In his word from the Publisher column this week, Courier publisher, frequent blog participant, and one of the inspirations of this blog, Jim Purcell dedicates a full page to smearing Freeholder Rob Clifton.
Readers who have frequented this blog since January, or who have read through the archives know that this blogger's relationship with Purcell started antagonistically...he even challenged me to a boxing match, which I agreed to only if we could do it naked out at Sandy Hook, in the spirit of air bathing and the ancient Olympics. Since that time, Jim and I have developed a good relationship based on mutual respect and admiration. In my opinion, our intellectual sparring has made a difference in the quality and fairness of The Courier's reporting and he has been a major contributor to this blog...by his participation here and by the reporting of the blog in his newspaper.
Jim and I share a commitment to good government. We both despise corruption, influence peddling and waste. Had he written this weeks column before I got to know that about him, this blog post would be written very differently.
With that being said, Jim's column this week is garbage. Yellow journalism. Not fit for the National Enquirer or Mr. Whipple's inventory. He rehashes an old story published last July with no new facts and spews innuendo and suspicion on Rob Clifton because a campaign contributor of Rob's is suspected by an Asbury Park Press reporter of being an unnamed developer in former West Long Branch Councilman Joseph DeLisa's Operation Bid Rig indictment.
There are several big differences between Joe DeLisa and Rob Clifton. Amongst them are:
1) Rob returned the campaign contributions, where as DeLisa kept the campaign contributions and bribes.
2) DeLisa has been indicted.
3)The project DeLisa was allegedly bribed for has been built. The project that Purcell smears Clifton over has not been built.
Jim has been kinder to Republicans and former Republicans who have been indicted. He's even talked about "innocent until proven guilty" in the cases of at least 3 indicted in Operation Bid Rig.
Evidently, Jim Purcell has reverted to his very subjective journalistic and editorial standards that have more to do with who he likes and dislikes than they have to do with real news and the facts.
Jim, you can do better. A lot better.
Let Me Count the Ways
21 hours ago
Posts
24 comments:
I wholeheartedly concur, Mr. Secretary, Jim can do better. Like, what other Monmouth County Freeholder accepted a $5,000.00 donation from the "Committee for responsibility and Trust in Government", a freeholder that Jim repeatedly has spoken very highly of?
I don't believe he sent it back either.
Anyone guess?
My guess would be Bill Barham
first, for those critical of my editorial about mr. clifton, that is your opinion and i respect it.
but with that said, mr. clifton returned the contribution after the nature of the pac and its contributors was made public by the courier.
the intended "vision" of the matawan portion of the train station project was not built as a result of an election that went the wrong way for proponents of that plan and not out of some sense of fairplay or reconsideration by the former matawan council majority.
yet the tie is a simple one: developer receives appointment as "redeveloper" by matawan, shattering joint project with neighbor, despite the recommendations of OBJECTIVE engineers employed by the commission. and...why?
the plan "least in compliance" with the vision of the JOINT aberdeen-matawan redevelopment commission receives the nod for the project.
THEN in what must be the most coincidental move in recent history, the MIDDLESEX COUNTY pac mr. morris heavily contributes to just HAPPENS to make a contribution to the clifton campaign. well, i'll give it this...that is quite a coincidence.
meanwhile, despite at least two previous projects in town and his council naming Morris as "lead developer" for the train station project clifton never even met the man. so the pac morris contributes to heavily did so because of clifton's outstanding virtues? yes, of course. i'm buying that.
i do not believe that is reasonable and if anything is contrived i believe that answer is.
the app has made the allegation about morris in relation to delisa and its arguments meet the common sense test as opposed to the "elephants first" nonsense theology.
want to rebuild trust in government? fine...do it! this freeholder returned this money AFTER he was elected, during a campaign where the "CLEAN MONEY" the campaign was using was "beyond reproach." so much to do over lilly white money...yeah. like that one will fly again.
i have not seen where any other freeholder has done this...from either party. so why would i lump everyone into this category. lawmakers are good or poor on their own MERIT and not who they go to lunch with.
despite any disagreements i have had with the politics or policies of mrs. handlin, her money was not tainted and she demonstrated great concern about where dollars were coming from.
and then there's clifton. no, this is not illegal. it is as legal as it can be. but it smells like an open sewer pipe and this stench is not going away anytime soon.
Jim Purcell said:
"the app has made the allegation about morris in relation to delisa and its arguments meet the common sense test as opposed to the "elephants first" nonsense theology."
Common sense test? That's journalism now? Please, give us more than the US Attorney and the subject of your smear refused to answer your questions so you used the common sense test.
Jim also said:
"despite any disagreements i have had with the politics or policies of mrs. handlin, her money was not tainted and she demonstrated great concern about where dollars were coming from."
Amy has a lot more experience than Rob. This story could as easily be spun that Rob, in his first county race, wasn't as careful with monitoring who was contributing to his campaign as his veteran running mate was. When the press exposed who was contributing, Rob returned the money.
If you have more than the common sense and it stinks tests, let's have it. I'll be the first to nominate you for a Pulitzer.
Jim finished with:
"and then there's clifton. no, this is not illegal. it is as legal as it can be. but it smells like an open sewer pipe and this stench is not going away anytime soon. "
Not going away anytime soon? Haven't you been paying attention? Both of our Freeholder candidates have forsaken PAC money (which I admire but don't agree with) and are mounting grass roots fund raising campaigns. The rank and file Republican rejected the organization's Pac funded candidates and in 5 weeks will elect a new organization.
I'm not practicing an "elephants first" theology and you know it. I'm giving a friend the benefit of the doubt. You know what that's like Jim. You've given your friends which much bigger doubts about them much more slack than I'm giving Rob.
it is not in doubt that clifton received the pac money discussed.
it is not in doubt that morris is a heavy contributor to that pac.
it is not in doubt that jack morris was named as the town's redeveloper.
it is not in doubt that the money was given back, as it is not that the election was already over. it is certainly not in doubt about the "my money is so clean" nonsesne that was ranted.
if clifton is so dim as to not know where his money is from, he probably shouldn't be in office. if he took the money knowing where it came from then he shouldn't be in office. check one.
when you go on the trail and start talking about how clean your money is...it better be.
as for merla: it is in doubt that he did anything wrong, because he still has to face a judge and a jury. the full facts of the case are not public because the u.s. attorney's office is not giving it up and john can't talk about it...and i haven't asked.
i understand your loyalty to your friend, but the essential facts of this matter are not in question. all that remains in question is mr. clifton's ability to take responsibility for his campaign.
i'm coming down on the "he's an adult" side.
you know, not for nothing, but politicians in this area do sort of reflect this privileged "i'm going to grow up when i want to sometime in my 30s" kind of flavor.
mom and dad pay for everything and they go about starting life when they're bucking 30.
prying people out of their parents' homes these days requires nothing short of some form of explosive.
so there's this culture of excuses and a country club mentality about being casually ignorant of what is going on around one. actually, it's vulgar and ugly to watch. did i mention revolting?
i think people in general, and specifically ELECTED LEADERS, should probably take some responsibility for their actions.
did you ever hear of the founding fathers excusing what they did because they were either not paying attention to what they were doing or they just couldn't grasp it? no "do overs" there.
I agree that Rob taking the Morris money was foolish or careless. He took responsiblity by giving it back. If you want to make him look foolish, do that. But don't make him look criminal, especially when you know he isn't. And save it for next year. Rob's not running this year and most voters will not remember what you wrote this year about next years candidate.
"did you ever hear of the founding fathers excusing what they did because they were either not paying attention to what they were doing or they just couldn't grasp it? no "do overs" there."
Well, there was Ben Franklin and that air bath thing :-). And Jefferson and his two families. You might want to pick up David McCullough's "1776" This country was founded by flawed men who made many mistakes and got lots of do overs. It has been lead by such men ever since.
flawed greatness and childish ignorance or stupidity are seperate things entirely.
if franklin was at all flawed it meerely showed he was human and not entirely of divine origin. if he was humourous about himself, it merely stated he did not take himself so seriously despite his accomplishments (which dwarf darn near anyone else's).
as for jefferson. flawed...yes. but come on...perhaps the greatest governmental and political mind since Seneca. maybe he was smarter than seneca. definitely brighter than cicero (who was basically a suck up). but more effective in writing than any human, regardless of anyone else's intelligence level.
these men should be a source of inspiration. sure, comparison is not possible. but the point is that tom jefferson didn't wheel money. he died broke from being honest. i daresay that no one is in danger of doing that around here.
JIM_PURCELL said...
flawed greatness and childish ignorance or stupidity are seperate things entirely.
Very true. Just as carelessness or foolishness are very different from criminality.
I'm not saying that Rob Clifton should be compared to Franklin or Jefferson. Nor should he be compared to DeLisa.
sandy hook is looking better and better
Kaiser Sose said...
FRED IS NOT RUNNING
GOOD MOVE
LETS MOVE ON
All I have been able to confirm is that a senior elected official referred to Fred as "Numb Nuts" after meeting with him to discuss standing for re-election or not.
Do you have more you can share Kaiser?
the inside airbather said...
sandy hook is looking better and better
Here's to looking at you! :-)
I happen to agree with Jim. The switching of developers, and the exclusion of Aderdeen from the project, combined with the shady contribution from Morris, and up to the same stench of corruption.
Keep up the good work, Jim.
rich:
thanks. will do.
big prof:
you're a strange dude. i bet you still have a lot of those john lynch bobble heads and t-shirts in stock.
bill:
never said what rob did was criminal, it's just wrong, straight up and flat out. "wrong" and "criminal" are different. but i don't expect either out of the deputy director. this board isn't a toy. it's a COUNTY. not a place to learn, it's a place to live up to a lifetime's potential. one should be ready for office BEFORE they take office. rookie mistake or no, this isn't a sand box.
You mean there's actually bobble heads of Lynch? LOL
Honest Abe said...
You mean there's actually bobble heads of Lynch? LOL
They're available in the Kramer Hall gift shop
OK, "sarge":
You said: You work for a paper owned by Joe Azzolina.
I say: Now there's a revelation.
You said: Matawan supported Amy Handlin in last years primary.
I say: As if I cared. I was a Democrat by then and even took stuff about it. Mrs. Handlin has made her living being either not cognizant of what was happening around her or oblivious to such consequences.
You said: Like everyone else who has wronged Mr. Azzolina, Matawan is now on your black list.
I say: Really, I've appluaded Amy for her campaign finance sense. Whatever happened on the Board of Freeholders, she is holding her own in Trenton. And, she ran a clean campaign. She merits a chance to actually accomplish something in Trenton. I have been supportive of Sobol in Middletown, Micahel Sachs in Hazlet, Bea Dufffy in Matawan, Jack Archibald in Atlantic Highlands and Cocuzza in Union Beach and Keansburg. If I'm playing party lines, I'm doing a helluva bad job at it. Oh yeah, I've also given a ton of ink to Short in Middletown, the former vice president of Concerned Citizens Against Town Center. Your point?
You said: For all your high minded talk about ethics in journalism( and government) it all comes down to that, doesnt it?
I say: What? no.
You said: I mean, did it ever occur to you that if the Matawan folks dont want to talk to you, it's not because they fear your Perry Mason-like interrogation skills will reveal their dastardly crimes, but more likely they see you as an unserious man who is completely uninterested in all the facts or the truth?
I say: You're kidding, right? The Republicans got their butt kicked in their hometown because of their actions in office. I had nothing to do with it. And, if I am "unserious," what does that make them beside an outright joke? I offered them equal time to the Democrats and they passed it up for whatever reason. If they had explained what their policy was in a cogent manner they might have returned to office.
You said: Your whole conspiratorial fantasy about what happened at the train station is based on a) facts which are in dispute,
I say: "No, I have ELEC reports and first-hand witnesses, and you have a Six Flags drawing. Thanks for playing."
You said: "...or b) ignorance of facts which would cast doubt on your story. To wit: Your assumption that because there was a joint commission, that the RFP reflected the desires of both towns, and that the professionals involved were totally objective. If memory serves, I believe that Aberdeen embarked on their portion of the redevelopment without consulting Matawan and only after the intevention of Senator Kyrillos (and rightly so)did they agree to what should've been a no brainer, a joint redevelopment commission. If you hadnt burned your credibilty up with the Matawan folks, maybe you could get their feelings on just how impartial the whole bidding process and appointing of professionals was. You mean to tell me that you think Marc Coren, that famously sweet and humble man, started down the road with his own development plans, was forced into a shotgun marriage with Matawan, and then just agreed to share control with people who he treats like country cousins?
I say: And Joe Leo...he was into some huge ego trip too? He was fired because he wouldn't jiggle the truth. By the way, you're extolling a state senator that happened to take A LOT of campaign contributions from the SAME PERSON you folks were TRYING to install as the redeveloper without any grassroots or joint consent. And, by the way, I am totally unaware of a senator's duty to back his develoepr contributor in his distrcit. Maybe you can educate me, Mr. Wizard? And maybe Joe Leo was 'plotting against Matawan'? Of course. Yes, that must be it.
You said: Please. You want to criticize people for taking leaps of faith...thats a pretty good one.
I say: Sell it down the street, pal. You folks lost because Paul had to have his contracts, you wanted Robby to move up and there was o' plenty in it for your real-estate folks in your party. People in your party sold your town down the river. Your nonsense is just that. I never made a dime off this garbage. Some Republicans were trying to make a career off of the project, sell out. You're disappointed because your voters caught on.
(Btw...Aberdeen chairman Mike Borg has been screaming in the wilderness for moths now about developers wheeling money into Aberdeen Dem coffers with some pretty good proof to back up his allegations. Has your paper ever written anything about that? Or is wheeling only bad by people who have wronged Joe Azzolina somehow? Perhaps you can do a little forensics work on their ELEC reports and get back to us.)
You said: Another fact you conveniently omit is what Matawan ultimately proposed to build as opposed to Aberdeen's plans. The plan Matawan ultimately chose was much more suited to the area than the monstrosity Aberdeen wanted.
Isaid: Your plan would have put 1,000 domiciles in Matawan. Good job, sport.
You said: Aberdeen wanted to build something comparable to Metropark station, with 10 story parking garages and buildings way out of character with the area, and that the infrastructure would never have supported (and, it's my understanding, had a residential component as well). The plan Matawan chose was much more in line with the smalltown, colonial feel of Matawan. Did the original plan have too many housing units? Yes. but again, you ignore the fact that a) the number of housing units is negotiable, and b)not all housing units are created equal.
I say: That's bull and you know it. Morris had the highest residential density plan of the lot. Is this intended to be fact or fiction, pal?
You said: My understanding is that both towns had the right to opt out of the joint commission. Matawan did so legally, and anyone who has seen renderings, drawings etc. of the two proposals would question their sanity if they hadnt.
I say: You mean the Six Flags drawing. I saw the real-life version when Great Adventure opened up this year. Paul couldn't point out one street or road. Good plan.
You said: Aberdeen voters certainly didnt like it either...the Republicans there made it their number one campaign issue and came within a hairs breadth of winning in an overwhelmingly Democrat town.
I say: And, they lost.
You said: Of course, none of that really matters, does it? Rob backed Amy, Rob is bad, end of story.
I say: I don't always agree with Amy. I don't think she's a great representative. But, she deserves to be there. She didn't take the dole from a develoepr. She played a straight game and won. Your boy didn't do that, and that's according to him and ELEC. He basically cried a lot while he was giving back money he shouldn't have taken...after a campaign where he couldn't talk up enough about how clean his donations were. Probably the stupidest thing I've seen in my days.
You said: And please, now that you're being attacked, stop backtracking and saying that you're not accusing Clifton of anything illegal. You're not accusing him of wheeling, you're accusing him of bribery, plain and simple.
I say: No, he wheeled money. It's not illegal. It's just wrong.
You said: At least if you're going to make scurrilous attacks, have the courage of your convictions and stick to it.
I say: Learning diabled or just dim? Check one.
Conclusion: If this is an attack, it's moronic. If it's an accusation, it lacks any substance. If this is "throwin' it against the wall," try again.
I promised someone I would lay-off unless Clifton started up. If he wants to, whatever...
He is what he is, and whatever that is won't be sitting in freehold two years from now. He did that himself.
Good evening.
howard:
the republican majority LOST THE ELECTION. so, mr. morris is OUT OF BUSINESS in matawan now.
the new majority DIDN'T GO WITH MORRIS. so there's no activity because they're sorting out the project.
if you're going to comment, please know what you're talking about. be part of the dialogue, please, but don't be stupid about it...there's enough of that going around.
there's at least three or four folks commenting on this thread who have at least some head trauma.
Howard Stern:
The fact that Jack Morris's company was named as the lead developer is not in dispute.
Make a point or move on.
Bill,
Ego, bravado, machismo are all good things, but please do not take credit where credit is not due -- that's pompous
I will refrain from any comment about inner workings the Courier Newsroom. But, I can say that any sparring Jim has done with you, or anyone else in the blgosphere,(while spirited) has not had an impact on how we cover news. It may affect Jim's editorial comments and blogs, but not my reporting, nor Jackie's, Doug's, or Chris'.
When I joined the Courier Staff in late 2005 I joined Jackie Corley's campaign for expanding our horizons when it came to what we report and how. The current encarnation of The Courier is a product of countless editorial meetings, where in a fairly open process, the entire editorial staff discusses the newspaper, it's layout, content, etc.
Blogs are wonderful things, I would say that the Monmouth County Republican bloggers are scions of change in this county. You're good at what you do, but maybe the staff at our small weekly newspaper is good at what we do too -- without third party influence.
Matthew McGrath said...
"Bill,
Ego, bravado, machismo are all good things, but please do not take credit where credit is not due -- that's pompous"
I'm surprised it took so long for my comment about the difference I've noticed in the Courier since my sparring with Jim started raised a reaction.
No credit intended to be taken on my part, young Woodward. If my relationship with Jim has made a difference at all, the credit goes entirely to him. You may have noticed I've sparred with a few others with different results.
Jim and I are both better off for the engagement, in my opinion.
I think you are doing a fine job Mattman, your opinions about "fake people" not withstanding. And congratulations (again) on your awards.
Be careful about avoiding the contributions of "third parties" you may be ripping yourself off of some wonderful insights and opportunities.
Bill,
Thank you again, but all I did was submit the right article at the right time. Purely a matter of circumstance My co-workers and I are working very hard and very diligently at our small paper, and that award could have easily gone to anyone working with me.
I never let intellectual and insightful contributions go by the wayside. Actually, I thrive on them.
I would have commented on your Courier influencing earlier, but I try to stay out of Jim's blogging battles. Tonight was also the first time in a few weeks that I have been able to check anything out on the internet for fun, so that explains my tardy response.
Jim won't deny that he fosters a loose newsroom. Jim takes an extreme amont of pride about where his reporters go in life after Courier, and we cannot go anywhere if we cannot find out voice. He allows us to do exactly that. God knows he has his opinions, but he never pushes them on his reporters.
The change in The Courier started with Jackie and two bright interns. One who will be staff writer for a daily paper in NC and one who will be interning at the Tennessean.
The current staff is simply continuing what they started. It may also be that you have paid more attention to what was being reported and how since you were sparring with Jim on a regular basis.
The debate that bloggers foster needs to happen. It allows for ideas to be exchanged in a political environment where debate is slowly passing away. I'm not doubting your contributions. You and Abe helped design the defeat of a Republican Chairman, I think that much is obvious.
On a side note: I can't say that I will apologize for any of the comments I made about fake people. It wasn't meant as a put down on some people, more it was a compliment to the signer I wrote about.
Honesty is a rare quality in most people. The singer was honest, open, and trusting. Not many people, nevermind pols. are like that these days. My comment was on how refreshing it was to meet someone "untainted" by cynicism. Nothing more.
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