This story is based on a pool report filed by Matt Friedman of The Star-Ledger.
Vice President Joe Biden sounded middle-class themes during a Morris Township fundraiser for Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on Monday, saying the Senator was willing to risk political defeat in the fall “to take care of those people.”
Speaking on the patio of Barbara and Philip Sellinger’s “Sunnymede” estate on Old Glen Road, Biden painted the GOP as out of touch with the working class.
“To me the best way to sum up the leadership of both Bob Menendez and the president: Osama Bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive. Think about it,” the Vice President said.
About 140 people attended the invitation-only event, paying $1,000 a ticket and $5,000 for a VIP reception. It raised about $400,000, estimated the Menendez campaign. Philip Sellinger is a lawyer and managing shareholder at the international law firm Greenberg Traurig in Forham Park. He also serves as a Morris County delegate to the state Democratic Committee.
The Vice President landed at Newark Liberty International Airport and traveled to Morris Township by motorcade, pulling into the Sellingers’ driveway at 5:07 pm, according to the Vice President’s office.
Democrats in attendance included Democratic State Chairman/Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic), former state Senate Majority Leader Bernie Kenny (D-Hudson) and former Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman.
Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty was among local officials in the audience.
Sen. Menendez praised the Obama-Biden administration for taking a country that was on the verge of a new depression “to a nation that now sees positive growth in its GDP.
“Certainly we have a lot more to do but we are headed in the right direction,” the Senator said.
Menendez is likely to face a Republican challenge from state Sen. Joe Kyrillos in November.
A poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind finds Menendez with a 43 percent to 33 percent lead among New Jersey voters. But voters would prefer “someone else” over the incumbent, according to the same survey.
Biden, of Irish ancestry, said he and Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants, both hail from working class neighborhoods where your word is your bond.
“Nobody ever doubts what Bob Menendez says in a place where there are an awful lot of doubters and an awful lot of people saying what they don’t mean,” the Vice President said.
Biden said President Obama also has been willing to bet his presidency on tough choices, like hunting down Bin Laden and bailing out the auto industry.
“I watch him make decisions. And I’m telling you, man, this guy is not only smart as hell, he is absolutely ready to make the decision and stand back and live with it. No whining…This guy is willing to do the right thing and risk losing.”
The Vice President predicted a hard, expensive campaign for Menendez, whose opponent almost certainly will have backing from Gov. Chris Christie. But he predicted victory based on sharply contrasting ideologies between the two parties.
“Simply stated, we’re about promoting the private sector,” Biden said. “These guys (Republicans) are about protecting the privileged sector. And it’s almost that basic, in my view. We’re about a fair shot – just a fair shot. A fair shot, a fair shake. These guys are about no rules, no accountability and no risk. Think of the things they’re opposing. Think of the things they want to turn back.”
It’s a choice between a rigged system and one that’s fair, the Vice President said. GOP presidential contenders are speaking their minds–which will sink them, he added.
“We should sponsor another 20 debates. Think of the things they say. Think of the things they say about women.”
