonerations involved sex offenses that they were falsely accused of committing. After these innocent people were exonerated, 162 actual assailants were identified. Those actual perpetrators went on to be convicted of 152 additional violent crimes, including 82 sexual assaults, 35 murders, and 35 other violent crimes while the innocent sat behind bars for their earlier offenses.

Apparently, Governor Murphy and the Democrats only cry “racism” when it involves a be-in , a protest, a statue, or a flag… real racism – by white collar, professional, prosecutorial and judicial elites – they could not care less about. That kind of racism involves their people, rich people, and rich people are always right… Just ask Wall Streeters Phil and Tammy Murphy. They’ll tell you how good they are.

Murphy and the Trenton Democrats are phonies. B.S. marketing reps who sell a line of crap they don’t really believe in. They lack character.

Governor Murphy and the Democrats should be ashamed of what they tried to do here. Especially given the backdrop of sexual assault and rape within their own administration.

There are four Leftist candidates in LD21 Assembly race

It has now emerged that there are FOUR Leftist candidates in the District 21 Assembly race. Two are straight-forward members of the far-Left. They came from the ranks of Action Together New Jersey, a far-Left group that supports the socialist Green New Deal of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

If you are looking for a future of meat-free diets (soylent green, anyone?), the end of air travel (unless you are a member of whatever Politburo equivalent they adopt), the American Bill of Rights (“thought crime is a form of violence,” don’t you know?), and restrictive prohibitions on reproduction (think of Red China’s “One Child” policy on steroids)… then the Green New Deal embraced by Democrats Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman is for you!

The Democrat Party is embracing the death cult of Anti-Natalism. Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the top Democrats in the 2020 presidential race, recently argued against human procreation on the basis of its impact on the environment. At a CNN townhall earlier this month, Sanders said he would support making population control part of his climate-change agenda. It was extensively reported in the Washington Post, New York Times, and other national media. So what is Anti-Natalism? Well, we know that traditional conservatives don’t agree with it, so let’s look at it from the left-of-center point of view of an anti-tradition humanist…

Yep, even most anti-traditionalists can’t quite wrap their minds around this new cult that embraces human extermination (even as it makes an argument for the short-term extermination of certain strains of DNA… like Americans). But this is who the Democrats are. And now for their fellow-travelers…

Harry Pappas, the former party boss of the Union County Democrat machine, is running for Assembly in District 21 as a third-party candidate. Pappas claims to be a “conservative independent” but it is very clear what party he’s from. True to his roots, Pappas is a “Democrat”, plain and simple.

Martin Marks, the former Mayor of Scotch Plains, is a different matter. Marks recruited Pappas to run, which says a lot. Last week, New Jersey Globe ran a story that explained their motives and provided a background to their effort and why they have chosen to run as third-party candidates…

It’s possible that former Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks and former Springfield Township Committeeman Harry P. Pappas could serve as spoilers in a highly competitive race where Democrats think they can flip two Assembly seats. That might be their objective.

Semi-surreptitiously, Marks and Pappas say their goal is to force Bramnick, the Assembly Minority Leader, to cuddle a conservative agenda – like embracing his 100% NRA rating rather than run away from it.

But privately, the two (so-called) “conservatives” (note: our quotation marks) really want to take responsibility for Bramnick’s defeat.

The New Jersey Globe has learned that the (so-called) “conservatives” could spent more than $20,000 on their race, although that number won’t be verifiable for several weeks.

The independent campaign is targeting high-propensity Republican voters with a conservative bent in a low-turnout election through digital ads and direct mail…

Marks and Pappas are taking votes only from the incumbents. None of their support is likely to come at the expense of Democrats Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman.

The question will be – and there is no rocket science in this – just how many voters in the off-off-year midterm elections will actually come out and vote for two independent candidates who stand no real chance of winning?

That’s right. Pappas and Marks are fellow-travelers of the far-Left.

Fellow-traveler is defined as… a person who is not a member of a particular group or political party (especially the Communist Party), but who sympathizes with the group's aims and policies.

You can’t be a conservative anything and run a campaign to ensure the election of two far-Leftists who are members of an organization that is on record as embracing the Green New Deal. You can’t claim to be Pro-Life but then plot to elect two Democrats who are on record as being members of a group that endorsed the Green New Deal and the Anti-Natalism death cult it represents.

That isn’t Pro-Life. That is Pro-Death Cult. That is Anti-Natalism.

The New Jersey Globe has done a great service for conservatives in exposing the lie behind the candidacy of Pappas and Marks. That lie is clear: Their campaign is not about electing conservatives, it is about ensuring the election of the most virulent kind of left-wing extremists imaginable. Any conservatives who buy into it are not worthy of the name.

Bramnick vs. Sweeney: The politics of competing plans

Good for Jim Florio… at least he remembers who he is.

When asked whether or not he would endorse law partner Doug Steinhardt for Governor, the former Governor put it very simply:  “He’s not the right party as far as I’m concerned.  I would not vote for him.  I’m a Democratic voter.”

Doug is the Chairman of the Republican State Committee.  The two are partners at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli.  This insight came courtesy of that doyen of bloggers… David Wildstein. 

But hey, Florio gets it.  Party means something.

It is the job of the leader of every legislative party caucus – the Speaker, the Senate President, and the minority leaders – to defend and expand their caucus at the expense of the other side.  Those are the rules.  It is first and foremost.  We all understand this.

Last week, Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick rolled out his plan for addressing New Jersey’s fiscal crisis.  It was a direct appeal to elect more Republicans to the Assembly and centered on what they would do if elected.

Bramnick did exactly what he needed to do.  After pointing out the fiscal evils perpetrated by legislative Democrats, Bramnick lays out three solid policy positions that points New Jersey Republicans in the direction of what we should be for

(1) Cap State Spending at 2% (just like local government spending is capped).

(2) Cut the State Income Tax by 10% (make NJ more competitive w. other states).

(3) Full Deduction of Property Taxes on the State Income Tax (a move that takes the property tax issue away from Democrats like Andy Kim, Mikie Sherrill, and Josh Gottheimer).

In a political sense, the Assembly Republican Leader’s plan does not demonize any organized, well-funded interest groups – it simply starves government for the benefit of taxpayers.  Bramnick makes war on spending, not people.  And that is good politics.    

Bramnick avoids the mistake made in 2015 by then Governor Chris Christie and his Republican Party.  Christie’s pension/health benefits commission called for many changes but he went further and directly confronted the unions and their members, demonizing them in the process.  Christie inadvertently created well-organized, well-financed cells of opposition in every Republican district in the state. 

Like this year, 2015 was a low-turnout election with the Assembly at the top of the ticket.  Public employee unions targeted Republicans and Democrat super PACs – including those controlled by George Norcross – poured money into the campaigns of Democrat challengers.  Republicans lost four seats – four friends by the names of Donna, Caroline, Mary Pat, and Sam.

Yesterday, Senate President Steve Sweeney announced his “bi-partisan” plan that targets many of the same people that Governor Christie pissed off in 2015.  It should be noted that Sweeney’s plan was formally rolled out after the filing deadline for the Democrat primary.  Unfortunately for Republicans… it is some months until the November election.

This is not about the merits of the “bi-partisan plan” but rather, it is about the politics and timing of the plan.   

Are Republicans in danger of repeating 2015 again? 

Will the super PACS’s controlled by Sweeney allies like George Norcross back up every Republican legislator on the ballot this year?  Or will they stay true to form and support their Democrat challengers?  Will the Republicans on the ballot this year end up getting it from both ends?

This situation might be different if New Jersey Republicans had taken the time to build a base of small dollar donors and activists.  But as fundraiser Ali Steinstra noted at the March NJGOP Leadership Summit, broad-based Republican fundraising can only be accomplished by appeals to the party’s conservative base.   

The GOP establishment in New Jersey is barely on speaking terms with its base, so the ground has not been prepared.  We have no equivalent to what the NJEA and the Norcross super PACs will throw against us, so pissing on a hornet’s nest probably isn’t a good idea.  At this moment in time, it is more likely to motivate the kind of turnout that will cost us another four or more seats in November.

Assembly Leader Bramnick has a sensible, Republican plan that addresses the problem of spending and taxation.  It avoids drawing fire from well-organized, well-funded interest groups.  Those on the ballot this year have a choice to make.

Bramnick has a message. Will NJ Republicans follow?

Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick recently released this most excellent video.  Bramnick starts by detailing what Republicans are against

But then, more importantly, Bramnick lays out three solid policy positions that points New Jersey Republicans in the direction of what we should be for

(1) Cap State Spending at 2% (just like local government spending is capped).

(2) Cut the State Income Tax by 10% (make NJ more competitive w. other states).

(3) Full Deduction of Property Taxes on the State Income Tax (a move that takes the property tax issue away from Democrats like Andy Kim, Mikie Sherrill, and Josh Gottheimer).

In the video, Bramnick is engaging, folksy, and compelling.  So finally, here is the core of something to move the Republican Party forward.  So why isn’t everyone banging the same drum? 

Two days after Bramnick’s video went up on Youtube, the NJGOP – the State Republican Party – blasted out its weekly newsletter via email.  There was some very good stuff in there.  Unfortunately, the Assembly Republican Leader’s video was not part of the newsletter.  An oversight that should be corrected at the earliest opportunity. 

On Thursday, the Garden State Initiative – a free-market, pro-business think tank – held a meeting about the state of New Jersey’s economy and how it can be improved.  All the experts present agreed that the business climate went south after the Democrats gained control over the Legislature, nearly two decades ago.

That said, the most prominent plan for recovery featured at the gathering was the one put forward by Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat and so a leader in the party responsible for the downturn in the first place.  As with legislation protecting the Bill of Rights (specifically the 2nd Amendment) and culturally traditionalist social legislation (like the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Protection Act), the Senate President will always be handicapped in how much he can accomplish by his need to appease the far-Left of his party’s caucus.  In the end, Sweeney will go as far as Leftist Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg allows him to go – and is anyone under the illusion that this Marxist-lite fellow-traveler is pro-business or pro-taxpayer?

In a column published on his Save Jersey news website, Matt Rooney brilliantly dissected the Trenton Democrats last week…  

We hear a lot about the “working class” from Trenton, but each and every policy and budget are designed to put the screws to taxpayers in favor of keeping these rich guys and their power structures chugging right along.

What I’m saying is that Democrats’ lofty rhetoric doesn’t match their reality. On either side of this fight. New Jersey’s true form of government is a blend of socialism and oligarchy (with a sprinkle of kleptocracy for good measure).

So why aren’t pro-business and pro-taxpayer forces pushing the Republican Plan put forward by Bramnick and making its three points the basis of not only the recovery of our party’s fortunes, but those of the state’s taxpayers?  Why aren’t they pulling together behind the Bramnick plan, then building on it, to tackle the obvious divide between the haves (those municipalities who bathe in money, courtesy of the Abbott decision) and the have nots (those who pay the highest property taxes in America)?   

As New Jersey 101.5’s Dennis Malloy recently noted, the public frustration over property taxes and government in the Garden State is stifling:  “Being the state with the highest property taxes in the nation used to be the number one issue in almost any campaign for public office in New Jersey. Lately, (crickets)! Why? …most people have given up hope that it will ever be normal or fair or affordable to most people. There is no one on the horizon with the guts to be honest about it and promise to fix it…” 

And yet, in the midst of this frustration, there are thousands of brave souls who are spending their time and energy – both in and outside social media – to address the oppression of their neighbors and fellow taxpayers.  Too often, they find themselves on their own, without the assistance or direction from the Republican Party, the business community, or even established figures within the state’s conservative movement. 

Take the grassroots effort to Recall Governor Phil Murphy, as an example.  This effort is in the process of training hundreds of volunteers in the basics of one-on-one political outreach that could be harvested in future GOTV operations.  But is anyone providing them with any real assistance?  Listen to this appeal from one of the most effective recall leaders, Bill Hayden of Sussex County:

https://www.facebook.com/raidenhayden/videos/10214053859525724/?notif_id=1557702128406942&notif_t=live_video

In May 1940, the allied armies of France, Great Britain, Belgium, and the Netherlands faced the threat posed by a newly re-armed Germany.  One of the great myths about the Fall of France is that the Germans had more tanks.  They did not.  In numbers, weaponry, and armor-protection, the German tanks were outclassed by those of the French Army and its allies.  So why did the Germans so easily over-power the superior tanks of the French?

The French used their tanks piecemeal and fought actions individually.  Many were not even equipped with radios.  The Germans fought coordinated actions, in which not only individual tanks within a unit fought in support of each other, but entire units worked in concert with other units to achieve a particular goal.  It wasn’t hardware that won the battle, but tactics – how the hardware was used. 

The three major units of New Jersey’s Republican Party – the State Committee (NJGOP), the Senate Republican Majority (SRM), and the Assembly Republican Victory (ARV) – do not work in concert or present a unified message or vision.  From there is gets worse.  Each county, each candidate, each club marches to its own beat.  And the party is barely on speaking terms with the movement conservatives who make up its base and constitute its most loyal voters.  Working together could amplify a message and make it punch through to distracted voters.  But instead of amplification, we have a cacophony of murmurs, each from its own silo.   

Jon Bramnick has offered a simple, three-point way forward.  Everyone should amplify it.  That would make a start at working in concert.

At Thursday’s meeting, Garden State Initiative President Regina Egea said voters should ask every politician how they intend to lower the cost of living and the cost of doing business.  The Bramnick Plan provides the answers.

Rasmussen: 77% believe Syrians pose risk

Democrat President Barack Obama has a plan to resettle thousands of Syrian immigrants in the United States.  Republican Governor Chris Christie opposes it.  So do many other Republican Governors.  But Democrat Speaker Vincent Prieto supports Obama's resettlement plan and Republican Leader Jon Bramnick says it is too soon to say one way or the other. 

The Rasmussen Polling organization conducted a survey of 1,000 likely voters on this subject.  The survey was conducted November 17-18, 2015.  The results indicate that there is a high level of concern among American voters, with 77% reporting that they are very or somewhat concerned when asked the question:  How concerned are you that giving thousands of Syrians asylum poses a national security risk to the United States? 

52% reported that they were very concerned, 25% somewhat concerned, 14% not very concerned, 7% not at all concerned, 2% not sure.  Women are more concerned than men:  53% to 52% very concerned and 5% to 9% not at all concerned.

Along ethnic lines concerned vs. unconcerned breaks down this way:  80% to 19% for white voters, 74% to 19% for black voters, and 70% to 28% for other voters.

Along party lines concerned vs. unconcerned breaks down accordingly: 93% to 6% for Republicans, 64% to 33% for Democrats, 77% to 21% for Independents.

Poor and working class Americans are more concerned, with the very rich being the least concerned.  Those earning under $30,000 expressed the most concern, at 80% to 19%; with those earning over $200,000 at 74% to 18%.

For more information, visit Rasmussen at www.rasmussenreports.com/

These figures could change should ISIS and the other arms of Islamic terrorism decide to change tactics (as the IRA did in the 1990's), but there is presently no indication that they will.  In the meantime, ISIS seems as determined to rid the Middle East of Western influence as the Rutgers SuperPAC appears determined to rid the Legislature of Republican influence.

It looks as though our political landscape will continue to be moved by the threats posed by unsecured borders, the resettlement of people from frontline zones in the war on terror, and by government policy that makes it extraordinarily difficult to enter American legally but easy to enter and stay illegally.  We live in interesting times that will complicate the lives of legislators.