Memo to Atlantic County GOP: Next time define the Women's March for what it is

There was this thing called the Women's March.

...And then it turned out that the leadership of the Women's March was calling for "jihad" against the elected government of the United States of America.

...And then the Women's March posted a birthday greeting on its Facebook page praising a terrorist who murdered a New Jersey State Trooper.  That terrorist cop-killer is on the FBI's "most wanted list" -- with a $2 million reward.

Even the New York Times gets it.

In an August 1st piece titled -- "When Progressives Embrace Hate" -- NY Times Editor Bari Weiss points out that the Women's March is connected to some very unsavory people but that groups like the NJEA (the state teachers' union) and those candidates they support don't seem to care.  Weiss wrote:

"The leaders of the Women’s March, arguably the most prominent feminists in the country, have some chilling ideas and associations. Far from erecting the big tent so many had hoped for, the movement they lead has embraced decidedly illiberal causes and cultivated a radical tenor that seems determined to alienate all but the most woke.

Start with Ms. Sarsour, by far the most visible of the quartet of organizers. It turns out that this 'homegirl in a hijab,' as one of many articles about her put it, has a history of disturbing views, as advertised by . . . Linda Sarsour.

There are comments on her Twitter feed of the anti-Zionist sort: 'Nothing is creepier than Zionism,' she wrote in 2012. And, oddly, given her status as a major feminist organizer, there are more than a few that seem to make common cause with anti-feminists, like this from 2015: 'You’ll know when you’re living under Shariah law if suddenly all your loans and credit cards become interest-free. Sound nice, doesn’t it?'  She has dismissed the anti-Islamist feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the most crude and cruel terms, insisting she is 'not a real woman' and confessing that she wishes she could take away Ms. Ali’s vagina — this about a woman who suffered genital mutilation as a girl in Somalia."

Which brings us to the supporters of the Women's March who were just elected to office.  Those who have expressed personal support for the Women's March organization and have failed to even comment on the organization's "illiberal" and "radical" (according to the New York Times) leadership or the group's praise of a terrorist cop-killer.  Those who continue to embrace these "illiberal" radicals and who refuse to comment on the group's leadership's call for "jihad".

Have Democrats like Atlantic County's Ashley Bennett called out Linda Sarsour, the co-chair of the Women's March, and a self-proclaimed advocate of "jihad" against the democratically elected American government?  Now an elected official, she needs to be clear on this.

Yes, the co-chair of the Women's March actually called for "jihad" against the government of the United States of America.  And Democrats have remained politically-correct silent about it.  Instead, Democrat leaders have praised the Women's March and continue to do so -- lending their support to its leadership while American troops are in the field, engaged in a fight against jihadists.  Why have the Democrats and their candidates refused to comment on these threats of "jihad"?

Just a few months ago, Linda Sarsour -- a prominent Democrat Party activist and co-chair of the Women's March -- called for a "jihad" against the American government.  You can catch her act here:

Here's what she said:

"During a speech to the Islamic Society of North America convention in Chicago last weekend, Sarsour, a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention who is an anti-Israel and pro-Sharia activist, made the startling call and also urged against 'assimilation.'  

'I hope that we when we stand up to those who oppress our communities that Allah accepts from us that as a form of jihad,' she said. 'That we are struggling against tyrants and rulers not only abroad in the Middle East or in the other side of the world, but here in these United States of America, where you have fascists and white supremacists and Islamophobes reigning in the White House.'

'Our number one and top priority is to protect and defend our community, it is not to assimilate and please any other people and authority,' she said.

'Our obligation is to our young people, is to our women, to make sure our women are protected in our community. Our top priority and even higher than all those other priorities is to please Allah and only Allah,' she said."

Sarsour started off her call for "jihad" by praising Siraj Wahaj, who she described as her "favorite person in the room."  Wahaj is a controversial New York imam who has attracted the attention of American authorities for years.  Federal prosecutors included him on a 3½-page list of people they said "may be alleged as co-conspirators" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, though he was never charged, the Associated Press reported.

Since the election of Donald Trump as President, some Democrats appear to have gone completely loopy.  We believe that dissent is an American right, but "dissent" isn't "jihad".  When did the democratic concept of a "loyal opposition" morph into "jihad" -- a "holy war" to be waged by all means necessary?  And why are Democrats and their candidates too afraid to talk about it?

And here is another thing that they are afraid to comment on.   It was reported extensively in the media last summer that the Women's March "honored" cop-killer Joanne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur).  

Referring to the notorious cop-killer, who murdered a New Jersey State Trooper in cold blood, as a "revolutionary" whose words "inspire us to keep resisting", the far-left Women' March organization issued a statement "celebrating" Ms. Chesimard's birthday.
 

The Star-Ledger reported on this:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/womens_march_wishes_nj_cop_killer_a_happy_birthday.html

So did the Save Jersey blog:

Joanne Chesimard, the Black Liberation Army member hiding in Cuba after murdering New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973, has long eluded American justice and vexed New Jersey public officials as well as the public at large.
Donald Trump made headlines in June by spiking the Obama-era Cuba deal and citing the case of Chesimard (a/k/a Assata Shakur) as one of the reasons.
Eyebrows were therefore raised on Sunday when the far-left Women’s March’s social media accounts CELEBRATED the notorious cop-killing fugitive’s birthday:
 “I think you guys accidentally left out the part where she shot a police officer in the face, escaped from prison, then fled to Cuba in this post,” responded one Facebook user.

We know where Republicans stand on cop-killer Joanne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur).  They want her extradited back to the United States to face trial for the murder of a police officer.  They backed that up by sponsoring a legislative resolution (AR-111) to urge Congress and the Administration to make that happen.

Why haven't we heard from Atlantic County's Ashley Bennett about this?  Why has she remained silent?

Why don't some Democrats appear to mind associating with radicals calling for "jihad" and cop-killers?  Do they consider these legitimate forms of "dissent"?  We are very interested in hearing what Atlantic County's Ashley Bennett has to say about a group honoring a cop-killer.
 

Mandelblatt should take stand against Jihadist and cop-killer

Even the New York Times gets it.

In an August 1st piece titled -- "When Progressives Embrace Hate" -- NY Times Editor Bari Weiss points out that the Women's March is connected to some very unsavory people but that individuals on the Left don't seem to care.  Weiss wrote:

"The leaders of the Women’s March, arguably the most prominent feminists in the country, have some chilling ideas and associations. Far from erecting the big tent so many had hoped for, the movement they lead has embraced decidedly illiberal causes and cultivated a radical tenor that seems determined to alienate all but the most woke.

Start with Ms. Sarsour, by far the most visible of the quartet of organizers. It turns out that this 'homegirl in a hijab,' as one of many articles about her put it, has a history of disturbing views, as advertised by . . . Linda Sarsour.

There are comments on her Twitter feed of the anti-Zionist sort: 'Nothing is creepier than Zionism,' she wrote in 2012. And, oddly, given her status as a major feminist organizer, there are more than a few that seem to make common cause with anti-feminists, like this from 2015: 'You’ll know when you’re living under Shariah law if suddenly all your loans and credit cards become interest-free. Sound nice, doesn’t it?'  She has dismissed the anti-Islamist feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the most crude and cruel terms, insisting she is 'not a real woman' and confessing that she wishes she could take away Ms. Ali’s vagina — this about a woman who suffered genital mutilation as a girl in Somalia."

Which brings us to Lisa Mandelblatt a suburban lady with a charming smile who suffers from a form of identity dysphoria:  She believes that she is Bella Abzug, the late Congresswoman from New York.  On her Facebook page, Mandelblatt frets:

"Like so many of you, I woke up after the election and I was absolutely terrified. What was going to happen to my friends, family, and neighbors?"

Lucky for Mandelblatt that her last name isn't Oroho.  With a son (U.S. Army Rangers) in Iraq, a daughter-in-law (U.S. Army) in Kuwait, and a brother (U.S. Army Black Hawks) in Afghanistan, Senator Steve Oroho might be expected to have some of the concerns that Mandelblatt claimed to have experienced as the result of... wait for it... an election.

Lisa Mandelblatt is a Democrat candidate for Congress against incumbent Republican Congressman Leonard Lance.  Like fellow Democrat Josh Gottheimer, Mandelblatt has failed to call out Democrat Party leaders for their support of Linda Sarsour, the co-chair of the Women's March, and a self-proclaimed advocate of "jihad" against the democratically elected American government.

Yes, the co-chair of the Women's March actually called for "jihad" against the government of the United States of America.  And Democrats like Gottheimer and Mandelblatt have remained politically-correct silent about it.  Instead, Democrat leaders have praised the Women's March and continue to do so -- lending their support to its leadership while American troops are in the field, engaged in a fight against jihadists.  Why have the Democrats and their candidates refused to comment on these threats of "jihad"?

Last month, Linda Sarsour -- a prominent Democrat Party activist and co-chair of the Women's March -- called for a "jihad" against the American government.  You can catch her act here:

Here's what she said:

"During a speech to the Islamic Society of North America convention in Chicago last weekend, Sarsour, a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention who is an anti-Israel and pro-Sharia activist, made the startling call and also urged against 'assimilation.' 

'I hope that we when we stand up to those who oppress our communities that Allah accepts from us that as a form of jihad,' she said. 'That we are struggling against tyrants and rulers not only abroad in the Middle East or in the other side of the world, but here in these United States of America, where you have fascists and white supremacists and Islamophobes reigning in the White House.'

'Our number one and top priority is to protect and defend our community, it is not to assimilate and please any other people and authority,' she said.

'Our obligation is to our young people, is to our women, to make sure our women are protected in our community. Our top priority and even higher than all those other priorities is to please Allah and only Allah,' she said."

Sarsour started off her call for "jihad" by praising Siraj Wahaj, who she described as her "favorite person in the room."  Wahaj is a controversial New York imam who has attracted the attention of American authorities for years.  Federal prosecutors included him on a 3½-page list of people they said "may be alleged as co-conspirators" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, though he was never charged, the Associated Press reported.

Since the election of Donald Trump as President, Democrats like Lisa Mandelblatt appear to have gone completely loopy.  We believe that dissent is an American right, but "dissent" isn't "jihad".  When did the democratic concept of a "loyal opposition" morph into "jihad" -- a "holy war" to be waged by all means necessary?  And why are Democrats and their candidates too afraid to talk about it?

And here is another thing that they are afraid to comment on.   It was reported extensively in the media last month that the Women's March "honored" cop-killer Joanne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur). 

Referring to the notorious cop-killer, who murdered a New Jersey State Trooper in cold blood, as a "revolutionary" whose words "inspire us to keep resisting", the far-left Women' March organization issued a statement "celebrating" Ms. Chesimard's birthday.

The Star-Ledger reported on this:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/womens_march_wishes_nj_cop_killer_a_happy_birthday.html

So did the Save Jersey blog:

Joanne Chesimard, the Black Liberation Army member hiding in Cuba after murdering New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973, has long eluded American justice and vexed New Jersey public officials as well as the public at large.

Donald Trump made headlines in June by spiking the Obama-era Cuba deal and citing the case of Chesimard (a/k/a Assata Shakur) as one of the reasons.

Eyebrows were therefore raised on Sunday when the far-left Women’s March’s social media accounts CELEBRATED the notorious cop-killing fugitive’s birthday:

 “I think you guys accidentally left out the part where she shot a police officer in the face, escaped from prison, then fled to Cuba in this post,” responded one Facebook user.

We know where Republicans like Assemblymen Ron Dancer and Parker Space stand on cop-killer Joanne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur).  They want her extradited back to the United States to face trial for the murder of a police officer.  They backed that up by sponsoring a legislative resolution (AR-111) to urge Congress and the Administration to make that happen.

Why haven't we heard from Lisa Mandelblatt and Josh Gottheimer and other Democrats?  Why have they remained silent?

Why don't some Democrats appear to mind associating with radicals calling for "jihad" and cop-killers?  Do they consider these legitimate forms of "dissent"?  We are very interested in hearing what Lisa Mandelblatt and Josh Gottheimer and other Democrats have to say about a group, that Democrats strongly support, honoring a cop-killer. 

Bill Spadea, Sen. Beck and what's really going on?

Townsquare Media is the corporate entity that owns the license (Townsquare Media Trenton License, LLC) to operate radio station NJ 101.5 (FCC Facility 53458).  The license is a for-profit monopoly granted by the Federal Communications Commission. 

Townsquare Media is owned by Oaktree Capital Management.  This corporation dates from the mid-1990's.  Media sources note:  "Oaktree quickly established a reputation in the high-yield and distressed-debt markets."  The Securities & Exchange Commission fined Oaktree and ordered them to disgorge profits after the SEC ruled they had "sold securities short".

According to Oaktree Capital Management's filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission, it has important holdings in the petroleum sector, with one of its most important funds dependent on oil and gas profits from Alaska's North Slope.  So yes, boys and girls, raising the price of gasoline is not in their economic self-interest.

The federal government grants for-profit corporations a monopoly on the use of a certain frequency provided that they abide by a very few rules and regulations.  One is that they should at least try to be honest.  The FCC website states:

"As public trustees, broadcasters may not intentionally distort the news. The FCC has stated publicly that 'rigging or slanting the news is a most heinous act against the public interest'."

What this means is that a radio station shouldn't out and out lie just to inflame public opinion in an effort to jazz up the ratings in order to sell more advertising and reap a windfall in corporate profits.  But this is exactly what the corporation that owns NJ 101.5 has allowed Bill Spadea to do for months and allowed him to do again today.

Townsquare Media/Spadea has continued to use a report from the Reason Foundation that other journalists have investigated and called into question to make the case that road construction costs are "12 times the national average."  They have continued to broadcast and publish this very dubious figure, knowing that for months a much more detailed and full study has been available to them and that they would have been doing their listeners (and readers) an educational service by citing the several conflicting studies that now exist on this subject. 

The most detailed study made on the cost of road construction and maintenance in New Jersey was made by Rutgers University's Voorhees Transportation Center.  Information on the study, as well as the study itself, can be accessed below:

http://bloustein.rutgers.edu/new-study-by-voorhees-transportation-center-estimates-cost-to-build-and-maintain-njdot-roads/

http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/publicat/2016studyconopmaint.pdf

Bill Spadea should pull himself away from selling vinyl siding, used cars, and suppositories longenough to hold a rational discussion regarding the comparative strengths and weaknesses of each study.  While not trying to disparage the work of the author of the Reason Foundation study, who is known to us, his is a very different kind of effort to the one undertaken by Rutgers.  The Reason Foundations does a cursory thumb-nail review, taking as much space to review 50 states as Rutgers does to review one.  Rutgers is, by far, the more thorough effort.

* * *

Last week, the SaveJersey blog featured a story by NJ 101.5's Bill Spadea, who has been trying to justify his position against funding the TTF.  Aside from the ratings boost he's received, he is having an understandably tough time wrapping his intellect around the indefensible position that a user's tax is poor economic policy.

Spadea keeps looking for a way show that roads and bridges can be maintained and repaired in 2016 -- at the 1988 price-per-gallon of 14 1/2 cents.  So he's come up with a list of things to cut and he published the list on SaveJersey.

The trouble is, Spadea's newest heroine, Senator Jennifer Beck, has blown a hole in his argument.  Not only did Beck vote last month for over $100 million of the cuts Spadea wants to make this month, Beck's record shows that she supports NO spending cuts in any area of government and, IN FACT, supports increased spending.   All you need to do is visit Project Vote Smart and look at the answers Senator Beck was kind enough to provide us, herself.

So much for Bill Spadea's plan to fund the TTF by cutting spending.  Since Spadea started talking, all Senator Beck has done is to vote for more spending -- like the $7 million more for funding Planned Parenthood. 

But Spadea doesn't appear to notice these incongruities.   The talk radio host has already handed out the black hats and the white hats in his stage production of "a little masturbation ritual" -- and he doesn't want to reassign the "goodies" and the "baddies".  Hey, stick to playing with your electric blue phallic symbol.  Facts are too much for you.

Spadea dumps on Beck-Doherty vote on Open Space

On Friday, the SaveJersey blog featured a story by NJ 101.5's Bill Spadea.  Bill has been trying to justify his position against funding the TTF for weeks now.  Aside from the ratings boost he's received, he is having an understandably tough time wrapping his intellect around the indefensible position that a user's tax is poor economic policy.

The Sussex County Watchdog put out a concise explanation of the way the user's tax that funds the TTF works:

The tax on gasoline is the principal way New Jersey funds road and bridge maintenance and repair.   It is a user tax charged to those who actually use the state's roads and bridges -- 30 percent of whom live outside New Jersey. 

The user tax on gasoline that New Jersey charges drivers who use the state's roads and bridges hasn't been raised since 1988.  That means that the price charged drivers in New Jersey hasn't even kept up with inflation.  If it was adjusted for inflation, the 14 1/2 cents still charged today would be 29 cents.

This represents a huge windfall for out-of-state drivers -- who in effect are being subsidized by New Jersey taxpayers. 

Instead of raising its tax on gasoline in line with the inflation over the last 28 years, New Jersey put its road and bridge maintenance and repairs on a credit card -- using massive debt to fund its transportation infrastructure, while states like Pennsylvania raised their user tax on gasoline to 50 cents or more.  Because New Jersey used so much debt, the first 10 1/2 cents of any gasoline tax increase will be needed just to pay the interest on that debt.

... If the TTF is broke and the current 14 1/2 cents insufficient to even pay the interest on the debt (it would take a tax of 25 cents a gallon just to do that), then how will road and bridge maintenance and repair be paid for? 

Bill Spadea is looking for a way show that the transportation infrastructure can still be funded while justifying his opposition to the user's tax on gasoline.  So he's come up with a list of things to cut and he published the list on SaveJersey, and the blog distributed it to its email list.

Spadea's SaveJersey column begins with an emotional tribute to "a few brave souls left in Trenton on both sides of the aisle."  Now nobody is going to disagree with him about Senator Mike Doherty being a good conservative and a brave soul, but Democrat Ray "Lord of Ass" Lesniak?  The king of pay to play (and play to play)?  Really? Spadea couldn't find anyone braver than his lordship? 

Then Spadea really goes head over heels effusive with Senator Jennifer Beck, quote, unquote, "the newest champion of the taxpayer." 

Well, we have some bad news for him.  Over $100 million of the cuts Spadea plans to use to fund the TTF will come from killing off open space and farmland preservation in New Jersey.  Spadea even wants to kill the property tax relief that rural towns get, the open space funds in lieu of taxes, that help keep property taxes down. 

The problem for Spadea is that his "brave souls" and his "newest champion" all voted for these open space funds just a few weeks ago.  That's right -- on June 27, 2016 -- Senators Doherty, Lesniak, and Beck all voted yes on S-2456.  They blew a $100 million hole in his TTF funding plan. 

Don't get us wrong.  We're not complaining.  New Jersey is the most densely populated state in America and open space and farms are a good thing and something people consistently support.  Apparently, the corporate management at NJ 101.5 doesn't think so, but most voters do.  But this incident does illustrate the problems inherent with the "drive-by-budgeting" practiced by talk radio hosts like Bill Spadea.  Economic policy isn't something to be crammed between five minute blocks of salesmen selling vinyl siding, used cars, and suppositories.

Beck set off GOP primary stirrings for 2017

It started with GOP Senator Jennifer Beck, looking for an issue to run on next year, and soon got crazily out of hand.  Beck, a member of the GOP Senate leadership no less, got NJ 101.5's Bill "pulled-pork" Spadea to start the movement to publicly call for running primary campaigns against Republican legislators in 2017 and it took off from there.

Next it was taken up in the pages of the SaveJersey blog, with a call for open Republican-on-Republican warfare:

And who are these offending Republicans? Here’s the Rogue’s Gallery – read it and make them weep:

Jon Bramnick, LD 21 (Union, Somerset and Morris); Chris Brown, LD 2 (Atlantic):  Rob Clifton, LD 12 (Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington and Middlesex);  BettyLou DeCroce,  LD 26 (Morris, Essex and Passaic); Joe Howarth, LD 8 (Burlington, Atlantic and Camden);  Sean Kean,  LD 30 (Monmouth and Ocean); Nancy Munoz,  LD 21 (Union, Morris and Somerset); David Rible,  LD 30 (Monmouth); Maria Rodriguez-Gregg, LD 8 (Burlington, Atlantic and Camden) and Scott Rumana, LD 40 (Passaic, Bergen, Essex and Morris).

Note that many of this exceedingly motley crew are in the GOP leadership in the Assembly, including Assemblyman Bramnick, the putative leader of the caucus.

...For their support of the gas tax-hike abomination, the Gang of 10 need to be primaried, hounded, called out, denounced, condemned and run to ground as traitors to the state’s already oppressed taxpayers.

The writer also explicitly fingers the new GOP "Solutions NJ" super PAC as being "GOP up-and-comers who loathe the idea of a gas-tax hike." 

Why did the leadership of the Senate Republican Caucus encourage one of their members to negotiate a tax cut/TTF-funding deal, while a member of GOP leadership itself was allowed to publicly make war on that deal?  That miscalculation has opened up the possibility of primaries against legislative Republicans across the state.

The so-called "left" of the conservative movement in New Jersey -- represented by the anti-government, libertarian-leaning Liberty & Prosperity group of Atlantic and Cape May counties -- got into the act, calling for an Argentina-style "repudiation" of the $16 billion debt used to fund the TTF.  Yes, they want to default on the debt, walk away from it, and they have what could be a sound legal argument for doing so.  They also want to "identify, recruit, train, and support qualified candidates to run against (Assemblyman Chris Brown and others) in the Primary Elections next June."

Assemblyman Brown is one of three Republicans in the state who share a legislative district with two Democrats.  He is hyper-vulnerable in 2017.  If he is defeated for re-election, it will be the fault of Senator Jennifer Beck and the GOP Senate leadership for riling up and galvanizing the opposition against him.

Coming from the social-conservative "right" on this issue is the New Jersey Family Policy Council.  In an email blast in which they remind readers that they "don't usually get too involved in fiscal issues," the NJFPC goes after Governor Chris Christie, Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick, and other Republicans for voting for A-12, which increased the gas tax while reducing the sales tax and eliminating the tax on retirement income for most retirees.

Curiously, the NJFPC uses the talking points of far-left former Democrat State Senator Gordon MacInnes' Policy Perspectives group, and lifts its points directly from another publication.  MacInnes is an old-Great Society social warrior and former White House staffer under LBJ (for those of you too young to remember, that stands for President Lyndon Baines Johnson).

This is being follow-up with a political campaign seminar tomorrow at the Church of Grace & Peace in Toms River.  The seminar is run by a campaign professional from out West named George Khalaf, dubbed by NJFPC's Len Deo as "the Lebanese Lion from Arizona."  We don't know a soul who calls him that, by-the-way, apart from maybe his pal Paul Weber. 

George Khalaf is the former political director of the Arizona Republican Party, who started his own polling and general consulting firm two years ago and is now out looking for new clients.  The seminar tomorrow promises to "change the culture by winning campaigns... at all levels of elected offices, from School Board to Town Council, to County Office and all the way up to the State and Federal elections!"

Well the Lion has come to the right place to do some hunting.  New Jersey is one of the last breeding grounds of that nearly extinct creature -- the culturally far-left Republican elected official.  These people can't even tell the difference between boys and girls.  They want adult male sex offenders showering with the high school girls' soccer team.  In Arizona, their heads adorn every political consultant's office in every county. 

But it gets better.  The NJGOP lost legislative seats even with a popular Governor at the helm.  The GOP couldn't pick up a single Senate seat even when the Governor was winning by 20 percentage points.  In contrast, in Pennsylvania the GOP won 12 new legislative seats while their incumbent Governor was LOSING by 10 points!  Going into 2017, the NJGOP isn't going to have enough money to protect its vulnerable incumbents in the GENERAL ELECTION.  Forget about having the spare money for one or two or more or a bunch of primaries.

And as a pollster of some repute, George Khalaf will soon discover that most Republicans in the Garden State are over 60 years old and think culturally more like average Republicans do in Arizona than GOP "leaders" do in New Jersey.  New Jersey Republicans are utterly turned-off by these creatures who claim to represent them, their culture, or their country.  So let the Lion loose and... good hunting!  Or should we say, good dining?

By-the-way, great work Senator Beck... great work!

How indecision damaged the NJGOP

Somehow we ended up with four plans to fix the TTF.  Here is a brief review of those four plans and how they developed (courtesy of Sussex County Watchdog):

(1) The Democrat Plan.  This is the plan pushed by Democrats like Senator Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman John Wisniewski.  It recognizes that the TTF has not been funded properly for decades.  That since 1988, New Jersey has charged drivers just 14 1/2 cents a gallon of gasoline to maintain and repair our state's roads and bridges -- whereas states like Pennsylvania have had to charge their drivers over 50 cents a gallon.  Instead of pay as you go, New Jersey has been running up the state's credit card to pay for roads and bridges.  That's why the first dime (10 cents) of any tax increase will have to be used just to pay the interest on the debt.  The Democrat plan is to raise the Gas Tax to pay for the TTF.  Period.  No tax cuts.

What stands in the way of the Democrat Plan is Republican Governor Chris Christie.  Of course, after the Democrats take back the Governor's office in 2017, they and their overwhelming majorities in BOTH chambers of the Legislature will enable them to easily pass a gas tax of any amount they choose WITHOUT any tax cuts.  That is 18 months away and counting.

(2) The Oroho Plan.  Economists have long believed that one of the main reasons New Jersey ranks 49th out 50th for business environment is its high Estate Tax.  Where most states have got rid of the Estate Tax and few have an inheritance tax, New Jersey has both.  The Estate Tax kills job creation and results in the flight of capital and people from the state.  New Jersey's tax on retirement income is another major factor in driving away people from the state.

Knowing that the Democrats don't need the GOP to pass a gas tax after 2017, Republican leaders gave Senator Steve Oroho the nod to negotiate a compromise with the Democrats that would address TTF funding in 2016 in return for tax cuts.  Oroho did his job well and ended up with an economic recovery plan that not only phased out the Estate Tax and eliminated the tax on retirement income for over 90 percent of retirees, but cut four other taxes as well.  It was an incredible accomplishment that few expected to happen.  Unfortunately, the thinking within the GOP Senate leadership had changed by then.  Now they were looking for a political angle.

(3) The Beck Plan.  While Senator Oroho was negotiating in good faith, Republican leaders in the Senate decided to launch a political plan, on which they believed they could build a statewide campaign for the majority in 2017.  This plan was sponsored by a member of leadership, Senator Jennifer Beck, who claimed that it could fund the TTF without an increase in the gas tax by borrowing $4.4 billion and freezing aid to municipalities and school districts (K-12) at the current level for seven years.

In addition, property tax relief was to be frozen for seven years -- along with tuition aid grants, NJ Stars, student financial assistance, higher education funding, hospital funding, and the State Police -- all frozen at the current level for seven years.  The Beck plan also raided the state's Clean Energy Fund. 

The Beck plan's numbers were seriously flawed and entirely reliant on economic growth.  The plan would have bankrupted the TTF in the event of an economic downturn.  Beck's rosy estimate of 3.15 percent growth was more than double the current year revenue growth of 1.5 percent.  And her plan depended on the Democrats to enact $1.4 billion in health plan savings and on timely savings from the mergers of departments and agencies. 

While Beck's plan did look at spending, she undercut her own argument when she voted for over $7 million in new spending for Planned Parenthood, the operators of abortion centers across the country. 

There are no tax cuts in the Beck plan, no attempt is made to address the out-migration of income and capital.  But the real risk to taxpayers represented by the Beck plan was two-part.  First, that by freezing aid for seven years, it would force local governments and school boards to raise property taxes. Second, that the plan's flawed numbers would send the TTF into bankruptcy and result in a property tax explosion.

(4) The Christie Plan.  On Monday, June 27th, the Governor entered into negotiations with Assembly Democrats on his own compromise plan.  Throughout the day, the Governor's office ran the numbers in an attempt to reduce the amount of the tax increase on gasoline, but with the first 10 cents going to cover debt service, there was little he could do.  Just before midnight, Governor Chris Christie and Speaker Vincent Prieto emerged from the Governor's office to announce their compromise.

The gas tax would still be raised 23 cents a gallon, the Republican Governor said there was no way around it if we wanted to keep roads and bridges safe and maintained.  The Estate Tax phase out was gone, as were the other tax cuts negotiated by Senator Oroho -- with the exception of the elimination of the tax on retirement income.  Oroho had negotiated an elimination of the tax for over 90 percent of New Jersey retirees.  The Governor's plan lowered that to 80 percent.

The big change was the cut in the state sales tax to 6 percent.  A half-cent in January and another half-cent by the end of 2017.  The Governor's numbers show that whereas the gas tax increase will cost the average household $200 a year, the sales tax cut will save that household $400 a year.

* * *

Why did the leadership of the Senate Republican Caucus encourage one of their members to negotiate a tax cut/TTF-funding deal, while a member of GOP leadership itself was allowed to publicly make war on that deal?  Whatever the calculation, it has stirred-up a shitstorm and opened up the possibility of primaries against legislative Republicans across the state.  A column run in yesterday's SaveJersey blog called for open Republican-on-Republican warfare:

And who are these offending Republicans? Here’s the Rogue’s Gallery – read it and make them weep:

Jon Bramnick, LD 21 (Union, Somerset and Morris); Chris Brown, LD 2 (Atlantic):  Rob Clifton, LD 12 (Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington and Middlesex);  BettyLou DeCroce,  LD 26 (Morris, Essex and Passaic); Joe Howarth, LD 8 (Burlington, Atlantic and Camden);  Sean Kean,  LD 30 (Monmouth and Ocean); Nancy Munoz,  LD 21 (Union, Morris and Somerset); David Rible,  LD 30 (Monmouth); Maria Rodriguez-Gregg, LD 8 (Burlington, Atlantic and Camden) and Scott Rumana, LD 40 (Passaic, Bergen, Essex and Morris).

Note that many of this exceedingly motley crew are in the GOP leadership in the Assembly, including Assemblyman Bramnick, the putative leader of the caucus.

...For their support of the gas tax-hike abomination, the Gang of 10 need to be primaried, hounded, called out, denounced, condemned and run to ground as traitors to the state’s already oppressed taxpayers.

The writer also explicitly fingers the new GOP "Solutions NJ" super PAC as being "GOP up-and-comers who loathe the idea of a gas-tax hike."  Does anyone really believe that they are going to primary Assemblyman Jon Bramnick?  Should we really be spending down the slim resources we have in Republican on Republican battles?

Have the actions of the Senate Republican leadership attracted resources or driven them away?  And now we face independent expenditures against our candidates.  Why did Senator Jennifer Beck feel the need to be so militant and personal in her attacks on fellow Republicans?  She's never treated the pro-abortion crowd that way and continues to vote for more spending for Planned Parenthood.  Beck and Spadea stirred up an internecine mess that will be very difficult to rollback.

NJbiz craps itself in TTF editorial

How are average citizens to understand the TTF crisis when professional journalists, writing on behalf of the business community, getting paid to do so, can't tell their arses from their elbows?  In a July 3rd editorial, the "masters of business" who run NJbiz wrote:

But what left us nauseous as we considered the bill, to extend the restaurant metaphor, was the process by which a sales tax cut suddenly took the place of the equally bad, but vetted in daylight, plan to cut taxes on retirement income and eliminate the estate tax.

The new plan, hatched at midnight, was the product of negotiations between Gov. Chris Christie and his new friend, Assembly Speaker Vincent Preto — last seen getting clobbered by Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney over Atlantic City — and in secret, which is not a hearty endorsement for democracy.

You could make the case that phasing out the estate tax — which is part of both “agreements” — has a business benefit that might encourage the wealthy to stay in New Jersey after retirement.

Maybe they filed that editorial in a hurry?  Maybe they were drunk when they did it?  Maybe they have been drunk all week -- because they certainly haven't been paying attention.  Anyone paying attention would know that the tax cut common to both plans is the tax cut on retirement income, NOT the phase out of the estate tax.

What the heck is going on?  Are you trying to confuse people?  NJbiz started its editorial by writing:

You know what they say about never wanting to see the kitchen of your favorite restaurant? Well, every so often, the public gets a look behind the scenes of how Trenton puts bills together, and it's no surprise few visitors to the State House ever visit the little restaurant within.

Well boys, with the misinformation that you're serving up, you just took a dump in the mixing bowl.

* * *

Another source of misinformation in the discussion over how to pay for the repair and maintenance of our roads and bridges appears in the SaveJersey blog.  Over the weekend, one representative of "GOP youff" presented what he called "15 Reasons to Oppose the Gas Tax."  Of course, the writer is a functionary of the notorious Morris County GOP machine.  You know, the guys who hatched a solar scam that ripped-off taxpayers for $80 million.  Talk about dirtbags!  The whole deal is currently the subject of a federal, state, and county investigations.

The column reveals an appalling lack of knowledge of basic conservative economic theory as well as out-and-out misinformation.  The writer serves up warmed over Marxism with a garnish of populism to make it palatable.  Has he never read the conservative position on progressive taxation?  Does the writer really not know the conservative economic reasoning behind the user tax -- of which the gas tax is a prime example?  Did he forget that President Ronald Reagan employed the gas tax and other user taxes? 

The writer has no understanding of how haulage (trucking) is taxed in the continental United States and the Canadian provinces.  Worst still, when people who do know attempted to correct him by posting the data under the column, this knowledge was repeatedly pulled down.  Better to go with the lie if it fits the bullshit?

Besides, is this flower of "GOP youff" really so weak that he needs his editor to wipe his arse?  Would an open exchange of information harm his self-image to the point of catalepsy?  Is "GOP youff" really not up to it?

Is it a question of "GOP youff" taking an infrastructure, largely built by their grandfathers and great grandfathers, for granted?  Maybe they haven't served in the military -- or haven't been to places in which things like passable roads, electricity, and running water are looked upon as miracles, instead of birthrights.   

These youngsters have had it so good for so long that they have no memory of needing to pay for it.  They think it comes for free.  When it is pointed out to them that New Jersey still charges drivers the 1988 price to upkeep the roads they use, they cry, "So what, we don't want to pay more." 

When it is pointed out that other states charge drivers more than 50 cents a gallon of gasoline for the upkeep of the roads they use, while New Jersey charges just 14 1/2 cents a gallon, they cry, "We have grown up in an era of free music, free videos, free information -- we want more free shit." 

There's also the inner stress of being both young and a member of the GOP.  In contrast to the 1980's -- when to be a young Reaganite was cool, the future -- today's "GOP youff" have to be among the most uncool people on earth.  We're surprised that they can convince anyone to reproduce.  Their come-on is the apology, for which they are justly despised by their peers.  Lacking the ease of their convictions that older party members possess, they don't relate to the adult party either. 

The noise they make fails to account for the smallness of their numbers in any primary setting.  Take Senator Jennifer Beck's District 11 for example.  48 percent of all registered Republicans are aged 60 or over.  Just 20 percent are under age 45.  There are just 469 young (under 25) Republican voters in the district.  That's compared with 11,329 aged 60 or above.

66 percent of Republican super voters (3 of 4 or above) are aged 60 or over.  You could accommodate every young GOP super voters (52 in all) in the back room of some diner. 

While we won the argument within our generation -- Ronald Reagan won the youth vote -- today's "GOP youff" are abysmal.  Among those under 25 year olds to register to vote in District 11 since November 2014, "GOP youff" managed just 261 young Republicans out of 2,228 new registrations under 25.  So what's all this noise about?

In-between apologizing to their peers for their existence, the public voices of "GOP youff" are loudly attempting to tell the rest of us in the party what to think.  Time to go back to school.  Learn Reagan, learn Buckley, read your party's platform for crying-out-loud.  Call Professor Sabrin and ask him if you can take his class.  Don't fall into the trap of being a Marxist just because you never learned what being a Republican is.