NJDSC: REP. SCOTT GARRETT TURNS TO OTHER EXTREMISTS FOR FUNDING AS HIS ANTI-LGBT VIEWS REPEL CORPORATE DONORS

(Trenton) -- According to the latest campaign finance records, the hateful anti-LGBT views of North Jersey's resident Tea Party extremist, Rep. Scott Garrett, have made him toxic to the corporations that previously supported his campaign.

Garrett raised one-fourth of the amount he took in from businesses at this time in the previous election cycle, reports show. And, Garrett’s First Quarter fundraising from businesses plummeted from an average of nearly $64,500* over the last three election cycles to just $15,500 raised from businesses this quarter. To fund his campaign, Garrett is now relying more heavily on donations from far-right Tea Party groups and members of Congress who share his long track record of hostility to equal rights for the LGBT community.

Garrett became radioactive to corporate donors after Politico reported this summer that the Tea Partier refused to contribute to the House Republicans’ fundraising arm because it supported gay candidates. Soon after, BusinessWeek dubbed Garrett "Wall Street’s Bigot in Washington."

Many companies have corporate policies that explicitly require LGBT equality. These and others have publicly distanced themselves from Garrett and announced that they will no longer write checks to him. These companies include Goldman Sachs, Capital One, BBCA Compass, U.S. Bancorp, Nomura Holdings, PNC Bank and State Farm. A recent Star-Ledger editorial noted the similarities in Garrett’s fundraising failures to the wave of companies speaking out against anti-LGBT laws in places like North Carolina and Mississippi.

State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) said Garrett’s stalled fundraising is proof that corporations are standing with their LGBT customers and employees against Garrett’s hate and bigotry.

"Scott Garrett is way out of step with New Jersey's values, and I'm glad that businesses are joining the fight against bigotry by withholding campaign funds from him. Public officials should stand up for tolerance and decency, not against them. Clearly, corporate interests are recognizing that funding anti-LGBT extremism tarnishes their respective brands, and hurts their bottom lines," Weinberg said.

With his corporate wells drying up, a desperate Garrett has turned to national Tea Party groups to fill his depleted coffers. In the first three months of 2016, the proportion of contributions Garrett received from anti-LGBT Tea Party groups increased six-fold compared to the three previous election cycles.

Notably, Garrett received $5,000 from FRC, a Radical Right group with a long history of disparaging the LGBT community. Last week, an FRC spokesperson called LGBT rights activists "un-American" for opposing laws that permit discrimination of LGBT individuals.

Similarly, Garrett’s reliance on checks from his fellow anti-LGBT Tea Party members increased nearly 30-fold, from only $1,000 or 0.5% of his contributions this time last Congressional cycle to $29,795 or 11% in the first quarter of 2016. For example, this year, he took money from the likes of Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia, who has claimed that the LGBT movement wants to "eliminate free speech", compared being gay to alcoholism and drug addiction, and fallaciously stated that LGBT people have "tendencies to lie" and "tendencies to be violent."

A sampling of Garrett’s anti-LGBT cronies follows:

• Family Research Council (FRC) – According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “FRC often makes false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science.” FRC gave Garrett $5,000.
• Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) – Hice claimed the LGBT movement wants to “eliminate free speech,” compared being gay to alcoholism and drug addiction, and asserted that LGBT people have “tendencies to lie” and “tendencies to be violent.” He gave $1,000.
• Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) – In the 113th congress, Meadows earned a 30% rating from the HRC. He gave $8,795.
• Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) – Congressman Ribble has earned 0% ratings from the Human Rights Campaign for his votes during the 112th and 113th Congresses. He gave $1,000.
• Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN) – Rep. Fincher earned a 30% rating from HRC during the 113th Congress and a 0% rating in the 112th Congress. He gave $2,000.
• Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) – Rep. Aderholt earned a 0% rating from HRC in the previous three Congressional terms. He gave $1,000.
• Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) – Rep. Babin is co-sponsor of a bill that would undermine the government’s ability to combat anti-LGBT discrimination. He gave $1,000.
• Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA) – In the 112th and 113th Congresses, Rep. Rigell earned a 0% rating from HRC. He gave $2,000.
• Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) - In the 111th, 112th, and 113th Congresses, Rep. Lummis earned a 0% rating from HRC. She gave $1,000.
• Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) – In the 111th, 112th, and 113th Congresses, Brady earned a 0% rating from the HRC. He gave $1,000.
• Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) - In the 111th, 112th, and 113th Congresses, Burgess earned a 0% rating from HRC. He gave $1,000.

HYPOCRISY ALERT: CHRISTIE TELLS THE PRESIDENT TO DO WHAT HE WON'T DO

New Jersey Shouldn't Be Forced to Suffer Through Governor's Hypocrisy and Neglect

(Trenton) — Recently, on conservative talk radio, Governor Christie attacked President Obama and suggested that he step aside. There is one glaring problem with his outlandish suggestion: New Jersey has been asking Chris Christie to do just that for months.

The governor’s well documented ethical misconduct, failed economic policies, administrative mismanagement, cronyism, and neglect of state affairs, have led a majority of New Jersey to want him, not the president, to resign -- a fact some in the media have conveniently overlooked.

However, as a Rutgers-Eagleton poll highlighted this summer, New Jerseyans see through Christie's deceitful ways:

• A majority of voters, 53 percent, said Christie's out-of-state campaigning hurts his ability to do his day job.
• An even larger majority, 59 percent, believe the governor's decisions to sign or veto bills are more about his presidential run than about what is best for New Jersey.
• And 54 percent of Garden State voters want Christie to step down.

"Mr. Christie is eager to distance himself from the problems he created in New Jersey, but that is no excuse for this hypocrisy," said John Currie, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. "We know the truth: that Governor Christie lacks the credibility to make most of the claims he is making on the campaign trail. Unfortunately, that does not change the fact that New Jersey’s families are suffering, and addressing our challenges should be the governor's top priority. If Christie wants to continue embarrassing himself with his lies and partisan attacks, he should leave his job to someone committed to doing it -- someone who will not put their personal ambitions ahead of New Jersey's needs."

NJDSC Chairman Currie On President Obama's State of the Union

(Trenton) — Today, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee John Currie reacted to President Obama's State of the Union address with the following statement:

"Tonight, in his State of the Union address, President Obama embraced what Martin Luther King Jr. called the fierce urgency of now — pointing out that middle class families are desperate for policies that extend equal opportunity for all, not just the wealthy.

"The president offered a clear vision for a country on the rise, and it was a stark contrast from the backwards thinking of the Republicans. The Republicans’ trickle down economics have been tried — they do not work. It is time to level the playing field for middle class families."

"In particular, I thought the president’s desire to extend sick leave to working families strongly contrasted with the comments of our failed, absentee governor who insulted municipalities that extended paid sick leave at the local level. And while our governor concerns himself with the anxieties of Iowans, the president successfully calmed the nerves of the nation."

"I was also proud that President Obama showed his resilience in the face of international terrorism, and outlined a package of reforms to raise the minimum wage, and make the tax code fairer and college education affordable. These are the type of measures New Jersey families want their representatives to promote — not more efforts to undermine health care coverage and repeal patient protections."

"Well done, Mr. President."

CURRIE ON CHRISTIE'S LATE NIGHT COMEDY APPEARANCE TONIGHT

(Trenton) — As news reports highlight New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie scheduled appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight" show this evening, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman John Currie is asking whether perhaps the people of New Jersey would laugh better and louder if their governor saved the kidding for later. No joke.

“When the going gets tough, it's time to get going, not to start joking,” said New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chair John Currie. “Governor Christie should focus on solving the state’s policy problems, rather than creating distractions and making light of his many shortcomings. The governor's scandalous behavior has already made the Garden State the laughing stock of the country, so this late night comedy booking only adds insult to the the injury his failed economic policies have caused to middle class families."

Many of the Garden State's serious challenges — challenges that Christie blames on everyone but himself — are of Governor Christie’s making. In addition to the ongoing investigations into how and why the world’s busiest bridge was blocked by the governor's political appointees and citizens were put in harms way on the first day of school, the Christie administration has neglected Sandy survivors struggling to rebuild their lives, allegedly misused and misdirected public resources, and taken cronyism to “a whole new level.”

New Jersey is also enduring record foreclosures, anemic job growth and falling credit scores. And, because of Christie’s conservative priorities and excessively optimistic revenue projections, the state is facing a large budget shortfall, meaning it literally doesn’t have enough money to pay its obligations. The Christie administration’s proposal — for which he has no alternative — is to withhold promised payments to New Jersey's pension fund for public workers, a move that may well be unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, New Jersey’s deepening budget crisis has not inhibited the Governor from rewarding his political team. Despite the state's lagging economy, a Bergen Record report found that in recent months “nearly all of the state employees responsible for helping Governor Christie craft and promote his image… got raises that averaged 23 percent.” This may explain why the governor is booking television appearances instead of addressing policy concerns.

Statement From Democratic Party Chair John Currie Concerning Latest Bridgegate Revelations

(Trenton) — New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman John Currie issued the following statement in regard to emails released today that show a top Christie administration official was directly involved in the closure of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge -- an act of political retribution that endangered thousands in northern New Jersey:

“These emails demonstrate that under Governor Christie, vindictive political motivations were allowed to trump any regard for public safety.

“As hearings into this matter continue, Governor Christie owes us an explanation for why his core team appears to have such disdain for the public trust and how they could seriously abuse the power of the governor's office right under his nose.

"This time, I suggest that the governor try a new approach when answering questions: honesty."