ASSELTA, CLARK, DONOHUE ON RUTGERS-EAGLETON SURVEY: NEW JERSEY HAS SPOKEN, DEMOCRATS – YOUR MONETIZATION SCHEME IS DEAD ON ARRIV

ASSELTA, CLARK, DONOHUE ON RUTGERS-EAGLETON SURVEY: NEW JERSEY HAS SPOKEN, DEMOCRATS – YOUR MONETIZATION SCHEME IS DEAD ON ARRIVAL

(VINELAND, August 15) -- First District Senator Nick Asselta and his Assembly running mates Norris Clark and Michael Donohue -- responding to yesterday’s release of a new survey by Rutgers-Eagleton regarding strong public opposition to the Democrats’ plans to monetize New Jersey’s toll roads -- today reiterated their own strong opposition to any such transaction, and declared the Democrats’ plan dead on arrival.

“Yesterday’s Rutgers-Eagleton survey shows incredibly strong public opposition to monetizing New Jersey’s toll roads,” said Asselta. “The headline on the survey release might as well have been, ‘New Jersey has spoken, Democrats -- your monetization scheme is dead on arrival.’

“New Jerseyans all over the state, and in every demographic group, and even among all political parties, are making loud and clear their objection to the Democrats’ proposal to trade large toll increases down the road for quick cash up front. They’re right to oppose it -- Democrats will only take the money and spend it on more Big Government, more waste, and more corruption.”

“What’s really interesting in this survey is the fact that it demonstrates that the more people learn about the Governor’s proposal, the less they like it,” Clark added. “Among all survey respondents, for instance, 21 percent said they supported monetization, while a whopping 61 percent opposed it; but among those who say they have heard or read ‘a lot’ about the proposal, those numbers drop to an anemic 12 percent who say they support the plan, against an incredible 85 percent who oppose it.

“With numbers like that, the Democrats should simply acknowledge defeat on this issue and go back to the drawing board. Perhaps they could start by cutting out the wasteful spending,” said Clark.

“Just as interesting,” added Donohue, “is the data on options presented to New Jerseyans -- even when they are forced by the pollster to make a false choice between raising tolls, raising taxes, or cutting services as a mean to pay off state debt, 44 percent said they support raising tolls, while 28 percent supporting cutting services, and just 9 percent support raising taxes. But again, when you look inside the survey data and check those numbers among those who have heard or read ‘a lot’ about the Democrats’ plan, the numbers change significantly -- just 33 percent support raising tolls, while 12 percent support raising taxes, and a huge 39 percent support cutting services.

“Imagine what those numbers would have looked like,” Donohue continued, “if the pollster had added another option -- ‘cutting wasteful spending.’ Nick, Norris, and I are committed to fighting the Trenton Democrats and their big-spending ways -- State government spending that’s up almost 50 percent just since Jim McGreevey was elected six years ago, State debt that’s more than doubled in that same time frame, and the imposition or raising of taxes 94 times over those six years.

“New Jerseyans know what’s causing the Democrats to reach for the toll roads -- it’s the Democrats’ addiction to Big Government and wasteful spending. And the public isn’t buying.”

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Paid for by Asselta Clark Donohue