Pickings And Postcards. TOM KEAN of New Jersey Edition.

This ASSHAT needs to hear from us…
Let’s barrage him with some messages of “Protect your fellow citizens Tom”

*IT’S POSTCARD TIME*

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. should donate his Congressional salary to charity after handing in his resignation. His refusal to answer questions of any kind – even what he had for lunch – has turned him into a national joke.
If you haven’t seen the video of NJ Spotlight’s Ben Hulac chasing him into an elevator this week in a futile effort to get even one answer to a question, take a look at it. It is painful to watch, because Kean stands in silence for two minutes, stone-faced, as Hulac asks him a series of questions.
“Do you regret endorsing Donald Trump?” Hulac asks. “How are you going to vote on the CR (to keep the government open). Are you in favor of mass deportations in New Jersey in the 7th District? What about Ukraine? Do you think Trump will do enough to support Ukraine in the war effort? Taiwan? You pick the topic. Would love to talk to you about literally anything.”
And the clincher: “What are you having for lunch?”
It is part of a Congressman’s obligations to talk to the public, and to answer legitimate questions from the press. Everyone else seems to get that. Today, for example, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Curtis Bashaw, came to the Star-Ledger’s office in Newark and answered questions for nearly two hours, a great discussion. Hulac notes that Kean’s silence is not a partisan thing, that he gets answers from other Republicans, as we do.
But not Kean. I’ve sent him dozens of questions in the last few years, and he’s never answered one, even in writing. He’s not holding open town halls, either.
It’s a sad story, really. Kean never had the confidence to speak openly about controversial issues, even when he was a Republican leader in the state Legislature. He’d always begin by asking, “Are we off the record?” But eventually, he would usually tell you what he thought, even if couched with timid qualifiers.
Not now. He just doesn’t answer any questions, period.
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Democrat who lost a squeaker to Kean two years ago, offered this theory after watching the video: “He doesn’t have, to put it very kindly, a lot of mental or verbal acuity in those situations. And I think that’s really what they are trying to hide from voters here, that this is somebody who isn’t capable of doing one of the most basic things that an elected representative is supposed to do.”
Is it a lack of brain power? Maybe, but I never noticed that in his Trenton days. Is he going through some emotional crisis? Again, maybe.
But I suspect it’s a strategy. Because this silence descended only when Kean Jr. endorsed Donald Trump. That’s tough to defend in the 7th District, a swing district that is rated as the only tossup in the state this year.
My guess is that Kean knows that and would prefer to run on that name of his, hoping that voters in the 7th assume that junior is made of the same stuff as his dad.
Folks, he’s not. The former governor answered questions every time, built bipartisan coalitions, and carved out a national reputation as a thoughtful and unconventional Republican. Junior is an obedient soldier of the MAGA caucus in the House, voting with Trump every time.
He refuses to discuss that, too. Even when he’s trapped in an elevator.
Kean’s strategy is a slap in the face to voters in his district. This is a democracy. We’re supposed to have open discussion. It’s part of the job. And Kean has proven himself derelict.
So please, junior, either answer questions, or resign. This is pathetic, like nothing I’ve ever seen in the 30 years I’ve covered Jersey politics.