Jeff Tittel

John McCain’s call to end the federal ban on off-shore oil drilling yesterday touched on a hot button issue in New Jersey, and critics think his stance could hurt his chances in the Garden State.

State Sen. Joe Kyrillos, a Republican who represents a district that hugs the Monmouth County coastline, said that although he opposes drilling off the coast of New Jersey, he agrees with McCain’s position on doing away with the federal ban in order to ease gas prices.

“It’s fine to have an energy policy that’s rhetorical when you’ve go the luxury to do it, as some members of Congress like to do, but at the end of the day we’ve got households to rub and a big economy to run and a standard of living to maintain,” he said.

Having briefly appeased some conservatives, including Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen), with his budget address last month, Gov. Jon Corzine’s administration now faces an uprising from the green wing of the state’s progressives, including the New Jersey Sierra Club.

During a press conference this morning at the Buttonwood Park and Nature Reserve in Eastampton, state Sen. John Adler accepted the Sierra Club’s endorsement for his third district Congressional campaign.

"Not only has he been a leader and a champion of environmental causes, he also knows how to get things done,” said New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel in a press release. “We believe that he will be a great asset in Washington and will take his proven legislative experience and environmental leadership to the Congress of the United States."

Although the Sierra Club endorses Democrats more often than Republicans, outgoing Republican Rep. Jim Saxton had repeatedly received the group’s backing in this district that cuts clear across New Jersey and includes a large portion of the shore. This time, the group passed over Republican Medford Mayor Chris Myers – Saxton’s heir apparent.

He was never known as a blowtorch orator, and nearly two weeks ago the remarks by Al Gore at a global warming bill signing ceremony left even ardent supporters of the former vice president's yearning for some fiery feeling.   What they didn't forecast was the heat generated in the wake of Gore's visit, as two sides were roused out of their corners today in part because of Gore's indisputably national presence, however arguably lackluster.