LETTER: Hypocrisy alive and well in Middletown campaign

The following letter appears in the Asbury Park Press:

People regularly rate politicians as not admired. One reason for this, I suspect, is the hypocrisy that too often oozes out. Whether it is the liberal who lectures about equal rights but sexually harasses his assistant or the conservative who champions the right to life but asks his lover to get an abortion, people are sick of hypocrites.

Unfortunately, hypocrisy is alive and well in Middletown. Stephanie Murray is running under the slogan: “Taxpayers First.” The slogan is printed on her super-sized signs around town. Why is that slogan hypocritical one might ask?

Read this quote from Middletown official's home up for sheriff's sale the Dec. 13, 2016, Asbury Park Press: “The IRS has placed a lien for more than $78,000 in unpaid federal income taxes on Middletown Committeewoman Stephanie Murray’s and her husband’s home.” It is hypocrisy to run for office on the slogan “Taxpayers First” when there is a tax lien on your home.

Paul J. Jansen
Middletown

Governor Christie Vetoes Commonsense Gun Legislation

This is one of those posts I was mentioning yesterday, it came in a few days ago and I haven't had time to post it. I'm doing so now because Senator Buono released a statement afterwards criticizing the hypocrisy of Chris Christie's gun veto. It also goes well with one of my next post  about the anti-gun rally that Congressman Pallone attended earlier today.

 From Josh Levitt
Buono for Governor

What They Are Saying:

The Star-Ledger Headline: “Gov. Christie refuses to sign 3 gun bills, including one he called for” (Matt Friedman, “Gov. Christie refuses to sign 3 gun bills, including one he called for”, The Star-Ledger, 8/16/2013)

The Star-Ledger: “…But the governor completely axed a bill that would ban the Barrett .50 caliber rifle (A3659), which is the most powerful weapon commonly available to civilians. Christie had called for a ban on future sales of the weapon in his own package of violent prevention measures outlined in April.” (Matt Friedman, “Gov. Christie refuses to sign 3 gun bills, including one he called for”, The Star-Ledger, 8/16/2013)

Philadelphia Inquirer: “…Despite proposing a ban on purchases of the Barrett .50-caliber gun and similar weapons in April, Christie vetoed a bill that would have done just that.” (Matt Katz, “Christie vetoes 3 gun-control bills, including 1 he proposed,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/16/2013)

Philadelphia Inquirer: “…The Republican governor acted on the bills at what is considered a dead time for media coverage - Friday night - which furthered the view among political observers that he sought to appeal to national Republicans down the road while avoiding much immediate publicity for the vetoes within the state.” (Matt Katz, “Christie vetoes 3 gun-control bills, including 1 he proposed,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/16/2013)

Philadelphia Inquirer: “…Moments after Christie's vetoes came down, Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray tweeted: "Which governor 'announced' today that he's running for the GOP nomination in 2016? [Gov. Christie], of course!" (Matt Katz, “Christie vetoes 3 gun-control bills, including 1 he proposed,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/16/2013)

Huffington Post: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) vetoed legislation on Friday that would have banned .50-caliber rifles from the state, despite backing the same proposal just months ago.” (Paige Lavender, “Chris Christie Vetoes Proposed .50 Caliber Rifle Ban He Once Supported,” Huffington Post, 8/17/2013)

Huffington Post: “…In April 2013, Christie recommended banning the sale of Barrett .50-caliber semi-automatic sniper rifles as part of a group of proposals to curb gun violence. On Friday, Christie said the ban wouldn't make the Garden State any more safe, according to Reuters.” (Paige Lavender, “Chris Christie Vetoes Proposed .50 Caliber Rifle Ban He Once Supported,” Huffington Post, 8/17/2013)

MSNBC Maddow Blog: “…a .50 caliber shell is basically the size of a "carrot," which serves "an effective military weapon against even some armored vehicles. A few years back, 60 Minutes showed .50 caliber rifles making short work of steel plate armor at several hundred yards." It also has the capacity to shoot down an airplane. Under current law in New Jersey, any adult can legally purchase this weapon. The state legislature decided that's no longer a good idea, and today, Chris Christie vetoed the ban.” (Steve Benen, “Christie vetoes measures on gun violence,” MSNBC Maddow Blog, 8/16/2013)

Mediaite: “If there was any doubt that Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) was planning a presidential run for 2016, he may have erased it late Friday with an end-of-news-cycle veto of a ban on .50 caliber firearms, whose manufacturer used to brag was “capable of destroying multi-million dollar aircraft with a single hit delivered to a vital area.” (Tommy Christopher, “Chris Christie Pulls Left Cheek Sneak Veto Of .50 Caliber Firearms Ban,”Mediaite, 8/16/2013)

Mediaite: “…As governor of a state with some of the strongest gun control laws in the country, the .50 cal ban gave Christie a rare chance to let the NRA know he’s got their back.” (Tommy Christopher, “Chris Christie Pulls Left Cheek Sneak Veto Of .50 Caliber Firearms Ban,” Mediaite, 8/16/2013)

Bryan Miller, Heeding God’s Call: “…Chris Christie clearly is courageous for his place in the Republican Party, but not for the residents of New Jersey.” (Matt Friedman, “Gov. Christie refuses to sign 3 gun bills, including one he called for”, The Star-Ledger, 8/16/2013)

Bryan Miller, Heeding God’s Call: "He’s more interested in running for president and making the extreme right wing feel good than he is in protecting the safety of the residents of New Jersey.” (Matt Friedman, “Gov. Christie refuses to sign 3 gun bills, including one he called for”, The Star-Ledger, 8/16/2013)

Will Gov. Christie's Fraud Squad Investigate Lt. Gov. Guadagno?

For Immediate Release:


New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's new pension fraud squad won't need to look far to find their first case.

They could start by examining a $245,000 pension abuse involving Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, Christie's running mate and second-in-command. If not, the governor and the unit he created by executive order may be guilty of first-degree hypocrisy.

As Monmouth County sheriff, Guadagno made false statements that enabled her chief aide to collect both a pension and salary, totaling $172,500 a year.

While double-dipping is often legal, this case is different. New Jersey Watchdog found Guadagno lied to help her aide get two checks instead of one.

Under state statute: "Any person who shall knowingly make any false statement or shall falsify or permit to be falsified any record or records of this retirement system...shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

The full story is now online at http://newjersey.watchdog.org. The direct link to the article is http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/08/08/8821/. Please direct media inquires to Mark Lagerkvist at mark@NJwatchdog.org.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Christie: 'Stronger than the Storm' commercials go to politically active PR firm, cost $2M more than runner-up firm

Here's just another example of Chris Christie's "Do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy.

In order to cash in on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and to promote himself to 2013 voters in New Jersey and 2016 voters around the country, Christie spent $2 million more than necessary to place himself and his family in those "Stronger than the Storm" T.V. commercials that are running throughout the country this summer. Furthermore he gave all that extra money to the politically active East Rutherford-based MWW PR firm according to the Asbury Park Press.

"The “Stronger Than The Storm” TV commercials starring Gov. Chris Christie and his family are providing a near $5 million windfall of taxpayer dollars for a politically active public relations agency, more than $2 million higher than what the runner-up firm planned to charge.

The ads are part of this season’s $25 million state tourism campaign funded by the federal disaster aid package approved by Congress after superstorm Sandy. Under terms of a state contract, subsequent campaigns for 2014 and 2015 will be subject to the availability of additional funding.

East Rutherford-based MWW and a subcontractor are billing the state $4.7 million for employee compensation and markups to run this year’s campaign, according to information obtained through a public records request by the Asbury Park Press. The remainder goes toward TV and radio commercial production, media buys and promotions.

The contract documents shine new light on the role Christie administration officials had in the TV commercials — controversial because they give Christie more exposure during a gubernatorial election year, and also because they introduce him to voters in other states in advance of a possible 2016 presidential campaign. The top official on the selection committee, appointed by Christie, once received a $49,000 loan from Christie when he was the U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

The two bidders had different views on how the campaign should be run. MWW proposed putting Christie in the ads. The other bidder, a team headed by the Sigma Group, did not...." read more

A statement released by the Barbara Buono, Christie's challenger in this year's campaign for governor ,had this to say about Christie's latest hypocrisy:

"Once again, Governor Christie has allowed his ego to get in the way of what's best for New Jerseyans. Based on today's report, the primary rationale for the winning selection was not cost nor experience but shameless self-promotion. This is absolutely outrageous, especially as families are still out of their homes and trying to rebuild their lives. Clearly this was not the intended use of $25 million in federal recovery funding. The Governor should be ashamed of himself for making critical decisions affecting hundred of thousands through the prism of his national ambitions. It is just wrong."