GOV. CHRISTIE RECINDS NOMINATION; MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL WILL NOT BE A JUDGE!

Enough noise and a lot of questions. That’s all it took to scuttle NJ Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll’s chance to be a judge. Yesterday, it was supposed to be announced by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that he was nominating this right-wing POS to replace a judge on New Jersey’s Superior Court. Instead he yanked the nomination after the Senate Judiciary Committee started to balk. Carroll even thought he was going to be able to just delete his campaign website and blog of five years and all the racist and fascist stuff he had posted would go away, but alas, it wasn’t enough. Now he is going to put them back up as he ramps up another run for his Assembly seat, and frankly we’re fine with that. If he loses bully for us, but if he doesn’t so what? He’s even more weakened than he was before. We’re not about to say that he is harmless like we did last year though. This time, we’ll keep a little eye on him, in case he wants to pull any other stupid moves. Take note, Mr. Carroll.

NJ.com

TRENTON, NJ–One week. That’s how long Michael Patrick Carroll lasted as a Superior Court nominee.

Gov. Chris Christie, who has previously gone to the mat with Democrats to battle for his choices, quietly yanked the Republican assemblyman’s nomination to become a judge today.

The governor’s action came after the Senate Judiciary Committee said it would not consider Carroll at its hearing today because the New Jersey State Bar Association had not finished its review of his qualifications. The bar said Christie had not given the group enough time to vet Carroll.

Carroll (R-Morris) today said he expects it was his only shot to become a judge.

“I’ve had better days, that’s for sure,” he said.

Now he plans to seek a ninth term in the Assembly.

Democratic lawmakers said Christie was trying to rush Carroll’s nomination through the Senate Judiciary Committee before the Legislature became preoccupied with his proposed budget.

“That’s just not the way we do things,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari (D-Union). “We’re used to at least having a week, so that members of the committee can get the materials well in advance and do their own due dilligence.”

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts would not say how long the administration gave the bar association to vet Carroll. Nor would he say whether the governor would nominate Carroll again in the future.

“The Judiciary Committee made it clear that a determination on Assemblyman Carroll’s nomination by the bar association was necessary to move forward with a hearing,” Roberts said. “Since it is also clear that the bar’s determination would not be completed in time for a hearing today, and no other Judiciary Committee hearings are currently scheduled, we felt it appropriate to withdraw Mr. Carroll’s nomination at this time.”

Carroll was one of the last Republican holdouts during budget negotiations in the Assembly last year and even considered quitting the Legislature in protest. He has a reputation as one of the state’s most conservative lawmakers, and also one of its most outspoken and independent-minded.

Carroll opposes abortion funding, supports gun rights and is a member of the Federalist Society, which advocates for a literal interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. He’s also pushed legalizing medical marijuana and tax incentives for electric cars.

He recently removed five years of writing from his blog and pulled down his campaign website in anticipation of reaching the bench. With his nomination scuttled, he plans to restore the websites.

“Judges should keep a low profile,” he said. “Now I want a high profile. I have to go back and win an election now.”

Carroll said much of the questioning from the bar association centered on whether he could put aside his politics to be an impartial arbiter. He downplayed the bar’s contention that they ran out of time to vet him, saying he doubted the association favored him to begin with.

“I honestly believe that they were being polite, that they didn’t feel I was capable of serving,” he said. “I respectfully disagree with their opinion.”

The bar association declined comment.

Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Democrats would have criticized Carroll’s past financial problems if the nomination advanced.

“It would have looked very reckless on the administration’s part,” Sarlo said. “They have made the right decision in pulling back the nomination.”

Carroll said and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 1992 after they couldn’t turn a profit on a house they bought and renovated. He also said he faced a tax lien in 2008.

“I’m current with my taxes now,” he said. “I’m current with my mortgage.”

Christie and Carroll have a long history, some of it adversarial. They both ran for the same Assembly seat in 1995, and Carroll defeated Christie in the Republican primary before winning his first legislative election.