Garden State Patriot

First, allow me to offer my sincere congratulations to Mr. Christie. I wish him the best, and hope for his success, as he now faces the monumental task of repairing our very broken state. As with any politician, we the people should remain watchful and hold his feet to the fire. When our new governor is on the right course, he will deserve our full support. Conversely, if we feel he is off-course, we should responsibly and contructively say so.

With that said, here are my thoughts on yesterday’s election results.

New Jersey, in my mind, remains a deeply blue state. But even deeply blue states have a breaking point. New Jersey, this year, reached hers. This election is nothing less than a rejection of everything liberal, with voters fed up with an out-of-control, overbearing, overspending, over-taxing government.

Chris Christie’s victory was fueled by this sentiment and, despite a campaign that offered little in the way of specifics, New Jersey voters simply had had enough and opted for change. Christie successfully won over independent voters by a 2:1 margin – and conservatives pushed him well over the top, leading to a surprising 4-point win. Chris Daggett, who was well into double-digits according to some polls, faded badly and only garnered 6% of the vote.

Republicans, no doubt, are a bit euphoric today with Chris Christie’s victory. However, there is reason to temper that enthusiasm.

First and foremost, Chris Christie will still be facing a Democrat legislature. While Christie scored a significant victory, the same could not be said for the party regarding the state assembly races. In a year when the climate was as favorable as could be for Republicans in New Jersey, the party only gained one assembly seat – one.

Additionally, the open space ballot question passed despite opposition from Christie himself. While Christie won by a 4% margin, the ballot question lost by 2% (a 6% swing).

The inability to make inroads in the assembly is troubling to say the least - and speaks to a problem with the party apparatus. Whatever the NJ-GOP’s strategy is with respect to these races, it is failing – and failing miserably. With the election behind us, and the vital 2010 off-year election dead ahead, it is time for serious reflection and change for the NJ-GOP. The solution may not be a simple one, but I believe it begins with giving voters a real, tangible, conservative choice.   

Party chairman, Jay Webber, is certainly in an unenviable position in this respect. With the election behind us, the question remains as to whether Jay will now begin to move the NJ-GOP in a conservative direction. Additionally, we are facing the potential prospect of primary challenges to Reps. Smith, LoBiondo and Lance for their unforgiveable Cap & Trade votes. What happened in NY-23 to Dede Scozzafava could very easily happen with any one of these members of the New Jersey congressional delegation.  

The Christie victory should also teach us a lesson. Despite the misgivings among conservatives regarding Christie’s conservative credentials, on the surface he did run conservatively in many respects. He ran as a fiscal conservative, as well as a social conservative on issues like abortion and gay marriage. Whether Christie governs as such is another matter. To the average voter, perception is reality; and I believe the perception was that Christie was at least moderately conservative. As such, the lesson to be learned here is that conservatives can win in New Jersey.

As we look ahead to 2010 and beyond, let’s just hope that this lesson is not lost on the NJ-GOP.

Someone apparently tried to steal this guy’s vote. (h/t Red State via Election Journal)

There have also been reports about ACORN being heavily involved in Corzine’s re-election effort.

Let’s cross our fingers that this doesn’t turn into last year’s Minnesota Senate race.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

The desperate Corzine camp has been up to no good, my friends! The Democrat State Committee has been exposed for dirty tricks regarding robocalls that went out to voters in Somerset County promoting the candidacy of Chris Daggett. Here’s the original robocall (h/t SaveJersey):

Here’s the story from PolitickerNJ in which party chair Joe Cryan denies any knowledge of the calls. Yep, the DSC pays for these calls but the party chair was supposedly in the dark. Believable? Hardly.

The Democratic State Committee now admits paying for a robocall to Somerset County voters that slams Republican Chris Christie and promotes independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett.

A Democratic spokeswoman says the party’s chairman, Joe Cryan, was not aware of the robocalls when he denied that the state committee had anything to do with them yesterday afternoon.

Cryan, who told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday afternoon that the Democratic State Committee had “absolutely” nothing to do with the call, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The call angered Republicans and further fueled conspiracy theories that Daggett is in cahoots with the Corzine camp.  A disclaimer at the end says it was paid for by Victory ’09, “a project of the NJDSC” (Democratic State Committee), and gave the committee’s Trenton address.  

You can read the rest of the story here.

[UPDATE] Shameless. The calls are continuing today.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Here are my Election Day predictions. If I get them all right I am heading straight own to AC afterwards!

In the New Jersey governor’s race, Independent candidate Chris Daggett remains the unknown factor. Some polls have shown Daggett with as much as 15% of the vote. But my intuition tells me Christie’s recent attacks on Daggett have hurt him and with Corzine and Christie within the margin of error, many voters will not waste their vote on him upon entering that voting booth. As such I don’t see Daggett getting more than double digits – and I see long-suffering New Jersey taxpayers breaking toward Christie in what will be a squeaker. Final result: Christie 48%, Corzine 46%, Daggett 6%.

In Virginia, a swing state that turned Obama blue last year, we will witness a 180 degree turn. Republican Bob McDonnell will win in a landslide over Democrat Creigh Deeds. Prediction: McDonnell 56%, Deeds 44% 

Well, in NY-23, Dede Scozzafava was forced out of this race by conservatives who said she was too liberal. Now, she has proven us quite right with her endorsement of the liberal Bill Owens over conservative Doug Hoffman (Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?). In any case, with Scozzafava remaining on the ballot one would expect her to still receive some votes. So my prediction for this race is for a Hoffman victory, albeit much closer than recent races in this district. Final results: Hoffmann 51%, Owens 45%, Scozzafava 4%.

After some 9 months worth of campaigning, starting with the Republican primary season, Judgment Day is at hand in the New Jersey governor’s race.
In fact, like many New Jersey political bloggers, this campaign really started the moment The Anointed One, Barack Obama, was declared the winner of last year’s presidential election. And like many fellow Republicans and conservatives, my goal at that time was to do everything possible to oust Governor Corzine from office.

As this crucial election now falls upon us, I have come to the conclusion that this still remains my goal – and ought to be the goal of anyone who cares about the future of this state.

Like so many of my fellow conservatives, this race has left me troubled and conflicted. Little did I know a year ago just how much this race would divide us. The split between the Establishment of the party and grassroots conservatives is one that has reared its head – and likely will continue in the days and months ahead regardless of who wins on Tuesday. This battle, of course, is by no means limited to New Jersey. It stretches up to New York’s 23rd district, to a coming Senate primary battle in Florida, and likely into 2012’s presidential primary. I still firmly believe that the only way forward for the Republican Party, if it wishes to re-establish trust and a majority status, is by adopting conservative values and principles. And, ultimately, that means putting forth conservative candidates.

In this respect, this voter has been skeptical, perplexed, and, admittedly at times, downright disappointed with Mr. Christie. His campaign has left much to be desired in strategy, execution and philosophy. On various issues of great importance to New Jerseyans, such as COAH, property taxes and state aid to schools, I remain unconvinced that he will address them to my satisfaction and to the satisfaction of my fellow conservatives. On the other hand, I do believe he will improve our business climate, perhaps even enact some meaningful educational reforms via initiatives like vouchers and promoting more charter schools and, hopefully, live up to his promise to nominate conservative judges to the bench. Above all, though, I believe he will at least stop the bleeding caused by the destructive fiscal policies of Corzine, McGreevey and the Democrat-controlled legislature.

The alternative – a second term for Jon Corzine – is one I believe this state cannot bear. Jon Corzine has had four years to prove himself and he has failed miserably. By every measure, his term has been a disaster for New Jersey. Under his watch, the state has firmly established itself as the worst in the nation for taxes. He has shown himself to be disdainful of the plight of taxpayers while he protects government workers and curries favor with public sector unions like the NJEA. He will continue to appoint far left judges to the NJ Supreme Court – a court that, in the past, has handed down the terrible Mt. Laurel and Abbott decisions. A court that will have much to say on these matters, as well issues like gay marriage, in the future (if not near future).

The view of many conservatives – that four more years of destruction under Corzine would increase the chances of a conservative being a viable candidate in 2013 – I do believe has merit. Some lessons may well need to be learned the hard way. But that is an awfully tough path to choose when the stakes right now are so high. Four more years of Jon Corzine’s policies likely will lead New Jersey to financial ruin. If New Jersey fails, all of her citizens will likewise suffer. This is a choice I cannot make in good conscience.

Other factors, also, are difficult to ignore. At the national level, we are witnessing the most radical left-wing agenda in our history. We are painfully close to witnessing a government takeover of our healthcare system by a bunch of ruthless, power-hungry, liberal statists who have no regard for our constitution and the nation’s founding.

While I do believe that when next year’s mid-term elections finally arrive, voters will base their decision on issues other than this New Jersey gubernatorial election, a Chris Christie victory (along with victories in Virginia and NY-23) very well could contribute to building momentum for a Republican resurgence.

In the near-term, it could well damage Obama and help defeat the healthcare legislation before Congress. Democrat ‘blue dogs’ and other fence sitters may well ‘read the tea leaves’ and not want to risk their seats by voting for this agenda.

If circumstances were different, and the polls suggested Mr. Christie were on his way to a runaway victory or, conversely, a sound defeat, lodging a ‘protest vote’ would be a far easier choice. But this is not the case. If the polls are to be believed, this election will be a nail biter and Mr. Christie needs every vote possible.

Just yesterday President Obama said this of Governor Corzine:

He’s one of the best partners I have in the White House. We work together…We know our work is far from over.

Is this the kind of person we really want to remain in office? Knowing what we know now, are there any among us who would not prefer John McCain to be our President despite the fact that a McCain presidency might have been bad for the conservative movement?

Chris Christie is by no means my ideal candidate. I would much prefer to pull the lever for on Tuesday for Steve Lonegan (or even Jason Cullen for that matter). But given our current circumstances, and after much soul searching, such a vote in my mind cannot be justified.

On this Judgment Day, there is only one choice. We must terminate Jon Corzine.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

A little firestorm has arisen over the past day or so between Independent candidate Chris Daggett and Sarah Palin.

In a radio interview Daggett claimed that national Republicans were pressuring him to drop from the race.

Former New Jersey Environmental Commissioner Chris Daggett said Wednesday morning he received pressure from national Republicans to drop out of the governor’s race.

Republicans worry that Daggett, an independent candidate who is polling in the double-digits, could take enough votes away from former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) to give Gov. Jon Corzine (D) a second term.

Subsequent to this, the Daggett campaign also started pointing the finger specifically at Sarah Palin. This Twitter message appears on the Daggett Twitter page:

RT @KevinGass: I could not make this up. Sarah Palin just asked Chris to pull out of race. Republicans getting scared much? #standup4nj

The tweet does not cite any quote or evidence to support the claim. As best I can tell, the Dagget people are referring to a Facebook post by Palin from the other day. But her post didn’t even mention Daggett. Here is the relevant portion:

Let’s consider the governor’s race in New Jersey. The state has the highest tax burden in the country and the incumbent Democrat governor has only added to the economic burden. He eliminated property tax rebates for middle class homeowners while the sales tax increased. Altogether, taxes on the people in the region have increased by billions of dollars. It’s no surprise that New Jersey has the highest unemployment rate in the region! Thankfully, there is an alternative. Residents there will be better off under an administration that understands the benefits that result when workers are allowed to keep more of what they earn. Watch New Jersey’s economy come alive under new leadership that will put government back on the side of the people! Chris Christie promises this new leadership.

Fortunately, New Jersey’s Democrat governor is being held accountable with the RGA spending $7 million in the New York and Philadelphia media markets telling the truth about a liberal administrative record while highlighting New Jersey’s tax-hiking ways and reminding voters there is an alternative! The NY and Philly markets are the most expensive in the nation though, so the RGA is requesting help to stay on the air. Visit http://www.rga.org/initiatives/comeback-fund/.

Doesn’t seem to me that the Daggett people have a leg to stand on here. And Governor Palin has called them on it:

Despite what candidate Chris Daggett is claiming, I have never contacted him or his campaign. I have never asked him to drop out of the NJ Governor’s race. Now, if a politician is going to play loose with facts like this, the electorate needs to know it.

So, to the good people of New Jersey, please know that Daggett’s claims are false. I’ve never even suggested he should drop out of the race. But, come to think of it…

- Sarah Palin

Well, so much for Daggett playing up the idea that he’s more politically pure than Christie and Corzine. This incident shows us that he’s anything but.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

We turn from polls to tolls! Looks like Corzine might have made a major blunder in the waning days of the campaign. In a New York Times article, the Governor actually hinted that was willing to revisit his failed plan to monetize our roads:

The Democratic governor, Jon S. Corzine, says he may revisit his plan to lease the New Jersey Turnpike to raise cash — a proposal that he abandoned last year in the face of intense opposition from lawmakers and voters.

“We’ve been prepared to come up with more outside-of-the-box ideas, and we’ll come up with more,” he said. “But in the seeds of this there are unattractive alternatives.”

Mr. Corzine’s most ambitious effort, a plan to pay down debt by selling the New Jersey Turnpike, died in the Democratic-run Legislature in 2008. Now he calls the idea “too big, too fast, at the wrong time” and says state residents, already sensing the coming recession, were unwilling to accept the toll increases it would entail.

“This idea worked,” the governor said, adding, “So maybe we just need to scale it back.”

Christie was quick to jump on this saying:

“As if $9 billion in new taxes, the highest tax burden in the country and the highest property taxes in the nation isn’t enough, Jon Corzine wants to pay off the debt he’s created by making suffocating New Jerseyans pay even more in the form of an 800 percent toll hike. Let’s face it, Jon Corzine likes raising taxes and he’s never going to stop doing it,” said Christie in a statement this morning.

Of course, the Corzine camp is trying to backpedal on this as fast as possible. But it’s too late. The proverbial horse is out of the barn. And Chris Christie ought to make as much hay out of it as possible all the way up until 8pm Tuesday.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Hot off the presses! The latest Rasmussen poll breaks down as follows:

Christie – 46%

Corzine – 43%

Daggett – 8%

Last night a group of New Jersey voters appeared on Hannity. The discussion touched on their general feelings about the state of things in the nation and New Jersey, as well as their views on issues like taxation. Later in the focus group session, these voters discussed their opinions of Christie and Corzine while also reacting to some TV ads from both camps.

Overall, the discussion was interesting and enlightening. In listening to these fellow New Jerseyans – regardless of their views (and some did have some radical views, particularly on wealth redistribution) - my sense was that all of them wanted to hear more specific plans from each candidate. They are tired of the bull that goes on and are craving some real leadership. They don’t seem to think they are seeing that from Corzine or Christie in this campaign – and I sure as heck can’t disagree with them.

Here is the discussion in its entirety.

The latest Corzine-Weinberg campaign e-mail is so chock full of lies, deceipt and manipulation I couldn’t let it go. The e-mail begins by touting Corzine’s 5-point lead in a ‘widely-respected poll.’ So respected is it that the name of the poll isn’t mentioned, nor is a link provided.

Next, Corzine-Weinberg attempt to demonize Christie on the issue of health insurance mandates. Their campaign has been banging the drum on the mammogram issue for some time now. But their e-mail is a clear attempt at the politics of fear; attempting to manipulate people into thinking that no government mandate would mean insurance companies would not offer coverage of mammograms and autism screenings at all.

Likewise, they attempt to scare people by claiming that Christie would let hospitals discharge moms 24 hours after giving birth. Again, the impression Corzine-Weinberg want to create is a scenario in which a mother and newborn child would be pushed out the door even if they were in no condition to be discharged – as if any well-respected doctor or hospital would allow such a thing. The irony, of course, is that this is exactly the kind of rationing of healthcare we will see if Obamcare becomes the law of the land. 

As for paid family leave, what Corzine-Weinberg won’t tell you is that it is a tax for a benefit that most workers will never use in their working lifetime. Paid family leave also puts more pressure on businesses who have to compensate an inactive – and thus unproductive – employee. Moreover, paid leave is unfair to those who work in small companies – something I documented here.

Corzine-Weinberg claim Christie supports a constiutional amendment to ban abortion. I’ve never heard him say such a thing. I have heard Christie say he’s pro-life, but that’s about it. Moreover, even if Christie supported a constitutional amendment, he would have no say in the matter. Such an amendment would have to be passed by Congress and then ratified by the state legislatures.

The Corzine campaign also continues to perpetuate the falsehood that he has cut property taxes. NJ remains worst in the nation for property taxes. Corzine all but elininated our rebates. State aid has been cut to places like my hometown of Hackensack, resulting in considerable increases (when I moved here in 2005 my taxes were over $2500 less than they are now).  

On top of this, the Corzine team would have us believe they took stimulus funds and used them to keep property taxes from escalating further. The reality is they took the funds and used it as a one-shot gimmick to plug a gaping budget hole. In other words, Corzine put off the tough choices and, now, the state is staring at a $8B hole next year. And at the same time he raised taxes by a billion dollars! But the idea promulgated here – that rejection of the stimulus funds would result in a $2B increase in property taxes – is pure bunk.

Of course, none of this should be too surprising. When your record is one of abysmal failure, resorting to outright lies and distortions to get re-elected is probably the only card left to play. 

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!