With hurricane over, Zimmer and Wilson let loose on Lautenberg

Republicans yesterday held their fire on the Democratic Party while Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf Coast. But now, with damage from the Hurricane apparently less than feared, Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson and Senate candidate Dick Zimmer let loose on incumbent Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

Introducing Zimmer to speak at the delegation breakfast this morning, Wilson took a shot at Lautenberg on rumors that he spends most of his time in Manhattan rather than his Cliffside Park condo.

“For 25 years, Frank Lautenberg has left his apartment in Manhattan and gone to Washington to represent New Jersey. And in those 25 years, he’s got three things to show for it: a train station with no parking, no smoking on airplanes and a 21-year-old drinking age. Two of those things happened when Ronald Reagan was president,” he said. “And since then, Frank Lautenberg has just been along for a ride.”

Zimmer, as usual, performed his dollar and change shtick, asking the an audience member for a dollar and giving back 61 cents change to demonstrate how much New Jersey gets from the federal government versus how much it puts in. That, he noted, was a similar complaint Lautenberg made during his first campaign in 1982.

“You may recall that in 1982 he complained that we were 45th out of 50 states in the amount of tax dollars we get back. He said he would change that. And true to his word, Frank Lautenberg did change that,” said Zimmer. “We are not 50th out of 50. Dead last. And all we get back is 61 cents of every tax dollar we send to Washington.”

Zimmer went on to contrast Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s fight against the Ted Stevens-sponsored Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska, versus Lautenberg, who he said voted in favor of the project.

“Frank Lautenberg is proud of this. He brags about how he brings home the bacon. He votes for a Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska for a quarter billion dollars and then brags about a couple hundred thousands dollars he gets (for New Jersey),” said Zimmer.

And with that, Zimmer made a pledge that, if elected, he will keep kosher.

“I want to make one thing clear. I’m not going to try to play the pork barrel game better. I’m not going to try to get 65 cents or 71 cents back for your tax dollar. I want to shut this game down.”

Lautenberg spokeswoman Julie Roginsky responded with a statement tying Zimmer to President Bush while concurrently reminding readers that, prior to his senate campaign, he was an active lobbyist in Washington.”

"It seems like Tom Wilson and Dick Zimmer lost their grip on reality to coincide with their uncanny ability to lose elections. Zimmer is at the Republican convention that is celebrating the failed leadership of
George Bush and is trying to saddle New Jersey and the nation with another four years of failed economic policy, failed national security policy and failed personal attacks,” she said in a statement. “Washington Republican Zimmer is so caught up in the past that he is even re-running his failed and negative 1996 Senate campaign. While Senator Lautenberg is fighting against the special interests every day, special interest lobbyist and Republican congressman Dick Zimmer embodies what is wrong with Washington."