Tag Archives: Von Savage

Politics

Most Secure Job

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I tire of hearing how secure public teaching jobs are.  True, it is difficult to move on a tenured teacher, but if it were done a little more often, folks would get the hang of it.

Nevertheless, public school teachers have no security like Tom Wilson does.  Wilson is the GOP chairman in New Jersey.  His party has continually lost seats in the Assembly and Senate.  Six of his senators have announced they will not run for re-election.  New Jersey is as blue as a horny teeneager who can’t find an “outlet”.

Yet, Wilson keeps his job.  The 21 Republican county chairmen (including the incognito Larry Pepper and the bombastic David Von Savage) just gave Wilson a vote of confidence.

The party leaders believed they need to show support of Wilson to slow down what has already become an open race for State Chairman, and perceived that Wilson needed to take on the Democrats for while without the encumbrance of backstabbing from his own party.

I wish I could have that kind of security. 😉

Politics

Curiouser and Curiouser

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Carnival of the NJ Bloggers
Carnival of the NJ Bloggers

Yesterday I told you about the link of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) executive director Curtis Bashaw and Sun National Bank. Today, Gannett delves into the links between Sun and the McGreevey administration.

Bashaw, prior to being appointed to the CRDA by former governor James McGreevey, was on the advisory board of none other than Sun National Bank. He still owns stock in the bank. Bashaw also sits on Economic Development Authority (EDA) that approves loans from the federal government. Congress Hall, Bashaw’s prized renovated hotel in Cape May received federal funds. While he took on more Sun debt to finance the project, the EDA needed to approve the balance of debt, now that the feds were no longer going to be first in line for payment. The EDA approved the re-structuring of debt, even though Bashaw did recuse himself.

Bashaw does not recuse himself, however, now in his dealings with Sun as the executive director of the CRDA.

Bashaw said he hasn’t recused himself from CRDA issues with Sun National Bank.

But he is overseeing a massive project that Vineland Construction is running. The links are too close and the appearance of impropriety is too great. It is such that Tom Bracken, chief executive officer of Sun National Bank, tried to diffuse what is on every reader’s mind:

But there is no quid pro quo at all involved with this.

But Sun’s links to the corrupt McGreevey administration make it difficult to accept at face value.

And just to bring this full circle, it appears that Sun’s own PAC finances David Von Savage, the Cape May County Republican Party chairman. Mr. Von Savage as the one who was responsible for the advertisement on PoliticsNJ.com which showed Osama bin Laden holding up a Kerry for President placard.

This entire story reeks of McGreevey’s dirty politics. Bashaw advised Sun. Sun drops money all over the state, including areas that support McGreevey. McGreevey and Bashaw are friends. McGreevey appoints Bashaw to head the CRDA right after CRDA provides a sweetheart deal to Sun. Sun steps up and provides Bashaw with the money he needs to complete his renovation of Congress Hall.

The ties are too tight. Where is the would-be governor speaking out about the corruption, favoritism and fraud?

Politics

AC Press Picks Up 28J’s OBL for Kerry Story

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The Buzz section of today’s Press of Atlantic City has the Osama Bin Laden story that I have been writing about this week. A quick search of Press web site has not produced a link.

There will be plenty of commentary later, but suffice it to say, Cape May County Regular Republican Organization Chairman, David Von Savage, takes a different view than I do.

But Von Savage brushed off the criticism as so much liberal whining. “I’m proud of it,” Von Savage said. The bombastic Republican leader said the ad was accurate too.

First of all, for Mr. Von Savage’s sake, I am hardly a liberal. Read this site, if you have any doubts.

Bombastic. Great word. And for the record, Mr. Von Savage has yet to return my telephone call or my e-mail.

Update: 21 OCT 04, 21:21
It doesn’t appear that The Buzz piece is online. I was told that is the type of thing that may creep onto the Press‘ site over the next couple days. In the meantime, here is the story.

Republican says bin Laden backs Kerry
Cape May County Regular Republican Chairman David Von Savage paid a political Web site last weekend to run an ad depicting Osama bin Laden supporting John Kerry’s presidential bid.

The ad, which ran three days on PoliticsNJ.com, generated a few angry e-mails.

[Bob], a Cumberland County resident who runs a political blog, said the ad went too far.

[Bob], who said he’s a registered Republican, called for Von Savage to apologize and step down as chairman.

But Von Savage brushed off the criticism as so much liberal whining.

“I’m proud of it,” Von Savage said.

The bombastic Republican leader said the ad was accurate too.

“Eighty percent of the Arab street wants to See George Bush gone,” Von Savage said. “A hundred percent of al-Queda wants Kerry.”

[Bob], meanwhile has been tracking his attempts to hold Von Savage accountable on his Website, 28J.

Stay tuned.

My Response
How does one prove he is a registered Republican, Democrat, Independent, etc.? I thought I would scan my voter registration card, but it doesn’t have that information.

I love the spin Von Savage used. He was undoubtedly informed I was a registered Republican. That still did not prevent the spin. It has to be “liberal whining”. It couldn’t possibly be that the advertisement is inappropriate. Nah, that would require someone actually being a leader, which Mr. Von Savage has shown he is not.

How can one be proud of the advertisement? Von Savage did not create the image. As a matter of fact, he most likely violated MightyRighty.com’s copyright since he did not have permission to pay to post the image. That is certainly not a trait to be proud of. Not to mention, it is the cheapest of shots to take during a campaign that the good chairman is not even a bit player. Be proud of your dirty tricks, sir.

If you were so damn proud of your advertisement, why was it pulled from PoliticsNJ.com? If you were so proud of your work, why have you ducked my call and e-mail? You could have easily avoided this being printed in the newspaper by speaking with me. Yes, that definitely shows your pride.

I have serious reservations about the “statistics” the chairman tossed around. Would you care to provide any data to support those claims?

Mr. Von Savage has demonstrated he is no leader. Republicans deserve better. David Von Savage needs to be removed as chairman of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization after he apologizes for his blunder.

Politics

OBL for Kerry Advertisement

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paidadvertisement

I checked into PoliticsNJ.com to see the latest article. I still could not tell you what the lead article is for my eyes were immediately drawn the image you see here. The caption to the image on the site states:

PAID FOR BY THE CAPE MAY COUNTY REGULAR REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION, DAVID VON SAVAGE, CHAIRMAN

Surely this was a joke/hoax. Upon looking into it, however, much like the Craig Fitzhugh campaign-distributed Special Olympics flyer (image), this appears to be legitimate.

MightRighty.com seems to be a site populated by conservatives who have a good time poking fun at Kerry, liberals, and those on the left. I have been unable to find the image on their site as of yet. I am looking. I did find a similar image posted in the forum. I have e-mailed the poster, BrotherJoe, about the image and if he can shed any light on the image. I have yet to hear back.

MightyRighty.com is not affiliated with any party.

PoliticsNJ purports to be maintained as a resource for observers of the New Jersey political scene. The publishers remain anonymous.

So, what’s the issue?
Had Mr. Fitzhugh distributed the Osama Bin Laden image with a Bush/Cheney campaign poster, I am certain the outrage would have been equal to what he has received for his Special Olympics poster.

The image is wrong. As a joke on a parody site, the image is what it is—an attempt at humor. But when it is being distributed/paid for by a legitimate Republican organization, it is over-the-top. Linking a candidate for the presidency with the country’s arch enemy without a shred of proof, is not the work for legitimate political parties. This is the very reason why regular folks despise politics.

Mr. Von Savage needs to pull the plug on this advertisement. He needs to apologize for running it. And then he needs to step down as chairman of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization. This is not the kind of leadership which is needed.

Update: 17 OCT 04, 20:32
An e-mail sent to Matthew Buesing, Treasurer of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization, bounced. The address provided on the Organization’s site, beez@gwu.edu, had permanent fatal errors.

Update: 17 OCT 04, 21:44
With a little help from Hollie Lee over at MightyRighty.com, the image that PoliticsNJ.com has posted can also be found here. It was originally posted on 22 February 2004 on MightyRighty.com.

Update: 18 OCT 04, 09:29
This story is becoming more interesting. PoliticsNJ.com has removed the advertisement from its site. Too bad I did not screen capture the home page last evening. I had written to the info@politicsnj.com address asking about how much the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization paid to run the spot and for how long it was to run. I have not received a response to those questions. Could it be that the wagons are circling? The image is still on their web site. The image at the beginning of this blog entry is theirs. If the link breaks, we will know PoliticsNJ.com removed (or at least re-named) the image.

Update: 18 OCT, 10:51
Harv, the owner of MightyRighty.com, responded to my inquiry. According to him, this image was never intended to be paid for.

Update: 18 OCT 04, 11:01
According to the PoliticsNJ.com web site, the advertisement that was displayed would be a “Left Column” (125×125) display. PoliticsNJ.com charges $500 to run an advertisement there. There is no mention for how long such an advertisement would run for $500.

Update: 18 OCT 04, 11:42
Steve Kornacki, a reporter for PoliticsNJ.com filed a story on 11 February 2004 about Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., Essex County executive, who backed Senator John Kerry, instead of Governor McGreevey-endorsed Howard Dean.

Former U.S. Sen. Robert G. Torricelli, whose reputation was scarred by a formal rebuke from his Senate colleagues two years ago, made waves last week by loudly promoting his role as a fund-raiser for Kerry. Some key Kerry supporters in New Jersey, including Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., took pains to distance the Garden State operation from Torricelli, who also downplayed his role with the campaign in subsequent interviews. But the former senator’s work is now making national headlines. It was revealed on Tuesday that Torricelli had used his still-active U.S. Senate campaign account to make a $50,000 donation last November to a shadowy group that ran television ads against Dean several months ago. Among other things, the ads, which cost about $500,000 to produce and air, used images of Dean and Osama bin Laden to question Dean’s national security credentials. At today’s press conference, Kerry’s backers said they were either unaware of Torricelli’s contribution or weren’t concerned with it. “I welcome anybody to do whatever they want through any legal means to help change the country,” Adler said. DiVincenzo called Torricelli “a friend” and said he’d have no problem accepting contributions from Torricelli’s campaign committee in the future.
(emphasis added)

Is this where Cape May County Regular Republican Organization leaders learned of the idea? Does PoliticsNJ.com approve of Torricelli’s advertisements?

Update: 19 OCT 04, 10:01
Angela Pulvino, Recording Secretary of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization, told me just now that she has no knowledge of the advertisement that was run on PoliticsNJ.com. She referred me to Chairman Von Savage. I had already left a message on his answering machine. For the record, Ms. Pulvino’s number has changed from what is listed on the organization’s web site to (609) 390-1998.

Update: 19 OCT 04, 10:19
Jessica, legislative assistant for state senator Nick Asselta, indicated that the senator would not intervene in a matter like this. She suggested I contact PoliticsNJ.com and Mr. Von Savage, both of whom she knew I had previously contacted.

Update: 19 OCT 04, 10:25
Yesterday I had e-mailed, Steve Adubato, PoliticsNJ.com columnist as well as Fox & Friends guest, CN8 personality, etc., the following through his Stand & Deliver web site. I e-mailed him the same just now through his AOL address.

Mr. Adubato,
In your recent Star-Ledger article, Take the Leadership Test, you posed several questions. Regarding the two questions below, I would like you to rate yourself as a nationally-recognized pundit, who is also a columnist for PoliticsNJ.com. PoliticsNJ.com ran an advertisement over the weekend paid for by the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization. The advertisement was an image of Osama bin Laden holding up a Kerry for President placard. The image can be seen at: http://www.politicsnj.com/paidadvertisement.jpg

SA: When things do go wrong and mistakes are made that I’ve played some part in, I step up and take responsibility for my actions.

SA: If someone (including a top leader in my organization) did something that was either ethically or morally wrong in order to gain a competitive advantage, I would step up and make it clear how I felt, even if it jeopardized my professional status. Is accepting money to run an advertisement with the above image ethically or morally wrong? Is writing for a group that takes money for displaying such an image having “played some part in”? I am blogging this story on my web site at b.vallane.net. I would like permission to use your response in my story.

All the best,

I have heard nothing from Mr. Adubato.

Update: 19 OCT 04, 11:34
Striking out at each turn, I wrote to New Jersey Republican Leader, Senator Joe Kyrillos, via his web site.

Senator Kyrillos,

As New Jersey’s Republican leader, I am hopeful you can help me. I am a registered Republican. I live in Cumberland County. On Sunday evening I visited PoliticsNJ.com. On the site, I saw an advertisement with the following image:

http://rdowens.net/images/2004/paidadvertisment.jpg (since moved)

PoliticsNJ.com wrote the following beneath the image, “PAID FOR BY THE CAPE MAY COUNTY REGULAR REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION, DAVID VON SAVAGE, CHAIRMAN” I wrote PoliticsNJ.com about the advertisement. I wanted to know how much it cost to run and the length of the ad-buy. I also asked if there was a screening process that the web site uses for its ads. I heard nothing about this, although the ad was pulled. I e-mailed the chairman of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization, Mr. Von Savage. I also left him a message on his answering machine. He has not responded. The recording secretary of the CMCRRO knows nothing of the ad. With the lack of information I have gleaned from those who can answer these questions, I am writing you to step in and intervene on my behalf. I would like to know how much CMCRRO paid to run the ad. I would like to know how long the ad was supposed to run. I would like to know how long the ad actually ran. I would like to know why the ad was purchased. You are a leader for our good state. Steve Adubato recently had a column about leadership. He wrote that leaders do the following: “When things do go wrong and mistakes are made that I’ve played some part in, I step up and take responsibility for my actions.” and “If someone (including a top leader in my organization) did something that was either ethically or morally wrong in order to gain a competitive advantage, I would step up and make it clear how I felt, even if it jeopardized my professional status.” As we all know, cover-ups are far worse than the original mistakes. I request your help in getting answers to these questions. Thank you kindly.

I have heard nothing about this.

Update: 19 OCT 04, 13:50
There is a story here. I know that. No one desires to speak to a guy they have never heard of. I know I am just a guy with a couple questions. Politicians do not want to help. PoliticsNJ.com will not respond. That is okay. I have recruited help. I just got off the telephone with Buzz Keough, reporter for The Press of Atlantic City. Perhaps some of these folks who thought a citizen wasn’t worth their time will find Mr. Keough worth dealing with. I trust that bringing on board some help with this will answer the questions I have raised. Perhaps there is a reasonable explanation for what I saw. I suspect I will eventually learn what happened. Welcome, Buzz.