The Asbury Park Press endorses Pallone. Hogan Responds

James Hogan has a great post exposing what a poor job Frank Pallone is doing as a Congressman.

I would add Sandy Hook and FEMA maps to the list of Pallone's failures.

Pallone initially supported the private rehabilitation of Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, but flipped in a pander to Judith Stanley-Coleman. All these years later, the Save Sandy Hook crowd has lost their litigation, the cost of the rehabilitation has increased and the financing for the private project has to be difficult in this economic environment. Yet, the historic buildings at the Fort continue to rot into the bay. With all the talk of pork barrel projects on Washington, Pallone couldn't come up with the $65 million to Save Sandy Hook? Pallone has been in congress for twenty years. What has he delivered for the district? Nada. Compare him to rookie Senator Barack Obama who sent home almost $2 billion to his Chicago cronies.

Pallone response to the new FEMA maps was nothing more than a complete pander. He proposed legislation to delay the maps that has gone no where. He knew his legislation would go no where when he proposed it but had to propose it so that he could tell Bayshore residents he was doing something. At a FEMA hearing in Keansburg last June, an indignant resident facing a $1500 flood insurance bill confronted Pallone with his campaign literature from a long ago election wherein Pallone promised to deliver flood protection to the Bayshore. Pallone told the voter he was being disagreeable.

Freeholder Director Lillian Burry came up with a legal way to slow down FEMA and to hold the federal and state governments accountable for their failures with regard to flood protection.

Pallone will be re-elected because he is essentially running unopposed. He has the largest financial war chest of any member of congress because he never has to spend money defending his seat. His TV ads this year are the start of his campaign to replace Frank Lautenberg when he resigns his U.S. Senate seat in the next year or two.

Robert McCleod is a fine man, however his candidacy is a gesture in taking one for the team. Hogan probably would not have beat Pallone either, but he would have made him fight for it.