Tag: new jersey

In 2002, Bob Mendendez used influence on behalf of company that he owned stock in.

Well, well, well: hi, Bob.

Sen. Robert Menendez contacted the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to delay a proposed merger opposed by one of his biggest campaign contributors, according to a letter obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Menendez and two House colleagues urged then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in September 2002 to postpone any decision “until a complete review of the merger can be done,” according to the letter.  It followed an identical letter sent to  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, which Bloomberg reported on here.

Menendez, then a U.S. representative, was aligned with Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. in objecting to a merger between Univision Communications Inc. and Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. At the time, Menendez owned from $1,000 to $15,000 in SBS stock.

Continue reading In 2002, Bob Mendendez used influence on behalf of company that he owned stock in.

Meet Barbara Buono (D CAND, NJ-GOV). Or, as MSNBC called her: “Dawn Quixote.”

Ain’t Chris Matthews the total ass, Ms. Buono?

Barbara Buono, known more widely as the woman Democrats put forward to run against Chris Christie after Cory Booker took a pass, is asked her first question early, before the cameras go live and the set falls silent for the countdown to air. The state senator is in Hardball‘s Washington studio for a national television interview — her third-ever — and a rare chance to get her name on the screen and into the living rooms of Chris Matthews’ tens of thousands of MSNBC viewers.

But first — before any talk about New Jersey, where Buono has experience two-decades-deep in the state legislature — a query from the cable news vet, as she later recalled it:

“Can I say you’re attractive?” Matthews asks.

“No, you can’t,” Buono remembers responding.

She slogged to Washington for this?

Continue reading Meet Barbara Buono (D CAND, NJ-GOV). Or, as MSNBC called her: “Dawn Quixote.”

Sen. Robert Menendez a subject of grand jury investigation.

I do not see how this could possibly end badly for the …can we call him ’embattled,’ yet?  Yes,  let’s! …embattled New Jersey Democrat*.

A federal grand jury in Miami is investigating Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), examining his role in advocating for the business interests of a wealthy donor and friend, according to three people aware of the probe.

Menendez has intervened in matters affecting the financial interests of Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, seeking to apply pressure on the Dominican government to honor a contract with Melgen’s port security company, documents and interviews show. Also, Menendez’s office has acknowledged he interceded with federal health-care officials after they said that Melgen had overbilled the U.S. government for care at his clinic.

Melgen has provided Menendez with plane flights and hospitality at his Dominican vacation home, say people acquainted with their relationship.

Continue reading Sen. Robert Menendez a subject of grand jury investigation.

New Jersey Democratic Mayor to… it’s too comprehensively fun to summarize, sorry.

It’s hard out there for a New Jersey Democrat:

East Brunswick Mayor Dave Stahl will head to the Colonial Diner (located at 560 Route 18 N) [Tuesday] morning at 10:30 a.m. and announce his intention to (1) endorse Chris Christie AND (2) switch parties (3) AND run as a GOP candidate for State Senate this fall. That’s Buono’s seat.

‘Buono’ being ‘Christine [Barbara*] Buono,’ who Chris Christie is currently beating in a head-to-head poll 58/22; Christie is currently getting the support of 1/3 of NJ Democrats, including (the last time I checked) my mom.  I’m mentioning that last bit because my mom (who I dearly love) is practically a Trotskyite; if this keeps up then I may not even bother to declare DOOM.  It’d be… cruel.  I never did that to Alvin Greene or Tara Hollis, after all. Continue reading New Jersey Democratic Mayor to… it’s too comprehensively fun to summarize, sorry.

Frank Lautenberg’s staff (D, NJ) cuts and runs.

He’s so totally announcing the end of something, here.

“I am not announcing the end of anything. I am announcing the beginning of a two-year mission to pass new gun safety laws, protect children from toxic chemicals and create more opportunities for working families in New Jersey,” Lautenberg told The Star-Ledger. “While I may not be seeking re-election, there is plenty of work to do before the end of this term and I’m going to keep fighting as hard as ever for the people of New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.”

OK, now, for those following “…Booker!”Watch at home, this means that Cory Booker will still not be running for Governor in 2013, will probably be the next Senator from NJ in 2014… and will probably not be the Democratic nominee for President in 2016, although he’s now on the short wish for the VP nomination (and will be on top of it, should he win in 2014).  I know that this sounds vaguely counter-intuitive, given that Barack Obama jumped from state Senator to President in roughly five years… but then, “they let Barack Obama do X” is going to be a potent argument against whatever “X” is among the Washington Establishment, for at least the next twenty years.

Via email from Constant Reader BigGator5.

New York Times calls for Bob Menendez to be removed as Foreign Relations chairman.

The New York Times (H/T: Hot Air Headlines) is in full waltzing-bear mode about the need to have Robert Menendez stop being Senate Foreign Relations chairman:

Senator Robert Menendez was never a distinguished choice for chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the position he ascended to this month by virtue of seniority. Concerns about that quality gap have sharply escalated amid new disclosures about Mr. Menendez’s use of his position to advance the financial interests of a friend and big donor. Instead of trying to protect Mr. Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, needs to remove his gavel, at least pending credible resolution by the Senate Ethics Committee of the swirling accusations of misconduct.

Which is to say that for what it is, it’s actually not too bad. A couple of points, though: Continue reading New York Times calls for Bob Menendez to be removed as Foreign Relations chairman.

Frank Lautenberg’s staff kind of sidles away from Bob Menendez.

I can understand why Frank Lautenberg’s staff would program this into the Senator.

Frank Lautenberg said today he was sorry to see his fellow Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey, Robert Menendez, entangled in a controversy over trips he took to the Dominican Republic on the plane of a campaign contributor.

The contributor, Salomon Melgen, an eye doctor in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the subject of an FBI investigation. On Tuesday night and again Wednesday, agents searched his offices, although they have refused to disclose what they were looking for.

“If there are infractions as they are reported, it’s too bad,” Lautenberg told reporters.

After all, a suddenly-absent Robert Menendez would be most beneficial for Frank Lautenberg’s staff’s long-term employment prospects.

Via

Senate fight between Cory Booker & Frank Lautenberg’s staff (D, New Jersey) heats up.

Frank Lautenberg’s staff (who are apparently quite peeved that Mayor Booker wishes to throw them out of their comfy Senate gig) even went to the trouble of remotely activating their boss’s rhetoric emulator to get that ‘personal’ touch.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who might face a 2014 primary challenge from Newark Mayor Cory Booker, said his fellow Democrat is “entitled” to run if he chooses to but suggested that he had to give a “spanking” to his potential rival for so openly coveting his seat.

[snip]

“I have four children, I love each one of them. I can’t tell (you) that one of them wasn’t occasionally disrespectful, so I gave them a spanking and everything was OK,” Lautenberg said with a smile in his first public comments since Booker announced he was considering a run for Senate.

Continue reading Senate fight between Cory Booker & Frank Lautenberg’s staff (D, New Jersey) heats up.

Frank Lautenberg’s staff is upset to hear that Cory Booker is running for Senate.

Although I think that it’s cute that BuzzFeed is pretending that it’s the Senator himself who is upset.

The party is also faced with the uncomfortable dynamic Booker’s Senate race has created surrounding Sen. Frank Lautenberg, one of the most respected, storied figures in the state’s political history, who also happens to be 88 years old and hell bent on staying in office — or at least retiring on his own terms.

Although Lautenberg would be 90 years old in 2014, running a re-election bid for a six-year term, he has not publicly indicated even the impression that he wants to retire.

It looks like there might be a highly entertaining two-or-three-way brawl in the primary between Cory Booker, Frank Lautenberg’s staff, and Rep. Frank Pallone (who is probably muttering in his beer about upstarts and show horses right now). Which is fine by me: a bloodied and battered Frank Lautenberg’s staff as the nominal winner of the 2014 New Jersey Democratic primary might be very handy indeed…

Via

“…BOOKER!” vs. Frank Lautenberg’s staff in 2014 New Jersey Senate race.

Well, I’m not going to pretend that Lautenberg is running the show.

Anyway, it’s official: Newark mayor Cory Booker will avoid losing to Chris Christie in next year’s gubernatorial election, and instead go after the increasingly comatose Frank Lautenberg’s Senate seat.  Via the National Journal: “I will explore the possibility of running for The United States Senate in 2014.”  I can’t say that I’m surprised: my mom’s a hardcore liberal Democrat and SHE’S voting for Christie next year.  Mayor Booker’s under no obligation to walk into the buzzsaw on this one.

As to whether Booker will win… well, if Lautenberg’s staff wants to make a fight of it they’ll be tougher to beat than people will give them credit for.  Add to that the minor detail that white Democrats tend to not vote for black ones in statewide primaries* and you’re looking at possibly a surprisingly competitive primary.

Moe Lane

*Hey, you know what would solve that problem?  Cory Booker could switch parties!  After all, we have cookies.