THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION FIASCO IV

The illegal immigration issue continues to dominate the news. As I wrote in a previous post, they are not living in the shadows, they are in our face. Not only was there the Newark massacre, we recently had a Mexican woman finally deported after spending a year holed up in a Chicago church. Locally, men still "shape up" at "muster zones" in Freehold, Keyport, Manasquan and other Monmouth County towns. Even trendy Red Bank has them lining the streets around the train station. In a hip way, of course.

Citizens continue to demand enforcement of Federal immigration laws.

Sheriff candidate Kim Guadagno has called for the implementation of "Section 287 (g)" policies in the Monmouth County Jail to ascertain the immigration status of prisoners prior to their release.

Attorney General Anne Milgram has issued a directive calling upon New Jersey law enforcement to "inquire about the arrestee's citizenship, nationality and immigration status" when arresting perpetrators of indictable offenses or for DUI. Milgram's directive has come under criticism because it appears to exempt other offenses such as routine motor vehicle violations as well as disorderly persons and quality of life offenses.

Many of us, when filling out a job application, have had to to answer whether we are a U. S. Citizen or if an immigrant, authorized to work in the United States. If job applicants have to do it, it should be a no brainer that law enforcement professionals be authorized to ascertain the immigration status of all offenders at the time of arrest, and if the offender is illegally in the U. S., to refer them to ICE or other Federal authorities.

The Feds should then deport the offender as swiftly as is appropriate.

OPERATION BID RIG

The Asbury Park Press' 15 - part series on the FBI's big Operation Bid Rig corruption investigation concluded on Sunday, although both yesterday's and today's Press carried related articles so is it actually a 17 - part series? What does this all mean for our great Republican candidates this November?
It shouldn't mean anything.
Let's get real, though. Both the Democratic Party and the Press will attempt to exploit this issue to the fullest extent. Although Bid Rig is regarded as a Republican scandal, a load of Democrats were involved too. However, the Democrats will ignore that as they gush about how reform - minded they are. Reform - minded enough that County Democratic Boss Victor Scudiery wrote a letter of reference for former Western Monmouth Utilities Authority Director and convicted felon Frank Abate, describing Abate as "honorable and dedicated." In spite of Scudiery's reference, Abate got the max, 51 months. This is the same Vic Scudiery who asserted in 2005 that those arrested in Bid Rig were "set up."
Still, the Democrats will try to beat our candidates over the head with this, in spite of the fact that no Republican freeholder currently serving was involved in the corruption; candidate Jeff Cantor in fact was involved with the clean up of Marlboro. Additionally, although a number of those involved were county employees, much of the corruption involved their local towns, not county government.
Let's look at the Press. Opinions abound about that paper. Democrats assail it for being too Republican and Republicans are convinced that it is a Democratic house organ. It is said to be run by two Camden County men. At the very least, their agenda is to sell papers first. As the sentencing of a number of Bid Rig figures is scheduled for October, the Press will give it major coverage and it will dominate the news cycle.
It will be in October, but it won't be a surprise.
Freeholder Rob Clifton and Jeff Cantor both have solid credentials as reformers. They can easily overcome anything the Democrats or the media throw at them as long as they stick to their guns and remain proactive. It is also important that party leaders don't run a defensive campaign. Both candidates have strong records and need not play defense at all, especially since they were not part of Harry Larrison's crowd.

PUHARIC LEAVES FEDERAL JOB

Chairman Adam Puharic has officially resigned his position with the Department of Homeland Security. This has been rumored for several weeks, and was confirmed in an e-mail recently sent out from Republican Headquarters. The Asbury Park Press picked up on his e-mail and ran an article today.

Puharic has maintained that he was always in compliance with the federal Hatch Act, and research by the investigative arm of the Monmouth County Republican Blog appears to bear that out. Still, his compliance has hampered his fundraising activities and that may be detrimental to our great party.

Adam says that he has no job lined up at this time, and that he will live off his investments for the time being. This would provide him with plenty of time to address the needs of the party and I hope that will be a good thing and not a repetition of the amateurish and ham-fisted activities during the candidate selection process earlier this year. I hope that the investments that he speaks of are sufficient to provide for his family, as that comes first, before politics.