At Least This State GOP Chair Has A Set

NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt - Image stolen from his Facebook page

One thing I realized since we launched The Bob & Steve Show is slow news days suck, at least when it comes to the blog portion of our venture. Fortunately, Governor Phil Murphy is an easy target.

Because the news is slow, I was scanning the internet for something to write about and visited the state GOP’s website and found they issued a press release today in which NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt took a shot at the guv – and it was a much better shot than the last time I mentioned him in this blog.

Where have Republicans been hiding this guy? I can’t recall the last state party chairman picking fights with the opposition. I’ve never met Steinhardt, wouldn’t know him if I tripped over him, but he has a set and I like that.

In Steinhardt’s statement he even took a shot at Murphy and “his beleaguered soccer team,” and given the NJ press letting Murphy off the hook on that issue I give Steinhardt bonus points.

This makes the second time in a month I’ve said nice things about our state party. I haven’t said that many nice things about the party since moving back to this state 5 years ago. Keep up the good work Chairman Steinhardt!

Here’s the party’s press release:

NJGOP Chairman – Murphy’s Extremist Liberal Agenda Has Democrats Acting Like Republicans

Trenton, NJ – Following last week’s release of recommendations from a study commission lead by three Republican and two Democrat Senators, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt released the following statement:

“New Jersey is teetering on the edge of a fiscal cliff. In large part, we are pushed there by Governor Murphy’s extreme, liberal agenda, and middle class families are holding on with their finger tips. For anyone who doubts the gravity of New Jersey’s affordability crisis, a group of career Democrats lead by Senate President Steve Sweeney and Majority Leader Lou Greenwald now admit that we are at a breaking point.

“Imperiled by Murphy’s socialist platform, Democrat legislators are at a cross roads. Their future, and New Jersey’s, depends largely on what they do next.  On one hand, Murphy’s buy now, pay later, government free for all portends for the state’s 9 million residents the same fate that befell his beleaguered soccer team.  On the other hand, the Republican laid path of common sense and fiscal accountability is the bedrock of this bipartisan report. On which side of history will New Jersey’s Democrats fall? They can’t choose both. It was only two months ago that Democratic leaders stood side by side and grew NJ government by some $2 billion and raised taxes by $1.7 billion more.

“Now, it’s gut check time. Statehouse Democrats need to channel their inner Republican and come forward to push through these fiscal reforms. They will be judged by what they do.”

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Women’s Soccer: NJ Press Lets Governor Murphy Off The Hook

July 20. That’s the last time the New Jersey press wrote a word about Governor Phil Murphy and the women’s professional soccer team, Sky Blue FC, of which he is majority owner.

I think this is the part of the post where I’m supposed to write something along the lines of “imagine the continued beating Murphy would be taking if he were a Republican,” so that’s out of the way.

It was on July 20 that Murphy was quoted by NJ.com:

"At the end of the day, the buck stops with me and my fellow owner," said Murphy, who co-owns the team with Steven Temares, the CEO of Bed, Bath & Beyond.

"We take this very seriously. It's not tolerable. It will not go on."

Unfortunately, since July 20 the only reported improvement to Murphy’s team has been that an RV has been parked at the practice facility in an attempt to rectify the problem of having no bathrooms, showers or running water. I’ll assume there are quality towels in the RV, at least there should be with the CEO of Bed, Bath & Beyond as a co-owner of the team.

Why is the state’s press not following this? The man said the buck stops with him. They should be asking questions like has he made any improvements, did Murphy pay folks less than the equivalent of a $15 per hour employee (we know he did) and the list of potential questions goes on.

On the $15 per hour issue an August 8 piece by Deadspin has shown what a giant hypocrite Murphy is on that issue:

Sky Blue uses part-time staff to fill nearly every position. From trainers, to assistant coaches, to general manager Tony Novo, the team’s staff is paid part-time salaries for what amounts to full-time work. Former assistant coach David Hodgson was initially hired as a sport scientist for Sky Blue FC. “I got [connected with] Sky Blue via U.S. Soccer,” he told Deadspin, “who had mandated that every club needed to have a sports scientist on the books. I was 30 minutes away and U.S Soccer trusted me to do a good job.”

Originally, Hodgson said, the club wanted to bring him on as an unpaid intern. “They offered me no money,” he recalled, “and I’m like, ‘I’m 38, I don’t do internships with a master’s degree.’ U.S. soccer pushed them and they gave me $15,000. And that’s how that happened.”

Hodgson took over as interim head coach, alongside Grieg and goalkeeper coach Jill Loyden, after Sky Blue parted ways with Christy Holly in August of 2017. He returned as an assistant coach before being let go in June.

That’s right, Phil Murphy wanted a professional, with a master’s degree, to work for free. True, he eventually paid $15,000 for a season that lasts 6 months, but that is less than the $15,600 a $15 per hour employee would have made.

While Murphy was campaigning on $15 per hour he was paying less. There is documented proof and still not one member of the NJ press has called him out on his hypocrisy.

As to the well-documented housing woes of Murphy’s soccer team, the blame was placed on “summer rentals.” Of course, that’s total BS given that the team is based in Piscataway. Again, not one member of New Jersey’s press is calling Murphy out on the BS.

If New Jersey’s press is going to continue to let Murphy off the hook for the horrible treatment of the women on his soccer team and his hypocrisy on pay and gender equality then The Bob & Steve Show will do our best to keep reminding New Jerseyans of the BS Murphy is feeding us.

It’s Embarrassing When Anti-Gun Nuts Have To Fix A Law After Passing It

As if living in a state where a slingshot is illegal wasn’t bad enough, the rocket scientists in Trenton are in the process of “fixing” the new law limiting the size of firearms magazines in New Jersey to 10 rounds because as passed many cops would be violating the law while off duty.

Apparently, back in June, when Governor Phil Murphy was signing a bunch of new anti-gun laws and bragging that “We are going to be a leader in the fight for common-sense gun safety,” common-sense had gone out the window.

It appears that not one member of the legislature, nor the governor or his staff, had enough sense to check with anyone in law enforcement. If they had, they would have learned that most police service weapons use magazines that hold between 12 and 17 rounds. They would have learned what most of us already knew – that cops are always on duty, meaning they carry their weapons even when not “officially” on duty.

Because police officers are never really off duty many cops would be in violation of the new magazine law. That led to the passage of S2846 in the state Senate. The bill makes an exception for law enforcement to keep cops from violating the law. The Assembly version A4304 has been referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee according to the legislature’s website.

According to NJ.com:

"State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, a sponsor of the measure, said it was meant to 'correct an oversight' that may have prohibited some police officers from carrying their service weapons while off duty."

Yeah, let’s call it “an oversight.” We all know that “an oversight” is simply code for “you’re an anti-gun nut who just doesn’t care about law-abiding gun owners.”

It must be embarrassing to have to pass a bill to fix your own screw up. Great job New Jersey legislature!