Bush Advisors, Big Oil Lobbyists & Bush Bundlers Host Fundraiser in DC for Chris Myers

See the evidence here.

For Immediate Release: September 24, 2008
Contact: Mark Warren (856.222.9707)

(Mt. Laurel, NJ) - While President Bush is pushing a $700 billion-dollar bailout of Wall Street on the backs of the American taxpayers, Chris Myers will be raking in campaign money tonight from Bush fund-raisers and associates connected to Big Oil.  That makes it twice this week that Myers has accepted large bundles of cash handouts from his political puppeteer, George W. Bush, and the president's corporate cronies.

On Monday afternoon, Chris Myers stood side by side with Bush and accepted thousands of dollars from him at a fundraising event here in New Jersey. Myers is one of the chosen few House candidates the president is stumping for – an obvious payback for his blindly loyal support of Bush's failed policies that scores of other Republicans have long since abandoned. New developments suggest that the President's formidable fundraising operation is moving into an even higher gear in an attempt to salvage the struggling Myers campaign. 

Myers will be in Washington tonight accepting more Bush cash. Charlie Black, a senior advisor to President Bush's 2000 & 2004 campaigns and a former lobbyist for Freddie Mac, and several other Bush loyalists are co-hosting a fundraising event for Myers.  The host committee is comprised of a Bush “Pioneer” who raised more than $100,000 for the President’s 2004 campaign, Bush political advisors from both of his Presidential campaigns and lobbyists for oil companies. 

Adler for Congress campaign manager Mark Warren said "It is outrageous & hypocritical for Mayor Myers to claim independence from the President when the President himself, Big Oil lobbyists, Bush fund-raisers and other senior Bush advisors raise mega dollars for his campaign -- as gas prices near $4 a gallon and Wall Street remains in turmoil."

Warren continued, "Time and time again, Mayor Myers has turned his back on middleclass taxpayers.  First he raises taxes almost every year he's in office.  Then he runs for congress and releases an energy plan, the cornerstone of which calls for extending tax breaks for Big Oil companies -- even while Big Oil reports record profits and middleclass taxpayers pay almost $4 per gallon.  Now we find out that the president's top advisors and fundraisers are also among Mayor Myers' top advisors and fundraisers. It’s really not surprising at all.”

Myers Welcomes "Modern-Day Herbert Hoover" Into District, 
Accepts Campaign Cash From President Who Allowed Economy to Spin Out of Control, Forcing Taxpayers To Clean Up The Mess

For Immediate Release: September 22, 2008
Contact: Mark Warren (856.222.9707)

Mt. Laurel, NJ – Democratic congressional candidate John Adler said today that President Bush's trip to New Jersey today to raise money for Mayor Chris Myers is an affront to the district's residents and shows that Myers is hopelessly out of touch with their fears and concerns. Adler said that welcoming Bush into New Jersey with open arms - as the nation sits in the very eye of an economic hurricane - shows a blatant insensitivity to the voters by Myers and exposes where his true sympathies lie: with George W. Bush and the corporate elite who triggered this crisis, not the middle-class taxpayers who will be forced to pay for it.

"If Mayor Myers had any sense of the fear and feeling of utter helplessness gripping Americans being punished by this economic meltdown, he would not be standing arm in arm this afternoon with the very symbol of that failure, " Adler said. "Not since Herbert Hoover have we had a president whose blind spot on the economy had such a devastating impact on all Americans. For Chris Myers to be celebrating his friend and ally in the White House, especially at this time, demonstrates in the starkest possible way that he could never be trusted to be an advocate for the taxpayers of this district."

Adler said that Myers, given the severity and immediacy of the crisis rocking the economy, should have told Bush it would be inappropriate to go ahead with today’s high-priced event to raise money for his campaign. But like everything else about his campaign, Adler said, Myers has put his own political needs, as well as his absolute allegiance to President Bush and his eight years of failed policies, ahead of the people in the 3rd District. Adler said the fundraiser "is all about payback" from the White House for Myers' steadfast support for Bush's legacy of failure, including the Iraq War, the damaged economy and the staggering costs of education and health care.

"It is nothing short of an insult to the hard-working people of this district for Mayor Myers to be wining and dining with George W. Bush tonight – and accepting his money – at the very instant Washington is seeking a solution to the most serious economic situation in our lifetime, " Adler said. "It's as if my opponent hasn't the slightest comprehension that this crisis is not limited to Wall Street. It has spread to Main Street, affecting the quality of life of each and every American."

Adler noted that Myers is one of the few Republican congressional candidates making campaign appearances with Bush this year. Adler said that is not surprising because Myers has marched in lockstep with the president on everything from the Iraq War to huge tax break for giant corporations. Myers, Adler said, remained silent as Bush treated the growing economic problems of recent months with the same casual indifference he has displayed toward other critical issues. Adler said that Bush was as late responding to the current economic crisis as he was to Hurricane Katrina – only this time the pain is being felt far beyond the borders of New Orleans.

"And through it all, through the incompetence and arrogance that has marked the last eight years of this president's administration, Chris Myers has remained George Bush's  loyal foot soldier, " Adler said. "Enough is enough. The people in this district deserve a forceful advocate for them in Washington. I am eager to bring the kind of new leadership that offers fresh approaches to our foreign and domestic challenges, the kind of leadership that puts the needs of the average taxpayers of this state and nation above those of the special interests that have too much influence in Washington."

Promotes Economic Agenda for Towns Like Riverside While Chris Myers Remains Silent, Welcomes George W. Bush with Open Arms

For Immediate Release: September 19, 2008
Contact: Mark Warren (856-222-9707)

(Riverside, NJ) – Democratic congressional candidate John Adler called attention today to the stark contrast between the needs of Third District residents and the misplaced priorities of Mayor Chris Myers and his ally in the White House, George W. Bush. Meeting with Mayor Conard in Riverside's business district, Sen. Adler laid out his priorities for revitalizing the downtown business center and initiating other key economic development projects.

"Riverside is a glaring example of the America that President Bush has left behind, " Adler said at a news conference in front of the Philadelphia Case Co. Building. "The Bush administration has spent billions of dollars rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq, including its schools, hospitals and bridges, while turning a deaf ear to the critical needs of small towns right here at home like Riverside. Those towns have to scrounge for small pots of money to fund essential projects."

"We have a crumbling infrastructure here in Burlington County, " Adler added. "Our dams, bridges and roadways are all in need of major repair. We need to renovate or rebuild our recreation centers and senior centers. Many of our hospitals are underfunded and overcrowded. Instead of meeting its obligation to help pay for those and other essential projects here on the home front, the Bush administration is wasting billions of dollars in Iraq on an ill-conceived, badly-managed war with no exit plan. Iraq has a nearly $40 billion surplus subsidized with our tax dollars – and we keep the money flowing even though the Iraq government regularly misspends it."

"I know how that money should have been spent – at places like where I stand now, in Riverside. And yet, the Bush Administration has found it more appropriate to send our tax dollars to Iraq."

"Where is the outrage from Mayor Myers about President Bush's blatant disregard for the needs of the hard-working people of this district? Why isn't he speaking up on behalf of the people whose votes he is so eagerly soliciting? If he's not advocating for them now – when someone from his own party has sat in the White House for the last eight years – he surely will do nothing to champion their needs if he ever made it to Washington.

According to the Washington Post's database of Commander's Emergency Response Program projects, there have been numerous infrastructure projects that U.S. taxpayers have paid for in Iraq. Here is just a small sample:

o $1.1 Million for repaving a fish market in Bagdad province

o $1.7 million to build a market in Al Jameat

o $1.2 million for pipeline repair parts.

o $.5 million to build a community center in Al Anbar province

o $4.5 million for rebuilding and equipping for the Ramadi General Hospital.

Sen. Adler continued, "Elections are a time of choice, to let citizens know where you stand. I stand in Riverside and in communities like it. My opponent has also chosen where he stands. Days from now, he will stand with President Bush here in New Jersey. He will stand shoulder to shoulder with the man who has so poorly defined our country's priorities these past 8 years. It's time to get back to basics. It's time to put America first."

Adler Campaign Manager Mark Warren added, "Mayor Myers has other priorities than towns like Riverside. He is in desperate need for money to help finance the remaining weeks of his campaign, so he has welcomed President Bush with open arms into New Jersey for a lavish fundraising event. He has let it be known who comes first – and it's not the people in the Third District."

MYERS IN LOCKSTEP WITH BUSH; MIDDLE-CLASS PAYS THE PRICE FOR FAILED POLICIES

For Immediate Release: September 17, 2008
Contact: Mark Warren (856.222.9707)

(Mt. Laurel, NJ) - The startling failure of some of the nation's foremost financial institutions is a resounding indictment of President Bush's economic policies and shows the imperative for immediate, decisive change in Washington, New Jersey 3rd District congressional candidate John H. Adler said today. Adler said the contention of his Republican opponent, Mayor Chris Myers, that the economy was "basically strong" – and his continued embrace of George W. Bush - demonstrates that he is out of touch with the problems of working Americans and that he would continue the economic policies that have led to the current crisis on Wall Street.

"We simply cannot afford the Republican economics that have brought about this meltdown on Wall Street, " Adler said. "Those policies have been disastrous for Americans who are struggling to make ends meet and watching their savings and retirement accounts fall by the day. It is clear that the Bush administration's reckless deregulation of financial institutions triggered this crisis and that nothing short of a reversal of those policies will right our economy."

"Instead of taking steps to make sure that the economy was working for families on Main Street, the Republicans and President Bush have been pushing the philosophy that whatever CEOs wanted was good for America," Adler said. He added that for the last eight years, Republicans in Washington have done away with oversight of financial markets and ignored the housing bubble and risky lending practices. Now, he said, "folks on Main Street are paying the price for Wall Street's gambles and the Republican Party's eagerness to encourage those gambles."

Adler said that as the crisis has deepened, his GOP rival Chris Myers has become even more of an apologist for President Bush and is depending upon the president to bail him out of his campaign's financial hole. He said that Myers, Bush and John McCain are all saying the economy is "basically strong" despite all evidence to the contrary.

"Yet Mayor Myers invites George Bush to New Jersey to raise money for him while families and small businesses struggle to survive," Adler said. "Instead of wining and dining with the president and millionaire contributors, Mayor Myers should hold the president accountable for this financial meltdown that will affect middle-class families for years to come. Hasn't George Bush caused enough harm already?"

Desperate people do desperate things... Just more proof that Bush and Myers are joined at the hip

For Immediate Release: September 15, 2008
Contact: Mark Warren (856.222.9707)

Mt. Laurel, NJ – Mark Warren, the campaign manager for John Adler's bid to become New Jersey's 3rd District congressman, released the following statement today in response to President George W. Bush's scheduled appearance at a fundraising event in New Jersey on September 22nd on behalf of Mayor Chris Myers:

"While Mayor Chris Myers is wining and dining with George W. Bush, thousands of families across South Jersey are facing hard economic decisions and stretching their budgets so they can afford both groceries and a full tank of gas. Instead of addressing the real issues the district faces, Mayor Myers instead prefers to cozy up to big oil executives and Wall Street speculators. And Mayor Myers has fully embraced the same George Bush who has sat by and allowed American jobs to disappear overseas while his rich friends get richer and our tax dollars are sent to build up Baghdad instead of Burlington and Ocean County. Like President Bush, Myers is still in denial over our economic woes, claiming that the economy is 'basically strong.'

"Mayor Myers continues to follow the lead of President Bush, his mentor on the economy, by supporting the billions wasted every day in Iraq.  By claiming that "we can 't leave until we make it look like we've won," Myers continues to echo the misguided rhetoric that caused this strategic blunder in the first place. On the economy, Mayor Myers passed the largest tax increase in the history of his hometown while raising taxes and spending nearly every single year he's held office.  How does Mayor Myers ' call himself a 'fiscal conservative' when these decisions come straight from the same bigger, bloated, higher tax and spend school of government of George W. Bush?

"On Iraq, the economy, energy, and issue after issue Chris Myers had a choice: stand up to the president or blindly play party loyalist and endorse his failed policies. Myers chose the latter. No wonder Myers is using the same slash and burn tactics deployed by Karl Rove and the Bush White House in his campaign against John Adler. He would rather hide behind his shameless negative campaign than allow voters to see him for what he truly is: an advocate for more of the same failed policies that are leaving America behind."