The Mysterious DeStefano an Adler Plant? WSJ:Garden of Political Sleaze

This article from Allysia Finle of the Wall Street Journal, raises strong questions about the “New Jersey Tea Party” primary opponent to Jon Runyan who is running for Rep. John Adler’s seat.

On the heels of a “leaked” poll from Adler’s camp claiming that the unknown Peter DeStefano is suddenly pulling 12%. Moreover it was discovered that DeStefano’s facebook page was freshly created. Clearly there is some funny business going on and Finle speculates that DeStefano is an Adler. If so, this move would be (let be honest) par for the course for New Jersey dems.

Garden of Political Sleaze

New Jersey Democrats are known for stacking the deck. Hence eyebrows went up when a candidate named Peter DeStefano, running under the “New Jersey Tea Party” banner, was suddenly reported to be pulling 12% in a U.S. House race in an internal poll leaked by Democratic freshman Rep. John Adler’s campaign.

Neither Republicans nor Tea Party activists had ever heard of Mr. DeStefano. In fact, he hadn’t even announced a candidacy. Yet the Adler poll appeared to suggest he could draw enough votes from the GOP candidate, Jon Runyan, to hand Mr. Adler a victory in November. Until the poll appeared, Republicans had figured the seat was a good potential pickup — a Republican held it from 1984 to 2008, and Mr. Runyan has high name-recognition thanks to his years as a lineman for the nearby Philadelphia Eagles.

Local Tea Party groups have tried reaching out to Mr. DeStefano since hearing of his campaign. But he has reportedly stonewalled most meeting requests or canceled appointments at the last minute. When the Cherry Hill Courier Post asked what kind of campaigning he’s been doing, he coolly replied that “I’ve been going to diners” and “doing things on social media. You can find me on Facebook.” But the Post discovered that his Facebook page had only been created that morning. Further fueling suspicions, Mr. DeStefano appears to have qualified for the ballot largely thanks to the signatures of Adler associates. One of the petition signers, Marshall Spevak, had worked for both Mr. Adler’s 2008 congressional campaign and state Senate office.

Asked by PolitickerNJ.com this week if he’s a plant for the Adler campaign, Mr. DeStefano reportedly ducked the question: “A ficus? A rubber tree? It’s ridiculous.”

Mr. DeStefano did show up uninvited at a Burlington County Tea Party vetting session last week for Mr. Runyan, where his caustic attacks on the Republican were said to violate the group’s code of civility. All this may seem reminiscent of the Alvin Greene situation in South Carolina, but there are some big differences. Mr. Greene, an unemployed Army veteran who last month won the Democratic Senate primary, was accused of being a GOP plant by Democratic House Whip Jim Clyburn. But there was no evidence and no motive — Republican Sen. Jim DeMint is hugely popular and is expected to win easily regardless of who else is in the race.

In contrast, Mr. DeStefano, by exploiting the draw of the Tea Party label, could swing a close race to the Democrat — which is apparently the purpose of his campaign. Upset as well are local Tea Partiers, who see their image being hijacked. On Monday, the West Jersey Tea Party denounced Mr. DeStefano as “a shill” and not a legitimate representative of the movement. The regionally based Independence Hall Tea Party Association has said it will also issue a formal declaration disassociating itself from Mr. DeStefano.

– Allysia Finle
wsj.com

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