ROB ANDREWS

United States Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) may have done both Frank Lautenberg and Rob Andrews a favor today by not weighing in on their Senate primary fight.

“I’ve never been involved with it. Frank Lautenberg is a good friend, and I know Rob Andrews,” said Lieberman as he was leaving a McCain press conference at Jersey City’s Liberty Science Center. “Probably I should say that I have nothing to say.”

Lieberman, who broke with Democrats over his support of the Iraq War and left the party to win reelection to his seat in 2006 after he was defeated by Ned Lamont in the primary, wouldn’t exactly be a coveted endorsement in the race. Both Democrats have distanced themselves from their own earlier support for the war, and Lieberman's support of President Bush's foreign policy is anathema to the liberal Democrats who tend to turn out for primaries.

Lieberman continues to caucus with the Democratic Party, but is an “Independent Democrat” who supports Republican John McCain for president.

Representative Frank Pallone acknowledged today that Hillary Clinton is the underdog for the Democratic presidential nomination, but said that he will continue supporting her until she either wins or decides to end her run.

“I’m sticking with her. I think it’s her decision to decide what she wants to do,” he said. “As long as she’s running I’m supporting her.”

Pallone disputed the conventional wisdom that Barack Obama is virtually sure to win the nomination, saying that it’s “still possible for (Clinton) to win”

“You still have some primaries, you still have the superdelegates and you still have Florida and Michigan,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1). 

In a conference call today with reporters, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) again accused U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) of hiding, and bewailed the incumbent’s decision to accept just two debates, despite Andrews’s repeated requests to debate seven times.

"Pathetic," said the congressman. "This is a job application. We’re talking about issues of life and death and he is unwilling to engage the issues. He’s hiding from them."

U.S. Sen. Frank LautenbergDismayed by his opponent’s attendance record on the floor of the U.S. House in recent weeks, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) fired off a press release this afternoon demanding that the hard-campaigning U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) compensate his constituents for time missed on the job.

Andrews promptly issued a hard-edged response.

Lautenberg wants Andrews to reimburse the taxpayers of his district 70% of his salary since April 3, since he has missed 70% of all House votes., according to the senator's campaign.

"Rob Andrews is a no-show congressman who thinks he has a no-U.S. Rep. Rob Andrewsshow job," said Lautenberg campaign spokesperson Julie Roginsky.

"He should realize that there is more to his job than co-authoring and lobbying for the Iraq War," Roginsky added. "He was elected by his constituents and paid ($169,300 annually) by the taxpayers to do a job, which includes showing up for votes in Washington. If he wants to campaign, he should do it on his time and not on the taxpayers’ dime."

In arguably his harshest words for Lautenberg to date, Andrews said in reply, "If I owe the citizens six weeks of salary, Frank Lautenberg owes them his salary for the last six years."

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced that he has accepted terms for a second debate with his two Democratic primary challengers, this time on New Jersey 101.5.

The debate will take place in the station's Mercer County studios from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, and is the first of two debates reaching a statewide audience that Sen. Lautenberg will attend.

According to the senator's campaign, the debate will allow the candidates to take questions from callers from around the state.

Not to be outdone by Frank Lautenberg’s Web site tying him to President Bush’s Iraq policies, Rep. Rob Andrews announced the creation of his own site today.

The site outlines what Andrews says are Lautenberg’s contradictions – from his call for 21 debates with Millicent Fenwick in 1982 to his early support for the Iraq War.

"Nothing speaks louder than a man's own words and actions," said Andrews Campaign Chairman Mike Murphy. "This website lets Sen. Lautenberg's record speak for itself."

Incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg has accepted his first debate for the Democratic nomination, but Rob Andrews’s campaign said that he needs to participate in more.

Lautenberg will participate in a televised debate on NJN, to be held Friday, May 30th at 8:00 p.m. at the network’s studios – just a few days before the June 3rd primary.

A Lautenberg press release said that he was the first candidate to accept the debate. But Andrews Campaign Chairman Michael Murphy said that one debate, held so close to the primary and on a night when so few people watch television is not good enough. Moreover, he said, the Andrews campaign reached out to NJN weeks ago and told them that they would accept any debate.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: Photo by Getty ImagesAfter launching a Web site yesterday tying Democratic primary challenger Rob Andrews to the Bush Administration’s Iraq policies, incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s campaign put out a press release today digging up some votes Andrews cast in the 1990s that they say demonstrate that he was an acolyte of then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

The release noted Andrews’s yes votes on four bills that were part of the Republicans’ Contract with America in January, 1995, and that he voted for the Contract’s provisions more than any other Democratic member of the New Jersey delegation. In three of the bills highlighted, Andrews was joined by at least one other New Jersey Democrat, although no other state Democrats joined him in voting against a balanced budget amendment.

“Andrews cast 31 votes with the GOP majority and against the Democratic minority on portions of the Contract with America,” read the release. “Among these were votes threatening the health and safety of disadvantaged children and the stability of Medicare and Medicaid.”

The Frank Lautenberg Senate campaign today turned down an open-ended debate invitation from Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind research center.

That marks the second event that Lautenberg has declined to participate in. The first was a joint forum sponsored by the Press of Atlantic City and Richard Stockton College, to be held on the college’s Pomona campus.

“What Andrews said was that he accepted the invitation and that he would debate anywhere, anytime. What we said to Lautenberg was that we would look with him to find any date that was convenient to him,” said Professor Peter Woolley, referring to the campaign staffs. “We could do almost any date. We were very flexible.”

Just in case you forgot that Rob Andrews was an early supporter of the Iraq War, incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s campaign set up a Web site to remind you about it.

The Web site prominently features a new take of President Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign logo, replacing Vice President Dick Cheney’s name with Andrews. Next to it is are the images of Bush and Andrews side by side.

The site also features the now famous picture of Rob Andrews attending the Iraq War resolution signing in October, 2002, and a month’s worth of press releases hitting Andrews on Iraq.