New Jersey: To the loser go the spoils

Oh, Nick. At least you're not walking away empty handed. He may not have won the new car, but at least he got appointed to a public post at the Board of Public Utilities the day the lame-duck senator cast a critical vote for the governor's school-funding bill.

From the Cape May Herald:

On the same day he was named to the post, Asselta voted in favor of Corzine’s controversial $7.8-billion school funding formula, which squeaked to victory in a 23-13 vote in the Senate when it needed a minimum 21 votes to pass. Asselta was one of only five Republicans to approve the measure.

And just to belay your fears that the administration was doing something dirty, Brady Abelow assures us that's not the case:

"We never talk about the process that we go through to get the talented people that we find," Abe low said. "I've got nothing more to say on this other than it had nothing to do with" the school funding vote.

Did I mention that Abelow will be making $125,000 a year in his new post. By comparison, his annual salary as a legislator was $49,000.

Asselta got BPU job offer on day of crucial vote
Press of Atlantic City

Asselta out of '09 Assembly race
PolitickerNJ.com

Maine: So what did Baldacci have to say?

Click above to view my latest cartoon over at PolitickerME.com.

Vermont: The State of the State

It's South Carolina...let the dirty ads begin!

Ouch!

The ad is put out by a new 527 group called Victims Voice. They were set up by one Arkansas Republican, Keith Emis, with the assistance of his new financial backers.

Anti-Huck 527's Brutal Ad Stars Mother of One of Dumond's Murder Victims
Election Central

Dumond goes viral
Arkansas Blog (Arkansas Times)

Nevada: Culinary Union knows what they want for dinner

Click on that pretty lil' face above to view today's cartoon at PolitickerNV.com.

Well, the all-mighty Culinary Worker's Union has spoken from on high, bestowing Barack Obama with their all-powerful endorsement. This follows the smaller Nevada SEIU's endorsement of Obama earlier in the day.

Which means no love for John Edwards.

Hillary did manage to steal some of Obama's thunder in Nevada. U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, who had pledged alongside Harry Reid not to endorse a candidate in the primary, did so just after the Culinary Union made its endorsement. Now, it comes as no surprise that Berkley is a Hillary supporter; one only needs to look at her campaign donations. But it definitely was her and the Clinton campaign's intention to steal some of Obama's thunder, and at least get a mention alongside Barack.

Culinary Workers Endorse Obama
PolitickerNV.com

Breaking neutrality pledge, Berkley endorses Clinton
PolitickerNV.com

Nevada Savors Its Place as Maker of Momentum
New York Times

Arizona: The Mac is Back

Here's today's cartoon for our good friends at PolitickerAZ.

New Jersey: Reactions to Corzine's Toll Road Plan

Click on the picture to see this week's cartoon over at PolitickerNJ.com.

Maryland: I heart Entergy

What is Albert Wynn grinning about? Has he taken a lead in the MD-04 democratic primary against challenger Donna Edwards? Or has he finally figured out how to print his own money...

You'll have to go to PolitickerMD.com and view my cartoon to figure it out.

New Jersey: Corzine 'monetization' details slip out before speech

The Press of Atlantic City has an Associated Press report that The Wizard of Trenon will reveal his plan today to increase tolls on New Jersey's busiest highways by at least 50 percent every four years starting in 2010.

From the Press:

Corzine was set to unveil the plan later in the day during his afternoon State of the State address, but four Statehouse officials told The Associated Press Monday that tolls would increase 50 percent in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 under Corzine's proposal.

I'll most definitely have a cartoon on this later tonight (hopefully) so check back later and often after the Wizard's speech.

Here's a cartoon I did on the mess a couple of months back:

And here's the link to the story:

Corzine to pitch increasing tolls 50 percent every four years
Press of Atlantic City

Oregon: Debating the Merkley/Novick Debates

In Oregon, we don't really need a official debate in the Democratic Primary pitting Steve Novick against Jeff Merkley for US Senate. Their bickering and arguing back and forth should do the trick. It reminds me of the old Monty Python sketch, where the man goes to the building and pays to have an argument.



Here's the sketch:



And here are some links:

Merkley responds to Novick on debates
PolitickerOR.com

Novick ups the tone on debates
PolitickerOR.com

OR-Sen: The Debate Over the Primary Debates
Loaded Orygun

Sexist Hecklers Interrupt Hillary: "Iron My Shirt!"

No report on whether or not the protesters were hired by the Clinton campaign...

Arizona: Will Bee Resign to Run?

Everyone give a big fat hello to the newest member of the Politicker family, PolitickerAZ.com. Today's cartoon centers around Senate President Tim Bee and his "run" for congress.

Arizona has a Resign to Run law, which means simply that unless elected officials are in the last year of their term, they cannot run for another office without resigning. Bee has refused to step aside, waiting it out until 2008 when his term ends in order to side step the law. Of course, this is just accomplished by technicality rather than living up to the spirit of the law.

Here's a quote from Doug Thornell, Spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee:

“Tim Bee’s ongoing attempt to use his exploratory committee as a shield from Arizona’s Resign to Run law is fooling nobody. We’ve now learned that Tim Bee is holding posh campaign fundraisers to cozy-up to special interests, while still maintaining the farce that he is not using his Senate position as a tool to raise money for his congressional run."

Here's the sketch:



And here are some links:

My Complaint Against Senator Tim Bee for Violation of Arizona's Resign-To-Run Laws
Blog for Arizona

Democrats release Tim Bee condemnation “Mad Lib”
Arizona Report: Real News that is Real

Early NH voting gives McCain lead

PolitickerAZ.com reports that two small towns that traditionally lead-off the voting in New Hampshire stayed up late to give Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain early victories in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

Check out the link here.

Fighting over the same cut of meat

Here's the sketch:

And here are some links:

McCain Might Not Even Need Obama's Independents
New York Observer

In This Race, Independents Are the Prize
New York Times

New Jersey: Two Corzines

The school funding bill (as expected) made it's getaway out of the Senate and Assembly budget committees on Thursday, and it's ready for a vote by Sharpe James and the rest lame duck legislature on Monday.

Why is this bill such a crock? Well, for starters, fourteen amendments were added to the 100-plus page bill on Thursday. Some of those amendments are the results of incentives that had to be added by Corzine in order to gain approval from special interest groups and some of the urban legislators that have claimed that the bill doesn't do enough for poor inner-city schools, one of them being Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

According to PolitickerNJ.com, Healy claims that the school funding formula is just the latest example of Corzine's administration giving his city the cold shoulder:

“I’m received very well but I don’t get a god damn thing for our city…. So far this administration has not done a whole hell of a lot for the citizens of Jersey City."

Plus, the first chance the legislature got to see the bill was December 20th. Is 2 weeks enough time to read, analyze and debate a bill this important?

Art Gallagher over at More Monmouth Musings claims that the only way to pay for Corzine's increase in school spending is by postponing the debt service of $1.5 billion due next year, which will be done by paying off old debt with the new toll road debt, and other fiscal chicanery.

With the State of the State address coming on Tuesday, we'll see if the school funding bill gets pushed through, which I expect it will. That way, Corzine can begin to unleash his asset monetization scheme to pay for it.

School funding plan assures Asset Monetization
More Monmouth Musings

Healy says Jersey City is slighted
PolitickerNJ.com

Corzine school formula moves forward
Asbury Park Press

Corzine in Nevada for Hillary

From PolitickerNV.com:

Jon Corzine was in Las Vegas today to campaign on behalf of N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The governor met with campaign staff, volunteers and business leaders and helped open Clinton’s new campaign office in southwest Las Vegas.

I don’t know how New Hampshire’s going to turn out,” said Corzine. “We didn’t like, obviously, how it turned out in Iowa. But the fact is that there are a bunch of firewalls that are coming. Nevada needs to be one of those, because we’ve got to get to Feb. 5.”

Video 1

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