Is Green helping Menendez or not?

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With just three weeks to go, things looked up a little for Menendez in the race-that-shouldn't-be-tight-at-this-point last week, but pundits are saying it's DEFINITELY NOT a slam-dunk.

Rider's David Rebovich summed it up neatly in his PoliticsNJ column --

"Both camps are concerned about turnout on November 7th. On the Republican side, the Foley scandal and subsequent stories about a possible cover-up may discourage some partisans from showing up at the polls. So too may continued bad news from Iraq, record-setting deficit spending by self-stated fiscal conservatives in the White House and Congress, reminders of that slow, botched response to Hurricane Katrina, and inaction on illegal immigration.

"Among Democrats there are concerns about their own ethically impaired state party and, frankly, about whether their U.S. Senate candidate will escape the fate of some other leaders. In addition, moderate and low income folks, an important part of the Democratic Party's base, may feel overlooked by candidates in a midterm race given that Menendez is talking mostly about the war in Iraq and Kean is focusing on ethics."

So, what's happening in Plainfield?

Christian Estevez, Mike Ramos and crew soldier on with their non-Dem-Party-funded Menendez headquarters on North Avenue. On Saturday, they hosted a meeting of Hispanic women Democratic activists.

What kind of help (read: money, personpower) is the Menendez effort getting from Chairman Jerry Green? In response to an inquiry from PT, Estevez said that there was no direct help, but that the Assemblyman had offered to use some of the North Avenue crew as drivers on Election Day.

That would mean a few bucks to the drivers, but it's not exactly what PT thought of as the help that is needed now for the Menendez effort.

Everyone PT talks to agrees that increasing the Dem representation in Congress is important in terms of the war AND the economy, but a lot of people are less than enthusiastic about Menendez.

Which only underscores the point that PT has been making all along -- and the pundits have reiterated -- that it's all going to be about TURNOUT.

But the question on Dem leaders' minds statewide is whether the urban African-American vote will turn out FOR Menendez or turn out AND SKIP HIM -- whether voting for Kean or just not pulling the lever for a Senate candidate.

In that sense, it's not FARFETCHED to say the whole thing may hinge on what Green gets Plainfield to do.

-- Dan Damon

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