On NPR this morning they had a report on leadership PACs of retiring members of Congress and how many retirees use them as slush funds. So I decided to look into our two retirees (so far), Jim Saxton (NJ3) and Mike Ferguson (NJ7).
Jim Saxton has SAXPAC, which has been closed down with $0 cash on hand after expenditures of $13,000 fro legal fees (anyone know what that's about?), $8,000 to a election compliance specialist (was there an issue that might deal with lawyers and election compliance?), $5,000 to Chris Meyers and $5,000 to Duncan Hunter's run for President. Really.
Ferguson is a little harder to write out, but we'll try. His Mike PAC is still open, but only has about $1800 left after a little less than $95,000 in expenditures since the last election. He's got a lot of $1,000 contributions to local campaigns and out-of-state members of Congress, with only Chris Smith seeing any House money in state.
$20,000 went to the Somerset Republicans, $8500 to the Hunterdon Republicans, and $1,000 to Union County.
About a year before Mike Ferguson won his seat in Congress seven towns in Somerset County were devastated by Hurricane Floyd. Many towns are still recovering, others have bridges yet to be repaired. Almost a decade later things are still problematic after Floyd.
A little over a year ago we got nailed by the unnamed Nor-Easter, and Bound Brook, South Bound Brook and Manville got nailed again. Ferguson was still Congressman.
When Ferguson got the job, his district flooded. When Ferguson walks away, it'll still flooding.
"We're working with the senators,"' Ferguson said about the state's two senators, Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez.
Back when he was Tom DeLay's favorite congressman, taking in more than a quarter million from DeLay, his PACs and his cronies, Ferguson couldn't get crap for his district. Back when the President was coming to town to party over the spectre of the destruction of Social Security, Ferguson got nada. Back when Republicans could do anything they wanted with boogey-man threats, Ferguson got nothing.
Now that the Democrats control Congress suddenly last year we got more than ever before, and he's "working" with our Democratic Senators to get $10 million, $20 million for the project.
The difference is not Ferguson, it's the party in charge.
Think about that when you vote in November, all my friends in the 7th district. Leonard Lance may be a nice guy with some environmental votes in his pocket, but he's still a Republican and they don't give a damn if your town drowns.
It's the Democrats who are there for you, and the ones who will help.
New Jersey Republican Congressmen Scott Garrett, Rodney Frelinghuysen, Mike Ferguson, and Jim Saxton sent a resounding message to the unemployed yesterday. That message is, "This ain't 2003!!!"
So there are two possible explanations for Ferguson, Frelinghuysen, and Saxton: Either the economy just isn't bad enough or the bill isn't Republican enough. Either way, they owe it to their constituents to explain their action. Something that was right in 2003 can't just be wrong in 2008.
"It is no exaggeration to say that rail service is the lifeline from which New Jersey's state economy draws nourishment. Our region's employers - small, medium, and large - depend upon an integrated rail operation to enable many of their employees to get to and from work," Holt said. "The continued operation of Amtrak is an essential component of easing traffic congestion, reducing wear and tear on roads, protecting our environment and preserving open space in New Jersey and across the country."
That's why all thirteen New Jersey Congressmen voted for the "Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act" -- though unfortunately it faces a Bush veto. Still, as far as New Jersey is concerned, it's a lovely story of bipartisanship -- we may even read about it in the papers tomorrow.
But it's a happy story only if you just look at House Vote 400. Moments before, in House Vote 399, all six New Jersey Republicans tried to kill the bill by voting to "recommit with instructions."
Their names are Mike Ferguson, Rodney Frelinghuysen, Scott Garrett, Frank LoBiondo, Jim Saxton, and Christopher Smith, and when you're not paying attention, they do what Bush says.
Last week, the Republicans became so desperate to prevent Congress from addressing the mortgage crisis or funding the war (really!), that they resorted to repeatedly calling for votes to adjourn. And what hard-core right-wingers went along with the call to quit without finishing their job?
The Bergen Record has an op-ed today scripted by George Ajjan - who is described as:
George Ajjan is a Republican activist, writer and pundit who was the GOP nominee for Congress in the 8th District in 2004.
There's only one thing wrong with that description (that I'll focus on here) - it's incomplete to the point of being misleading and dishonest. George Ajjan is working for Murray Sabrin, as is evidenced by his name on Sabrin's press releases.
I give the Record credit for being evenhanded - they have an op-ed for each of the candidates for the GOP. It's almost as if they looked for the worst possible people to do it, though. For example - Mike Ferguson writing for Dick Zimmer.
Mike Ferguson, no stranger to hypocrisy or campaign trickery, came up with a beauty in the Courier News today. Apparently Kate Whitman, who wants to succeed Fergie in the House, put out an ad that accused state Senator and former state Senate minority leader Leonard Lance of being responsible for the problems in Trenton.
It is eerily similar to Ferguson's "Stender is a Spender" campaign from 2006 where he blamed Assemblywoman Linda Stender for everything that happened in Trenton even if Stender voted against it.
But apparently it's OK to blast Democratic state legislators for being part of the mess in Trenton, but not the Republicans. At least in Fergie world.
"I was very disappointed to see Kate's ad, because it's false, it's misleading, it's a complete distortion of Senator Lance's record,'' said Ferguson, calling Lance a "taxpayer's champion in Trenton for years.''
Yeah, the most powerful Republican in the state government for years and he's a champion. And how about the incredible debt run up under Lance's watch while they controlled state government and Whitman was governor? Was that debt championing the taxpayers?
And blaming Linda Stender for actions in Trenton she voted against wasn't distorting the record? Wasn't that "false, it's misleading, it's a complete distortion of [the] record?'
On Thursday, NY Governor David Patterson pronounced a project to build the Long Island Sound gas terminal, a LNG transfer barge "behind us" for the state. You may be saying why do I care, but the next option for LNG proponents is certain to stir up plenty of debate in our fair state...
ExxonMobil and a private investor group each have proposed liquid natural gas terminals in the Atlantic, east of New Jersey and south of Long Island. Both projects are pending federal approvals.
The second, "Blue Ocean Energy," is ExxonMobil's plan for a floating LNG terminal located 30 miles off Long Island and 20 miles east of New Jersey. (Video)
It will be interesting to see how the lessons of Broadwater are applied in New Jersey, both by the developers and project
Among the shifts in power: The federal government would gain the power to approve giant liquefied natural gas terminals off the coasts, over state objections. [snip]
Rep. Mike Ferguson, a fellow Republican from nearby New Jersey, supports increasing federal authority, and says states would continue to hold some regulatory oversight of these facilities.
"Federal pre-emption for siting is necessary to ensure the highest safety and security for LNG terminals," Ferguson said.
Some states rights advocate he is. But don't think Fergie was alone, he was joined by everyone's favorite Congressman Scott Garrett voting no to keep the amendment in the legislation. Congressmen Smith, Lobiondo and Frelinghuysen joined Democrats voting yes, which would have taken the amendment out of the bill and given states a say in the matter. Dump Mike stayed on the case as the issue progress further that September...
Now Congressman Ferguson has, in a largely party line vote, voted against an amendment to the Coast Guard appropriations bill that would require the Coast Guard to "conduct a comprehensive security and safety review of liquefied natural gas facilities."
So you can't review, oppose, check for security or safety. Hmmm... EnviroPolitics notes some who may want their voice heard...
Opposition likely will be lead by Clean Ocean Action, a Jersey shore environmental organization which hasn't wasted any time is using its web site and a "fact sheet" to educate its members and supporters about the alleged shortcomings of both projects.
Here's a little more about LNG (here, here, here and here) for you to help form an opinion, if you don't know where you already stand on the issue. It would seem there are a few issues at play. First you have the many benefits/possible draw backs of LNG. Second, the concept of constructing these LNG barges off the Jersey coast. Finally, you have our right as a state to have a say in this matter has been handed away to the Federal Government with the assistance of Fergie and Garrett. I'm all for the debate taking place, but that third point really annoys me. If you have an opinion or more information on the issue, please share with the group.
Have you ever looked at the quality of Republicans in New Jersey and just wonder how in the hell they win at all? I mean, Mike Fergsuon? A four term Congressman? Seriously, we all know there had to be something there.
Well, now we know there is thanks to Allen Raymond, a former GOP operative who wrote a tell-all book (text below from TPM) about his political dirty tricks and what he calls criminal antics. See, he'd know because he was sent to jail for 90 days for illegally jamming the NH State Democratic Party's phones on election Day 2002.
As an aside, NJ7 GOP candidate Kate Whitman was the NH State Republican Party's Communications Director that day.
Back to the story, though. Our new friend Mr. Raymond also has a history in NJ with a GOP political firm called Jamestown Associates which has proudly put the mug of one Congressman Mike Ferguson on its home page as proof that they can "win tough campaigns," including his 2000 race against Maryanne Connelly he just barely won.
Apparently they win close campaigns, and lose close campaigns, by relying on racism and hate. Seriously. Check out what they hired Raymond to do in the 2000 New Jersey election between Congressman Rush Holt (D) and Dick Zimmer (R):
[Tom Blakely from Jamestown Associates] called me up and asked, "How do you guys find voice talent?"
"Well, I've got a whole catalog of different voices on CDs. I've got 'single Northeastern female,' I've got 'Southern belle' -- what are you looking for?"
"We're targeting Democrats of Eastern European descent using a surname select and geopolitical filter."
"Oh," I said, quickly doing the polarizing-voter math in my head. "How about 'angry black man'?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. What's his voice sound like?"
So I cued up one particular actor's CD on my computer and put the phone to the speaker. The track I played was one in which the actor was deliberately playing up a street gang character.
After listening for a few seconds, Blakely said, "That's the guy!"
So we had the actor record a spot over the telephone saying, "I'm calling as a Democrat, asking you to vote for the Democratic nominee. We need your vote for Holt."
I'm not saying that all Eastern European whites are racists, but, no matter where or when an election is held, there is a always a cultural divide that you can rely on. The message was "I'm ghetto black calling you, racist Ukrainian guy, and scaring the crap out of you because you probably think that if you don't vote for the Democrat I'm going to come to your house and take care of some business."
He's not saying that all Eastern Europeans are racist; he's just saying that enough of them are that he preyed on that fear and hate to change their votes. But it wasn't just Eastern Europeans!
We made calls to Democratic union households supporting Zimmer, taped by actors putting on thick Spanish accents, figuring union workers were the voters who felt most threatened by immigration. The objective was to get them to throw up their hands and stay home on Election Day. We were just forcing those people to make a decision that was true to who they really were. If you want to question someone's character, look to the people who stayed home because of those calls.
You wonder why there is a fear of Spanish speaking folks in working class NJ? Because jackasses like Jamestown Associates and their clients (Mike Ferguson) fan the flames in order to win elections for themselves. They can call themselves moderates all they want -- Jamestown also works for "moderates" Jody Rell and Chris Shays in Connecticut -- but they are just as cynical and ready to engage in racist stereotypes as much as any KKK Grand Wizard ever was.
This is your NJ Republican Party: they're not racist, but they're happy to take advantage and foment racism to win.
During the vote last week, Mike Ferguson, Rodney Frelinghuysen and Jim Saxton also voted against it. This time around, the trio voted for it but only after tax-payer funded subsidies of energy companies were put back in the bill. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation.
In conclusion, Ferguson, Frelinghuysen and Saxton want to spend your tax dollars to subsidize the carbon economy, and Scott Garrett is more out of touch than Commander Cuckoo Bananas.
Back in 2003 Republican Congressmen Scott Garrett, Mike Ferguson and Chris Smith couldn't resist inserting themselves into the debate over embryonic stem cell research funded by the State of New Jersey. Even thought he three are not reps in the state government, they felt comfortable intruding because they are "pro-life."
Chris Cillizza at The Fix moves two New Jersey congressional seats into his top 10 ranking of seats most likely to flip party control. The 7th district being vacated by Mike Ferguson appeared at #5, but Cillizza thinks NJ-3 is a "BIG problem for Republicans" and placed it even higher at #3:
5. New Jersey's 7th District (R): Rep. Mike Ferguson's (R) retirement stunned House Republicans who now must defend one of the most expensive Congressional districts in the country (the 7th is entirely within the New York City media market). Adding to the Republican woes is the candidacy of state Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D) who came within 3,000 votes of ousting Ferguson in 2006. Republicans lost their number one recruit when state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. took a pass and now face a likely primary between Kate Whitman, the daughter of former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman (R), and state Sen. Leonard Lance. This district was made more Republican by redistricters in 2001 but given its cost Republicans must nominate a candidate with either a well-known name or deep pockets to compete. (Previous ranking: N/A) [...]
3. New Jersey's 3rd District (R): Rep. Jim Saxton's retirement is a BIG problem for Republicans. Why? First, this south-central Jersey district is marginal territory politically as President Bush won it with just 51 percent in 2004. Second, the district is covered by the incredibly expensive New York City and Philadelphia media markets and is a very tough one in which to communicate. Third, Democrats seem united behind state Sen. John Adler as their candidate, while state Sen. Diane Allen, the preferred Republican candidate, dropped from the race on Thursday, a decision largely credited to her running dispute with the boss of Burlington County. (How can you not love New Jersey politics?) It now looks like Lockheed Martin vice president Christopher Myers will be the Republican pick and will enjoy Saxton's support. (Previous ranking: N/A)
Last week Congressman Mike Ferguson, the Rep. from NJ7 who loved Tom DeLay and worshiped embryos, announced that at age 38 he was retiring from Congress after four terms. His stated reason was to spend more time with his family, but suspicions have been raised that it was either an emerging sex scandal or the upcoming brutal campaign against Linda Stender that pushed him out.
Others suggested that a blog I mostly wrote, called Dump Mike, was a primary reason. Matt Stoller over at Open Left wrote:
The first candidate-centric blog I ever saw was DumpMike.com, targeting Ferguson (congrats, you did it). There were many times when Ferguson was embarrassed by the site, but my favorite post was when DumpMike caught Ferguson with a whites-only website.
Upon learning of Congressman Ferguson's retirement from Congress my partner Greg had some thoughts: "Wow, he's only in his thirties?? There's gotta be something behind that."
Something besides that tired ol' spend-more-time-with-family meme.
Not surprisingly, non political people all over the state are scratching their head. Maybe it's easier for non-activist types to smell a rat than it is for those of us in the trenches.
So until we know for sure, I am curious what the rest of you all think. Kindly turn your attention to the poll below the fold and weigh in accordingly.
I'm sure many of you have heard the news: Republican Congressman Mike Ferguson is not seeking re-election in 2008. While New Jersey's 7th District won't be seeing the rematch everyone expected, I'm still moving ahead at full-steam with my congressional campaign regardless of who my opponent will be.
First, before anything else, I just want to say that I respect Congressman Ferguson's decision not to run again. As the mother of three children, I understand all too well the difficulty of juggling the demands of public service and family. Along those lines, one of my strongest motivations for running for Congress is the well-being of all families and the future of all our children.
I also want to make it clear that this doesn't change my outlook on the race. I was never running against Mike Ferguson. All along, I've been running for my neighbors in New Jersey's 7th District. Here are just a few of the reasons why:
Assemblywoman Linda Stender's statement on Mike Ferguson's retirement announcement:
"I respect Congressman Ferguson's decision not to seek re-election and, as the mother of three children, I understand the difficulty of juggling the demands of public service and family. But one of my strongest motivations for running for Congress is the well being of all families and the future of all children.
"The change of Republican candidates is not enough of a change for the voters. They want a change in the direction of the country and no Republican who replaces Mr Ferguson will bring the change that is needed.
"The voters already sent a strong message rejecting the failed policies of the Bush Administration and all the Republicans who sided with him. The disastrous record of Bush and the Republican Party has become even more pronounced since the 2006 elections. The voters are more than anxious to follow through in 2008 and I am more than prepared to keep up the fight on their behalf.
"I never slowed down after coming with a percentage point of winning last year and Mr Ferguson's departure makes me even more determined. The stakes are too important and the need for change in Washington is too great."
(This is AMAZING news. Now let's work to clear the field of the Republican front-runners by showing support for Linda with a donation on the Blue Jersey Act Blue page! - promoted by huntsu)
After barely defeating Linda Stender last year, Congressman Ferguson says he won't seek reelection in 2008. His announcement is surprising considering he's only 37. His statement:
"I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for re-election to Congress in 2008. I deeply appreciate the privilege the people of the 7th District have given me during the past seven years, and it has been my honor to represent them and our country.
"My wife, Maureen, and I have four children, the oldest of whom is 9 years old. Since first being elected in 2000, I have strived to balance my responsibilities to my family and to my constituents. I am indebted to Maureen, whose love, selflessness and patience allow me to meet my obligations to my constituents - from votes in Congress that extend past midnight to multiple trips each week between Washington and New Jersey and back again. Being a representative in Congress is more meaningful than I had imagined, and I know that now is the right time to step away from public life to focus more on family life while our children are still young. [...]
"After winning re-election in an extraordinarily challenging year for Republicans in 2006 and then witnessing the impressive gains Republicans made in the 7th District just this month, I am confident that Republicans will nominate a candidate who will continue to reflect the mainstream values of voters in the district and be elected as our next representative in 2008.
(full statement below) The district has a partisan voting index of R+0.6, meaning it's a serious pickup opportunity for Democrats. PolitickerNJ speculates on next year's race:
Senate Minority Leader-designate Thomas Kean, Jr. becomes one of the most likely GOP candidates for the seat. ....
Other possible GOP candidates include: Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance, State Sen.-elect Christopher Bateman, Bridgewater Mayor Patricia Flannery, and Franks, now the President of the Health Care Institute of New Jersey.
This is a huge pickup opportunity for Democrats. Help New Jersey send a woman to Congress. Support Linda Stender with a contribution today!
In the 107th Congress, Mike Ferguson cosponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Yesterday, in the 110th Congress, he voted against it.
If you'll recall, Ferguson has also changed his position on hate crimes twice since his first term. While campaigning for Congress in 2000, he supported including sexual orientation in hate crimes laws, and he cosponsored the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2001. In 2005, he voted against covering sexual orientation under federal hate crime laws. Then, earlier this year, he voted for the same bill he supported in 2000 and 2001 but opposed in 2005.
Ferguson has abandoned all principle on LGBT issues, voting half the time to please his right-wing donor base and half the time to mollify his mostly moderate constituents. His vote yesterday placed him far to the right of the New Jersey mainstream; last year just 10 of 120 state legislators voted against banning employment discrimination based on gender identity or expression. For someone who likes to talk up his "moderate" record during general election season, that's pretty pathetic.
Last Thursday the Susan B. Anthony List joined with National Right to Life Committee and FRCAction to present Real Women's Voices, a training conference for pro-life women activists from across the country. ... The activists also witnessed inspirational words from Congress' dedicated and courageous Pro-Life leaders: Senator Sam Brownback (KS-Sen), Rep. Mike Ferguson (NJ-07), Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC-05), and Rep. Jean Schmidt (OH-02).
Ah, so what, you say. So Mikey wandered off to hang out with his own for a little while. What's the difference?
One participant said, "When I came in this morning, I had no interest in political office. By the end of the day, I was saying, I have to run for something."
Yep, they're working to take people who are pro-life as a personal belief and turn them into elected officials who see pro-life as a societal belief. In short, they are working to create a crew of pro-life politicos who will work to take control of your bodies.
But maybe it's OK, because if that's what these women really believe they should get into the process? After all, aren't we all about the democratic process as much as anything?
Well, sure, if they were being filled with facts and honest arguments that might apply. But here's one of the things they are most proud of:
After a day of intensive training, activists headed off to lobbying meetings with their legislators, where they discussed the Equal Rights Amendment and the importance of adding language to make the amendment neutral on the abortion issue.
They spent their day making sure the ERA is neutral on the abortion issue. Frankly, I thought the ERA died back in the 1980s, but let's suppose it has a renaissance now and was brought back up.
Here's the text of the ERA:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Now, I'm sorry but I can't see any reading of the text above that could in any way be construed as being pro, con or even ambivalent about abortion. It's already as abortion neutral as any single sentence in the language could be except, "Yup."
But the article says these women were meeting with "Congress' dedicated and courageous Pro-Life leaders" -- including Mike Ferguson -- to discuss making sure this language was abortion neutral.
It's just more evidence that the anti-abortion crowd is about more than preventing and illegalizing abortions. The reason why they are making the ERA into a boogey-woman is because they want to control women's lives, to prevent them from having equal rights. As long as these women are indoctrinated to believe that the ERA is about abortion, they'll be happy to fight against ensuring themselves the right to equal treatment under the law.
Mike Ferguson is in the middle of these mendacious, misleading efforts to twist women around in knots until they are advocating for policies against their better interests. It's possible that Ferguson does this because he is honestly anti-abortion, but the effect of his actions and associations is more important than the intent.
Ferguson has got to go, and 2008 is the time to do it.
front burner and shifts attention to New Jersey where two other developers are proposing separate off-shore LNG projects.
