A Town-hall Meeting ... Without the Town

Expect to see plenty more of this cowardice on display from the yellow-bellied liberals now running for cover from the angry mobs who dare to express their displeasure with being herded into a health-care plan nobody has bothered to read.

One would figure a New York City Congressman would have the stones to face his constituents, but then again we're dealing with a Chuckie Schumer acolyte here, and intestinal fortitude isn't exactly their strong suit.

Congressman Anthony Weiner yesterday held the city's first town-hall meeting on health-care reform -- and, with little advance notice, it was free of the angry protests that have marked forums elsewhere.

Weiner, who has pushed for a liberal single-payer plan, spoke about efforts to overhaul the system to a group of senior citizens dining on a steak lunch at the Austin Street Self-Help Center in Forest Hills.

But while between 60 and 70 people attended, there were none of the shouting protesters who've halted town-hall forums elsewhere.

The event was not publicized to reporters until a few hours before its 11:15 a.m. start time, and the majority of attendees said they hadn't even known Weiner would be there. Many said they happened to be at the center for other activities, including the $2 lunch.

A $2 steak lunch? No wonder it wasn't advertised. I don't even live in Weiner's district, but I'd travel for that.

Steve Lonegan, senior policy director for AFP in New Jersey, said many officials were scheduling events at the last minute to keep detractors from hearing about them.

Weiner, a Queens-Brooklyn Democrat, blasted a "well-constructed, well-organized scare campaign that has been largely pushed by Republicans and financed by the insurance lobby."

Here we go again with this nonsense about a well-organized campaign. I guess the media isn't interested in the Democrats' well-organized campaign of lies.

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.

Christie Clobbering Corzine in Latest Poll

This is certainly some good poll news for the bedraggled Republicans. If you have a good chance to win the statehouse in New Jersey then all hope is not lost.

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine trails Chris Christie, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, by nine percentage points, up from six points in February, according to poll released today.

The Quinnipiac University poll has little good news for the Democratic incumbent. Half of those polled disapproved of the job Corzine's doing even before he unveiled a bad news budget Tuesday.

Pollster Clay Richards said Christie could gain momentum as more voters find out who he is. Only 44 percent said they're aware he is a former federal prosecutor with a string of political corruption convictions.

Never underestimate Corzine's ability to spend millions to keep his seat, however. Between his Senate and gubernatorial campaigns he's spent well in excess of $100 million. Maybe this time around his money is dwindling thanks to the Obama economy plus the fact he's just incompetent and people can't stand him. These numbers look bleak.

Christopher Christie, the Republican challenger in this year's New Jersey Governor's race, leads Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine 46 - 37 percent, even though 61 percent of voters don't know enough about the former U.S. Attorney to form an opinion of him, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This compares to a 44 - 38 percent Christie lead in a February 4 poll by the independent Quinnipiac University.

In this latest survey, Democrats support Corzine 69 - 14 percent while Christie leads 87 - 4 percent among Republicans and 49 - 31 percent among independent voters. Men back the Republican 51 - 34 percent and women back him 41 - 39 percent.

Corzine leads former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan 41 - 37 percent, even though 77 percent of New Jersey voters haven't heard enough about Lonegan to form an opinion.

Only 44 percent of voters were aware that Christie was a federal prosecutor who successfully forced more than 100 New Jersey politicians to leave office. But 42 percent of voters say that experience makes them more likely to vote for Christie.

Voters say 48 - 36 percent that his background as a prosecutor gives Christie the experience to be Governor. Voters say 49 - 37 percent it is better to have a new face such as Christie than a business man such as Corzine leading the state during the economic crisis.

"There are no good numbers for Gov. Jon Corzine in this poll, and since it was taken before his Draconian budget was released, his numbers could be even worse today," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Independents make up a sizable chunk of Jersey voters and the fact Corzine trails by 18% among them is huge. That he's trailing among women, albeit a statistical tie, is rather ominous.