The Anointed Con

By James Devine

I intended to title this article, ‘The Anointed One,’ but a typo offered a much smarter name to go identify with the GOP establishment’s purpose behind its intended coronation.

I thought the argument of inevitability was ridiculous when Hillary Clinton used it in the early primaries last year. It is no less of a fraud when applied to the Bush-appointed media darling whose cloak of lovability dissolved once he bathed in the pool of political opportunism, which leads to a question: When did Chris Christie become the only Republican who can beat Jon Corzine?

It appears that Chris Todd Christie may not be able to beat Steve Lonegan in a GOP primary, which should be unsurprising given the popularity of liberal Republicans these days.

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Does Marriage Need Saving?

 By James J. Devine

Divorce and adultery are severe threats to the institution of marriage, as well as to the ‘nuclear family’ we once believed was ‘normal’ in America.

A group based in New Jersey called the National Organization for Marriage is not paying any attention to those problems however, because in politics as in marketing, sex sells.

I find nothing in anyone’s agenda about restricting or prohibiting homosexual conduct and that raises a number of questions.

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The Latino Leadership Alliance Of New Jersey Has Got To Change Its Name

By James J. Devine

When one of a handful of Hispanic state lawmakers announced he would not seek re-election, the leader of the Middlesex County Democratic Party reportedly said, “nobody from the Latino community has shown an interest in that seat…”

Although South Amboy Mayor John T. O’Leary has been campaigning for the seat held by Assemblyman Joe Vas and he is likely to be given the ‘organization line,’ the Hispanic community should be faulted for not responding to the alteration in the political dynamics created by Vas’ indictment. By not even coming up with a single name for consideration as a 19th District legislator in 2009, the Alliance has forfeited its right to assert leadership of anything.

The mission of the Latino Leadership Alliance is to mobilize and empower Latino communities to obtain political, economic, and social equity. Without advocating the election of Hispanic representatives, they cannot do that. Latinos have not achieved a degree of representation in the Legislature that is commensurate with their share of the population or for the Hispanic community’s contribution to the state’s progress.

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Cryan Abusing Government Staff For Partisan Purpose

by James J. Devine

Assemblyman Joseph Cryan is apparently abusing his legislative office by having government staff perform work related to his capacity as state Democratic Party chairman, specifically to recruit personnel for some Monmouth County government jobs.

According to e-mails obtained by Monmouth County Freeholder Robert D. Clifton, Cryan’s legislative office staff in Union contacted the state Department of Personnel and the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics about finding candidates for the positions of chief financial officer, directors of the human resources and human services departments, and a new post, inspector general.

Clifton, a Republican, has cried foul and helped push through administrative changes to prevent the new Democratic majority on that county’s freeholder board from hiring personnel in the four jobs.

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