Sad State of NJ Affairs

By The Franklin Lakes Journal

Published: October 16, 2009

The Journals were started by Charles McCormick and Caron McCormick as a civic enterprise. The Journals do not make any money, and they never will, they are meant to be a service to the community.

The recent endorsement of Chris Daggett by The Journals may have precipitated the need for this unusual and personal posting. But in the end, this is the story of two sons and two fathers. It’s a story of Charles McCormick, publisher of The Journals, and Jared Kuschner, publisher of PoliticerkNJ, and their fathers.

My father, also named Charles McCormick, passed away last week. At the age of 86 he underwent brain surgery in the hopes of living a little longer to share the joys of old age: family, friends, hobbies and interests. I sat at his bedside in the hospital, and at home, many days and nights while I worked on the Chris Daggett campaign. As a family, we were very fortunate to have that extra time with him and share his humor, wisdom and humanity - and yes, he continued to talk politics. My father was a man who was respected and loved by all he met. He was of the school that a leader promoted and mentored those under him; as a father, he emphasized fairness and kindness to others; as a neighbor he helped to build the schools, churches, and the communities we enjoy today.

Jared Kuschner, publisher of PolitickerNJ, welcomed his father out of prison around 2006. According to New York Magazine this was for pleading, “…guilty to eighteen felony counts of tax fraud, election violations, and witness tampering. In the strangest twist, Kuschner admitted to taking revenge on a hated brother-in-law by secretly setting him up with a prostitute, then taping the encounter.”

Soon after The Journals endorsement of Christopher Daggett, PolitickerNJ published an article that only highlighted the challenges of Chris Daggett running as an independent. It listed the salaries of hard working New Jersey residents on the Daggett campaign, such as myself, and discussed the lack of health benefits involved in such a temporary position. It was and is not news. Anyone hired for a few months work, on a temporary job, and expecting health benefits should certainly make sure that mental health benefits are included. As a private contractor, I would never expect health benefits; and if offered, I would have tripled my rates since the client must have money to burn.

I was fortunate to be raised in a home where money was never important, we always had enough. I received a decent education even though my father did not have $2.5 million to pledge to Harvard, like Jared Kuschner’s convicted dad, nor $3 million to pledge NYU to get me into law school. Money was not important because values were placed on more important “things”. Fairness was a critical value, kindness was a critical value, respect for others was a critical value.

Even though PolitckerNJ is merely a political gossip blog, The Journals will find the time to continually monitor this shell operation that offers mostly fodder for stand-up comedians to mock New Jersey. There is sympathy with Jared Kuschner seeking to regain a lost family dynasty, and find his manhood, through the illusion of playing power broker in New Jersey, but he has taken an unfortunate path.

No father is perfect, all hope their children will learn from their mistakes, but none consciously hope to perpetuate a lineage that is based on cruelty or bullying. PolitickerNJ may be the big tree in NJ politics which “…dictates the political agenda in the state of New Jersey” , but The Journals are a small axe.