The Trump administration goes to war — with itself — over the VA
February 17, 2018, 8:23 AM ET
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Republicans in the 26th Legislative District are headed into an acrimonious primary on Tuesday headlined by former running mates whose tense relationship predates the 2021 race that pushed one of them out of office.
Incumbent Assemblymen Jay Webber and Brian Bergen — Morris County Republicans, and two of the Assembly’s most conservative members — face a challenge from former Parsippany Mayor Robert Peluso and ex-Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, who lost her seat in the Legislature after Morris Republicans backed her challenger in 2021.
In the upper chamber race, Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris) is opposed by longtime Morris County Commissioner Thomas Mastrangelo, who ran alongside DeCroce in 2021’s Assembly race.
The discord in the 26th has so far centered around Bergen and DeCroce and the Senate faceoff, with Webber — the top Assembly vote-getter in the 2021 race — and Peluso keeping their powder relatively dry.
This is a Republican stronghold comprising mostly towns in Morris County, one that GOP gubernatorial challenger Jack Ciattarelli won handily in 2021.
DeCroce’s campaign represents an attempt to reclaim a seat that has been represented by a DeCroce for 32 of the last 34 years, first by her late husband, Alex DeCroce, then by DeCroce herself following his death in 2012.
DeCroce has lodged attacks at Bergen over a pandemic loan he sought for a botany business and his legislative record, one she charged has left little impact on New Jersey law.
Bergen, a former Denville councilman who frequently butts heads with Democratic leadership on the Assembly floor, has railed against the party’s control of Trenton and its legislative committees. He alleges DeCroce is spreading untruths about him.
“The volume of lies that BettyLou DeCroce tries to say about me and my record, it’s really crazy,” he said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this, and I hope I’m never part of something like this again. Primaries are fine and an election is fine, but the lies — it’s just really crazy.”
Bergen has taken aim at DeCroce’s record of voting — or not voting — saying she was an absentee lawmaker who accomplished little while in office.
“He has turned off a lot of people with his demeanor, and he’s attacked me at every club meeting. He’s gone brutally at me, and so be it. That’ll show his character,” DeCroce said.
On the Senate side, Mastrangelo has launched repeated attacks at Pennacchio, running online ads seeking to paint Pennacchio — the 2020 Trump reelection co-chair — as a liberal who wants to cut Social Security, raise IRS funding, and slash U.S. military spending.
As a state senator, Pennacchio has no say over any of those federal issues and, like Bergen, says his challenger is lying about his record.
“I believe absolutely nothing that comes out of his mouth,” Pennacchio said. “The only thing that I’m hoping is that the voters can see past that, and I think they will because this is a very smart electorate that I’ve been given the pleasure of serving as state senator.”
Totaled, the two slates spent just over $260,000 on the primary by May 25, according to reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. The incumbents’ $154,794 in spending edged out their challengers.
Webber and Peluso did not return requests seeking comment. Peluso has already signaled his intention to run for county commission next year and for Parsippany-Troy Hills mayor in 2025.
Mastrangelo could not be reached.
Off the line over the line
Bitterness remains over DeCroce losing Morris GOP support in 2021 (Republican Assemblyman Christian Barranco, who ousted her, is seeking reelection in the 25th District under redrawn lines).
That year, Morris County first adopted an organizational line, a change party officials said was needed to combat increasing Democratic strength in Morris County.
Most New Jersey county parties award organizational — or party — lines to their favored candidates, lending them an advantageous ballot position that groups them with party-backed local and county candidates during primaries.
The process of awarding a line varies between counties, with some leaving the endorsement process to the discretion of the county chair. The Morris GOP’s bylaws require the party to award its organizational line based on a vote by the district’s county committee members — party officials elected during primaries.
DeCroce said she and her running mates are bound by opposition to the line.
“The line is no good, that it doesn’t give the public the right to pick who’s going to run in the primary, and everyone should have the chance to run,” DeCroce said. “There’s party favorites out there, and the party has been playing too much to party favorites.”
Pennacchio, who advocated for Morris Republicans to adopt a line in 2021, called that version of events an instance of revisionist history.
“They all campaigned at the convention to get the line — they all did — and they were all buddies,” the senator said. “They were all slapping each others’ backs, especially Mastrangelo. The second they lose, all of a sudden it’s not slapping backs. All of a sudden, we’re a bunch of insiders.”
New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com. Follow New Jersey Monitor on Facebook and Twitter.
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Late Friday, a federal judge overturned a new Tennessee law prohibiting drag performances in public spaces, ruling it unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker ruled the Adult Entertainment Act (AEA) violates the separation-of-powers principle and chills speech protected through the First Amendment.
In March, Friends of George’s, a Memphis theater company that raises funds for LGBTQ groups through performances that include drag, challenged the law, which was originally set to take effect on April 1. Parker placed a stay on the law the day before it was set to be enacted while considering arguments.
In his Friday ruling, Parker wrote that while the state has an interest in protecting minors, the law is not geared to do that. “Instead, that (the legislature’s) predominant concerns involved the suppression of unpopular views of those who wish to impersonate a gender that is different from the one with which they were born.”
Parker noted the law is overly broad and could apply to almost any public area, while adding that lawyers for the State of Tennessee altered the meaning of the AEA from constricting entertainment deemed “harmful to minors” to entertainment damaging to “a reasonable 17-year old.”
Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, the legislative bill sponsor, wrote in a Twitter post: “I’m disappointed with the judge’s decision on Senate Bill 3, which ignored 60 years of Supreme Court precedent allowing regulation of obscene entertainment in the presence of minors. Sadly, this ruling is a victory for those who support exposing children to sexual entertainment.”
Parker’s ruling noted the state’s existing obscenity laws “can punish most, and possibly all, of the conduct the AEA seeks to regulate.”
The ruling came with the June 1 start of Pride Month, which features celebrations around the state of LGBTQ rights and culture, many of which have typically featured drag performances.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
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Presidential candidates worked to balance promoting their ability to unify the country while highlighting their fight against the “woke” left while speaking to Iowans gathered Saturday for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s “Roast and Ride” fundraiser at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey, took their children to get ice cream and sit up in a John Deere truck. Businessman Perry Johnson signed copies of his books and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott shook hands with those seated for lunch as event attendees waited for speeches to start.
Candidates set out to prove their retail politics prowess, speaking with voters and taking photos while competing to sign up Iowa Republicans to volunteer for their campaign and support them in the 2024 Iowa caucuses.
It’s Ernst’s eighth annual “Roast and Ride,” fundraiser, an event where she and supporters go on a motorcycle ride before gathering for a pork cookout. The event has been a notable stop on the Iowa caucus trail for Republicans since Ernst took office in 2015.
That reputation continued with seven announced Republican candidates and one likely incomer speaking at the 2023 fundraiser, which raised money for the Freedom Foundation, a Cedar Rapids veteran support organization.
There was one notable missing candidate from the gathering: former President Donald Trump. His campaign staff worked a booth alongside other campaigns at the event, and put fliers on attendees’ cars parked at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, but the former president did not make an appearance.
Trump was in Iowa earlier in the week, speaking with the Westside Conservative Club and holding a Fox News town hall Thursday.
Trump and DeSantis are the current frontrunners for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. While event attendeee Kathleen Jorgensen from Des Moines said she understands why Trump was not at a so-called “cattle call” event, she said he needs to make sure he avoids seeming “entitled” to the Republican nomination.
Jorgensen said she supported Trump as president, but that he needed to stay on the campaign trail to remain competitive. Iowans expect to hear from candidates directly and know where they stand on the issues, she said, and that still applies to Trump as he aims for the presidency again.
“Iowans don’t do that,” Jorgensen said. “I mean, no, (Trump) already ran unopposed once, and he didn’t win. So this time, he’s not going to run unopposed. … but we want as a country, we want debate, we want to see what it is, we don’t believe in entitlements. So I wish he was going to be here, and he better be on the debate stage, because if not — Iowans will not like that.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence was the only 2024 hopeful to join Ernst and the group of more than 200 bikers on the ride from Big Barn Harley Davidson to the fairgrounds. Before heading out, he spoke with reporters while seated on his motorcycle about his Iowa event Wednesday where he is expected to officially launch his 2024 presidential bid.
When asked about his plans to join the Republican presidential nomination field, Pence has long said he and his family are “reflecting” on how best to serve the country moving forward.
“We have a very clear sense of calling now and we thought Iowa would be the best place to make our intentions known,” Pence said.
Some voters questioned the upcoming entries into the presidential race, as Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are expected to join the field. Bob Hamilton from Jefferson said he was “open minded” for incoming candidates, but that it’s already a crowded race.
“I think we’ll need to start whittling them down,” Hamilton said. “And it’ll happen here over the next six months.”
DeSantis speaks with voters, says he can deliver results
DeSantis, the highest-profile candidate to speak at the event, spent the time before the event with his family, signing a Bible handed to him by a man who thanked him for his fight against Disney and speaking with voters near his “Never Back Down” campaign bus. Casey DeSantis, his wife, wore a black leather jacket with “Where Woke Goes to Die” printed on the back in an outline of Florida.
In his speech, DeSantis asked Iowans to support his presidential campaign because he has proved he can deliver results.
The Florida governor brought up similarities between Florida and Iowa’s laws, from his and Gov. Kim Reynolds’ move to reopen schools and businesses, defying the “Faucian dystopia” during COVID-19 pandemic to more recent bans on LGBTQ+ subjects in classroom materials and instruction with younger students in schools.
DeSantis argued he does not make “idle promises,” and that he will bring about the changes he highlights on fighting “woke” ideology in schools and businesses to the White House if elected.
He pointed to his time in the governor’s office, where he and the Republican state legislature has passed measures including a six-week abortion ban, constitutional carry legislation and tax relief measures during “an era of Biden inflation,” DeSantis said.
“Leadership is not about virtue signaling or building a brand,” DeSantis said. “Leadership is ultimately about results, and that’s what we do in the state of Florida.”
The crowd cheered when DeSantis promised to appoint a new FBI director on his first day as president. He said in the White House, he would bring in staff from outside Washington, D.C. to hold the federal government bureaucracy “accountable.”
But he can’t bring those changes to the country if he does not win, calling for a reversal of the losing streak other states Republican parties have seen in recent years. If nominated, DeSantis said he would bring the policies that have won Republicans victories in Florida and Iowa to the White House and fight “woke” ideology in education, businesses and the U.S. Congress.
“The woke mind virus represents a war on truth,” DeSantis said. “So we will wage a war on the woke.”
Mike Pence calls for GOP to resist ‘politics of personality’ in 2024
Pence, the only 2024 guest to ride with Ernst Saturday, said he enjoyed participating in the “Roast and Ride” on the nearly 90-degree day.
“I rode and I roasted on the ride,” Pence said.
Pence told event attendees that the country is in trouble: “I expect that’s what brought you all out today.” While Pence has not yet announced his run, he rallied the crowd against President Joe Biden, calling for returning Washington, D.C. to Republican control.
“I believe in the American people,” Pence said. “And I know that with the right leadership in the White House and in the Congress of the United States, we will take America all the way back and then some, to prosperity and security.”
Pence said he was proud to be a part of Trump’s administration, discussing conservative wins like appointing three conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices, praising the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, and supporting the U.S. military in the fight against ISIS.
While he didn’t mention Trump, Pence called for Republicans to resist the “politics of personality.” He said conservatives need to offer a positive vision of the future, he said, and that means not giving in to the “siren song of populism.” Pence also pointed to his planned campaign launch Wednesday in Iowa.
“Iowa’s the place that shapes principled conservative leadership, Iowa’s the place that shapes the standard-bearer of this party,” Pence said. “… I don’t have anything to announce today, but I can tell you: When I got time to announce coming this Wednesday, I’m announcing in Iowa.”
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott says America needs optimistic leadership
Scott kicked off the string of presidential candidate speeches, boasting his relationships with Iowa’s U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ernst, and his previous times speaking at the “Roast and Ride” event.
The candidate shared his positions on issues impacting Iowa, calling for energy independence through the approval of projects like the Keystone pipeline and for securing the U.S.-Mexico border to combat the fentanyl crisis impacting much of rural America.
The South Carolina Republican also emphasized his roots, saying his path from growing up in a low-income, single parent household to serving as a senator proves the “American story” still exists. He told the crowd that he disagrees with Democrats who criticize America, saying the country’s best days are ahead of it, but that “it will take strong, optimistic leadership to get us there.”
Scott has sought to contrast himself from Trump by emphasizing a positive message for the U.S. moving forward, saying on the campaign trail that he wants to reunify the country.
“Never, ever lose faith in America,” Scott said. “And it is time for us to have a president who not only believes in America, but has lived the American truth, and the truth of my life disproves the lies of the radical left.”
Nikki Haley calls for end of aid to countries that ‘hate America’
Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, the only woman running for president, brought her husband, Michael, to the stage because he is about to be deployed in the National Guard. “I wanted you see that cute husband of mine, because we won’t see him for a while,” she said.
She mentioned concerns about student achievement but called “biological boys” playing sports against girls “the greatest women’s issue of our time.”
Haley, trained as an accountant, emphasized cutting federal spending. “I will veto any spending that doesn’t take us back to pre-COVID levels. No more debt once and for all,” she said.
Her biggest applause line: “When I am president, we will stop giving money to countries that hate America.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson makes Iowa appeal to relatability, farming background
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he received the highest compliment ever on the campaign trail in Iowa recently. An Iowan chatted with him for a few minutes and then remarked, “You know, you seem like a normal person. Is that not the greatest compliment you can have?”
Hutchinson emphasized his farm background and record of cutting budgets and state government employment as governor. He didn’t mention any of his GOP opponents but pointed to his “demeanor,” a common criticism against Trump: “And I hope I have a new demeanor for government service that reflects our country, that reflects our national character,” he said.
While he touched on GOP boilerplate such as border security and energy policy, he stayed away from the cultural issues that many of the other candidates focused on.
Instead of lauding Reynolds’ actions against transgender athletes and “parental rights,” he congratulated her for efforts on computer literacy in schools.
Larry Elder asks for help getting on debate stage
Former talk show host and California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder jokingly thanked Ernst for welcoming “the Black face of white supremacy” to speak. Elder said he was asked by a newspaper reporter Friday why he was running as a “long shot” to winning the nomination.
The Republican candidate said he is not looking for a book deal or a television show, highlighting his history of having a column, two nationally syndicated television shows and a radio show. He said he left media jobs when he ran against California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2021 recall election.
Elder called for Iowans to learn about his policy positions and to support him to get on the debate stage, set for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To participate, candidates must meet requirements including getting contributions from 40,000 unique donors and pledging to support the eventual Republican nominee.
“Lots of candidates are long shots until they aren’t,” Elder said. “… I’ve already have all the advantages suggested, I’m doing this because I have an obligation.”
Vivek Ramaswamy calls for GOP to work on appealing to millennials
Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur running for the Republican nomination, said he liked traveling to Iowa because Iowans aren’t afraid to ask the hard questions. Ramaswamy, 37, is the youngest candidate running for the Republican nomination, and said his generation is “hungry for a cause.”
He said millennials are looking for purpose and meaning, needs that used to be fulfilled by faith, patriotism and family.
“When you have a black hole that runs that deep, that is when the poison fills the void,” Ramaswamy said.”It almost doesn’t matter what the poison is, woke-ism, transgenderism, climatism, COVID-ism, globalism — these are symptoms of a deeper void of purpose.”
He said his goal is to restore the belief in the “American dream,” and bring younger people to the Republican Party.
“If we can revive that dream, over group identity and victimhood and grievance, then nobody — not a nation, not a corporation, not a virus — is going to defeat us,” Ramaswamy said. “That is what American exceptionalism is all about.”
Perry Johnson says he’s running Washington outsider campaign
Perry Johnson, a Michigan businessman, opened with a provocative line: “I am probably too conservative for this group.”
He called himself a Washington outsider – a trait he said he shares with Ernst. “Everybody hated her, too. She said she was going to cut the pork, and I’m going to do the same thing.”
Johnson, who is self-funding his campaign, also railed against the “ridiculous requirement” that a candidate must have 40,000 donors to qualify for the presidential candidate debates.
“But I’m going to get on that stage anyway,” he said. He asked voters to donate 2 cents to his campaign – “because that’s all I want, is 40,000 donors at 2 cents apiece.”
— Kathie Obradovich contributed to this report.
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.
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