Former N.J. gadfly embarrasses Giuliani, confuses QAnoners – Politico
Good Tuesday morning!
By now, we’ve all heard about Rudy Giuliani’s Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference down in Philly. But here’s the Jersey angle.
The first speaker Giuliani called up, a GOP poll worker, was Daryl Brooks. Trenton was laughing. Daryl Brooks says he lives in Philadelphia now, but he spent years as community activist and perennial candidate in Trenton. He’s also a convicted sex offender and has a history as an alleged deadbeat dad. You can read about it all here.
But there’s more to this than yet another embarrassing situation for Giuliani. He’s the lead lawyer making all kinds of evidence-free assertions of voter fraud against secretaries of state around the country from both parties, other elections officials and every day poll workers. And he’s making these allegations while using the least credible people to do it. And if he can’t even vet the people speaking at his press conference, how carefully do you think his allegations have been vetted?
This shouldn’t be a Republican vs. Democrat issue. It’s an autocrat vs. democrat issue. Trump has the right to contest the election as much as he wants. No, the media doesn’t call the election. The voters do. The media reports the candidates the voters chose. And there’s no reason to believe their will wasn’t expressed. But there are very few Republican elected officials right now who have publicly acknowledged the plain outcome of the election.
With a few exceptions, New Jersey Republicans have so far chosen silence. That might be their most politically expedient option in the short-term. But history’s going to remember this, and their children or grandchildren may someday ask where they stood.
CORONAVIRUS TRACKER — 2,075 newly-diagnosed cases for a total of 9,524. 11 more deaths for a total of 14,640 (and 1,800 probable deaths).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — State Sen. Joe Vitale, former Statehouse reporter Josh Margolin, former JC BOE member Ellen Simon, Bloomfield College’s Terrance L. Bankston,
WHERE’S MURPHY? No public schedule. Media: KYW at 3 p.m., Harry Hurley at 3:30 p.m., and “Ask Governor Murphy” on your local NPR affiliate at 7 p.m.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I want to make sure everything about this election is clean. (The margin) was so razor thin anything can happen.” — U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who in this election paid at least $110,000 to Craig Callaway, a Democratic operative whose ballot collection methods were so notorious that the Legislature — including Van Drew — voted to limit the number of ballots a bearer can collect from 10 to 3.
MURPHY’S EXECUTIVE ORDER IS JUST THE LYRICS TO ‘CLOSING TIME’ — Murphy announces new restrictions on indoor dining in New Jersey as Covid cases surge, by POLITICO’s Katherine Landergan and Carly Sitrin: New Jersey will require restaurants to stop indoor dining by 10 p.m. and will prohibit all indoor, interstate organized sports up to the high school level in an effort to slow the resurgence of Covid-19, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday. The new rules take effect Thursday morning, the governor said during his regular coronavirus briefing in Trenton. “The last thing I want to do is shut our economy back down. Thankfully, we’re not at that point,” Murphy said. “These are the measures we are taking now, and they do not preclude us from taking further action in other areas or placing other restricting on these in the near future. “The good news is that a vaccine is on the horizon — we anticipate broad distribution by this spring. We have a plan ready should that time frame hold,” Murphy said. “We have to snap back into reality. This virus hasn’t gone away, and it is posing its greatest threat to us in months.”
EXECUTIVE ORDER EXCERPT: ‘YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO HOME BUT YOU CAN’T STAY HERE’ — “‘I expected a 6-week shutdown’: Many restaurant/bar owners relieved by Murphy curfew,” by The Record’s Esther Davidowitz, Rebecca King and Sarah Griesemer: “Murphy also announced that outdoor dining bubbles will be allowed. The bubbles can be heated and must only be used by one group at a time and cleaned thoroughly in between parties. ‘I thought he was going to call for a six-week lockdown,’ said Bryan Gregg, chef at Cafe Chameleon in Bloomingdale, which, he noted, closes at 9 p.m. ‘This is fine.’ Olivier Muller, chef and co-owner of Faubourg in Montclair, was similarly relieved. ‘By 9:30 p.m, all our food is already in,’ Muller said. ‘By 10, everyone has been served.’ Muller added that he thinks the new executive order not only makes sense but may make it easier for restaurant owners and staffers to control inebriated customers. ‘It’s hard to control a crowd when they start drinking,’ he said. ‘As a restaurant, you constantly have to pay attention to whether they wear masks when they go to the bathroom and so on. I don’t think this is a bad resolution.’”
‘ONE LAST CALL FOR ALCOHOL, SO FINISH YOUR WHISKEY AND BEER’ —“N.J. bars rip new COVID curfew, say Murphy’s rules unfairly target them,” by NJ Advance Media’s :“ “‘It’s our biggest night of the year — I don’t even know what to say,’ said Mike Parla, owner of popular New Brunswick bar Clydz. ‘I would assume that it’s going to be cold. So outside is kind of out of the question.’ Parla believes the latest regulations, which also temporary eliminate all bar seating, could be even more debilitating for his industry. ‘I do a lot of business between 10 p.m. and 2 in the morning,’ Parla said. ‘We’re only allowed 25% capacity — it’s not cutting it at 25%. There’s only so much lemon juice you can get from a lemon, and the squeeze is on.’ Yet the restrictions could’ve been worse.
—“Fulop still against new restaurant restrictions as Murphy reveals indoor dining curfew”
IN THE WEEDS — Fault lines emerge as New Jersey Democrats navigate cannabis legalization, by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: A week after New Jerseyans voted to legalize cannabis, Gov. Phil Murphy and state lawmakers are at odds over legislation that would allow the state to become the only adult use market between Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee advanced the legalization bill, NJ S21 (20R) / NJ A21 (20R), after roughly six hours of cumulative testimony. The measure was introduced and placed on the legislative fast track last week, just days after two-thirds of the state’s voters backed a ballot question that amended the state’s constitution to legalize the sale and use of cannabis. While the state’s leading Democrats have all said they’d like to move enabling legislation as quickly as possible — the drug will remain illegal until they do — Murphy, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Steve Sweeney aren’t on the same page when it comes to cannabis tax policy.
—Lassiter: “You can still go to jail for weed in NJ”
— Sweeney: Grewal should order a halt to cannabis possession arrests
WHERE WE GO NONE WE GO NOT AT ALL — Coronavirus forces first-ever cancellation of ‘Walk to Washington’, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: For the first time in its more than 80-year existence, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s “Walk to Washington” train ride — one of New Jersey’s most storied and controversial annual political events — has been canceled for 2021 because of the coronavirus. The event had been scheduled for Feb. 18. “There’s just no way we can put 1,000 people on a train safely and then have the same people in multiple receptions in Washington safely. It’s just not appropriate,” New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken said in a phone interview. The “Walk to Washington” began in 1937 and has taken place every year since, even during Word War II. In 2014, it was postponed for two months because of a snowstorm.
NOT UNTIL THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE BUILDING WAS DEMOLISHED — “Can New Jersey Republicans rebuild from the rubble of the Trump era?” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “Despite the victories of Van Drew and Rep. Chris Smith, whose 4th Congressional District remains the lone reliably Republican bastion left in New Jersey, the overall Trump trend line has been a downward death spiral for state Republicans and a boon for the Democrats. Since his 2016 victory, Republican representation in the state’s congressional delegation has shrunk from five to two, while Democrats expanded their voter registration and scored victories in once-bedrock Republican strongholds. And here’s a historical footnote that distills the GOP’s woes: former Vice President Joe Biden is poised to be the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Morris County since Lyndon Johnson’s landslide over Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater in 1964. Many Trump-fatigued Republicans say he overshadowed everything Republican: the party’s agenda, its brand and its candidates. Political life may resume its normal rhythms now that he’s gone — or so they hope. ‘The focus can shift from the personality that is Donald Trump to [Republican] candidates again,’’ said Al Barlas, chairman of the Essex County Republican Party and a Trenton lobbyist. ‘When you have the head of your party as a cult of personality, its hard for anybody else to be seen or heard.’”
FREEDOM ISN’T FREE — “Freedom not a panacea for one N.J. prisoner released due to pandemic,” by NJ Advance Media’s Kevin Shea: “Trenton officials say. James Magilton, 57, suffers from cancer, Parkinson’s and needs a wheelchair to get around. On Friday morning, after two days at a Bordentown motel, his room was no longer being paid for and the new Trenton resident had nowhere to go, and nobody to call –– no family or friends. Eventually, he got through to Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora’s office, who dispatched city Health and Human Services employees workers to help him. They found Magilton sitting in the motel’s lobby, alone, according to city spokesman Will Skaggs and mayoral aide Rick Kavin. On Friday afternoon, Catholic Charities stepped in and paid for Magilton’s room. Trenton employees were unsure what the issue was, but they’re in Magilton’s corner now … Trenton highlighted Magilton’s case to highlight their argument that the prisoners should have been released in waves, so social agencies, nonprofits and local government agencies were not swamped. Kavin said he talked to officials from other municipalities and the consensus was, ‘We were caught off guard.’”
—“Legislators want hearings about the MVC’s troubled agency reopening”
—“A life interrupted: Their son killed himself during the pandemic. Are more N.J. teens at risk?”
—“N.J. sending 2.4M masks to schools as coronavirus cases surge, Murphy says”
—Steinberg: “The NJGOP will continue to fail as a party of white grievance”
—Voters could soon decide whether to allow sports betting for in-state college competitions
—“Singh launches bid for Governor against Murphy”
IN CASE YOU MISTOOK IT FOR PRINCIPLE — “Chris Christie won’t defend Donald Trump in his time of peril. Why? It’s payback,” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “As Trump huddles in isolation on Fantasy Island — or more commonly known as the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia — Christie is the loudest voice in a feeble GOP chorus calling for him to come to grips with reality. The same Christie who sanitized and defended Trump during his cycles of id rage over the past four years was now getting ahead of the curve, demanding Trump to either put up or shut up about voter fraud … Christie has one of the most highly attuned political antennas in the business. He was among the first to recognize the anger of the Republican zeitgeist in 2010, and he went about portraying himself as a bull-in-the-China-shop truth teller who crudely talked down to teachers at town halls. He was a proto-Trump … So why such a sharp break now? For one, Christie harbors his own fantasies about running for president in 2024. But there is likely another reason. Trump’s reckless COVID-19 management nearly killed Christie.”
JUST PLEASE NO MORE SPADEA — “Booker, Menendez again call on FCC to ensure WWOR-TV provides N.J. news coverage,” by Hudson County View’s John Heinis: “U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are again calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure WWOR-TV fulfills their obligation to provide New Jersey news coverage. ‘To grant Fox Corporation such a permanent waiver without addressing the news needs of the citizens of New Jersey would contravene the public interest,’ the senators wrote in a letter to FCC Chair Ajit Pai today.”
—“Bon Jovi ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ sung across country after Biden victory over Trump”
EDISON — “Edison ordinance makes mayor’s position full-time with $85K salary hike,” by The Courier-News’ Bob Makin: “Mayor Tom Lankey said he may veto an ordinance that would make the mayor’s position full-time and increase the salary by $85,000 to $135,000. Lankey said he already works full-time as mayor despite having a full-time job as a senior vice president of JFK Health System. ‘I do not support this ordinance,’ he said. ‘I believe the mayor’s position is adequately compensated, and I may in fact veto that ordinance. I do not want the public confused thinking this is an effort by me to increase my salary.’ The ordinance was proposed by Councilman Joe Coyle, who said that the size of the township warrants a full-time, more hands-on mayor. With a population of 100,693, Edison is the fifth largest municipality in the state.”
LESS IS MORRIS — “Morris candidates anxiously await outcome of slow vote count,” by The Daily Record’s William Westhoven: “Six days after the 2020 election, Morris County Freeholder Tayfun Selen was patiently awaiting a protracted vote count of mail-in ballots in Morris County. ‘I’m behind, but I’m not nervous,’ said Selen, who trailed Democratic challenger Cary Amaro by 5,980 votes after the latest vote-count update posted Monday morning by the Morris County Board of Elections. ‘Unfortunately, it’s going very slow.’ … Much like nearby counties in North Jersey, including Sussex, the Morris County Board of Elections is still counting ballots that were postmarked by Election Day and received through Friday. New Jersey election boards were allowed to being counting ballots 10 days before Election Day, but Selen said they were overwhelmed by public inquiries, which likely contributed to the delay. ‘They gave them 10 days, but they couldn’t do enough because they were more focused on answering phone calls because people had so many questions,’ Selen said. ‘Voters were calling not knowing what to do.’”
—”Bucco hanging by a 1.4K vote thread“
WHITE WHITE THAT’S THE LOOK OF THE POLICE — “As NJ police departments look to diversify ranks, few have a minority chief. Here’s why,” by The Record’s Steve Janoski: “There are no regional or statewide numbers on how many police departments are headed by racial minorities … But anecdotally, police officers in Bergen and Passaic said there are just a handful of Black and Hispanic or Latino police chiefs in the two counties, despite the diversity of their populations. National statistics seem to buttress this.”
—“Blurry ink on Morris County ballot envelopes leading to huge delays in counting votes”
—“N.J. jazz radio station hires new president after racial diversity concerns”
