The new regime pushes the only conservative off the Budget Committee. This is a direct result of pressure from a certain Republican County Chairperson who was hired by Garden State Equality to try to get gay marriage passed. His failure to do so along with the Assemblywoman’s ability to be an independent and protective voice for the citizens and taxpayers of NJ is being taken out on Assemblywoman McHose with the acquiescence of the minority leader Alex DeCroce.
In one of the first moves of the new legislative session in Trenton, establishment Republicans replaced Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose with Assemblyman Jon Bramnick. Americans for Prosperity, which tracks the fiscal record of legislators, gave Assemblywoman McHose its top rating – “A+” – while Assemblyman Bramnick was given a weak “C”.
Assemblywoman McHose is the most outspoken conservative in the legislature. She fought Democrat Speaker Joe Roberts and GOP Minority Leader Alex DeCroce to stop the imposition of a law that would have made taxpayers foot-the-bill for political campaigns in New Jersey.
McHose stopped a Democrat proposal to impose a new tax on foreclosures and then use the money to fund the activities of groups like ACORN.
When passage seemed certain, McHose organized the effort to stop same-sex marriage in New Jersey. And McHose worked with grassroots conservatives to stop Trenton from making taxpayers underwrite sending illegal immigrants to New Jersey’s state colleges.
Assemblywoman McHose was the most experienced member on the Assembly Budget Committee, having served six years as a member of the Committee. She was the second highest ranking Republican on the Committee and the only conservative.
As the only Republican woman on the Committee, she brought the perspective of a mother of three young children to the proceedings – often employed to fend off Democratic charges of Republican “insensitivity”. Mrs. McHose, the wife of SSgt. Morgan McHose, had the role of “single-mom” while he was called up for two tours overseas.
Assemblyman Bramnick, who replaces Mrs. McHose, is a trial lawyer whose record won the endorsements of both the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) – the powerful teachers’ union – and the Sierra Club, the state’s top environmental lobby group.
Assemblyman Bramnick was co-sponsor of liberal legislation that expanded the rights of trial lawyers. He voted for hundreds of millions in new debt – without the consent of the voters. In 2007 alone, he voted to borrow $450 million to fund government creation of a stem cell research bureaucracy. Luckily, this was decisively rejected by the voters.
Bramnick was the co-sponsor of the “Global Warming Response Act” and voted for the Highlands Act – which restricts property rights in much of Sussex, Warren, Morris, and Hunterdon counties – for the benefit of Newark and Jersey City.
Bramnick wanted to use taxpayers’ money to fund political campaigns like his.
Bramnick voted to borrow $400 million of new debt – much of which will be spent on urban recreation projects. And he voted for $22 million in new welfare programs.
Bramnick voted for a tax on your TV and for health insurance mandates that forced up the price of coverage. He even voted for a government-run health care program.
A trial lawyer, Bramnick opposed tort reform and voted for spending provided by New Jersey’s version of Speaker Pelosi’s cap & trade.
As bad as Assemblyman Bramnick’s record is, the man directly responsible for replacing conservative McHose with liberal Bramnick has an even worse record.
He is Assemblyman Joe Malone, the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee. Assemblyman Malone has earned an “F” rating from Americans for Prosperity for his consistently liberal voting record on fiscal issues. Surprising for the position he holds, Malone is the most liberal Republican member of the Assembly.
That’s right, Bramnick – with his voting record – still rates a “C”. Malone gets an “F”. Just imagine what his record is like.
With conservative Alison McHose off the Budget Committee, it’s going to be up to taxpayers like us to monitor what’s going on there. If you want to help, please go to www.njconservativerepublicanleadershipcommittee.org and hit the click here link which appears on their home page with this same story.
They will train you on how to monitor Budget Committee action, attend sessions, and testify on legislation before the committee. The Legislature belongs to the People — not the Lobbyists and Political Insiders. Time to take it back!
