My Dad Would Beat Singh Or Rizzo In A Primary

Nick Kush

I haven’t blogged in what seems like forever, mostly because South Jersey politics have been pretty boring. Fortunately, the GOP gubernatorial primary has provided a little action lately, so finally, something to write about.

Watching the guy who appears to not like Catholics very much, Phil Rizzo and former beauty pageant winner Hirsh Singh fight on social media over who is more of a MAGA candidate is entertaining.

Of course, had I known that being the most pro-Trump candidate is what makes one a quality gubernatorial candidate I would have run my dad, Nick Kush, for governor. Unlike Singh and Rizzo, my dad has won a competitive GOP primary as the top vote-getter in the 5 candidate “Vote for 3” 2009 Camden County Freeholder (now Commissioner) Primary.

Unlike that Primary, I could have made some money this time. Plus, it would be fun to watch Singh try to call my father the establishment pick or a never-Trumper. Listening to my father’s views on Rizzo and Singh not paying property tax would be entertaining.

Enough of what could have been! The Rizzo – Singh fight is fun to watch.

Singh recently sent a mailer attacking Rizzo for not paying property tax on his home. The attack is accurate. Unfortunately, Singh completely ignores the fact that he lives at home with his parents and therefore does not pay property tax on his home.

In the same mailer Singh attacks Jack Ciattarelli as the “Establishment Pick.”

Apparently, Singh wants GOP voters to think he is anti-establishment. The problem is he is not anti-establishment. In a 2020 campaign press release Singh was happy to receive the endorsement of RNC Committeeman Bill Palatucci, RNC Committeewoman Ginny Haines, Ocean County Republican Organization Chairman Frank Holman, Ocean County Republican Organization Vice Chairwoman Barbara Lanuto, Ocean County Freeholder Chairman John Kelly, Freeholder Joseph Vicari, Freeholder Gerry Little, Freeholder Gary Quinn, Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy, Ocean County Clerk Scott Colabella, State Committeewoman Janice Fields, Atlantic County’s Linwood Republican Club, Montclair Republican Club, to name a few.

That’s a lot of establishment support from a guy who claims to be anti-establishment!

In 2018, when Singh was running for Congress, he issued a press release announcing the endorsement of establishment Republican state Senator Chris Brown. In the same press release he proudly listed the endorsements of the Burlington County Republican Committee, the Ocean County Republican Organization, the Camden County Republican Committee, and the Atlantic County Republican Committee.

Unfortunately for Singh, by the summer of 2020 the establishment that supported him in earlier runs finally saw through his crap and began distancing themselves from him. This caused Singh to call them all “never-Trumpers” in a July 1, 2020 press release.

The moral to this Hirsh Singh story is the establishment is great until they stop supporting him.

We will get more fun out of Singh because he has “met the criteria to debate” according to NJ.com. The article also states, “Ciattarelli is required to participate because he accepted two-for-one matching funds from the state and Singh raised at least $490,000 for his campaign.”

Frankly, I can’t wait to see Singh in a debate. He can remind us that he once proposed building a bridge from Cape May to Delaware at taxpayer expense. Maybe he will remind us of the time he attacked South Jersey’s farmers.

Or perhaps Singh can remind us of his love for former President Obama:

As to Rizzo, I don’t know much about the guy. I do know he doesn’t pay property tax, which a lot of folks will find to be unfair. I also know folks aren’t happy with his past anti-Catholic statements. That story was broken by our friend Matt Rooney over at SaveJersey.

Apparently, what Rizzo said was, “It’s a very strong Catholic stronghold here. In a one-square mile town there’s seven Catholic churches,” said Rizzo. “I don’t know if these people have ever heard the gospel. Not only are they in bondage to their sin but they’re in bondage to religion.”

I’m not the most religious guy in the world, or the state, or even my town and I might even be in bondage to my sin, but I do know that one-third of the folks in this state are Catholics. I also know Rizzo has done nothing to explain the statement or even attempt to deny they are his current beliefs. But he has whined that pointing out the anti-Catholic remarks were attacks from a “professional politician.”

I do understand there are those who will continue to support Singh and Rizzo and that is their right. It is also my right to point out that these guys are not ready for prime time. My dad would beat these guys! Rizzo’s team couldn’t even file matching funds paperwork on time! If he and his team weren’t organized enough for that, how could he be expected to be organized enough to be Governor? Singh does nothing but yell, “MAGA.” The only chance one has at knowing where Singh stands on an issue is to research his past statements from the many other races he has lost.

Fortunately, there is a candidate ready for prime time, Jack Ciattarelli.