Posted on 08/27/2004 6:22:08 PM PDT by Libloather
GOP turns up heat on McGreevey to leave
Mike Lavers, PlanetOut Network
Friday, August 27, 2004 / 05:37 PM
With a federal judge scheduled to hear arguments early next month on whether New Jersey should hold a special election after Gov. James E. McGreevey unexpectedly resigned on Aug. 12, Republicans have stepped up their calls for him to leave office immediately.
At a press conference in Hackensack on Wednesday, the New Jersey Republican State Committee, along with the Republican National Committee (RNC), unveiled a new 30-second television ad urging McGreevey to step down and allow voters to choose the state's next governor.
"Jim McGreevey recognizes that he can no longer govern effectively and should therefore, step down now," state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, chairman of the Republican State Committee, said as he attacked John Kerry and U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., for supporting McGreevey's decision to remain in office until Nov. 15. "[They] support his decision to disenfranchise millions of New Jersey voters."
Other GOP leaders including RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie, himself a New Jersey native, agreed and said McGreevey is doing everything he can to determine who will take his place in Trenton.
"The governor is hanging on obviously only to make sure that voters are denied the opportunity to elect his successor," Gillespie stated, as reported by The Star-Ledger on Thursday.
McGreevey, who made his first public appearance Wednesday in Atlantic City since he came out as a gay man and acknowledged having an affair with another man in his resignation speech, has continued to maintain he has no plans to step down before Nov. 15.
Meanwhile, Golan Cipel, the former security aide named as McGreevey's former lover, said through his attorney Allen Lowy on Thursday he would consider dropping his plans to file a sexual harassment against the governor if he apologizes.
Lowy maintained his client is not seeking money from McGreevey and simply wants to put this episode behind him.
"If the governor were to stand up and very clearly own up and apologize for what he did to Golan this whole thing would go away very quickly," Lowy said to the Associated Press on Thursday. "An apology would go a long way to making Golan feel better."
McGreevey spokesman Micah Rasmussen said the governor will not apologize for sexual harassment he did not commit.
Cipel has until the end of this month to file a harassment suit, before the statute of limitations runs out.
And unlike the vile slanders about "disenfranchisement" of African Americans in Florida, this truly is disenfranchisment.
Any links for us non-Garden-Staters?
Pubbie nads are starting to take effect.
I guess the FBI files purloined by Hitlary only have so much influence.
I still think pushing for a special election is a big mistake. Corzine ( who WILL run despite his statements to the contrary ) blows all contenders out of the water including Schundler. We gain nothing by pushing this position.......Also, if a special election is held, it'll give the Jersey Dems a REASON to show up on election day. Right now, JF'in Kerry is NOT inspiring anyone and, despite the polls, I think the Dem turnout will be at an all time low ESPECIALLY since many have been really disheartened by the McGreevy mess. Dubya has a slight chance of taking the state under these conditions.....
The Jersey GOP should make noises ( little noises ) about a special election "on principle" but.....don't push. It's a MISTAKE!!!!
Corzine announced a couple of weeks ago that he wouldn't run. This surprised most pundits here in New Jersey, but it may have been in response to an intriguing rumor floating around at the time -- that if there were a special election this November, the GOP candidate would be Rudy Giuliani. Apparently he moved to northern New Jersey after he left the mayor's mansion in New York City in 2001.
Giuliani is the one GOP candidate who could beat Corzine -- in a landslide.
leave McG in there.
Oh, and why would Republicans want McGreevey out? Oh yeah, he is out. I mean out of office. Unless it's a tactical feint, are we high? Leave him in there!!
I agree with you 100%
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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