Adler mulls race vs. Saxton

Ideally, for Democrats, we would have a well-known Ocean County Democrat run for this office, since that part of NJ-03 is where there is so much of a deficit when it comes to a Republican v. Democrat vote; for some strange reason, folks in Democrat strongholds such as Pemberton and elsewhere will vote for Saxton because they are under the impression he helped save Ft. Dix. Further, Saxton may be retiring after this election (or even before), so that would be the more ideal timeframe to go after this seat. That being said, I don't know if there is a bigger Dem name in NJ-03 than Adler, and he has a lot of funds already existing in a prospective U.S. senate campaign chest that may be able to be tranferred into a house race.

Regarding Adler and Rich Sexton -- and in a just world, Sexton would currently be representing NJ-03 in congress, not Saxton -- they are very close and would not run against each other. Some of us are trying to talk Sexton into another run, but the candidate would one or the other, not both.

Adler has the money, the name recognition, the ambition, and the skill to fight a very credible campaign against Saxton, and I hope that he chooses to take this next step. Besides being an advocate for the environment, Saxton does very little else for his district and the state but promote a destructive and resource-depleting foreign policy agenda and fight against federal initiatives which would directly assist his district and the state; seemingly, the only things Congressman Saxton are good at are being generally irascible and being as out of touch with his district's voters and needs as possible. 

Oh my goodness. It gets funnier with each key stroke. Redistricting in 2001 made it very difficult for any Camden County Democrat to run effectively in the 3rd. Name recognition is key, and I guarantee the mom and pops who are not involved in local politics in Ocean County have no idea who John is. One need only ask Susan Bass Levin, who had the Clinton's, Gore, Gephardt, Kennedy, and Bonior into the district, how well she fared in 2000 despite spending an equal amount as Saxton. She barely won the town she was mayor of. Despite her attempts, she was defined in OC before she had a chance to do it herself. For the record, he is not going anywhere before or after the 2008 election. He is in a position to chair the Armed Services Committee and would make a great chairman. And to say that he is out of touch with the district is laughable - ask the unions, the enviros, the senior groups, the vet groups (the legitimate ones such as the VFW, American Legion and the DAV), as well as the Jewish groups, military families, and pro-tax cut and pro business groups - they all supported him and will do so again. In a just world...nah - I promised I would not attack. But the right person won the race last time. And for the record, the people are under the impression that he saved Ft Dix, because he did - as well as McGuire. No one else can claim they did. Enough said.

I'd like to see Adler run, mostly just to see if he has what it takes for the future. I doubt he can win (or even get within 5% points) of Saxton, but for someone with absolutely nowhere to go, I don't see the harm in trying.

Worst case scenario is that he loses 55-45, but raises his profile and fundraising network for some future endeavor.

Who knows, after the next re-districting, he could find himself running in a re-drawn 1st District if Andrews ever moves up or out....or running against Saxton again under a more favorable map.

As for people like Corzine and Christie who say he's unqualified for A.G. and is a 3rd-rate bureaucrat, I find that pretty disingenuous.  He's been a good Senator, and with his Harvard and Harvard Law credentials, he'd be a damn good A.G. or US Atty. 

People also presume that since he's from Camden County that he's some sort of J-Robs type Norcross drone....but I really don't think that's the case at all.  He's shown quite a bit of independence from the Machine over the years, similar to Andrews.

Certainly, the mythos surrounding Saxton, namely that he helped save McGuire and Dix when it was the veterans who should receive credit, does make him a formidable candidate in NJ-03; I wouldn't argue otherwise. Of course, as someone attuned to veterans issues, I supported a veteran not only in the last presidential election but in the Saxton-Sexton election in November. On veterans issues, Saxton received a mediocre grade of "C" from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of American, and the Disabled Veterans of America gave him a "0" rating three times for on his votes on issues supported by that organization.

On issues specifically related to N.J., I would give Saxton very poor marks; he hasn't supported Democratic-led iniatives to increase Homeland Security funding to high-risk areas, such as South Jersey, and he voted against HR 1591, which included federal funding to help N.J. spinach farmers whose crops were threatend. Saxton voted against the most recent stem cell legislation, even though he represents a state and region that is trying to be at the cutting edge of potentially life-saving stem cell research. And under the Saxton-Bush foreign policy regime, the war in Iraq goes on without end, with no timelines and no set benchmarks.

One game I personally enjoy playing is: Name that politician. Hence, out of Rick Santorum, Jim Inhofe, and Jim Saxton, who am I describing below?

1).He's received a 0% rating from NARAL.

2). He has received a 100% rating from the radical organization Christian Coalition.

3). He's received a B+ rating from the NRA.

4). He wants to change the Constitution to include discrimination against gays and lesbians via a marriage amendment.

Though Inhofe and Santorum no doubt share the aforementioned views, it is Congressman Saxton who is described above. Out of touch and deserving early retirement, Congressman Saxton needs to be shown the door in NJ-03, and it is my hope that Adler (or Sexton) is the person to do it.

Oh, Marty. Aid to spinich farmers and a Zero from the abortion-pushing ladies at NARAL? Give me a break! Sure, Saxton is pro-life (as are a few Dems and liberals, I might add), but that doesn't mean he is a rabid right-winger "out of touch" with his state or district. For a Republican, he is pretty moderate (see above post regarding environment, veterans groups, and others). Adler? Sure, he's smart and a go-getter and we can't smoke in bars and bowling alleys anymore because of his "leaderhip." But look at his record. Nothing on property-tax reform (he voted against the band-aid Corzine credit/rebates and goes on and on about the need for a const. convention). Too many votes on tax and spending increases to even get started oh here. Votes to confirm unqualified and ethically-challenged judges and cabinet members. Wants to eliminate teaching kids about Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Columbus Day (under the guise of saving money and reducing property taxes!!!), proponent of infanticide/partial-birth abortion for any reason, pusher of Petty's Island over-development over preservation/open space/recreation, taking $$$ from casinos as a state lawmaker (which is supposed to be illegal, but it's OK because he has a federal account), and sponsoring the law to expand unneccesary gov't bureaucacy (county tax boards), etc. etc. With this record, he won't stand a chance against Saxton (or even any other Republican) the way that district is now. Perhaps if he were a moderate Democrat more "in touch" with middle-class families, he could have a chance.

Yawn.....

Just keeps getting funnier with each post. I really don't know where to begin. Well, let's start with the "organizations" quoted and the "ratings" included. The IAVA is a Democrat front group. All one has to do is look at who has donated to this group. I think it will be eye-opening. NARAL? Who cares? The largest block of voters in the 3rd are senior citizens. Knowing the demographics of the district, I know the majority of those seniors oppose many of the position held by NARAL. So, it would stand to reason, Saxton is representing that voting block very well. Now, let's get to the facts about who has endorsed Saxton: enviros: Sierra Club, NJ Environmental Federation, League of Conservation Voters, and many others business: US Chamber of Commerce, NFIB gun control: Ceasefire NJ (yes, they have endorsed his candidacy) education: NJEA, NEA veterans: VFW, DAV (despite Marty's "0" rating, they endorsed him), American Legion unions: plumbers and pipefitters, carpenters, sheet metal workers, electrical workers, Teamsters (local), bricklayers police & firefighters: FOP, PBA, BC Firefighters seniors/retirees: National Association of Retired Federal Employees, 60-Plus health care: NJ Doctors, NJ Hospital Association I could go on but I think everyone gets the point. A very diverse group which represents the district very well. As for the much deprived spinach farmers in NJ, I would like to know what in God's name that has to do with funding our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan? The bill Martin cites was the Iraq and Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations bill which was supposed to provided needed resources for our men and women on the front lines. Unfortunately, the Democrat majority needed to play games with the bill and had to include non-related items to garner favor with their own party. So, millions of taxpayer funds were included for items somehow related to providing for our troops like NJ's spinach farmers. Makes a lot of sense to me (sarcasm intended). Lastly, to the point that it was the veterans who should get credit for saving Dix and McGuire, my comment is: Say what? While not diminishing the role veterans have done for either base, I did not see anyone else doing the hours and hours of research on the competitors of both bases to fight the BRAC recommendations. I did not see anyone else push for the bases to hire an expert to assist in fighting the recommendations. I did not see anyone else meet or speak with the commissioners on a weekly basis to persuade them to vote in favor of keeping the bases open. And it was Saxton who pushed the military to establish the "Mega Base" which includes McGuire, Dix and Lakehurst. Keep dreaming that it was anyone other than Saxton who saved the bases. His efforts and the backing of the communities surrounding the bases won the fights. Ask Holt and Pallone who they ran to when they needed help with Monmouth.

PS - I don't take the view that 2008 will be worse or even as bad as 2006 for the GOP. All one has to do is look at the public ratings for the current Congress. Seems folks here who were constantly quoting Bush's low approval ratings have abruptly stopped for fear of drawing attention to the 27% approval rating (66% disapprove) the current Democrat controlled Congress has. If this continues, I don't see a replay of 2006.

Once you become fluent in "martinspeak", his posts magically transform from being utterly infuriating to being laugh out loud funny. His "name that politician" game is an instant classic. Morphing Saxton into Santorum/Inhofe is like casting Rosey O'Donnell as Scarlet O'Hara in a Larry Flynt remake of Gone With the Wind.  But he tries so hard ... and that's what makes it so damn funny!

"KNOWLEDGE IS GOOD" - Emil Faber

Troll posts by gopgal08, BergenPrince (shouldn't you be defending that radical fundamentalist Garrett instead of being here?), and the normally reasonable Xenu aside, jkasko and theoc make some rather good points about Saxton and Adler, respectively. Although I'm just a bit partisan, I realize that any Democrat faces an uphill battle versus the entrenched and well-funded Saxton; the best that a Democrat has done in that district as of late -- though Clinton/Gore won it, surprisingly -- is Corzine losing by 10% to Forrester there. This is why I recommended, from a Democratic perspective, some Ocean County Democrat, like Van Drew in Cape May County, who shores up a base in an otherwise Republican-leaning area; I realize, of course, that the pickins are slim, and the above article states how Adler may see this as his only out in his own political ambitions.

First, concerning Adler, Jeff makes the point that Adler favored development of Petty's Island; if so, this is news to me. Adler's record on the environment is incredibly strong, from his recent support of Corzine's landmark global warming initiative to his shepherding of the Highlands Act through the Senate Environmental Committee to his work to preserve and allocate funds for the preservation of the Pinelands... There was also criticism of Adler opposing Gov. Corzine's property tax relief bill; I would imagine that any Republican would criticize him for signing it, let alone opposing it, so this criticism seems disingenuous to me. Further, as a pro-woman and pro-choice candidate, Adler has received endorsements from NJ Right to Choose; I can't imagine his opponent in November, Adolf, will win many accolades for his anti-choice positions. If you want to criticize Adler for supporting Farber's nomination, then I think that is fair game, but we didn't know too much about her at that point; Adler does support Milgram and Rabner, and they seem like stellar choices in their respective positions.

What's good about Adler is his attention to fiscally-sound initiatives in the N.J. budget, his attention to ethical issues, and his ability to think outside of the box, as with his opposition to Democratic initiatives, when he deems necessary. Of course, we're talking about the same person who has been named one of the top 10 legislators in the state by NJ Magazine and who has received the most votes of any legislator in NJ history. Jkasko, who lives as I do in Adler's district, knows that he would be no pushover for Saxton; I would imagine that the DCCC were in fact reaching out to him and not vice versa.

Regarding Saxton and theoc's post, I would beg to differ on some points, such as calling Saxton a moderate (he actually votes with the Republicans 79% of the time, according to The Washington Post) even though he is anti-choice, anti-stem cell research, and pro-war, but I do see some good votes in his record, and his environmental record (83% rating from the League of Conservation Voters) is stellar. Had Lieutenant Commander Sexton been elected in November, I would imagine he would have had an even stronger environmental record, but that is water under the bridge now. And, yes, Saxton had a hand in saving the multiple bases; I'm not blind to that.

What disturbs me about Saxton, besides the aforesaid shortcomings and the 100% rating from Pat Robertson's radical organization, is that he hasn't budged at all on the failing war in Iraq and is willing to serve as a sock-puppet for the Bush administration on foreign policy matters. The Saxton vision for the war in Iraq includes a neverending war and a perpetual keeping of U.S. (and N.J. troops) in that illegitimate and resource-depleting conflict. Saxton even got caught up in the whole "freedom fries" movement at the beginning of the war, making the laughable proposition that the U.S. should boycott the Paris Air Show in protest of France.

Further, Saxton is a prime example of the consummate Washington insider and special interest group-serving politico; he knew that Tom DeLay's money was dirty, but he still took 10k from DeLay, and he helped shepherd a bill through Congress that would have allowed indicted criminals still to serve as majority speaker.

During the only candidate forum for Saxton-Sexton, Congressman Deadweight was angry, mumbling, and seemed that he didn't want to be there serving his constituents. As Roscoe said, a perfect wave could possibly bring down this out of touch and disconnected congressman; I hope that this will indeed be the case.

That's about it and all that could be said about the Record of Jim Saxton both a Fighter and a Gentleman. As for that loser that can't speak straight as with his fellow jerk Congressional friend ROB, Hasn’t had a Bill Passed" Andrews and that is what a "USELESS DEMOCROOK" from Camden County will do for you.

 And for that moron Martin1234567899....... whatever that means just ignore him and don't even respond as he is an idiot from Camden County so what do you expect.

"RUN FRED RUN"

First I am Jewish and have lost relatives in the camps. Secondly, your rants and hate are exactly EXACTLY no different than what was espoused back then. Think about it. People read your kind of hate and it is no different. Your blamming Bush and the GOP for the same kind of world wide problems is crazy. You talk about bi-partisinship but you do NOT HAVE the first clue as to what it means. Marty, the more you rant on the more you will get called on the carpet. No one else rants on and on the way you do and your posts are clearly that of almost kool-aide induced. Sorry, but I call it as I read it.

I apologize for my comments, but truth is truth. I have no idea where Martin is getting his facts from but the spewing of said facts leaves me shaking my head.

Saxton is one of the most formidable candidates and Congressmen around with a proven ability to get the job done. The dems know he is unbeatable and they always try to push the money to try to unseat them. EVen when Saxton ran against Bass Levin years ago, as Mayor of Cherry Hill which is a large area of Jewish residents she made comments such as what does Saxton know about being Jewish, she herself is Jewish so how could he understand? That was a HUGE backlash to her because Saxton has proven himself a staunch supporter of Israel and has gone to Israel several times with some Jewish groups as well. His work with the Vets and other groups also didnt hurt him either. Money was poured into the race, but unfortunately, he lost Cherry Hill, but by less than 1800 votes but he won BIG in the other areas.

Just goes to prove all the mudslinging you do does not necessarily stick.