Garden State Patriot

Check out this creative and humorous post over at Radio Free NJ. Good going guys!

Listen here, particularly starting at the 1:50 mark.

Not that any of this really comes as a surprise to those of us who already know what Obama is all about, but hearing it loud and clear brings the reality of this home. Obama is going to undermine the CIA and everything the current administration has done to keep us safe. The naivete regarding the evils that exist in the world and the very real threats we face is mind-boggling.

Just how unpopular is COAH across the state? Enough so that 251 of the state’s 566 municipalities have joined together to sue over latest COHA rules.

The State League of Municipalities said today it has gone to court to challenge the latest plan for low- and moderate-income housing put forth by the state Council on Affordable Housing.

The challenge claims the new requirements would bring “overwhelming financial burdens on property taxpayers.”

The league said its challenge is unprecedented because the group has worked with municipalities for more than 20 years to help them comply with COAH requirements.

“We did not take this lightly. This is not something we wanted to do,” said league Executive Director William Dressel.

He said the league decided to challenge the rules in state appeals court after meetings with the governor’s office, Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria and legislative leaders failed to address its objections to how COAH came up with the housing allocation numbers and how they were apportioned.

“It became apparent to us we weren’t able to get any administrative relief, any legislative relief or any sympathy from COAH regarding our concerns,” he said.

“In my 35 years of lobbying, I’ve never seen an issue galvanize municipal opposition like I’ve seen on this issue,” said Dressel, adding the opposition comes from urban, suburban and rural municipalities.

The league claimed COAH’s conclusion that 115,666 additional affordable housing units would be needed by 2018 was based on “fatally flawed” estimates of future market housing and employment growth. It also criticized a “false and inaccurate analyses of vacant land” on which housing can be built.

Isn’t socialism and central planning fun?

While I fully support the law suit it isn’t the answer. Abolishing COHA - that is the answer.

If current trends continue in New Jersey, where the oppressive tax climate has been driving people out of the state, New Jersey will lose a Congressional seat by 2012. The state’s delegation would drop from 13 to 12 representatives in the House. From the Bergen Record:

New Jersey will send one less representative to Congress in 2012 if population trends around the country continue through the end of the decade, a new study shows.

New Jersey came up just 15,187 people short of the population needed to keep its 13th seat in the House of Representatives and its delegation would shrink to 12, based on Census Bureau population estimates for 2008 analyzed last week by a Virginia consulting firm.

The analysis found New Jersey and Michigan joining six other states, including New York and Pennsylvania, that would lose House seats because population growth has lagged behind states in the South and West.

Of course, this would set up a serious redistricting battle in New Jersey. If Democrats are in power after the 2010 elections they will certainly target Republicans such as Scott Garrett.

But politics and Supreme Court precedents designed to protect minority voting rights will play as big a role as demographics in the final district map. A contraction of the state delegation could set up a battle between two incumbents, but Baker said it’s also possible one member of the delegation will choose to retire.

Already, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill and Trenton are discussing various scenarios. Not surprisingly, Democrats would like to see two Republicans face off in a primary.

Among the scenarios mentioned by one senior House Democratic aide was a northwestern district where two Republicans, such as Rep. Scott Garrett of Wantage and Leonard Lance of Clinton Township, would face off. Another scenario would pit Garrett or Lance against Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding.

While Republicans will try to prevent such a scenario, they won’t have much leverage if they remain a minority party in the state. The bottom line is this is yet another example of the just how important next year’s Governor’s race is, as are the state legislature elections. It won’t be enough to fully turn this state around merely by having a Republican in the State House. The Republicans really need a sweeping victory next year to prevent losing a Representative in Congress.

Fellow blogger ‘Kempite’ of the Politics 24/7 blog has an excellent commentary up at NJ.com regarding Corzine and his proposed budget ‘cuts.’ Recommended reading for sure. And as a Led Zeppelin fan anything that includes references to airships is certainly going to also pique my interest!

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the Bergen County organizational meeting for Steve Lonegan. The meeting took place at the Elks Club in Paramus and, despite tonight’s dreary weather, nearly every seat was taken. Coming away from this event two words come to mind for me: ‘hunger’ and ‘opportunity.’

‘Hunger’ because you could just sense that those who came out tonight care deeply about their state and want to see an end to the runaway liberalism that is destroying New Jersey. Their appetite for change is strong and their reaction to Steve’s message was nothing short of enthusiastic.

‘Opportunity’ because this election is set up perfectly for conservatives to contrast their vision with the failed liberal policies of John Corzine and his liberal comrades in Trenton. New Jersey is now the epitome of bad government. It is the very symbol of how liberal policies - such as the socialist COHA experiment - create an environment that suffocates taxpayers and causes people and businessowners to leave.

This election also represents opportunity because it provides the Republican Party with its first major  chance to right the ship with a return to conservative principles of fiscal responsibility, individual freedom and less government.

As a conservative, the failure of some of our party’s leaders to stick to conservative principles and communicate them in a compelling and articulate manner has been disappointing. I hate to have to include George W. Bush among them but that unfortunately is the case.

But if there’s one thing about Steve Lonegan, this is absolutely not the case. His message is clear. His message is inspiring. And after you hear him speak you can’t help but believe that Steve is fully prepared to be Governor.

When Steve lays out his bold agenda, including…

1. A 20% cut in state government
2. Abolishment of the destructive COHA policies via referendum
3. Abolishment of Abbot District funding by way of executive order

…there is no hesitation. You know he is serious and will follow through on these commitments. This is why Steve has successfully raised over $340,000 in just a few short weeks.

Steve now has a leg up over his opponents, as his campaign has qualified for matching funds. Thus, the campaign will have nearly $1 million in the bank already.

So, if you are a conservative or Republican in New Jersey I would urge you to go and see Steve in person as he continues to travel to each county in New Jersey to deliver his pro-taxpayer message. Republicans can win in New Jersey despite the fact that Democrats have owned the state for some time. But it will require those of you who have become disenchanted to join us in this movement to restore good government to New Jersey.

I’m no economist - and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night - but I think I’m still smart enough to know that schools don’t create jobs. Ergo I found this little tidbit regarding the so-called stimulus that Corzine and his other Dem Governor brethren are seeking to be quite interesting:

Gov. Deval Patrick and four Democratic governors called on the president-elect to include $250 billion to support schools pre-K through college in the $1 trillion economic stimulus package.

“We think it’s critical to have a safety net investment for education,” said Patrick. “Schools are the one transformative investment that lifts people out of poverty and long-term reliance on the safety net. States have made tremendous progress in raising standards and in education reform and none of us wants to lose ground during this recession.”

In a conference call with reporters Patrick, Ted Strickland of Ohio, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Wisconsin’s James Doyle and David A. Paterson of New York, the governors outlined three major categories for the infusion of cash: infrastructure for shovel-ready projects, money for essential services such as Medicaid, welfare and food stamps and school funding - pre-K through college.

So, Corzine, et al, claim they want $1 trillion buckeroos to help their state’s economies during recession but they want to take a full 1/4 of that - $250 billion - and allot it to pre-K through college education?

Certainly enabling our young people to obtain a quality education is a worthy goal - and the merits of spending that much on education are a debate for another day - but it is hardly a stimulus for the economy to buy new desks for little Johnny and little Jane. Moreover, money shouldn’t be a factor in “raising standards” or “education reform.”

Let’s take this again for what it is: a group of Governors unwilling to make the really hard choices for their state’s budgets, after having spent far too much, and now simply waiting for a handout from Obama when he takes office.

The Lonegan campaign will hold organizational meetings in the following NJ counties within the next week to ten days. Look for your area and I urge you to support Steve in the race for Governor.

Sussex County — Saturday, January 10th — 10 am — County Technical School, 105 North Church Rd. (Route 94) — Sparta

Morris County — Saturday, January 10th — 4 pm — Parsippany Elks, 230 Parsippany Road — Parsippany

Ocean County — Tuesday, January 13th — 7 pm — Holiday Inn — 290 Route 37 East — Toms River

Union County — Wednesday, January 14th — 7 pm — Rahway Italian-American Club, 530 New Brunswick Avenue — Rahway.

Monmouth County — Thursday, January 15th — 7 pm — Freehold Elks Club — 73 East Main — Freehold.

Indulge me for a moment! Congrats to my Pitt Panthers basketball team. After today’s North Carolina loss to BC, tomorrow we will be #1 in the country for the first time in the school’s history!