Hirsh Singh Can Afford Kool-Aid, Jim Jones Used Fla-Vor-Aid

Hirsh Singh

Former beauty pageant winner Hirsh Singh has officially announced he is a candidate for Governor in 2021. The other announced Republican candidate for Governor is former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli.

There are many differences between the two candidates, but I like to point out the fun ones: Ciattarelli moved out of his parents’ house, Singh continues to live in mommy and daddy’s basement. Ciattarelli went to college, got a job on his own, eventually started his own business, won elections to council, Freeholder and Assembly. Singh went to college, was given a no-show job in daddy’s company, won a beauty contest, lost a gubernatorial primary, dropped out of a US Senate primary, lost a congressional primary and lost a US Senate primary that he’s still crying about.

A major difference between these two announced candidates is that Ciattarelli understands the winner of the primary runs against Governor Phil Murphy. Singh doesn’t seem to have a clue as to who he is trying to win the opportunity to run against.

Singh’s entire strategy appears to be whining and crying about some mythical establishment that rigged an election against him.

Even worse, a bunch of Kool-Aid drinking morons believe every word that comes from Singh’s keyboard.

For some reason I decided to look and see what led to Singh posting about “fake Republicans” on social media this morning and discovered this press release on InsiderNJ.

I’m not going to publish the entire release because it’s over 500 words of stupid. Singh spends most of his time attacking former Governor Chris Christie and Republican National Committeeman Bill Palatucci.

Why attack these guys? Christie and Palatucci aren’t running for anything.

The answer is simple, Singh went after Christie because he knew he would get some traction on social media. I’ll give him credit for being smart enough to know that. But they aren’t running for governor, so it doesn’t help his cause – not even a little bit.

After Singh gets done whining about Christie and Palatucci he switches gears and starts with his tried and true attacks against the mythical establishment. From Singh’s release:

The centerpiece of Singh’s gubernatorial campaign is to fix the electoral system in New Jersey as he himself was the victim of electoral fraud during the 2020 US Senate primary election. Every single type of fraud that Singh experienced has been used against President Trump as well. Singh also has a lawsuit that reached the US Supreme Court in October this year and with arguments nearly identical to those in the lawsuits filed later by President Trump’s teams. In both the case of Singh and President Trump, the NJ GOP and their most experienced operatives have been in cahoots with the Democrats in making the fraud a systemic feature of our election system.

The New Jersey establishment had set up a Democrat named Rik Mehta in the 2020 US Senate primary election to oppose Singh and rigged the primary in Mehta’s favor. They then joined the Democrats in opposing election transparency despite evidence of massive fraud. As a result of Mehta’s Senate candidacy, the Republican Party in New Jersey has nearly been wiped out.

The centerpiece of Singh’s gubernatorial campaign is to fix the electoral system in New Jersey? Is he nuts? Hirsh Singh has never paid a dime in rent or a mortgage or a utility bill and now he wants to fix an electoral system. If you believe he can fix anything you are drinking Hirsh Singh’s Kool-Aid and need to stop before it’s too late.

And, Singh is still whining about the “New Jersey establishment” setting up “a Democrat.” He even goes as far to say they “rigged the primary.” Perhaps Singh forgot that same “New Jersey establishment” awarded him the county line in four counties for the primary.

Get real! Hirsh Singh didn’t believe the establishment rigged anything when he was competing for county lines. If he truly believed that line of garbage he would not have competed for those lines. And, if you believe that garbage you’re still drinking Singh’s Kool-Aid.

I’m fairly certain others will get into the GOP primary for Governor and I am equally certain Singh will play the role of spoiler. The problem is no matter how whacky Singh is, no matter that he is completely unqualified to be Governor of anything, Singh has a following. His followers are as loyal as the followers of Jim Jones. And, those followers are eager to sallow some Kool Aid.

I can do nothing to stop folks from following Singh but I can ask that if he offers you some sort of Jim Jones style grape drink that you not take it. Though I suspect Singh will use Kool Aid rather than the Flavor Aid found at Jonestown.

At least, until Singh loses another primary, he’ll give me something to write about when the news is slow.

PRESS RELEASE: William J. Palatucci Joins McCarter & English

New Jersey’s Republican National Committeeman Bill Palatucci has himself a new gig with McCarter & English. The firm’s press release on the matter follows:

William J. Palatucci, one of New Jersey’s most prominent and widely respected attorneys, is joining McCarter & English LLP as a partner in the firm’s Business Litigation Practice, where he will also be supporting the firm’s rapidly expanding Government Affairs Practice. Since working for Gov. Tom Kean in 1985 and later as a law partner with Gov. Chris Christie, Palatucci has developed a well-earned reputation for his strategic advice and pragmatic approaches to complex legal, public policy and governmental initiatives.

McCarter’s Managing Partner Joe Boccassini said, “We are honored to welcome Bill to our team. His extensive experience with legal and public policy issues that affect both private and public sector clients is unparalleled. Our national base of clients will greatly benefit from his knowledge of how major public policy decisions may impact their businesses.”

Palatucci’s legal experience is wide and diverse. He served as General Counsel to the Trump Transition Committee from June 2016 through the election in November 2016; he served as General Counsel to Governor Chris Christie’s presidential campaign, and in the private sector served as General Counsel to Community Education Centers in Roseland, New Jersey. Prior to joining McCarter, Palatucci spent almost eight years at Gibbons, P.C. in the firm’s Corporate Practice, where he handled a variety of issues for clients in a wide range of industries, often focusing on the regulatory aspects of transactions, land use matters or state licensing requirements.

“We are fortunate to have Bill join our burgeoning Government Affairs team in Trenton and Washington and I look forward to developing a deeper friendship and partnership with Bill. Together, we look forward to building an even stronger bipartisan practice,” said Government Affairs Chair, Guillermo Artiles.

Palatucci serves as the Republican National Committeeman for New Jersey, a position he has held since 2010. In addition to his work for Governor Kean, for the past nearly 40 years, he has been closely involved in many significant federal and state elections, with leadership roles in the campaigns of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, and served as Chairman of Governor Chris Christie’s re-election campaign in 2013.

Palatucci added, “I have long admired the work and people at McCarter and now look forward to expanding my practice there with distinguished lawyers like Judge Jose Linares, who I have known for many years. I am truly excited to concentrate on federal and state legislative issues throughout McCarter’s footprint, from Washington to Trenton to Boston.”

In addition to his legal and political experience, Palatucci currently serves as a member of the Seton Hall University School of Law Board of Visitors, the National Advisory Board for the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, and is Chair of the University of Phoenix Board of Trustees for its Jersey City, NJ, campus. Palatucci is on the Board of Trustees of Turning Point, Inc., a nonprofit drug and alcohol addiction treatment center that assists more than 3,500 New Jersey residents each year.

Palatucci has been recognized by NJBIZ on its “Law Power 50” and “100 Most Powerful People in New Jersey Business” lists as well as by ROI-NJ on its “Influencers Power List.”  Palatucci earned his B.A. from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.

In 2014, Palatucci was presented with the Seton Hall University School of Law’s Distinguished Graduate Award. In 2014, he and Senator Cory Booker were honored with the annual “Good Guy Award” from the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey.

About McCarter & English, LLP
McCarter & English is a firm of more than 375 lawyers who deliver solid results and innovative solutions to clients nationwide. In 2019, the firm was recognized by Law360 as a New Jersey Regional Powerhouse and received the prestigious ABA Pro Bono Publico award. More than 40 percent of Fortune 100 companies, as well as mid-market and emerging growth companies, rely on McCarter for cutting-edge transactional work and complex litigation matters. Clients benefit from McCarter’s relationship-driven approach, a deep understanding of their businesses and legal needs, a lean and efficient service model, and a determination to help them move their businesses forward. For more information, visit www.mccarter.com.

Singh Now Reaps What His Campaign Has Sowed, But He Has Done The Impossible

Hirsh Singh during the talent portion of the beauty pageant he won

Before I begin I would like to congratulate former beauty pageant winner Hirsh Singh for doing the impossible: He has national committeeman for the Republican Party of New Jersey Bill Palatucci and I being nice to each other again. I like it! Thanks Hirsh!

Back when I left the US Senate campaign of a candidate who shall not be mentioned I thought it might be a good thing for the radio show because it gave me the ability to opine without having to listen to people say “that’s because you work for so-and-so.” Generally speaking, I’ve managed to avoid hearing that garbage.

After leaving that campaign Bob and I suddenly started treating all the other candidates fairly, or at least fair for us, to the point that we let bygones be bygones when it came to Republican US Senate candidate Hirsh Singh. Way back on January 11 we had him as an in-studio guest on the radio show. I challenged him a little bit, but I wasn’t nearly as aggressive as I can be. Bob even said some very nice things about Singh on the air. Singh and I had some nice, private, off-the-record conversations – and they will remain private and off-the-record. I even became friendly with Singh supporter Michael Shapiro (and I like his suits).

Unfortunately, all that kindness and friendliness has fallen by the wayside. It was nice while it lasted.

At least this time the friendliness hasn’t ended because of us. Singh now reaps what his campaign sowed. Singh’s campaign accused the county selection/convention process of being rigged, constantly lied about US Senate candidate Rik Mehta’s work history and has internet trolls posting garbage all over social media.

I did notice that Singh didn’t refer to the process as rigged in the four counties where he was awarded the line. Funny how that works.

Most recently, the Singh campaign has asked folks to commit voter fraud. I’ve never seen a candidate openly encourage voter fraud and I’ve been doing this a long time. I can honestly say it’s the first time a candidate has managed to shock me by his actions, but I think Camden County GOP Chairman Rich Ambrosino summed it up perfectly:

“In all my years participating in Republican politics this is a first! Singh is telling voters, vote early and if you change your mind, vote again. Al Capone would be proud.” Rich Ambrosino said, “I never thought I would live to see the day when a candidate for any office actually begged voters to change a vote they already cast.”

All of this has led to eight GOP county chairs calling on Singh to get out of the race. Eight! That’s twice as many county lines Singh managed to win.

Yet, Singh somehow manages to be delusional and believes his campaign has momentum. He said so in a statement:

“This is a ploy to distract from the fact that Rikin Mehta is a democrat plant who will stop the Republican Resurgence in NJ. We are winning. It’s an unsuccessful orchestrated attempt to stop our momentum.”

The internet trolls supporting Singh’s campaign are who really piss me off. I’ve said repeatedly it’s okay for candidates to attack each other as long as those attacks are factual. Unfortunately, Singh trolls love to lie. Here’s a perfect example:

For Joe Rullo to write, “This coming from a chairwoman who holds a so called fair screening and her freeholder candidate on the screening committee endorses Mehta day before screening” is proof enough that Rullo has a serious problem with being truthful.

That fact is, the person Rullo is talking about is Greenwich Township Mayor George W. Shivery, Jr. who made his endorsement as mayor before he officially announced as a candidate for freeholder and Shivery was NOT a part of the chairwoman’s screening committee.

In other words, for Rullo to claim Shivery was on the screening committee is a blatant lie. Rullo knows it’s a lie. Singh knows it’s a lie. Has Singh asked his number one internet troll to retract the statement? Nope.

And that is a problem. As a candidate, when your supporters resort to telling lies, it is your duty to denounce those lies. Singh doesn’t denounce the lies – he shares them, even encourages them.

I suppose Rullo thinks he’s going to parlay all his lying on behalf of the Singh campaign into a run for governor.

Since it is highly unlikely that Singh will win the Senate primary Rullo running for governor may be a good thing for Singh.

Maybe next year Singh can resurrect his political career by running for Lieutenant Governor as Rullo’s running mate.

No, that won’t work because one thing I am sure of is the only guarantee in life is that Rullo will never win a Republican primary for governor, so Singh won’t be able to resurrect his political career that way.

Another thing I am sure of is that even Hirsh Singh knows he is not winning this primary election – if he thought he were winning he never would have sent out a mailer begging voters to ask for a do over.

My question is will Singh stick around and support the winner of the primary or will he do as he did after losing in 2018 and disappear?

That’s the difference between guys like Singh and former congressional candidate Brian Fitzherbert. In 2018, after Singh pulled the cowardly move of getting Fitzherbert thrown off the ballot, Fitzherbert didn’t disappear. He stuck around and built a young Republican organization, helped others launch their organizations and after Seth Grossman won the primary, Fitzherbert helped that campaign. Where was Singh? Nobody knows.

My bet is 2020 is going to be like 2018 for Singh. He’ll lose the primary and disappear.

It’s unfortunate, I really was starting to like Singh. I take no pleasure in watching younger candidates implode, but you reap what you sow.

And now I can sit back and watch the Singh trolls post their stupid little memes and repeat all their lies on the Bob & Steve Show Facebook page. It’s okay we have thick skin.