Could it be John Adler vs. Diane Allen next year?

I do think Saxton barring any problems should run AND win easily. But in this sceanario, lets be honest, regardless of all the pithy bla bla Martin may bring, bottom line is credibility and support of your constituents. Adler is a Norcross hack pure and simple. Diane is her own person and has backing of the Vets and others that Adler cannot even start to scratch the surface of.

Cong Ramstad of Minnesota, 61 years old - just a little younger than Cong Saxton, recently announced his retirement, citing burnout. And he had a lock on his district. Meanwhile Congressman Shays of Connecticut recently threatened to retire unless he got ranking member (or Chair) on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. And there are more to come. I think Saxton might retire for similar reasons, if not next year than in 2010. Plus the climate here in DC for Rs is terrible. They are in a hunkered down position, waiting for the next scandal to come.

He'll win, but he'll have to work a little harder than usual. He may not have the stomach for it. Adler and the Camden machine will sling some mud for sure.

Adler just seems like the kind of guy that McGreevy would meet at a reststop on the Parkway.

It's truly pathetic when an incumbent Republican Congressman in a gerrymandered safe seat he drew himself has to worry about a challenge from an ultra-liberal taxaholic who raised income, sales and small business taxes as well as backing 100% of the rest of the McGreevey-Codey-Corzine agenda.

This seat shouldn't even be in play except for the fact that Saxton himself has gone so far over to the left himself that few people care whether he wins or loses. He has no base remaining and simply relies on the partisan nature of the district to win.

It may come down to this: Saxton faces Adler in the election. If Saxton wins, he will retire shortly after the election and subsequently be replaced by an appointed Allen.   

Let's go ahead and state the obvious: Democrats are set to make historic gains in '08 in Congress and win back the White House, especially with the lame, pandering candidates such as McCain, Guiliani and Romney as the sacrificial lamb. Taking into account, as dcdem did, that Saxton isn't getting any younger and that his party is going to have even less power after November 2006, I think it entirely possible that this may very well be the final election Saxton participates in. Though Lautenberg may be nearly 20 years older than Saxton, he seems many times more spry and mentally sharp than Saxton, who has done little of note recently besides repeat the same Bush mantra, "We're fighting Al Queda in Iraq and can never retreat from the battlefield" -- a fundamental misunderstanding of what is happening on the ground there and the civil war that exists between Shiites and Sunnis.

The world has changed since Saxton, out of touch but certainly entrenched, first took office decades ago, and he has no ability to yield his fundamentalist positions on stem cell funding or other matters because this is an inflexible, head-in-the-sand Republican who has been worshipping too long at the altar of Bush-Cheney.

The writing is on the wall: Saxton will get out sooner than later, and the district will be better for it. And, like the rest of the nation and the state, district 3, particularly Burlington County, is becoming more Democratic each year; no conservative in the mold of say, fringe-right winger Mike Doherty, could take this seat after Saxton leaves, and Adler, should he have proper funds, may very well beat Saxton next year. I would welcome an Adler-Allen challenge any day of the week, especially since Allen has voted for the boondoggle Whitman budget that got this state in a mess in the first place, begged Bush to run for president, and has done nothing significant since becoming state senator and only awakens out of her slumber when an election comes around.

Presumably, you're a Republican; coming from the party of Senator Larry Craig a wisecrack like that is the lowest of blows.

If your crass remark is an example of typical Saxton campign strategy; Adler wins by 7 points.

Keep up the bad "work"! Please!

From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

 More like next to the plaque that was stolen on the Rt. 295 rest stop, it has more trees for romping through.

Diane Allen first voted for asset monetization (Finance Structuring Act of 1999), and now is against it. Her hypocrisy has reached an epic proportion, and it may be one of the reasons, besides her gross neglect of her constituents in her district, of why she could lose in November.

 Now, Diane Allen has cowardly, sheepishly refused to debate Rich Dennison in a public forum. The voters deserve to have their public servants voice their views and defend them in a public forum, but Allen refuses to meet for any debate and runs from any forum where Dennison may be attending.

But, since she hasn't been responsive to voter needs since taking office and has enacted no meaningful reform at all, should we expect anything less from Allen?

omg! Marty, you have lied yet again to the good posters here! Diane and the other GOP have ALL AGREED to debate the DEMS! Where are you getting your info?? Planet Ur-anus??? How do you know what she is doing or planning since you do not live in the 7th??? Your lies about Diane "Now, Diane Allen has cowardly, sheepishly refused to debate Rich Dennison in a public forum. The voters deserve to have their public servants voice their views and defend them in a public forum, but Allen refuses to meet for any debate and runs from any forum where Dennison may be attending" are exactly why people keep electing her over any dem challenger; because she does tow the line and all you dems can do is slander to take attention away from your ineptitude. First of all, Diane has a schedule of meeting and talking to people and just because little Richy stamps his feet and DEMANDS that she drop everything because little Richy wants what he wants when he wants it only makes him look more foolish! The only thing that so far is keeping me from switching my voter reg to GOP is that my entire family has been dem for like 70 plus years and fortunately, at least I know I can vote the person if I do not agree with my party!

The oc is right in that my previous comments towards Allen were a bit personal and therefore less effective. I will try not to call her "Deadbeat Diane" or, conversely, Saxton, "Congressman Deadweight"; it would be nice if the Republicans on here didn't refer to Sen. Lautenberg as "The Corpse," of course. Allen's policies and her inability to serve her constituents is what should be criticized rather than anything that could be perceived as a personal attack.

In regard to the issue of her not debating Dennison, despite what "Democrat" "pablos3" (the gig is up gopgal08) states, Allen ran away from a mini-debate/forum with Dennison at the Burlington County Times Editorial page offices, and she decided to run away again when she found out that Dennison was going to be at a light rail forum where she was speaking. I consider it to be of important that public servants meet their constituents and debate pertinent issues; it seems that Allen sees herself as above such moments of democracy in action, though.

It is early in the morning and I didn't read your comments until after my first coffee. After re-reading, I realized that you were apologizing for the deadweight comment and not using it as a put down. And I will agree with you that referring to the duly elected senior Senator from NJ as a corpse is equally as wrong. I have never done it, nor would I. Having met the Senator before, I know he is a personable gentleman but I oppose his politics. However, I do believe his past criticisms of his opponents age are fair game. But the name calling is childish. Please accept my apology.