The Somerset County Federation of Republican Women have announced that this year they will be presenting the Millicent Fenwick Award for Distinguished Public Service to State Senator Jennifer Beck.

The honor is just another example of Beck’s importance in New Jersey politics and her fast paced rise to political prominence in New Jersey.

Just three years ago Senator Beck was elected to the State Assembly and took back a seat from Democrats at a time when many Republicans were struggling to win reelection and others were losing.

Since that time she has become a voice of the people, defending them in areas from victims rights, commuters rights to taxpayers rights and consumers rights.

Only two years after winning election to the assembly, Senator Beck again took her agenda to the people and defeated a heavily funded, incumbent, liberal, state senator and again, while other Republicans were loosing, she won. Her Senate victory not only took back a seat in the senate for Republicans, it also had coattails that helped to keep her vacated assembly seat in the Republican column and elected  a Republican to the districts remaining assembly seat, thereby making a clean sweep for the G.O.P..

Since then, Senator Beck has become an even greater force in state politics.

In the state senate she has been a vocal opponent to the crushing Corzine state mandates and his tax and spend programs that have increased the severity of the affordability crisis in New Jersey.

She has been leading the opposition to the policies that have been driving businesses out of the state and maintained her strong advocacy for the rights of taxpayers.

Writer, Editor, Ambassador, Congresswoman, Millicent Fenwick

Be it calling for legislation to open up the bureaucracy to public scrutiny by making government transparent or calling upon the Governor to come clean with his own initiatives and backroom deals, Jennifer has been in the forefront, not only voicing disapproval for the actions of the current administration, but by offering alternative solutions as well.

With all her direction and drive it is only fitting that Senator Beck be honored with the Millicent Fenwick Award for Distinguished Public Service.

Millicent Fenwick was a strong and powerful individual who bucked the establishment and establishment thinking. She was one of only 5 women elected to represent New Jersey in federal government and during the course of her many careers, Millicent Fenwick was always on the cutting edge.

Like Millicent Fenwick, Senator Beck has already made a positive mark on New Jersey and with a wealth of worthy New Jersey Republican women deserving of this award, we are pleased to see that the women of Somerset County believe that Jennifer Beck is most deserving of the honor.

     A recent Save Jersey blog post cited an unidentified sources unconfirmed report that some members of Chris Christie’s inner circle are taking Senator Beck out of consideration for Lieutenat Governor on his potential ticket.

The Save Jersey post states “key members of the Christie inner-circle have been “turned-off” by Senator Beck’s aggressive, early and open push for the Lt. Governor nomination.”

Although I do not question the author of this post or their reporting of what some put forward, I do question the sources judgment and intentions.

Even if this sentiment was true, there is nothing gained for their candidate by revealing this information. Why would anyone risk losing support from potential backers and why risk angering any potential supporters?

I am aware of a few Christie allies who are hoping that they can latch on to Christie’s rising star and are hoping that they have the inside track to being tapped as Christie’s running mate. However; we would hope that if Chris Christie does get the G.O.P.’s gubernatorial nomination, he will not play games with his selection of a Lieutenant Governor.

We hope that he does not make backroom deals and particpate in the old boys political network.

New Jersey cries out for change and that path is not change. It is typical politics.

That is the reason behind this draft Jennifer Beck movement.

We want to retire the old boys, insider network of politics and replace it with a people driven agenda. An agenda that makes the needs of the people clear and causes the political class to truly represent our desires.

That is why our effort seeks to make it clear that Jennifer Beck is an overwhelming favorite for Lieutenant Governor and that our ultimate nominee for governor would be wise to pick her as their running mate.

To add to the erroneous accusation that Jennifer Beck has been aggressively pursuing the position of Lt. Gov I want to repeat that this draft effort is, and has been, independent of Senator Beck.

When asked by reporters about our campaign she has repeatedly stated that “all the attention is very flattering” but she is “right now, just focused on being the best senator she can be”.

Furthermore, a spokesman for the senator has continuously added that the senate “is the job she wants and that’s the job she likes and that’s what she’s going to continue to do.”

So some may try to level accusations to the contrary but the truth counters their false allegations.

I would add that if those ,who apparently want the job of Lieutenant Governor, feel they must do everything possible to get in the way of the will of the people, they will be jeopardizing the success of our Republican ticket in November…..no matter who is at the top of that ticket.

After Governor Jon Corzine delivered his address on the sorry state of the state of New Jersey, State Senator Jennifer Beck delivered the following response:

“Over the past few months, Republicans have presented a number of common-sense solutions that could quickly be enacted to prevent New Jersey’s massive budget deficit from growing even further.

“For months, Republicans in the Legislature have offered to work with Governor Corzine to fix our broken budget. Each and every offer made by Republicans to work with the Governor was summarily dismissed.

“Just yesterday, for example, I sent a letter to Governor Corzine requesting he delay the implementation of the mandatory pre-school program. At a time when state aid to K-12 programs is being cut, it does not make sense to launch a new program for 3- and 4-year-olds. We cannot afford to pay for another large government program.

“While Governor Corzine remains unwilling to review Republican budget saving proposals, he should at least consider obvious savings that the State Auditor has identified, such as the elimination of state cars that the Auditor concluded are routinely misused.”

For months Governor Corzine has refused to accept Republican led efforts to reduce spending, reform government, eliminate waste and fraud and to make the government proscess transaparent.   His refusal to make progress in any of these areas helps to reinforce our low expectations regarding anything and everything that the Governor discussede in todays message.

Senator Jennifer Beck fired the first shot in one of the new year’s opening session of the New Jersey State Senate.

To a packed chamber, the feisty freshman Senator stated “New Jersey’s fiscal mess is one of the worst in the country, and the responsibility for being worse off than other States comes from Corzine” . “Corzine refuses to acknowledge that his tax and toll increases, unsustainable spending increases, and a job-killing COAH/housing subsidy bill have made things worse and can’t be blamed on others.”

She added “Every time Corzine is asked about New Jersey’s fiscal mess, he refuses to accept any responsibility,”

When first campaigning for Governor, then U.S. Senator Jon Corzine promised to control state spending, yet once elected, during the first six months of is misadministration, he raised taxes by almost $2 billion dollars. Now that he is up for re-election, New Jersey has a budget gap of $2.1 billion dollars, an amount that surpasses the revenue of the increased taxes that he initially initiated.  His most try at to closing the worsening gap came with an announcement that decared he was going to to slash the state budget as much as  $812 million dollars by targeting things such as adolescent illiteracy where he can eliminate as much as $ 11 thousand.

These recent attempts at controlling spending are miniscule and misdirected but almost as troubling as what we are hearing from Corzine is what we are not hearing from him.

Throughout his tenure as Governor, Corzine has been quite clandestine about budget numbers and contract negotiations. Republican lawmakers have recently filed lawsuits which seek to have the Governor reveal certain figures and there is currently a case in the courts that deals with secret emails between the Governor and his former girlfriend Carla Katz regarding how the two negotiated a state contract with a local Communication Workers Union, one of the state’s most powerful unions of which Katz was thePresident of at the time.

As most of us know, Governor Corzine has been doing everything but govern. The past few years have been an example of a man who has been controlled by events and unable to control any events.  More than that, he has been unable to cope with events.  The state of New Jersey has spiraled out of economic control and it began to do so long before the rest of the nation entered troubled economic territory.

For the average person, under Corzine, New Jersey has become increasingly unaffordable and the quality of life in the Garden State has done anything but improve. It is part of the reason for declines in population which will cost the state a congressional seat after the 2010 census. It is a result of people fleeing New Jersey for more affordable states with more opportunity and more economic freedom.

For these reasons Senator Beck joined with State Senator Kevin O’Toole, ( R )-Bergen, and called upon the Governor to “ finally accept some responsibility for New Jersey’s fiscal mess” and adopt what they called “three bipartisan common-sense ideas to make New Jersey more affordable and hold government accountable”.  

The proposa urges the governor to:

Listen to bipartisan calls in the senate to postpone, and make substantial reforms to, a job crushing COAH/housing subsidy law.

Listen to bipartisan calls in the senate for additional spending cuts. (See $1.2 billion in spending cuts proposed by Republicans)

Listen to bipartisan calls in the Senate to derail a Corzine proposal to let local government skip pension payments until after his reelection.

All of the above are reasonable and realistic steps, that few could rationally argue against and that even fewer can see reason not to accept.

So we are quite proud of Senator Beck. We are proud of her many legislative initiatives targeted at turning things around New Jersey, including the aforementioned bipartisan proposal.

We are proud of her many efforts to open the legislative process up to the public, eliminate government corruption and to reform government in New Jersey. We are also proud of and grateful for her taking the lead once again and demanding that Governor Corzine at least try to effectively deal with the mess that he has only made worse up to now.

Continue to scroll down this page for previously posted updates regarding this campaign.  Also, be sure to click on the tabs at the bottom of the header for other information, including a a brief bio of the senator, her voting record, our petition and more.

BE SURE TO SIGN THE PETITION TO SELECT

SENATOR JENNIFER BECK FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

CLICK ON

THE IMAGE ABOVE

OR

GO TO

http://www.gopetition.com/online/23572.html/

* * * * * * * *  ALSO * * * * * * * *

 Be Sure To Sign The Petition To

REPEAL THE CONGRESSIONAL PAY HIKE

Sign the Online Petition -  Repeal The Automatic Pay Raise That Congress Is Receiving

Pass The Link On To Family, Friends and Co-workers

http://www.gopetition.com/online/24301.html

STATE DEMOCRAT LEADER JOE CRYAN

At a recent forum dealing with the current political climate in New Jersey , the state’s Democrat Party boss, Deputy Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan of Union County explained that in the upcoming election, the liberal choice for Lieutenant Governor on the democratic ticket must be a minority or a woman.

The party boss added that the nominee for Lieutenant Governor should be “someone who doesn’t look like the governor”. 

According to Cryan, Democrats must select a woman or a minority because they  “want to be inclusive” and “that’s important”.

We find that interesting.

It is interesting that the state’s chief Democrat party leader is seeking to bolster the chances of reelecting the state’s chief elected Democrat by creating a visual image of inclusion. Forget about being most qualified or the best person for the times we are in. Just base the decision on looks.  Select our leader based on skin color and sex.

Well ladies and gentlemen, we wish Democrats a lot of luck with that strategy.

They will need it. After all it isn’t Jon Corzine’s good looks that will win him reelection as Governor and it isn’t the color of ones skin or their sex which will get them elected.

And if the image of a minority or a woman is what they are looking for in a Lieutenant Governor, than they will like the Republican ticket with Jennifer Beck on it as our nominee for Lieutenant Governor.

However, we do not promote the candidacy of Jennifer Beck because she is a woman. Unlike the intentions of Democrats we have chosen Senator Beck based upon her record, leadership and ability. We believe that Jennifer Beck is the best person for Lieutenant Governor not because she looks the part but because she is right for the part.

Two of the most important issues facing New Jersey are the economy and ethics.

On both of those issues Jennifer Beck has been leading the way for reform, reform of a state economy that is stripping us of the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels our economy and reform of the way that the state and it’s public servants conduct business.

In addition to that, Senator Beck brings a conservative approach to government without a politically partisan twist. Her appeal to Democrats, Republicans and independents alike proves her inclusive approach to governance. Her victories in strongly Democrat districts demonstrates her inclusiveness and proves that you do not need not be a minority to address minority concerns.

Of course it might just be time for New Jersey Democrats to try to prove that they can properly support and address woman and minorities. Republicans have not only elected minorities and women to the state legislature, unlike Democrats, New Jersey Republicans have also nominated women to the United States Senate and we have nominated and elected a female Governor.

One of New Jersey’s longest serving congressional representatives to Washington, D.C. was even a woman. A republican woman. So New Jersey Republicans have represented minoroities and woman for quite some time now.  New Jersey Democrats just have some catching up to do. 

Furthermore;  unlike Assemblyman Joe Cryan’s plea, New Jersey Republican women and minorities are capable, competent individuals who are selected because of their superior skill and leadership, not simply because they are a minority or a woman.

That is why those of us at the draft Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor campaign are excited by the prospects of having Jennifer Beck as our nominee for Lieutenant Governor.

She is everything that Democrats like party Chairman Joe Cryan want in their own candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Perhaps running against the inclusive candidacy of Senator Beck is something that New Jersey Democrats fear.   And well they should.

BE SURE TO SIGN THE PETITION URGING THE NOMINATION

OF SENATOR BECK FOR LT. GOV.

In the New Year,
we wish you the best year you’ve ever had,
and that each New Year
will be better than the last.
May you realize your fondest dreams
and take time to recognize and enjoy
each and every blessing.

Happy New Year,
And many more!

                                                                                          By Joanna Fuchs

from your friends at
the
Draft Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor Campaign

BE SURE TO CHECK BACK IN ON US ON MONDAY!

During the next few days we will be handling some organizational business and setting the new year’s new agenda.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

On Christmas, politics takes a backseat to the birth of Christ, the savior.

The political divisions created by differing opinions are put aside so that something more important can be celebrated…..life.  A life of goodness in purpose and intention. The type of goodness Christ tried to bring our world. The type of goodness that has faith in mankind and wishes comfort and joy to all.

 Liberal or conservative, republican or democrat, pious believer or devout aesthetic, today we Christian celebrants share, with all, the spirit of hope and goodwill that comes to the forefront of this special occasion. 

In the coming days, our campaign will continue to unveil the latest news regarding Senator Beck as well as information relating to the coordination of our draft effort.  But for now, we dare not take  focus away from the most important things in life…..family and friends. 

Now is the time to begin preparations for the Christmas celebration and share all that it means with our loved ones.  So for now, we spare you from political activity and organizational direction.  Instead we offer you tithings of comfort and joy and hope that your Christmas Eve ushers in a very merry Christmas.

On this night, whether to the left or to the right,
Politics disappears and there is no fight.
Christmas Eve is here, and Santa is near,
So be not grumpy, just be a dear.
Celebrate Christmas, with all its cheer.

There are many reasons that we here at the Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor site, want Senator Beck on the Republican ticket in November.  Scrolling down and reviewing other recent posts or checking out any of the pages included in this site, help to explain those reasons.

But not every reason can be explained or demonstrated in a voting record, news article or speech.  Some reasons are more esoteric and go beyond legislative tangibles. They are more principled and essential to the sincerity of ones intentions. They are more abstract than the obvious issues before us.

 For many, Jennifer Beck is not merely a Republican vote, she is a leader of conviction, willing to stand against the tide and put forward alternatives to common perceptions or misconceptions.

For us, Senator Beck represents a future that we can be confident in.

She is not someone who runs for office simply to get elected.  If that were the case Jennifer Beck would have run as Democrat  for a seat on the Red Bank City Council.  A council that, at the time, was all Democrat in a  town overwhelmingly occupied by registered Democrats.  But she didn’t become a Democrat and take the easy way to elected office.  She maintained her Republican principles and, against all the odds, ran as a Republican and won.

Jennifer Beck often stands against tide.  That is why she takes on people like Governor Corzine, who she recently called upon to explain himself and let the people know how he plans on reconciling revenue shortfalls while increasing state spending.  Senator Beck doesn’t go along to get along.  She doesn’t take on an issue or run in an election for the sole purpose of winning and getting credit.  She does it because she believes in the causes she fights for.

One sometimes  wonders how we can tell the difference between someone who wants to win for the sake of winning or if they want to win to make a true change for the betterment of all the people.

The coming year will give New Jerseyans the chance to answer that question.

As the state gears up for a gubernatorial election, Republicans have to choose a nominee to run against liberal Jon Corzine.

Popular thinking would lead one to believe that, given the polls in New Jersey, a liberal approach would be the more expedient path to victory for Republicans in Jersey.

If any Republican runs for governor with that approach, than we will know one thing about them.  We will know that they are  not  sincere.

The Republican who runs to the left in this election is the Republican who wants power for their own benefit and to win for the sake of winning, not for the sake of improving the lives of others.

The Republican who tries to avoid offending illegal immigrants by not demanding a strict enforcement of laws regarding their illegal presence and who avoids taking control away from the unions like the National Education Association and giving more power to parents is the candidate afraid of standing up to the influence that those who impede progress may wield in the election.

Any candidate who allows the fear of losing an election to take precedence over doing what is right, is not running for governor for the right reasons. They would be demonstrating that they are running for themselves, not for the people.

The Republican nominee for Governor must be willing to stand up to the power brokers who have held the state hostage through secretive union negotiations and outrageous pension plans.

The Republican nominee for Governor must be willing to address the fact that municipalities in New Jersey must begin to consolidate. Our nominee needs to demonstrate that fewer governments throughout the state means less burden on the taxpayer and less of an affordability problem for residents.

Of course no local municipal king wants to give up their kingdom, but the people must hear about the advantages of reducing the costly proliferation of governments. They must be made aware of the fact that government has become the problem and that fewer governments in the state will lead to less of those things we don’t need. Like less government corruption, fewer operating costs, fewer bureaucrats and bureaucratic entanglements .

We need a nominee who will challenge that which hinders progress, not a candidate who goes along to get along.

Some might say that that is no way to win an election. They would argue that by offending the hands that organize volunteers and pours the mothers milk of any political campaign, money, into an election, is a road map to defeat.

Conservative Ohio Congressman Joh Ashbrook

If that is true, than let us  go down in defeat.

We would rather see Republicans lose by standing up for what we believe in than win by offering the same policies that liberals have provided us with.

We believe, like former Congressman John Ashbrook, who when asked why he often stood against the popular tide, explained that by representing what he believes to be right, the only thing he could lose was his seat in Congress.

For Congressman Ashbrook ideals meant more than power or winning an election.

His strong, uncompromising defense of conservative ideals did not always make him a popular figure.

Elected to Congress from Ohio in 1960, he came to Washington just as liberalism and big government was about to sweep out from Washington and through the rest of the nation. Yet he consistently stood against the tide of the time and articulated a hard line against communism, big government, social engineering and discrimination.

By 1970 a poll considered Ashbrook one of the 5 most influential conservative leaders in the nation.

In Congress he consistently added amendments to legislation important to liberals and successfully blocked their most detrimental effects.

In 1972 Congressman Ashbrook found himself fed up with the leadership of his own party.

Richard Nixon was President and despite his campaigning as a conservative, Ashbrook saw Nixon governing more to the left than the right. So in typical fashion, John Ashbrook opposed accepted popular thinking of the time. He ran against Richard Nixon for the Republican Presidential nomination.

Many Republicans were outraged that he would dare challenge “our” sitting Republican President but Asbrook wanted Republicans to be true to our principles and he believed that along with neglecting to fulfill campaign promises, Nixon was weakening our already lagging military.

As we know, Nixon was re-nominated but John Ashbrook was content with his poor showing in the primaries. Of it he said “I spread my message. So I guess you don’t have to be on the winning side to be victorious.”

From then on, not only did John Ashbrook continue to win the favor of the voters in his congressional district, he also continued to be the voice of the conservative cause.

By 1980 many in America realized that mediocrity was not what we needed in our leaders and along with John Ashbrook, people turned to Ronald Reagan for leadership.

For almost two decades John Ashbrook swam against the tide. He never gave up or took the path of political expediency. Ashbrook stayed in the game for the long haul and helped to turn the conservative movement into a mainstream movement without compromising conservative principles.

In 1981 the Congressman decided to take his conservative leadership to the United States Senate. He began to campaign against then popular incumbent Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum. For Ashbrook the race was to be an historic battle pitting conservatism against liberalism. Unfortunately the hoped for clash of ideas never came to be. Congressman Ashbrook died in April of 1982.

With his passing, we lost a man less concerned with himself and motivated more by doing what was right than what was popular. We lost the type of leader that Republicans need today. Leaders who campaign on the issues that differentiate us from the liberal agendas of Democrats.

Yet despite the loss of Congressman Ashbrook’s physical presence, we are still blessed by his spirit of unwavering commitment and the lessons he taught us.

Bumper Sticker From Ashbrook's 1972 Presidential Campaign

He taught us that no one and no political party should establish or compromise their beliefs based on popular perceptions of the time

Ashbrook’s leadership proved that when one is right, others will eventually come to that realization. But if one fears to give the right answer because everyone else is offering the wrong answer, than no one will ever know what the right answer is.

Unfortunately, Republicans have been unwillingly to be honest about the answers we need to hear. Instead they run campaigns that duplicate the answers being offered by liberals and it obviously isn’t working.

Republicans are losing and rightfully so. Many candidates are not embracing the conservative principles that have led to our past successes. They have been more concerned with personal success at the voting booth than they have been with making life better for the voters.

During this holiday, when the spirit of giving and goodwill dominates the season’s atmosphere, We can only hope that Republicans in New Jersey can find a candidate who is willing to carry that sense of sincere goodwill and giving into the political atmosphere. We hope we can nominate a person who is willing to provide us with solutions to our problems rather than rhetoric that they think will deliver them a shallow victory at the polls.

John Asbrook campaigned for President on the slogan “no left turns”. At the time,  Americans were comfortable with the status quo. A few short years later, Americans were running away from the status quo that they once wanted. Instead they turned to the conservative principles that brought us out of the problems that the left and left leaning decisions created.

With the perceived popularity of President-elect Barack Obama some in New Jersey may feel that campaigning to the left is the politically expedient way to win an election but is political expediency good public policy?

In the words of Congressman Ashbrook “the difference between the conservative and the liberal is that the conservative worries about the future while the liberal worries about the next election.”

That being said,We want a Republican nominee for Governor of New Jersey who worries about tomorrow, not the next election. We want a nominee who is more concerned with doing what is right for the people not what the left wants to hear.

If Republicans want to achieve a victory in November that means something, they need to make sure that they take “no left turns.”

They also need  Senator Jennifer Beck on thier ticket. 

She has the strength of conviction that many republicans at both the state and national level lack today. She will not vote with democrats because she is afraid it will look bad. Jennifer Beck will stick to her guns and vote for what is best for the people, not for what will get her the best rating on some scorecard from some union or radical organization.