Sen. Frank Lout-enberg (D-Natch): Planned Parenthood Opponents "Don't Deserve the Freedoms That Are in the Constitution"

"...but we'll give it to them anyway."

Well, isn't that nice of the Senator?

Say, I thought this bum retired over a decade ago. What happened?



Via RealClearPolitics.

Cross-posted.

Amazingly, It Took Eight Days for Chuckie Schumer to Inject Himself Into Arizona Shootings

Now that the narrative that Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh were to blame for Jared Loughner's homicidal act in Tuscon has imploded, we can finally move on the real culprit: gun clips.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that he is penning a letter to President Obama asking him to close one of the gun-control loopholes that may have contributed to last weekend's shooting at a meet-and-greet in Tucson, Ariz.

The shooting left six people dead and 13 wounded, included Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot in the head and remains in critical condition.

The suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is suspected to suffer from mental illness on the account of various reports and ramblings he had posted online.

Loughner had tried to get into the Army, but was denied for "excessive" drug use.

That, Schumer said on NBC's "Meet the Press," should have prevented Loughner from legally buying the Glock pistol allegedly used in the shooting rampage.

But the Army was not required to notify the FBI of the "excessive drug use" rejection, which would have let law enforcement add his name to the database that would show up when checking a customer purchasing a gun.

"There are certain things that can be done that don't even require legislation," Schumer said, adding that he was "writing to the administration this morning" to get President Obama to close that gap between the armed forces and law enforcement.

Yeah, why bother with the will of the American people and Congressional legislation when with the stroke of a pen King Obama can fulfill the wishes of an imperious demagogue.

Meanwhile, New Jersey crank Frank Lautenberg was exhumed in time for the Sunday mornings babblefests.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), with the backing of gun-control groups, are drafting a bill that would ban the sale of magazines such as the one reportedly used by Loughner.

"The only reason to have 33 bullets loaded in a handgun is to kill a lot of people very quickly," Lautenberg said in annoucing plans to introduce the bill when the Senate returns. "These high-capacity clips simply should not be on the market."

Another reason could be target practice, of course. But hey, why let a good crisis go to waste?

Christie on Lautenberg: 'All He Knows How To Do is Blow Hot Air'

Frank Lautenberg would probably be upset if still had all his faculties.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is not particularly fond of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), saying in a recent interview that he is full of "hot air."

The new governor said he did not appreciate Lautenberg's criticism of his decision to cancel an $8.7. billion rail tunnel project that has been planned for more than a decade.

“All he knows how to do is blow hot air," Christie said in a profile published in New York Magazine. "So I don’t really care what Frank Lautenberg has to say about much of anything."

Christie has become a nationally popular political figure in part due to his willingness to bluntly take on his political opponents, though he has mainly taken aim at state legislators, not members of Congress.

Lautenberg opened the conflict with Christie last month by calling his decision, "One of the biggest public policy blunders in New Jersey’s history."

The state was forced to return nearly $300 million it had received for the project to the federal government out of a $3 billion commitment.

Some believe Christie could run for president in 2012 because his popularity is at a high and he has demonstrated his national appeal by campaigning and fundraising for political candidates around the country.

But the governor recently tamped down rumors, saying, "Short of suicide, I don’t really know what I’d have to do to convince you people that I’m not running."

Lautenberg Has Stomach Cancer

While I detest the man's politics, I can do anything but wish him well.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey’s 86-year-old senior senator, was diagnosed with treatable cancer in the stomach in the last 24 hours and will begin chemotherapy today.

The Democrat still plans to finish out his current term – his fifth in the Senate – and seek re-election in 2014.

“This doesn’t change any of that,” Lautenberg’s chief aide, Dan Katz, said of the senator’s political plans. “After he receives his treatment, back to normal.”

Back to normal for most 86-year-olds would be retirement. But I surmise he doesn't want Republican Governor Chris Christie appointing his successor, nor do any other DC Democrats.

Seeking re-election at 90, nearly five years from now? I don't see it.

Senator Lautenberg Hospitalized

New Jersey's 86-year-old Democrat Senator Frank Lautenberg was rushed to the hospital tonight after a fall.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg was taken by ambulance tonight from his Cliffside Park home after suffering a fall, his spokesman said.

The 86-year-old Democrat was conscious when he was taken to the hospital "as a precautionary measure," said the spokesman, Caley Grey.

Grey said he did not know if Lautenberg had fallen inside the Bergen County condominium or whether he had suffered any injuries.

Lautenberg was elected to his fifth term in the Senate in 2008, defeating former U.S. Rep. Richard Zimmer with roughly 55 percent of the vote. He was thrust back into the political spotlight in recent months as his name became synonymous with two major political storylines in the state — the security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport and the Sean Goldman custody case.

Lautenberg would be 90 if he finished out his term. Maybe he ought to just retire so Republican Governor Chris Christie could name a replacement.

Major Democrat Fundraiser Charged With Fraud

Democrats and fraud, perfect together. And in what should be considered a stunning development, the word Democrat actually appears in the Reuters headline.

The U.S. attorney in New York on Tuesday charged a New York investor and major Democratic fund-raiser with a $74 million scheme to defraud Citigroup Inc (C.N).

Hassan Nemazee, 59, was charged with one count of bank fraud, and faces up to 30 years in prison plus a fine. His lawyer Marc Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Nemazee was a national finance chair of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and a supporter of John Kerry's run for the White House in 2004.

He typically donates more than $100,000 annually to Democratic political candidates, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Charles Schumer, and sits on the board of the Iranian American Political Action Committee .

Bill Clinton, when he was president, nominated Nemazee to be U.S. ambassador to Argentina.

Prosecutors said Nemazee, the chairman and chief executive of Nemazee Capital Corp, sought to induce Citigroup's banking unit to lend up to $74 million based on fraudulent and forged documents suggesting that he had hundreds of millions of dollars of accounts available as collateral.

They said Nemazee also provided Citigroup with fake references so that when the bank would try to confirm details about his accounts, it would actually be contacting him. The scheme lasted from December 2006 to this month, the prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said federal agents stopped him on Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Rome, and that he repaid a more than $74 million loan to Citigroup the following day.

Sounds like he was going to abscond like another Clinton pal, Marc Rich.

Chuckie Schumer ought to be pleased to find out another of his major fundraisers now faces prison, just like his pal Bernie Madoff.

In addition to Nemazee and the now-imprisoned Norman Hsu, I wonder how many other criminal fundraisers were helping Hillary Clinton?

Here's a rundown of Democrats Nemazee contributed to: Also included are Democrat Senators Barbara Boxer, Joe Biden, Kirsten Gillibrand, Frank Lautenberg, Dick Durbin, Carl Levin, and Jay Rockefeller.

I'll wait with breathless anticipation for all of them to comment and offer to return his dirty money.

Michelle Malkin already has material for a new chapter of her best-selling book.

Man Sues Congressional Youth Leadership Council Over Inauguration Scam

This looks like it promises to be the first of many lawsuits against this dubious outfit.

A New York lawyer has filed a lawsuit saying a group that arranged for thousands of young people to attend President Barack Obama's inauguration ruined the trip for the attorney's 12-year-old daughter.

Fabio Bertoni says he paid the Vienna, Va.-based Congressional Youth Leadership Council more than $2,500 so his daughter could witness the event in Washington.

Bertoni says the for-profit group made false promises that students would attend the inauguration and related events and meet high-profile public figures.

He says his daughter watched the festivities on TV and met no officials.

As I'd never heard of this group, a search turns up thousands of results related to the word scam. Sure sounds like a lot of people were ripped off.

Other shortcomings of the UPIC include the Inauguration Ceremony itself. The tickets for the event were bogus, with one delegate attributing them to "fireplace mantle or coffee table placeholders." No transportation or reserved seating was provided to the delegates, forcing many to wake up at 1 A.M. to either walk from their hotels to the mall area or take the already-overcrowded Metro Rail at 4 A.M. Transportation in the form of private charter buses was provided for some events, but not the inauguration. For the Inauguration Ceremony Concert, buses were provided to transport the delegates to the event, but not back to their hotels. Some delegates, specifically those who were non-D.C. residents from outside the city, and outside the country, found themselves lost within an unfamiliar place already flushed with thousands, if not millions of people. There were also complaints of a lack of leadership and lack of organization. Paid volunteering personnel working for the UPIC had little information on upcoming activities and were not connected to each other via radios. The private emergency number provided to delegates was also unreliable in its listing of event information, and failed to recontact delegates seeking information on such things as transportation and emergency services.

While the UPIC granted the opportunity to hear keynote speakers such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Vice President Al Gore, some delegates have speculated that the CYLC deliberately overcharged them to make a profit. Considering that 15,300 delegates attended the conference for an average of $3,000 each, the CYLC then made a profit of almost $47,000,000 on this conference alone. Legal action has been threatened against the UPIC and CYLC, parents and delegates are demanding refunds and answers from the company, and delegates have gone as far as to sign petitions, contact local and national media stations, and even write letters to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden (who has been listed as a contributor to the UPIC).

Because of the questionable actions, misrepresentation, and conduct of the UPIC, Senators Frank Lautenberg and Representative Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson of New Jersey asked that they be removed from the list of honorary members of the CYLC. According to his spokesman, Congressman Pascrell resigned his positioned on the CYLC's advisory board, and Senator Lautenberg asked his name to be removed from membership of the advisory board was well, with Lautenberg's spokesman commenting that "The group at some point converted itself to a for-profit organization, and the senator is seriously concerned about complaints from New Jersey families regarding this group’s inauguration program."

Shocking that the oily Frank Lautenberg and Joe Biden would have links to this group, isn't it?

Meanwhile, they still promote themselves as non-profit.

Hmmm.

Trail of Madoff Victims Grows, Schumer Still Unavailable for Comment

The scandal that dwarfs Enron in scope continues to explode with NY Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman and director Steven Spielberg the latest victims to be reported.

Daily News owner and real-estate mogul Mort Zuckerman is one of the investors ripped off by swindler Bernard Madoff, it was reported today.

Zuckerman, who also owns US News & World Report, has "significant exposure" through a fund that invested virtually all of its assets with Madoff, The Wall Street Journal says, quoting a person familiar with his investments.

A Zuckerman spokesman did not comment to the Journal.

The Journal further reported that powerhouse movie director Steven Spielberg's charity, Wunderkinder Foundation, also got burned, investing roughly 70 percent of its money with Madoff. A spokesman said he couldn't comment on whether Spielberg had any of his own money invested.

Among the many Jewish charities that lost money in the scam was Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel's Foundation for Humanity, according to the Journal.

And New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg's family charity also took a bath, investing most of its $14 million trust with Madoff, his lawyer told The Record of Bergen County.

Meanwhile, more European banks revealed that billions of dollars they entrusted to Madoff may have vanished - and a second Jewish charity abruptly shut down after losing its entire endowment.

Spanish banking giant Grupo Santander SA, which recently purchased Sovereign, a big US bank, said it placed $3.1 billion of its private banking customers in Madoff's care through its Optimal Strategic US Equity fund.

BNP Paribas in France said it had more than $350 million at risk. The private Swiss bank Reichmuth & Co. told its hedge-fund investors that $327 million of their money was invested with Madoff. European media also reported Union Bancaire Privée of Switzerland may've lost $1 billion.

And a spokeswoman for the Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed it had invested with Madoff, but provided no figures.

Early today, Japan's largest brokerage, Nomura Holdings, said it has lost about $306 million.

As we noted Saturday, Madoff was very generous to Democrats with his political contributions, notably to New York's senior Senator Chuckie Schumer and shady Congressman Charles Rangel.

Mysteriously there's no account of a Sunday press conference from Schumer, breaking a string of 582 consecutive Sundays when he held a press conference just to get some face time on television. The guy who would hold a presser to announce a can opening suddenly is camera shy.

On the upside, an actual news account finally has mentioned Madoff was a Democrat contributor. Well, that only took four days.

He was politically active, donating $25,000 a year to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as well as recent races by New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. Madoff has also been an active donor — through the Ruth and Bernard Madoff Foundation — to New York philanthropies including The Doe Fund and Girls Inc.

Update: Sam Stein at the Huffington Post notes Democrats may return donations.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee received $100,000 in donations from Madoff during the past four years. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who headed the DSCC until stepping down this year, separately has received $39,000 from Madoff since 1998.

Will the committee return these funds -- taken, in part, from duped investors? Matt Miller, a spokesperson for the DSCC, replied that "it is under review."

Or take, for example, Sen. Frank Lautenberg. The New Jersey Democrat left the bulk of his family's charity -- which donated to causes like breast cancer research, the NAACP, and performing arts -- to Madoff's stewardship, his foundation's lawyer told the Associated Press. But as of now, there is no telling where the funds went and what is left. The Senator, one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, received a $7,600 donation from Madoff to his Victory Fund in 2007 -- a pittance compared to the cash his charity likely lost.

An aide to Lautenberg said that the office would be "ridding ourselves of the contributions" but had not yet determined the best method of doing so.

Other Democrats who received Madoff money include Jeff Merkley, the incoming Oregon Senator, who took in $2,300 in donations this past April; Ron Wyden, the Oregon incumbent, who received $4,000 in donations in March 2003; Dick Gephardt, the former Speaker of the House, who got a check for $2,000; and Rep. Ed Markey, who was sent two checks of $2,000 each in June 2004.

Peter Madoff, Bernard's brother, was even more lavish with his contributions, spending more than $66,000 on candidates and committees in the past decade, including to Sens. Hillary Clinton ($2,300 in 2008, $4,600 in 2007), Chuck Schumer ($6,000 in total) and Ron Wyden.

Via Instapundit.

NJ Senator Lautenberg Scammed By Wall Street Pal

Honestly, I'm going to have to work overtime conjuring up any sympathy for Frank Lautenberg. One of the most detestable, partisan hacks in Washington is among those who've been affected by the burgeoning Bernard Madoff scam, which already dwarfs the Enron scandal in magnitude. Lautenberg won't even admit how much he was bilked for. C'mon, Frank, man up. It's all about transparency these days, isn't it?

The fallout from a stunning $50 billion swindle - allegedly engineered by Bernard Madoff - is turning into a global pandemic.

International banks, hedge funds and small-time investors from Japan to Switzerland emerged yesterday as potential victims in what's being called history's largest Ponzi scheme.

The international losses alone could be more than $8 billion.

Just in Geneva, banks reportedly may be out of $4 billion invested with Madoff.

Tokyo's Nomura Holdings, which reportedly recently began marketing Madoff's fund abroad, also is swept up in the financial wipeout.

And Bermuda's Kingate Management had invested part of its $2.8 billion fund with Madoff.

"It's overwhelming. We have been interviewing people from as far away as Argentina, London - of course, Palm Beach and the New York area - up and down the Eastern seaboard, and out West," said attorney Mark Mulholland, who has filed a class-action suit against Madoff in federal court in Long Island.

Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that Madoff's investment business hasn't been inspected by the Securities and Exchange Commission since he registered with the agency in September 2006, according to Bloomberg News.

Generally, the SEC scrutinizes a newly registered firm's books in the first year and then checks them at least every five years.

Why is this? Who was covering for Madoff? Could his political connections have something to do with that?

Madoff's brokerage firm - which is separate from the investment business - was found to have three violations in a 2005 inspection for violating rules on trade prices. But the company was inspected last year without a claim.

While the effects of the alleged scam were felt worldwide, the brunt of its effect is being felt among wealthy country-club investors Madoff cultivated on Long Island and in South Florida.

Some of the Big Apple's wealthiest individuals and institutions may have been duped, including Yeshiva University - on whose board Madoff sat - Mets owner Fred Wilpon and the former owners of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain.

Other notables who have reportedly been stung by the collapse of Madoff's fund are Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and members of New York's Loeb family.

Considering Madoff was a very generous contributor to Lautenberg, Charles Schumer and Charles Rangel, among others, it's no wonder the media is avoiding any connection between Madoff and Democrats.

I recall Schumer milking Enron and Ken Lay for years. He seems unusually silent that one of his big bucks contributors has just pulled off a global scam of epic proportions.

Chuckie always has a Sunday press conference. What will it be about today? Being he's touted as a champion of consumers, what about all those bilked by his big bucks donor? Will he be urging a bailout of all those swindled by Madoff?

He's a member of the Banking and Finance Committees and this happened on his watch. Stay tuned.

(Image via NY Post).

Fatcat Democrat Contributor Busted in World's Largest Ponzi Scheme

He forked over a lot of money to Democrats, and a sporadic Republican here and there, but he seemed to be particularly enamored with the unctuous Chuckie Schumer, who mysteriously was unavailable for comment. I count at least nine donations to Chuckie, as well as several to the cadaver in formaldehyde, Frank Lautenberg, and everyone's favorite shyster, Charlie Rangel.

Yet you can be sure when you read the fallout of this scumbag Bernard Madoff, you'll hear very little about him being a bigtime Democrat fundraiser.

Bernard L. Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market and a force in Wall Street trading for nearly 50 years, was arrested by federal agents Thursday, a day after his sons turned him in for running what they said their father called "a giant Ponzi scheme."

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a civil complaint, said it was an ongoing $50 billion swindle, and asked a judge to seize the firm and its assets. "Our complaint alleges a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions," said Andrew M. Calamari, associate director of enforcement in the SEC's New York office.

In a separate criminal complaint, Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Theodore Cacioppi said Mr. Madoff's investment advisory business had "deceived investors by operating a securities business in which he traded and lost investor money, and then paid certain investors purported returns on investment with the principal received from other, different investors, which resulted in losses of approximately billions of dollars."

Can you say investor bailout, boys and girls? I know you can.

Some of America’s wealthiest socialites were facing ruin last night after the arrest of a Wall Street big hitter accused of the largest investor swindle perpetrated by one man.

Shock and panic spread through the country clubs of Palm Beach and Long Island after Bernard Madoff, a trading powerbroker for more than four decades, allegedly confessed to a fraud that will cost his wealthy investors at least $50 billion – perhaps the largest swindle in Wall Street history.

Mr Madoff, 70, a former Nasdaq stock chairman, was apparently turned in by his two sons and arrested on Thursday morning at his Manhattan apartment by the FBI. Andrew Calamari, a senior enforcement official at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, described the scheme as “a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions”.

Update: More on the carnage.

Panicked investors scrambled desperately yesterday to determine whether their life savings had been wiped out after a Wall Street legend allegedly admitted blowing as much as $50 billion in what is emerging as the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Among several big-name investors who trusted former Nasdaq Chairman Bernard L. Madoff with their cash were New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, who may have lost as much as $500 million in the scheme, sources said.

New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg also confirmed he had invested money from his charitable organization through the 70-year-old Madoff's company, though he did not say how much.

Around 20 angry investors stormed the lobby of Madoff's offices yesterday to find out what happened to their life savings - only to be ordered to leave by police.

"When I found about it, I felt lousy, I held my head," said one elderly man, who was too distraught to say how much money he may have lost. "We've got problems."

While the scope of countless other investors' losses remains unclear, it appears that most of the victims reside in New York and South Florida and were among Madoff's closest friends and business associates.

Madoff allegedly told authorities that he estimated he blew through $50 billion in the scheme he called "one big lie."

"This is a major disaster for a lot of people," said investor Lawrence Velvel, 69, dean of the Massachusetts School of Law who said he and friends had lost millions among them.

Just imagine the attention Madoff would be getting if he were a major donor to the GOP.

The Post wonders where Eliot Spitzer was while all this was going on?

The scope of the alleged fraud runs to $50 billion - nearly $20 billion more than was lost in the Enron collapse.

Our question: Where was Eliot Spitzer when Wall Street really needed him?

After all, the former New York attorney general (and now disgraced ex-governor) styled himself the "Sheriff of Wall Street" - using dubious powers to bully executives, even when the evidence against them was scant.

And on those rare occasions when browbeaten company heads refused to cave in, Spitzer almost never won in court.

Meanwhile, real fraud on a massive scale was apparently going on right under his nose.

Warnings as far back as 1999 were ignored. Who was protecting this guy?

Obama Victory Could Mean Good News for New Jersey

A possible silver lining for New Jersey in the aftermath of Barack Obama's victory: We may be rid of the ineffectual Jon Corzine as governor.

New Jersey Democratic Gov Jon Corzine on Wednesday said he had not discussed joining the new Obama administration as U.S. Treasury Secretary with anybody, though he added he would never rule anything out.

The possibility that the former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs who also has served as a U.S. senator would be named to lead the Treasury by President-Elect Barack Obama was raised in Wednesday's Star-Ledger newspaper, which said Corzine was being vetted for the post.

"I have not had any conversations with anybody about this job," Corzine said. "I like what I'm doing," he continued. Later, he added: "I am not going to say never to anything.

As New Jersey does not have a Lieutenant Governor, State Senate President Richard Codey would become governor if Corzine were to depart, which would make Codey a two-time governor never elected as such, which may be a first in this country.

Codey, you may recall, became governor after The Gay American, Jim McGreevey, resigned in disgrace in 2004.

Corzine would be up for re-election in 2009 if he stays.

In the New Jersey Senate race, the cadaver in formaldehyde, Frank Lautenberg, won yet again, beating Dick Zimmer handily. No surprise, as New Jersey hasn't elected a GOP Senator since 1972.

Not a single incumbent Congressman lost. My representative, Republican Rodney Frelighuysen, won handily. At least I can say I voted for one winner.

NJ Has One Candidate for All Congressional Seats

My main reason for visiting the DailyKos website:

If you use ad blocking software while viewing Daily Kos, you're getting all the benefits of our site but we're not getting any of the advertisement revenue associated with your visits. This site relies on ad revenue for daily operations: a decrease in the number of ads seen means a decrease in the funding available to run the site, to pay those that work on it, and to create improved site features.

This is possible by using the Firefox web browser with the Ad Blocking Add On installed in case you were interested.

Anyway there are other reasons for visiting the site. I like to get the talking points that Democrat Congress critters will be espousing from the floor of Congress in the coming days. I don't know which way the information flow goes, from Congress to them or vice versa, but it spares me from having to monitor CSPAN on a regular basis.

Anyway I found this nice little story about what happens when Democrats use their own little dirty tricks of politicking against each other.

Apparently, a current US Representative from New Jersey, Rob Andrews, wants to be a Senator. So he has decided to challenge that aging senior citizen Frank Lautenberg. Lautenberg is 84. Is there anybody in the Senate under the age of 65? Good googly moogly, it is time to send these folks to a retirement home before they start falling out on the floor of the senate while giving a speech. No wonder we can't get solutions for 21st century problems in America when we have all of these old folks nostalgic for the good old days of the 1920's.

Anyway, back on point. In order to run for the senate seat Andrews would have to give up his bid for reelection for his house seat. While it seems Mr. Andrews waited until all the way up to the last minute to make this decision, thereby essentially preventing any other Democrat to run for his seat. Nobody wanted to challenge him. But Mr. Andrews also came up a solution for the problem and to ensure the Dems had a candidate on the ballot. He got his wife to run!

The current working theory is that if Mr. Andrews is unable to defeat Lautenberg, and Mrs. Andrews manages to win her race, which from what I understand of this district in NJ is a given, she will step aside allowing a replacement to be appointed who of course will be her husband.

How convenient!

You got to love NJ politics. Soon there won't even be a need to spend all that money on ballots and polling places.

Remind me ask Jammie sometime if the ballots they received are already pre-filled out to assist in the voting process.

JWF says: My thoughts on Lautenberg-Andrews here. As for whether ballots arrive filled out, they may in certain areas, especially Newark. Thankfully, my local elections are unopposed GOP candidates.

Intolerant Democrats Strong-Arm Lautenberg Challenger

Democrats love paying lip-service to the notions of tolerance and diversity. Yet watch how they behave when one of their sacred cows is taken on in a primary.

All of a sudden they're screaming about unity.

It's curious to see how Rep. Ron Andrews is being treated now that he's taking on 84-year-old Frank Lautenberg in the Democrat Senate primary.

Even more amusing is seeing how Lautenberg spins the age factor, considering he made age a central theme of his 1982 Senate run against then 72-year-old Millicent Fenwick, when he questioned her fitness for office. Considering Lautenberg would be 91 if he serves another full term, his age is fair game, especially when you consider the endless stories about John McCain being 71 years old.

It was a moment worthy of fanfare: the opening of a new district office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in New Jersey last month.

Federal prosecutors, law enforcement officials and members of Congress, including Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, assembled at the federal building in downtown Newark, a city plagued by gun violence.

But soon after Representative Robert E. Andrews arrived, an organizer took him aside, at the urging of Mr. Lautenberg’s assistants, and asked him to leave. He retreated, as his colleagues headed to the microphones.

This is what life has been like for Mr. Andrews since early last month, when he startled the Democratic establishment by mounting a primary challenge against Mr. Lautenberg, the state’s senior senator. Mr. Andrews has waged an aggressive campaign, raising questions about the 84-year-old Mr. Lautenberg’s age and barraging him with tough television advertising.

In turn, his fellow Democrats in the state’s Congressional delegation are shunning him, avoiding teaming up with him on legislative work and seldom speaking with him.

And in ways that are striking even in the rough-and-tumble of New Jersey politics, his colleagues are pressuring others to shun him, too, sending word to lobbyists and industry executives that if they donate to the Andrews campaign, they could find their access to other members’ offices cut off.

“This is the kind of old-school politics that I decided to stand up and fight against,” Mr. Andrews said.

Lautenberg lamely spins the age issue. You'd have to think Democrats wouldn't mind seeing this fossil fade away into the sunset, but are probably more concerned Andrews could lose in the general election.

The fight is more bitter than many contests between candidates of opposite parties. Mr. Andrews, 50, has released ads resurrecting Mr. Lautenberg’s famous attack on 72-year-old Congresswoman Millicent H. Fenwick in 1982, when he questioned her fitness for the office. The ad suggests that the same question can now be asked about Mr. Lautenberg.

In the interview, Mr. Lautenberg, who was 58 when he ran against Ms. Fenwick, said the issue he was raising then was not so much her age as her state of mind and effectiveness.

“President Ford called her eccentric,” Mr. Lautenberg said of Ms. Fenwick.

Behind the scenes, the battle is equally intense, with donors saying they are getting none-too-subtle messages to get behind Mr. Lautenberg.

In an interview, an executive in the telecommunications industry said his company received a call last month from the office of another New Jersey congressman, Frank Pallone Jr., strongly discouraging contributions to the Andrews campaign. The executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation, said he felt “we were being strong-armed.”