Desperate Corzine to Inject Himself Into GOP Primary

Lagging far behind Republican Chris Christie, the very unpopular incumbent Governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine, is tearing a page out of the playbook of Gray Davis, former unpopular Governor of California, in a desperate attempt at winning in November.

The idea is to attack Christie, the GOP frontrunner, in the hopes he's sufficiently wounded for the general election, or, even better for Corzine, handing the GOP primary to former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, the conservative candidate who would have little chance at winning the general election in a very blue state.

Corzine is playing dumb and pretending he has nothing to do with this effort, but there's no question he's working in concert with the Democrat National Committee and other liberal groups who realize what an embarrassment it would be for a Democrat to lose New Jersey this year, realizing it could help propel the GOP in the 2010 midterms.

Allies of New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Jon S. Corzine, are so worried about his re-election prospects that they are going to start spending and advertising heavily — in the Republican primary.

Mr. Corzine’s allies plan to attack the Republican they consider more formidable, the former federal prosecutor Christopher J. Christie, in an attempt to knock him out in the June primary, according to people briefed on the matter.

That would leave Mr. Corzine facing Steven M. Lonegan, a former small-town mayor from the party’s right wing, whose support for a flat income tax and a ban on abortion are popular with conservative voters, but could be a problem in the general election.

Mr. Corzine’s popularity has nosedived along with New Jersey’s economic fortunes, and recent polls show him trailing Mr. Christie, the former United States attorney for New Jersey.

Mr. Christie has based his campaign almost entirely on his credentials as a corruption fighter, having obtained convictions of some 130 New Jersey politicians and public employees and promises to bring the same forceful leadership to tackling the state’s fiscal problems. The Democratic assault, according to one of the people briefed on the plans, will aim to tarnish that image.

The strategy could benefit Mr. Corzine even if it does not result in Mr. Christie’s defeat in the primary, if the Republican is significantly damaged before the general election.

The Democratic intervention in a Republican primary would be reminiscent of a much more brazen move by Gov. Gray Davis of California in 2002. That year, Mr. Davis openly poured $10 million into a blitz of television commercials portraying Richard J. Riordan, the runaway Republican favorite and a moderate, as having changed his positions on abortion, the death penalty and other issues. The ads battered Mr. Riordan, who lost the primary to a conservative neophyte, Bill Simon Jr., and the unpopular Mr. Davis pulled out a win in November.

Whatever it boils down to, come the general election Corzine will focus heavily on two issues that Democrats zero in on every year. Abortion and gun control. While the two issues rank fairly low on the voter's radar in this state, Democrats are obsessed with abortion and lie with impunity about any GOP candidate's stance on guns. It'll be a diversion from the fiscal mess Corzine has created. He doesn't want to discuss his record as he knows it a sure loser.

The assault on Mr. Christie, which is being planned by a group including officials at the Democratic Governors Association and other Democratic donors and strategists, is not being coordinated with the governor or his aides, said the people briefed on the plans.

“It’s the first I’m hearing of it,” said Robert Asaro-Angelo, executive director of the Democratic state committee. “We’ll focus on our opponent when the Republican primary is over.”

These people are such brazen liars. Like outside groups are going to willy-nilly insert themselves in local politics and the governor is unaware.

As if.

Whatever the case, Christie's people say bring it on.

Mr. Christie’s top strategist, Michael DuHaime, greeted the Democratic plan like a badge of honor. “This move is unsurprising, given that Chris Christie is the only Republican who can beat Jon Corzine,” he said.

New Jersey Wants Change! Democrat Corzine Losing In New Poll Stunner

As a New Jersey resident, I must say I'm floored by this poll. This state hasn't elected a Republican statewide since Christie Whitman's second victory in 1997 and Jon Corzine won the governorship pretty handily over Doug Forrester in 2005. So this is very promising news.

While few New Jersey voters know much about him, former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, a Republican challenger, leads Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine 44-38 percent in this year's Governor's race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This reverses a 42-36 percent Gov. Corzine lead in a November 19 poll by the independent Quinnipiac University.

In this latest survey, Democrats support Corzine 72-10 percent while Christie leads 86 - 7 percent among Republicans and 49-24 percent among independent voters. Men back the Republican 51-32 percent while women go Democratic 42-38 percent. Black voters back Corzine 68-9 percent while white voters back Christie 52-32 percent.

In a Republican primary, Christie tops former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan 44-17 percent, with 5 percent for Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine and 2 percent for Assembly member Rick Merkt.

Voters disapprove 50-41 percent of the job Corzine is doing, continuing a six-month string of negative ratings. Independent voters disapprove 62-30 percent, matching the same 2-1 anti-Corzine margin from the election matchup.

"Republican Christopher Christie has broken out of the gate as a strong challenger to Gov. Jon Corzine. In less than four months, he has come from trailing the Governor by six points to leading him by six points - a 12-point shift," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Christie formally announced his candidacy today.

Independents make up a good chuck of voters in this state and a strong anti-Corzine sentiment is building. Virginia is the only other state with a gubernatorial election in 2009, so strong GOP showings could help carry momentum into the 2010 midterms, much as Whitman's 1993 victory over incumbent Jim Florio gained national attention and helped with the GOP's rise in 1994.

The GOP may be on life support nationally, but if they win in New Jersey, they sure will gain confidence.

Update: Thanks to commenter lorien for correcting Whitman's party status. Brainfreeze on that one. And thanks to Ace for linking.

Chris Christie to Run for NJ Governor

Hmm. This may be a Republican who actually has a shot to win in New Jersey. Considering the fiscal mess the state is in as a result of the disastrous McGreevey-Corzine reign of error, anyone who offers hope of restoring sanity to the state budget should be welcome.

Granted, the unions and public employees are so powerful and exert so much control it'll get ugly fast. Especially in this state, when every Republican faces the media and Democrat onslaught over abortion and gun control, two red herrings when we have more pressing issues.

Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said he is filing papers today saying he is a candidate for New Jersey governor this year.

In an e-mail to supporters, Christie said he plans a formal announcement in the first week in February.

"We can fix our broken state and make it more affordable for all New Jersey families," Christie wrote.

The popular 46-year-old Republican from Morris County is considered by some to be the strongest possible challenger to Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine. Christie's filing comes after a headline-grabbing run as a corruption-busting prosecutor who ended the careers of some of New Jersey's most powerful politicians.

Corzine's office had no immediate comment.

Christie was not immediately available for comment. In his e-mail, he lamented the economic and political conditions in the state.

"New Jersey's taxes have become so unaffordable that more families are leaving our state than moving here," he wrote. "Our state's business tax climate is ranked 50th in the nation and has become so unattractive to employers that only government jobs are growing in New Jersey.

"Yet nothing in Trenton gets done to fix these problems."

Corzine has been a total disaster and only ran for Governor because he was bored being one of 10 in Washington. Still considering he spent about $160 million to win his last two elections, if he has any desire to run again he'll likely again empty to vault to remain Governor and completely run New Jersey into the ground.

God help us.

One other note. In the post-presidential years, only Virginia and New Jersey have gubernatorial races so they usually draw national interest. A Republican winning in New Jersey could be significant, especially if Barack Obama falters this year, and it could help boost GOP morale.

Hero Clerk May Need Immunity

It's really a pathetic situation when someone who gives a tip to police may need immunity because some lowlife scum like the terrorist-lovers from CAIR may sue them.

The New Jersey store clerk whose tip led to the arrest of six terror suspects needs legislative protection from being sued as a "John Doe" or whistleblower, lawmakers said yesterday.

"The events in Fort Dix are just another reminder of the need for this legislation," said Rep. Steve Pearce, New Mexico Republican and author of legislation to protect "John Doe" passengers being sued by a group of Muslim imams for reporting their suspicious behavior

"We owe a debt of gratitude to this individual for alerting authorities to this potential terrorist attack and thwarting what could have been a terrible disaster. I can only imagine how grateful the men and women at Fort Dix and their families are for the courage of this person to take action when he saw something suspicious," Mr. Pearce said.

U.S. authorities arrested six foreign-born Muslims suspected of plotting to attack the New Jersey fort and kill "as many American soldiers as possible ... in the name of Allah." The FBI was alerted to the group by a clerk at the Circuit City store who had been asked to copy to DVD a video of the men test-firing weapons in the mountains and calling for jihad.

"If we didn't get that tip," said U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie in New Jersey, "I couldn't be sure what would happen."

M. Zuhdi Jasser, director of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, agrees that the FBI's arrests show the need to protect the principle of "see something, say something."
"What if this 'John Doe' had contrarily chosen to be silent due to a fear of litigation?" Dr. Jasser said.

Republican Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Rep. Peter King of New York used a procedural tactic to add the Pearce language to a rail and transportation security bill in March. The amendment passed unanimously by Republicans and had bipartisan support from 105 Democrats.

Don't forget to note well over 100 Democrats opposed the legislation.

Whose side are they on?

UPDATE: Ugh. Now the perps are playing the vicitm card. Michelle Malkin has more.