In a letter to the editor, Hoboken Republican Committee Secretary Joshua Einstein says that his Democratic counterparts are “disconnected from reality” over their stance on Hudson County government’s deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Â
Dear Editor,
The Hoboken Democrat Committee, its leadership association, and fellow traveler, Hoboken Councilwoman Emily Jabbour, have once again proven themselves disconnected from reality.
Their recent inane demands regarding the county jail anti-crime agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are beyond belief.
The agreement, which has existed since 1996, and been renewed by numerous county office holders (all Democrats) and under Democrat and Republican presidential administrations, allows the incarceration of illegal aliens in Hudson County.
Bergen and Essex Counties (controlled by Democrats) also participate in the program, allowing ICE to hold illegal aliens arrested primarily in NYC near any family they have which might help them mount a defense and any hypothetical asylum application.
Not only would the initial demands of the Hoboken Democratic Committee have an adverse effect on the very illegal aliens they pretend to be defending since being sent to a jail further away could inhibit their ability to defend themselves, but they ignore that the
immigration enforcement priorities in our region have remained constant, since before and during the Trump administration, and are to prioritize the apprehension of illegal alien who have committed felonies.
Putting aside the issue of the municipal Democrat leadership’s de facto desire to keep more felons in the US, their other two hissy fit styled demands are also deserving of derision.
First is their demand for a “no-profit†contract with ICE.
A roll back from their initial call to terminate the relationship altogether, this worst type of two-faced political triangulation is designed to make them appear more moderate but
if implemented would have the county jail continue the services it provides ICE and raise the cost of living in Hudson County.
Whether through rent to a landlord or through direct payments, everyone pays property taxes and those taxes would undoubtedly rise if the county left millions of federal dollars on
the table but continued proving ICE the same services.
Second, the leadership of the Hoboken municipal Democrats demand they be able to have spot inspections of the county jail.
These people were elected, in a legally questionable coup, by the Democrat committee of Hoboken, of which the committee members were elected by a tiny minority of Hoboken’s registered Democrats.
The county sheriff, freeholders, the county executive, or even publicly elected officials of the city government of Hoboken they are not.
This would be akin to me, as the elected Republican State Committeeman from Hudson
County, demanding to be able to inspect state correctional facilities under the false pretense that I represent the entire citizenry rather than the Republicans of Hudson County.
The Hoboken Democratic Committee executive board who signed the letter, Phil Cohen, Nora DeBenedetto, and Rachel Hodes, are following in the footsteps of their political leader, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
Bhalla has dedicated a significant portion of his energies to virtue signaling symbolic politics and has an axe to grind against County Executive DeGise whom he allied against with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and State Senator/Union City Mayor Brian Stack.
Cohen, who was a loyalist of former Hoboken Mayor Zimmer, was the beneficiary of the coup organized by Bhalla to dethrone Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher from the chair of the Hoboken Democratic committee (and is now its chair).
DeBenedetto is a second ward resident the Bhalla team is rumored to be building up to take on Fisher in the November 19 ward council elections.
Hodes is the wife of Bhalla’s deputy chief of staff and also a rumored candidate for the same ward elections (in ward 6, home of Giattino, another Bhalla political opponent).
The Bhalla administration is clearly attempting to beef up the political resume of its future
ward candidates in an effort to take out its biggest critics.
Were this attempt composed of actual substantive content there would be little to critique.
But pretending the regional relationship between the county and ICE has changed, that numerous Hudson county elected officials (all Democrats) haven’t reviewed and approved this relationship repeatedly since 1996, demanding a county tax increase, and pretending they deserve special treatment, shows how immature and out of touch with reality they are.
Joshua Einstein
Republican State Committeeman
The letter writer lost me when he referred to Councilwoman Jabbour as the Democratic party’s “supposedly non partisan fellow traveler.”
Unlike Councilwoman Giattino, a lifelong Republican who considered being called a Republican a slur, Ms. Jabbour has never pretended to be anything other than a proud progressive Democrat. She is not “supposedly non partisan” and she certainly is not a “fellow traveler” which is a Macarthy era phrase used to “out” supposed communist sympathizers.
Emily is not a fellow traveler. She never traveled to the Soviet Union on her honeymoon. She learned how to be a fellow traveler right here. Hey, when is Emily going to hold a rally with Ravi against guns again?
Suddenly after a couple of dozen shot in a weekend weeks back in Trenton and not a single solitary word from her nor Ravi? Wasn’t that enough shootings to say, well, anything or is there something else all silencing their tongues?
Why does Stan Grossbard start attacking Jen Giattino every time a citizen criticizes the stupidity of his fellow travelers? Did that trans operation work out Stanislaw? Cuz it doesn’t seem like the XX delete XY transfer took?
But you sure are kvetching up a storm for seeing your fellow travelers get a lovely beatdown. Maybe worry about protecting American citizens from the illegal alien felons for a change.
I am very proud that I signed the letter criticized in this editorial. Opposition to the ICE contract continues to grow. I believe that conservatives and progressives can find common ground on this issue by examining the opaque financial dealings tied to this contract.
Tsk tsk, Lindalou, you know better than that. The slur wasn’t that Giattino was a Republican. The slur was that she and her supporters were racists. Effective strategy that worked quite well as a coming attraction for the terrorism flyer which nullified Defusco who wasn’t a Republican and couldn’t be branded as one of those Republican racists.
Just curious, has Bhalla and his campaign been cleared of placing the flyers yet?
You are very wise! Bhalla was not cleared of the flyer OR pizzagate OR the Russian Hoax! Please keep telling us who is really guilty! We trust you!
Tsk, tsk Cornelius. The supposed slur was that Giattino was a Republican who wouldn’t stand up to Trump. The criticism mst have hit home since she decided to change to a Democrat who won’t stand up to Trump.
As for the racism “slur” some of Giattino’s followers slurred themselves. Do the words “sikhing” and “unelectable” ring a bell.
As for the racist flyer, has Roman Brice been cleared yet? The sentiments expressed seem consistent with his published alt right views and with the posts about immigrants and sanctuary cities made by anonymously by screen names believed by some people to be him. Personally I don’t think he did it but if we’re going to engage in baseless innuendo he’s as likely a suspect as anyone else.
Oh my my, Lindalou. Gotta keep those talking points floating, don’t we now? Doesn’t work on me though, I got the campaign flyers. The ones mailed to the Democrats, not the ones mailed to the Republicans. You know, the ones where Bhalla was running against Trump. What exactly does “stand up to Trump” mean anyway? Use references to him on campaign flyers and compare other candidates to him? Is that how we “stand up?” Please do share, because I’m a lifelong Democrat and I want to make sure that I’m doing all the “standing up to Trump” that I must, even in our non-partisan elections.
I’d also like to know how saying someone is unelectable is somehow a racist comment. IMO Stan Grossbard and Nancy Pincus are both decidedly unelectable. Does that make me a racist?
Now back to the terrorism flyer. Guess I hit a nerve. According to the Chief, all campaigns were questioned and I do recall how Bhalla suggested that he would feel bad for DeFusco’s family for weathering vicious attacks ONCE Defusco was cleared. If we want to talk about any so-called baseless innuendos, I’d look directly to the mayor, wouldn’t you? His campaign did, after all, get a ton media attention immediately following the incident. So, please, Lindalou – stop being so sensitive about this. Racism was such a centerpiece of the Bhalla campaign strategy, and then there was that awful flyer…
Ravi Bhalla is more like Trump every day… while he may be a democrat and say he cares about civil rights, he really only cares about headlines. Ravi is for Ravi’s wallet
Hey Stan, when are you going for your second honeymoon to Venezuela? Since the Soviet Union is gone, I hear that’s a good place your alt Left fix won’t get your ass extradited for that Ravi terror flier.
We all know that you and Ravi know all about it and that’s your Stronger Foundation. You can point the finger and lie but no one believes you. Hope you didn’t bring Dawn into it. She would never approve of such a thing. Someone better tell Horsey at MSV he’s gotten into their heads bad. These Ravi insiders think Cornelius V. Clickener is Horse. It’s friggin hilarious!
Stan has sullied Dawn’s good record in the bat of an eye. Sad!
You are always right! Those who disagree with you must be communists! There is no other explanation. You have even done the work of the failed policeman Ferrante who was unable to capture the terrorism flyer manufacturer as you have. Ferrante is just another communist. All hail my Hero Horse!
“Cohen, who was a loyalist of former Hoboken Mayor Zimmer, ”
And before that a psychophant loyalist to Beth Mason:
“Which candidate has the longest, strongest record for seeking real change and transparency in our city’s government?
The answer is Beth Mason.
Beth’s 10-year track record speaks for itself. Beth is our fighter. She has fought hard for us as a citizen, she continued the fight as a councilwoman, and she will keep on fighting as our Mayor. Beth has done excellent work fighting for transparency at City Hall and trying to get to the bottom of the mysteries of Hoboken’s fiscal nightmare. In my opinion, Beth’s skills are the right skills set that we the people of Hoboken need in the Mayor’s office now, more than ever.
— Phil Cohen”
* https://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2009/05/letter_beth_mason_has_the_long.html
*sycophant
I’ve heard Phil Cohen supported faux Tony Soares back in the day, so Mason wasn’t even his worst mistake. Sadly, faux reformers like Soares and Mason preyed on and fooled alot of good people hungry for good government. Fortunately, both Mason and Soares ultimately exposed their real agendas which was to exploit those voters by cynically using “reform” as a “marketing tool” in their corrupt pursuit of power.
Boy someone has a weird obsession…bordering on fetish.