We Could Have An Exciting GOP Primary Coming

Well, state Senator Jeff Van Drew is moving on to Congress. That means we could see an exciting primary election for the special election to fill his state senate seat.

There’s been a lot of talk that Cumberland County Republican Chairman Michael Testa is going to run for Van Drew’s Senate seat. Our friends at New Jersey Globe wrote about it yesterday.

The Globe, and others, have pointed out that Republicans believe without Van Drew on the ballot in LD1 it will be easier to win there.

What appears to be a big spike in former LD1 Assemblyman Sam Fiocchi’s social media activity has some folks wondering if he is looking at taking a run at the Van Drew senate seat. I called my friend Sam and he was noncommittal in his answer.

Adding to the intrigue is there’s a rumor about a possible third contender coming out of Cape May County. Unfortunately, the person who called me about that would not give up a name. I argued this possible third contender was likely an assembly candidate, but the caller insisted the mystery candidate is eyeing the senate seat.

All this could mean excitement, or with three candidates we could see them settle differences and quickly round out a complete team in LD1. Stay tuned!

Don’t Be A Sore Loser

Paul Dilks

I had a completely different post written for today, but then Paul Dilks took to social media.

Losing sucks! There’s no way other way to put it. So, I’ll say it again, losing sucks!

It’s what we do after losing that’s important.

For starters, do NOT be a sore loser. It helps no one.

After losing, GOP congressional Candidate Paul Dilks, took to social media to attack a county chairman today.

Full disclosure: I consulted to the CCGOP this cycle, Dilks will likely talk trash about me, AGAIN, after reading this post. Honestly, I no longer care what he says because the election is over, therefore I no longer have to play nice in the sandbox with him.

Dilks is a nice guy, I voted for him, but he was very bad at taking advice from those who tried to help him. I’m not even talking about advice from me that he completely ignored. I know for a fact Dilks was given very sound advice from CCGOP Political Director Tom Crone that fell on deaf ears. I spoke with others who gave sound advice to Dilks, only to see him do the opposite.

Case in point, Dilks had this “foolproof plan” to win the election. His plan was to win the Catholic vote. He talked about it everywhere, “I’m the Catholic candidate,” he would say. It didn’t matter if he was in front of a group of Evangelical preachers or a group of Jewish voters, it was the same message for months. He was told, “know your audience” by many. He didn’t listen.

Dilks was advised by party officials to stay away from Vincent Squire. One of Squire’s former running mates advised Dilks to stay away. Some Pennsauken Republicans advised Dilks to stay away from Squire. Did he listen? No! Dilks did the opposite and went with Squire to try to stop the installation of a plaque honoring the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. To add insult to injury, the plaque had already been installed.

Now, after losing what was a tough election to try and win in the first place, Dilks is out attacking a party chairman. Even worse, his attacks are B.S.

CCGOP Chairman Rich Ambrosino searched high and low for an affordable headquarters, someone willing to give a short-term lease. Never mind the fact that getting a business owner to lease to Republicans in Camden County is difficult, anything affordable, was completely unacceptable. One building, upon inspection, was discovered to have a bathroom that was missing walls, a toilet and a sink and had a huge pile of trash in the middle of the main floor.

As for Dilks implying that Ambrosino didn’t offer assistance in Haddon Heights, the municipal chairman was offered help more than once and responded with, “I think we’re okay.”

It is ashamed Dilks lost. He worked hard, he put his heart and soul into his campaign. I genuinely felt sympathy for the guy, but that sympathy went out the window when I saw his unwarranted attacks on Ambrosino.

Here at The Bob & Steve Show we did what we could to support Dilks. We had him on the show twice. We ignored his missteps, unusual for us. Unfortunately, attacking a party chairman who did try to help him is unacceptable.

Trust me, with all the fights I’ve had with party leadership over the years, I would be the first guy to join Dilks if he was right. On this, he is wrong. Ambrosino tried to help him. Others tried to help Dilks.

And, at the end of the day, party chairs aren’t responsible for the congressional campaigns, they have their municipal candidates and county candidates to worry about. Ambrosino worked with those candidates. The municipal chair in Haddon Heights refused that help. Pennsauken, Clementon and Voorhees, to name a few accepted party assistance. In Audubon Park they held the Republican mayor and gained a Republican council seat.

Next time you attack a party chairman, get your facts straight and don’t be a sore loser.

Happy Election Eve, Thanks For Running For Office

Kush’s Dog Abby

Election Day is tomorrow and every candidate on the ballot deserves a thank you. Yes, even those candidates we would never cast a vote for.

Putting your name on the ballot isn’t always an easy thing. Long days. Late nights. Time away from family. Friends became enemies, simply because of the party you are in. You’ve made new friends along the way, too.

Ideas you thought were brilliant, people called stupid. The ideas of your opponent you thought were stupid, people called brilliant. The joke you shared on social media nearly 10 years ago became the subject of an attack mailer. Now your neighbor thinks you’re a jerk, even though he told you a similar joke a week before that mailer landed in mailboxes.

You opened yourself up to being attacked by political opponents with negative mailers, radio, TV and web ads. The old media and new media, including us, may have said or written unkind words about you. Now you’re afraid your dog might hate you too. Don’t worry, the dog still loves you, dogs love unconditionally.

Your character has been questioned, often times by people you’ve never met. Augh! The social media trolls.

First time candidates just spent an entire electoral campaign getting the best civics lesson money couldn’t buy.

If you’ve held office before, or a position of authority, then every single thing you’ve ever said or done has been scrutinized AGAIN, and it still sucks.

All this happened because no matter what office you chose to run for, or currently hold, you are asking people to trust you with millions of tax dollars. That alone means you are held to a higher standard, as should every person seeking or holding elected office, because should you win your election every decision you make affects many people, some of whom didn’t vote for you.

It’s hard to put your name out there. We know it, we’ve both held public positions and have both been attacked. Now we host a radio show and author a blog about politics, we still get attacked. Since July we’ve been called liars, racists and words we can’t say on radio. It’s part of the process. Politics requires a thick skin.

The one thing we ask is that if you lose, don’t take your ball and go home. Stay involved. You cared enough to get involved, some now consider you a leader in your community. If you lose, stay involved and become that leader, but understand there will still be people out there talking trash about you. It’s not easy, but ignore it, because for every person talking trash, there are many more cheering you on.

We know it wasn’t easy. So, to every candidate, even the ones we aren’t voting for, The Bob & Steve Show thanks you for putting yourself out there.

And, if our most sincere thank you isn’t enough, remember the words of Gordon Gekko, “If you need a friend, get a dog.”