Congressional candidates in S.J. argue over political ties
Which political connection is worse - Gov. Christie, whose job performance rating in New Jersey is at an all-time low in a new poll, or Tom Morello, former guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, who organized a concert nearly two decades ago to raise legal defense funds for convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal?
Which political connection is worse - Gov. Christie, whose job performance rating in New Jersey is at an all-time low in a new poll, or Tom Morello, former guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, who organized a concert nearly two decades ago to raise legal defense funds for convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal?
Those are among the issues voters are being asked to ponder in the race for a congressional seat in South Jersey's Third District heats up ahead of the June 7 primary.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur and potential Democratic challenger Jim Keady - who first must win a contested primary for his party's nod - are exchanging barbs over their political associations. In a recent tweet, MacArthur asked Keady to disavow Morello's endorsement, while Keady is calling on MacArthur to disavow his ties to Christie.
MacArthur, who supported Christie for president before Christie dropped out and endorsed Donald Trump, is running unopposed for the Republican nomination to seek a second term.
In November, MacArthur will face off against either Keady, a former Asbury Park councilman, or Frederick LaVergne, a perennial candidate from Delanco, who are vying for the Democratic nomination to run for the seat in the Third District, which spans Burlington and Ocean Counties.
But MacArthur and Keady have already begun tilting to the general election, and national political observers predict the race could be among the most bitter.
Keady, whose exchange with Christie led the governor to angrily say, "Sit down and shut up," at a Hurricane Sandy anniversary event in 2014, has said Christie failed to help the victims of the storm receive housing assistance because of his frequent travels out of state. The video of the encounter went viral.
After Keady declared his candidacy for Congress in March, he accused MacArthur of being out of touch with constituents, saying that MacArthur has backed Christie and that Christie "has driven our state off a cliff."
A Christie spokesman later said in March that Keady's facts were wrong and that Christie had made "tremendous progress" in helping Sandy victims.
Then, last month, MacArthur counterpunched. He called on Keady to disavow Morello, an activist musician from Los Angeles, after Morello tweeted his support for Keady. Morello's April 14 tweet called Keady a "Freedom Fighter of the Month alum," referring to Keady's activism against Nike's use of sweat shops, and suggested his followers donate to Keady's campaign. Keady responded via Twitter, thanking Morello and then reaching out to other activist celebrities for donations.
"Mr. Keady's decision to embrace, promote and fund-raise off the endorsement of someone who organized a benefit concert for a convicted cop-killer is deeply troubling," MacArthur later said in a statement. "The touting of this endorsement raises serious questions about Mr. Keady's judgment, while serving as a window into the kind of causes he'd advocate for in Congress and the radical ideology he would bring."
Abu-Jamal was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Officer Daniel Faulkner. He was appealing his conviction when Morello staged a concert at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., to raise money for legal bills.
Morello could not be reached for comment.
In an email this week to the Inquirer, Keady said: "Tom Morello is a talented entertainer and musician. He's also advanced the interests of working people everywhere through his activism. I disagree with him on this particular issue [the benefit concert for Abu-Jamal]. I will disavow his endorsement when Tom MacArthur disavows Gov. Christie's endorsement."
Keady said that the governor had hurt police morale by criticizing police pensions. "When public employees were marching in the streets to protect the pensions of our cops, I was there with them. MacArthur was not. He was too busy cozying up to our absentee governor," Keady said.
A Christie spokesman did not return a call for comment Thursday.
MacArthur's spokesman, Chris Russell, said in a statement on Thursday that Keady was "desperate to change the subject" and that his defense of Morello was "offensive to all the men and women in blue."
856-779-3224@JanHefler