Free Republic

If you follow new GOP chief Michael Steele around these days, you can bet you’ll hear him bring up New Jersey’s gubernatorial race this year. He wants that blue state red again. From top to bottom, the GOP is talking about New Jersey. Here at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reminded the crowds that the last time New Jersey had a conservative candidate for governor, he won with 70% of the vote (Tom Kean, 1984). That’s 70% — in New Jersey. After that victory it is inexplicable that New Jersey’s Republican intelligentsia determined...

War On Terror: The co-chairmen of the 9/11 Commission buy the Democratic line that the war in Iraq is a diversion from the war on terror and a recruiting tool for al-Qaida . But it's the bad guys who are less safe. In a Washington Post op-ed, 9/11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean and vice chairman Lee Hamilton ponder the question of whether we are safer now than we were on that tragic day. They conclude the war in Iraq has made us less safe. They are wrong. "No conflict" they opine, "drains more time, attention, blood and treasure and support...

I URGE you all to watch this hearing on cspan-2. Lawerence Korb, the ever weak and wobbly former Reagan's DOD official (I don't know how he could be the same then as he is now and measure up to Reagan's strength of character), AND Gen. Jack Keane (ret.) in hearing. Gen. Keane is hitting it out of the park .. Korb said we pulled troops out of Viet Nam to preserve the military, and Keane was unabashed in his contempt for those remarks and that opinion. Keane is praising the courage, command structure, morale and re-enlistment (in huge numbers) of...

In New Jersey's senatorial campaign, Republican candidate Tom Kean Jr.'s aides are charging that opponents "already have resorted to Election Day dirty tricks." Last night, vandals chained shut the Kean campaign's headquarters in Mountainside, N.J., and broke keys off in the door locks to prevent entry, according to aides. "It's Jersey ... this is not surprising," Kean spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker told us. "It's the Menendez campaign, or their supporters," she added, but without offering evidence. "It's just a lot of noise," was the response from campaign aides for Democratic incumbent Bob Menendez. They say they have "thousands" of lawyers at...

Control of the Senate could turn on one of the bluest states—and one of the nastiest races—in the country. And Jon Corzine is sweating it. By John Heilemann Illustration by Darrow   T he yarmulkes are out in force in Sopranos country. At Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, New Jersey, a crowd of several hundred (chosen) people have gathered for what’s been billed as a “Senatorial Candidates Forum.” Not that the candidates—Democrat Robert Menendez and Republican Tom Kean Jr.—share even a fleeting moment together on the synagogal stage. In two recent debates, Menendez and Kean have flayed each other loudly, witlessly,...

I can't seem to get any electioneering materials from the Kean For Senate campaign. Would appreciate hearing about any sites where I could download some prinatable signs, stickers, etc.

Democrat Bob Menendez holds a six-point lead in the race for U.S. Senate even though more New Jersey voters like and trust Republican Tom Kean Jr., a poll by The Record found. That may be because New Jerseyans, by a wide margin, want Democrats to control Congress in January, the poll also found. "Any other political year, I think the Republicans win that seat," said pollster Del Ali of Research 2000, the Rockville, Md., firm that conducted the survey. "The only thing saving Menendez is the climate out there." Menendez led Kean 48 percent to 42 percent in the survey...

New Jersey Senate: Kean (R) and Menendez (D) Tied U.S. Senator Bob MenendezHere's another race to keep people up late on election night. All year long, the two candidates have been trading the lead position. Now, with less than two weeks to go, it’s a toss-up once again. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll shows Republican Tom Kean Jr. with 43% of the vote and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez with 41%. However, when we add in the leaners, it’s all tied at 45% (see crosstabs). What’s truly amazing about these numbers is the fact that Menendez can’t pull away despite the...

(October 26) The tide appears to have turned once again in this race. Kean had a nice run through mid-September and then Menendez pulled in to a 3-5 point lead in mid-October and now as we approach the end of October it looks like Kean has regained the momentum. On Sunday, we suggested that Kean needed “to turn around the momentum in this race and very soon,” and it looks like he has done just that. . . . . . . This race looks to be going down to the wire as Menendez is back below 45% in the...

One must be careful to make too much of a given Senate candidate appearing broke at the 3rd-quarter FEC filing time. After all, the national parties and major donors can rescue a strong candidate’s foundering finances. And certain costs, such as advertising, may even still have been paid up front. But when so many candidates from one party, who have been very strong, are suddenly out of cash, while the other party is cash-rich, something may be afoot. In this case, the Republicans continue to use their strategy which produced surprise wins in 2002 and 2004: They are keeping their...

Tuesday, Mark Levin discussed Tom Kean Jr's comments about Rush Limbaugh.I'm with Mark. I would rather see the Democrat win the race than a Republican who is that liberal! (Mountainside, NJ) – U.S. Senate candidate Tom Kean, Jr. released the following statement today regarding recent remarks made by Rush Limbaugh: “I categorically denounce the inappropriate and outrageous claims made by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show today. Parkinson’s is a horrible disease that ravages the human body, and to belittle someone suffering with the disease has no place in politics. I believe the science of stem cell research holds immeasurable...

Bob Menendez says sometimes you have to break the law

TUCKERTON, N.J. (AP) - For Dale Parsons, the truth about the U.S. Senate race is as hard to crack as the clams he has in his bayside seafood store. "I'm ticked off," said Parsons, a registered Republican who's not greatly impressed with either Tom Kean Jr. or Robert Menendez. "There's just so much negativity, you don't know who to believe anymore. You can't trust any of them." In interviews across the state, a common theme emerged among voters: They're sick of the mudslinging, name-calling and finger-pointing, and want to hear what the candidates will actually do for them. In a...

Watch this video to see how the Menendez machine organized a smear campaign on Tom Kean during and after the NJ Senate debate. Tell me they don't work illegally with peripheral groups!!!!!! What a sham!

Democrat vs Democrat Connecticut sees primary victor, Ned Lamont, facing off against the loser, and former Veep candidate, Joe Lieberman. Lamont is against the war, and seems to have solidified his lead among Democrats, but in the general election independents and Republicans can vote too, so Lieberman retains a small lead. Confusingly, the Republican candidate is against the war, probably why his support is in single figures. Democrats did not want this fight, as it puts Democrat divisions on national security at the top of the news, but now they are stuck with it. Tossup. Republican targets New Jersey, sees...

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey Republican Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. on Friday called for House Speaker Dennis Hastert to resign over the congressional page cybersex scandal, making him the first major candidate in his party to do so. "He is the head of that institution and this happened on his watch, and Kean urges House leaders to go further by appointing an outside panel to review the matter immediately," Kean spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said. Kean, in a tight race with Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, added...........

1. If the election for United States Senator was held today, whom would you support Robert Menendez, the Democrat or Tom Kean, Jr., the Republican? Tom Kean, Jr. 46% Robert Menendez 41% Undecided 13% 800 likely voters, September 29th-October 1st. MOE +/- 3%.

It appears the ethics investigation targeting New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez is hurting his chances to return to Washington. A new WNBC/Marist poll released on Friday shows that, if this were Election Day, Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. would defeat Menendez 42 percent to 37 percent. This is a big change from two polls taken earlier this week, where likely voters were polled, and Menendez was slightly ahead. More than half of those polled in this survey were aware of Menendez's recent troubles. The federal government is investigating his leasing of a building he owned to a non-profit agency who also...

MILLVILLE, N.J. - It wasn't supposed to be this hard for Democrat Robert Menendez. New Jersey's political history, campaign cash and national dissatisfaction with the Republican-led Congress are all in his favor as he tries to win the Senate seat he took by appointment from the governor in January. But here he is, locked in an apparent dead heat with Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr., and having to campaign in unlikely places such as a seafood festival down a gravel road in southern rural New Jersey, far from his base in the urban north. Menendez has run smack into the...

WASHINGTON - New Jersey's Senate candidates remained locked in a tie, according to a poll released Thursday that also showed confusion about the candidates among state voters. Among 404 likely voters, 45 percent preferred Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez while 44 percent backed Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr., according to the Rutgers-Eagleton poll. The error margin was plus or minus 5 percent. Among 660 registered voters, 42 percent backed Kean while 40 percent chose Menendez. This survey had an error margin of 4 percent. The survey of both likely and registered voters was conducted Sept. 24-26. The poll showed there was...

RCP leaked the premium numbers. Kean (R) 41% Menendez (D) 40%

What’s politically toxic in Campaign 2006? On the CBS Evening News Friday night, Katie Couric covered the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey, and the danger was apparently a Republican standing anywhere near Team Bush. Couric pressed Republican candidate Tom Kean Jr. about President Bush: "Would you like him to come?" The second time she asked, she giggled. She weirdly compared the Kean family to the fictional mob family in The Sopranos. (Would she ever do that to the Kennedys?) Couric ever-so-barely revealed "scandal has wracked the Democratic Party here," but gave no specifics. Newly appointed Sen. Bob Menendez is...

EVERY major poll for NJ Senate has Kean up between 3 and 6 points. This specific poll marks a turnaround from July, when Kean trailed Menendez by 1 point. It looks like we may have to think hard about putting this race into our column soon. No one can say with a straight face that the dems have the advantage, and every poll hints that it's advantage-Kean at this moment.

Preview and Analysis of the Weekend Talk Shows for 9/23 & 9/24/06The campaign to trash President Bush and beatify President Clinton gets into high gear this week.  Perhaps now we know why the Clintonistas were so frantic to kill or discredit The Path To 9/11, because it had the possibility of preempting their re-re-re-re-launch of the "Clinton Legacy" (Take 843).  This is a contest between the Bush and Clinton world views.  Bush views the world in terms of western civilization representing humanity's progress up from barbarism.  Clinton views the world in terms of America's sins and how we must be...

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. - A spokeswoman for New Jersey's Republican candidate for U.S. Senate on Thursday denied she posted negative comments about his opponent on a Democratic blog. Kean spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said she has never posted as a Democrat or posted on BlueJersey.com and never e-mailed it comments about U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez. "Silly season is upon us," Hazelbaker said. "I take Menendez to task on a daily basis for his ethical failings and nonexistent record, and I will continue to do so. I don't need to hide behind an anonymous post." At a news conference in Bergen County,...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate race in New Jersey, which a Republican hasn't won in 34 years, remains virtually tied with less than two months before Election Day, a poll released Wednesday shows. Among likely voters, including those leaning toward a candidate, Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. holds a 48-45 percent edge over Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, the Quinnipiac University poll showed. Six percent remain undecided. This survey of 688 likely voters has an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Among the 1,233 registered voters surveyed, Menendez has a 41-38 percent edge. This survey has an error margin...

New Jersey’s Democratic elite has developed a well-worn reputation for cockiness. And for good reason: Since 1972, only two Republicans—Tom Kean Sr. and Christine Todd Whitman, each elected and re-elected governor—have won statewide elections in New Jersey, and only once did their victory margin exceed one percentage point. But cockiness also explains the predicament that Garden State Democrats now face: Six weeks before what figures to be the most Democrat-friendly midterm election in a generation, it is very possible—if not probable—that they will squander what should have been one of their party’s safest Senate seats. Through scandals that would have...

Some interesting poll numbers in a swing town A poll conducted for the Democratic mayoral candidate in North Arlington shows Republican Thomas Kean, Jr. leading Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez by a 47%-29% margin in this Democratic-leaning blue collar town of 15,181 people. The same survey, done by Neighborhood Research, gives Democrat Peter Massa a 31-point lead in the race for Mayor over Republican Peter Norcia, and Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney a ten-point lead against his GOP challenger, Todd Caliguire. North Arlington's voter registration is 30% Democratic, 18% Republican and 52% Unaffiliated. In 2005, Jon Corzine won North Arlington...

Some interesting poll numbers in a swing town A poll conducted for the Democratic mayoral candidate in North Arlington shows Republican Thomas Kean, Jr. leading Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez by a 47%-29% margin in this Democratic-leaning blue collar town of 15,181 people. The same survey, done by Neighborhood Research, gives Democrat Peter Massa a 31-point lead in the race for Mayor over Republican Peter Norcia, and Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney a ten-point lead against his GOP challenger, Todd Caliguire. North Arlington's voter registration is 30% Democratic, 18% Republican and 52% Unaffiliated. In 2005, Jon Corzine won North Arlington...

For pure entertainment value, not much can compete with the blood sport of New Jersey politics. Last week federal investigators launched a probe into whether U.S. Senator Robert Menendez illegally benefited to the tune of more than $300,000 from a rental-income deal he had with a nonprofit agency that received millions of dollars in federal contracts. Even liberal good government groups agree that the relationship may have violated congressional conflict-of-interest rules. The allegations have sparked a mini-panic among state Democratic operatives, who not so long ago thought Mr. Menendez -- who was appointed by Jon Corzine ... had the November...

With 9/11 Film, Kean Finds Tough Critic in Hamilton By Dana Milbank Tuesday, September 12, 2006; A02 There have been few political love stories as beautiful as that of Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, the former chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 commission. "I have never worked with anybody I've come to respect more than Lee Hamilton," Republican Kean said at a Sept. 11 fifth-anniversary joint performance with Hamilton yesterday. "He is one of the preeminent public servants of our day, bar none," came Democrat Hamilton's well-worn reply. So it packed even more punch when Hamilton, at the National...

The Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean, as well as Commissioner John Lehman, were George Stephanopoulos’s guests on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, and they both spoke out strongly in favor of the upcoming miniseries “The Path to 9/11” As the discussion ensued, John Lehman brilliantly offered the following:if you don't like the hits to the Clinton administration, well, welcome to the club. The Republicans have lived with Michael Moore and Oliver Stone and most of Hollywood as a fact of life. Yet, maybe the finest moment of Sunday’s program was the following statement made by ABC’s George Will during...

Reached by phone at his home in Southern California, Nowrasteh affirmed to WND he consulted with Patterson and gave him a preview of the drama During the interview this morning, Nowrasteh took a moment to watch as President Clinton's image turned up on his nearby TV screen to criticize the movie. The director did not want to respond directly to Clinton's comments, but offered a general response to critics. "Everybody's got to calm down and watch the movie," Nowrasteh told WND. "This is not an indictment of one president or another. The villains are the terrorists. This is a clarion...

Preview and Analysis of the Weekend Talk Shows for 9/9 and 9/10/2006The fifth anniversary of 9/11 is Monday, and the drive by media wants to make sure you know what you are supposed to think.  They also really don't want you to get a chance to hear any other versions of the 9/11 narrative that might raise questions about their approved one.Meet the press has Vice President Dick Cheney ("for the first time in three years" - gee I wonder why?) for the "full hour" (not counting commercials, promos, asides, other business, etc., etc.).  The drive by media is beginning...

New Jersey Senate: Kean Retakes Lead Kean (R) 44% Menendez (D) 39% September 6, 2006 Republican State Senator Tom Kean, Jr.Republican State Senator Tom Kean Jr., son of the former NJ Governor, again leads Democratic Senator Bob Menendez in New Jersey's race for U.S. Senate. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll shows Kean with 44% of the vote while Menendez is at 39%. In our last two polls, Menendez, an appointed incumbent, held a six-point lead. To reflect the reversal, we are now revising our assessment of the contest from "Leans Democrat" to "Toss-Up" in our Senate Balance of Power ratings....

New Jersey Republican Tom Kean Jr. called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Sunday, days after a new poll showed the Iraq war was hampering his U.S. Senate bid. Kean joins a growing chorus of federal lawmakers, mostly Democrats, in calling for a change in leadership at the Pentagon. Senate Democrats could force a no-confidence vote on Rumsfeld this week. "Donald Rumsfeld has to go," Kean said Sunday, between campaign stops at the Jersey Shore. "This is something I've been thinking about for months." Kean said he has become increasingly frustrated over the Bush administration's handling...

Rasmussen: Kean up 5 I am certain that Gerry, et al will have much more about this on crosstabs later today (and if you're not reading crosstabs, you're missing the most comprehensive polling coverage on the web), but I wanted to quickly point out a couple of new polls available today behind the Rasmussen pay wall. First, Tom Kean is now up 5 over Menendez, 44-39. Incumbents below 40 are generally in very serious trouble, but the usual caveat about leaners/dead people breaking Democrat at the last minute in New Jersey applies. Second, Rasmussen also has another "generic ballot" poll...

TRENTON, N.J. - The U.S. Senate race between Republican Tom Kean Jr. and Democrat Robert Menendez is virtually deadlocked, but if voters weren't so concerned about the war in Iraq, Kean could hold a clear lead, according to a poll released Wednesday. A portion of Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Poll designed to test the impact of national issues on the race indicated that if the war were not a factor, Kean could be leading Menendez by 47-36 percent. As it stands, however, 43 percent of voters polled said they favor Kean to 39 percent for Menendez, a difference that matches...

Weekend Talk Show Preview - Analysis for August 12th and 13th, 2006On the shows this weekend I'm most interested by Vali Nasr, on CNN, and Ken Mehlman, on Meet The Press.  I think we'll learn more about the events in the Middle East from Nasr and more about the coming campaign from Mehlman than all of the other guests, combined.  Nasr is an expert, from Iran, on the issues of conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.  I actually view this as our best hope of winning the coming world war.  Just as Communists and Nazis joined forces to start World...

...Rightroots has picked fourteen conservative House candidates and four conservative Senate candidates according to the belief that “properly funded, these candidates represent our best chance to retain control of Congress and to enact a conservative agenda.” The candidates are as follows: U.S. House of Representatives Michele Bachmann (MN-06) Chuck Blasdel (OH-6) Max Burns (GA-12) John Gard (WI-08) Diana Irey (PA-12) Jeff Lamberti (IA-03) Ray Meier (NY-24) David McSweeney (IL-08) Rick O'Donnell (CO-07) Peter Roskam (IL-06) Scott Tipton (CO-3) Van Taylor (TX-17) Chris Wakim (WV-01) Mike Whalen (IA-01) U.S. Senate Thomas Kean (New Jersey) Michael Steele (Maryland) Mark Kennedy (Minnesota) Mike...

INDIANA BAT RINGWOOD -- Ford's toxic waste dump may be home to a tiny newcomer, posing a big problem for neighbors seeking a speedy cleanup.  The Indiana bat, a nationally listed endangered species, may be in the area. And that has interrupted tree clearing at the dump even though residents say the contamination is making them ill and should be removed as soon as possible.  Wildlife personnel are investigating whether the bats, which winter in mines and summer in the bark of large trees, are living at the Upper Ringwood site."We realize some work has stopped and we understand...

New Jersey, dominated by Democrats in recent elections, has become the best Republican prospect for winning a Democratic-held Senate seat this year. New polls last week indicated appointive Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez falling back to an even race with his Republican challenger, state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. Quinnipiac University's poll showed Kean gaining nine percentage points in one month to take a two-point lead. The Monmouth University/Gannett poll's first Senate survey had Kean trailing Menendez by one point, but enjoying a 15-point lead among key independent voters. Kean's edge in the Quinnipiac survey marked the first time a New Jersey...

New Jersey politicians have reached an agreement that will end the state budget crisis. The deal will be announced later this afternoon by Gov. Jon Corzine at a news conference. That conference is tentatively scheduled at 4:30 p.m. NBC 10 News and NBC10.com will live video coverage. Corzine hammered out a deal with his fellow Democrats, who were fighting him over a proposed sales tax hike, according to sources. The deal was reached six days after state government shut down, a high-ranking Statehouse official said. "They'll be announcing the final elements later this afternoon," said the official, who spoke on...

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey lurched into a financial crisis Friday as the midnight deadline to adopt a budget neared and a dispute over the governor's plan to increase the sales tax remained unresolved. Gov. Jon S. Corzine was expected Saturday morning to order an unprecedented state government shutdown after an hourlong meeting Friday night between Corzine and top legislative officials ended without agreement and significant differences remaining. "Over the last several days the administration has worked on contingency plans for the orderly shutdown of state government," Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said. "At this time, it looks like we may...

The Republican candidate for the United States Senate in New Jersey, Thomas H. Kean Jr., intends to make a campaign film that accuses his Democratic opponent, Robert Menendez, of "being wrapped up in the rackets for 30 years" despite public records and statements by former federal prosecutors that contradict Mr. Kean's most serious charges. Mr. Kean's chief campaign consultant, Matt Leonardo, a strategist for Republican candidates, disclosed the plans in an interview and said the film would be "very similar" in purpose to the commercials used to attack the military record of John Kerry during the 2004 presidential race. Kean...

When Sen. Robert Menendez ran for the Union City Commission in 1986, his slate of five candidates won the backing of a prominent Republican politician of the era: Gov. Tom Kean. The endorsement was newsworthy at the time because a sitting governor injected himself into a municipal election. It's notable now because Kean's son, state Sen. Tom Kean Jr., has sought to make Menendez's early political career as a Hudson County politician an issue in the U.S. Senate campaign. Kean has charged that Menendez was closely allied with the corrupt administration of former Union City Mayor William Musto, and that...

A Quinnipiac University poll found 60 percent of New Jersey voters oppose Gov. Jon Corzine's proposed 1 percent sales tax increase, which is seen by a number of Democrats as the only alternative to help close a $4.5 billion budget deficit.

Billy Musto died in February, but the specter of the notorious Hudson County political boss now haunts the campaign for U.S. Senate. Musto served 35 years in the Legislature and as mayor of Union City, until he was convicted in 1982 on federal corruption charges. Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, a 28-year-old former aide to the mayor at the time, was a witness for the prosecution, testifying against the man he has described as a mentor and father figure.

TRENTON, N.J. - Commentator Ann Coulter's incendiary words about outspoken 9/11 widows have led two state lawmakers to calls for a boycott of her book in the widows' home state of New Jersey. Assemblywomen Joan M. Quigley, D-Hudson, and Linda Stender, D-Union, on Thursday called on New Jerseyans to stop buying the book, "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," and for retailers in the state to stop selling it. "Coulter's vicious characterizations and remarks are motivated by greed and her desire to sell books. By making these claims, she proved herself worse than those she is attempting to vilify - she...

New Jersey Republicans picked Tom Kean Jr., the son of a popular former governor, to challenge Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez in the fall as eight states held primaries on Tuesday for governor, House or Senate. In Alabama, Gov. Bob Riley led Ten Commandments judge Roy Moore in early returns for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Alabama returns also showed overwhelming approval for a state constitutional ban on gay marriage. But the biggest race of the night was the special election in Southern California to fill the House seat of imprisoned former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, with the political world hoping for...