Anyone else detecting a pattern here?
The Star-Ledger‘s “Truth-o-Meter” is miscalibrated, broken, sabotaged and/or rigged, Save Jerseyans, and is clearly working overtime to keep the State Senate in Democrat hands! The truth isn’t very useful to anyone with such a twisted goal that runs counter to traditional journalistic standards. In fact, it’s almost like they’re letting Steve Sweeneny ghost write the articles!
It all stated on Monday, when your Blogger-in-Chief was forced to upbraid The Ledger’s ‘Politifact Truth-o-Meter’ website for a GROSS incidence of bias perpetrated against GOP Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. Politifact falsely accused Kean of being only “half-right” for citing soaring tax rates as the primary catalyst behind tax-generating businesses and residents leaving the state. As absurd and illogical as its claim may be, Politifact still managed to drag out an “expert” in an attempt to bolster its anti-GOP narrative. The catch? Said expert is a Democrat super-donor. A pretty cute trick. I still wasn’t fooled.
It got better yesterday. This time, Politifact dug up an even bigger well-heeled Democrat hack to stage an attack against arguably the state’s most competitive Republican senate hopeful. Politifact quoted an attorney with “extensive experience in tax abatements,” Joseph Ragno, to discredit a John Driscoll campaign television commercial. Background: Driscoll, a conservative Republican, is running (and winning) against Sen. Bob Gordon (D) in New Jersey’s 38th Legislative District; hence, why I believe the Ledger’s libs decided to take a crack at him!
In the advertisement at issue (click here to view), the Republican challenger slammed Gordon for backing a pricy tax exemption for the Newark Sport Arena. Driscoll’s overarching point was that since the City of Newark receives millions in state aid and subsidies every year, the cost of a Newark tax exemption falls squarely on the shoulders of suburan taxpayers including in his own district. And who could honestly dispute his factual statement? In the year prior to Chris Christie’s arrival in Trenton, Newark received over $100 million in state aid… excluding school aid.
That money didn’t grow on the trees in Mayor Book’s atrium. The shortfall from what Newark, Camden, and other decaying urban centers fail to generate in property tax revenue for public services like schools is simply redistributed from suburban taxpayers on annual basis. Straightforward and logical analysis. But SURPRISE surprise, folks! Mr. Ragno magically doesn’t see the obvious, never-before-disputed connection:
I’m not aware of any rationale by which it could be said that a Newark local property tax exemption could be said to impact taxpayers outside of Essex County,” Joseph Ragno, an attorney with extensive experience in tax abatements, said in an email.”
How can anyone say this with a straight face?
If it makes you feel any better, folks, I can guarantee you that this Ragno guy doesn’t believe his own BS for a minute. Mr. Ragno’s blindness is willful. Actually, it’s ideological more than anything else, Save Jerseyans, as demonstrated by the fact that he has donated THOUSANDS to New Jersey’s liberal elite in recent cycles.
I don’t know what we’d do without websites like OpenSecrets.org to help reveal these creeps for who they really are! Just like you’d be lost without The Save Jersey Blog: New Jersey REAL Truth-o-Meter…
