Alfred Doblin's cheese-themed column about Republican Assembly candidate John Ginty has the great title Pungent neo-homophobe on a Ritz cracker. To get an idea for how ridiculous Ginty's views are, Doblin manages to make homophobe Steve Lonegan sound moderate when stacked against neo-homophobe Ginty. What is a neo-homophobe, anyway? Someone who can't even dress up their hate in libertarian code?
From the same column, this is the quote of the day:
Yes, Karl Rove proved it was possible to win elections by peddling hate. But Guy Talarico is no Karl Rove. This cheese stinks.
Use the comments below to predict the results in tomorrow's primary (and your justification for it, if any). The person with the most accurate guess for the NJ-5 (D) results will get a free Blue Jersey t-shirt. In case of a tie, the earlier prediction wins.
US Senate (R): Tom Kean Jr / John Ginty NJ-5 (D): Camille Abate / Paul Aronsohn NJ-5 (R): Michael Cino / Scott Garrett NJ-13 (D): Joe Vas / Albio Sires Bergen County Executive (R): Kathleen Donovan / Todd Calaguire Harrison mayor (D): Raymond J. McDonough / Michael Hinchcliffe
Earlier this week, Kean Jr's primary challenger John Ginty challenged Junior to a debate on immigration. Although Kean Jr turned down the initial offer, he later reversed his position and did engage in a spirited debate - with himself.
Two weeks ago, Tom Kean Jr said that we should find a path towards legal status for illegal immigrants:
under his plan illegal immigrants would pay back taxes and $2,000 in fines and go to the back of the line to get citizenship if they're to receive work visas.
When asked if reforms being debated in Congress should force deportation of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, Kean said "I think that should be included in the bill, yes."
But while Kean Jr wants illegal immigrants deported, Kean Jr thinks they should be allowed to stick around for a while:
Spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said he still supports temporary work permits that would allow illegals to remain in the country for some period.
Kean Jr countered by saying we shouldn't reward those who enter the country illegally:
Rewarding those who broke our laws with a clear path to citizenship is amnesty.
Kean Jr disagreed. Asked if he would support a bill recently passed by the House to strengthen border security...
...Kean has said he opposes its provision making illegal immigration a felony.
Join us again next week when Tom Kean Jr, who supports raising taxes will face off against Tom Kean Jr, a strong opponent of all tax increases.
Governor Corzine is going to be facing some tough opposition while he tries to create the post of state controller. Both Senate President Richard Codey and Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman don’t see any need for this new statewide elected office.
EZ-Pass users this month, while opening their statements also received offers for Geico car insurance and Citibank credit cards. This touched a nerve with chairman of the Assembly Insurance Committee, Assemblyman Neil Cohen, saying that he doesn’t like the impression it gives that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority supports these companies over others.
John Ginty, uber-conservative opposition to Tom Kean jr , recognizes that it’s an uphill battle to win the republican nomination for U.S. Senate. This is forcing state Republican Party officials to run damage control on the belief that Junior isn’t “Republican� enough.
As the deadline for passing a budget nears, Governor Corzine’s honeymoon is over. Legislators on both sides promised to cooperate, but several missteps including supporting the idea to switch to self-serve gas and cap speed limits at 55 mph have left Corzine in the dust.
Suicidal campaign tactics aren't just for the 5th CD Democratic primary any more. Today, NJ Right to Life - the same folks who featured pro-death speaker Ann Coulter at their annual dinner - endorsed Kean Jr's primary opponent, John Ginty. From their press release:
"Both Tom Kean, Jr. and Robert Menendez support abortion, embryonic stem cell research and cloning....[Ginty] offers a refreshing alternative to the hand-picked establishment candidates of both parties."
These bozos deserve the Tosser of the Day award just for the "cloning" fearmongering. It was a tough decision, but Media in Trouble noted that "had they not gotten it yesterday, I would give them the Tosser award today." You can read their full ASCII-impaired press release here.
"Sen. Kean, how would you feel if an illegal alien doctor were to be mowed down with a .50-caliber semi-automatic assault weapon while performing a partial-birth abortion on a minor without her parents' consent?"
Or something like that.
and then there's this jewel...
And then there's the chance that the ultra-liberal New Jersey Supreme Court will enrage conservatives by issuing a Massachusetts- style edict recognizing same-sex marriage between now and June 6.
Could be fun. For me, anyway, if not for Tom Kean Jr.
When I called his people for comment, spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said the candidate doesn't want to comment on the contro versy other than to say he won't be debating Ginty. Great idea, but it's a bit late. The debate has already begun.
Mulshine is exactly right. The debate has begun and it's one Jr. had hoped to avoid. He will have to take positions and actually let people realize he isnt his father. Should be interesting to watch him do this tapdance.
Update 3 (A big one, so I'm posting it up top): There WILL be two Democratic challengers to Frank LoBiondo in NJ-2. Fairfield Township councilwoman Viola Thomas-Hughes and Henry David Marcus will compete in the primary. This now means that every Republican House member in New Jersey will face a challenger in November.
According to the Division of Elections, Gary Schiavone has filed to challenge Chris Smith in the 4th Congressional district. With about two hours left until the filing deadline, no Democrat has filed in the 2nd yet to challenge LoBiondo.
The GOP has failed to file challenges to Rob Andrews (NJ-1) and Donald Payne (NJ-10).
Update 1: Donald Payne (NJ-10) will have a challenger in the primary, and Michael Cino has just filed to challenge Garrett in the primary. Assemblywoman Oadline Truitt (D) from the 28th legislative district will face a primary challenge.
John Ginty has enough signatures to challenge Tom Kean Jr for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. This came after Kean tried to distance himself from the Bergen County Republican Organization by not asking to run on their ticket. Good job junior. Real smart to make enemies with your own party and force a primary when you pretty much had the nomination wrapped up.
There definitely isn’t a shortage of suggestions as to help make the state budget more palatable. These suggestions range from reducing government payrolls to legalizing and taxing prostitution.
Newark Councilman, Hector Corchado is extremely mad after finding out that the Essex County Superintendent of Elections ,Carmine Casciano, went with two of his staffers to campaign for Corchado’s opponent in the North Ward, Anibal Ramos.
According to Wally Edge, John Ginty has enough signatures to challenge Tom Kean Jr in the Senate primary:
Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Ginty has 1,248 "valid signatures in hand" and expects to gather more over the next few days, according to a source close to the Ginty campaign. Ginty has said he would enter the race if he could get the required 1,000 signatures by the filing deadline, Monday, April 10.
Not too surprising considering pro-life groups in the state have been encouraging their members to sign his petition.
In late October during the gubernatorial campaign, former governor Thomas Kean did an ad for Doug Forrester, highlighting Forrester's "moderate, pro-choice" credentials. A Republican pro-choice group endorsed him, conservatives were furious, and some even called for not voting for Forrester.
Now it's Kean Jr's turn to walk the same tightrope of appeasing his radical base while playing to the state's socially moderate/liberal population. He's already failed. Wally Edge writes that pro-life organizations are about to endorse John Ginty in the primary:
Dan Clark, the President of the New Jersey Republican Pro-Life Coalition, said that Kean might not be able to secure the support of pro-life voters, even in the general election. "The problem Tom Kean has with pro-life, conservative voters right now is bigger than just a possible primary challenge. Tom Kean's committee vote to support human embryonic experimentation last December seems to have been the catalyst for John Ginty's candidacy. Before that vote, Tom had cleared the primary field and kept conservative critics at bay. Kean's vote was perceived as a big poke in the eye to the party's pro-life base and the chatter among activists began to find a challenger. Believe it or not, there are people who claim to be pro-life activists who want to see Tom Kean lose to pro-abortion Bob Menendez in November. Tom Kean gave these activist mouthpieces a huge club to beat him over the head with from now until Election Day. Whether John Ginty ultimately files and runs, Kean's problem with pro-life, conservative voters will remain because of this vote."
This is the worst possible news for Kean Jr. As Wally notes, Junior "is scared to death of John Ginty." It's no surprise then that he caved in to BCRO chair Guy Talarico - even after telling the opposing ticket that he would not abandon them.
Kean Jr was hesitant to back the slate of the ineffective Talarico since he needs to have the strongest Bergen County party possible. But Talarico had threatened to run someone else on the line if Junior didn't take the party column - and soon. Afraid of a challenger, Kean Jr finally caved in to Talarico and took the party line.
Rather than fight for the strongest party organization possible, he took the easier route of bowing to Talarico and avoiding a primary challenge in the county. Which led Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky to raise an important question about his leadership: "If Tom Kean can't stand up to Guy Talarico, how's he going to stand up to George Bush and Dick Cheney?"
(Updated - I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. - promoted by jmelli)
I originally couldn't tell if this was an April fool's joke or not, but politicsnj reports that Republicans aren't quite closing ranks around Kean's candidacy yet:
A virtually unknown conservative U.S. Senate candidate with no money or paid campaign organization won 21% of the vote against State Sen. Tom Kean, Jr. at the Middlesex County Republican Convention today. John Ginty, a former Ridgewood Republican Club President who was once a U.S. Navy submarine officer, became interested in the race just two weeks ago -- after the deadline to register delegates to the convention had passed. Ginty says he will decide next week whether he runs.
Virtually unknown. No money. No paid campaign organization. And he can take 20% from the guy who's supposed to be the GOP's best chance in years? Oh boy...
Update: The silence over the past few weeks in the Bergen County GOP civil war was just a temporary pause while Kean Jr made up his mind about whether or not to run on the BCRO line. Joseph Tomanelli breaks the ceasefire (again via politicsnj):
"Kean wrote to you: 'I am looking forward to sitting down with you next week so that we may finalize my acceptance of the BCRO line.' What is to finalize? He had it; he rejected it; it's gone as far as he's concerned. Donovan and Randall are out too, No Deals! I was content to sit on my hands and bite my tongue and let the Kean nomination run, then the RINO eruption with ties to Kean and his long time friend Alan Marcus. If you think letting Kean on the BCRO line now, after all the harm he has done, will unify anything you're smoking funny stuff. The entire BCRO is watching to see if you blink." -- Bergen conservative leader Joseph Tomanelli, in a letter to GOP County Chairman Guy Talarico.
Get ready for much more of this over the next few days.
Former Ridgewood Republican Club President John Ginty says that he has assembled a team of more than two dozen volunteers to get "more than the required 1,000 signatures" on his nominating petitions to run for the U.S. Senate. He says if he gets enough signatures, he will challenge State Sen. Tom Kean in the GOP primary. "New Jersey would benefit from a Senate primary campaign in which solid, effective conservative solutions and principles are promoted by at least one candidate," Ginty told PoliticsNJ.com.
Update 3 (A big one, so I'm posting it up top): There WILL be two Democratic challengers to Frank LoBiondo in NJ-2. Fairfield Township councilwoman 
