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Robert Menendez
The Tea Party movement wants to recall the election of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and a state appellate court today gave them clearance to go forward.
RoseAnn Salanitri, the founder of the Sussex County Tea Party -- as well as the co-founder of the newsletter Creation Science Alive -- said the group is targeting Menendez because of his stance on health care and recent votes to increase government spending.
"His votes along these lines show a total disregard for the oath he took to preserve and uphold the Constitution, which limits the power of government," she said in a recent interview with blogger Tim Knight of Jumping in Pools. "Senator Menendez is not the only elected official that is acting in this manner; however, he is one of two whose actions are subject to the citizens of New Jersey."
Meanwhile, the court today overruled Menendez's legal objections to the recall effort, saying the New Jersey Secretary of State must accept the Tea Party group's planned petition to put it on the ballot, Politico reports.
Salanitri, who says she is the granddaughter of immigrants, said she is not targeting Menendez because he is Hispanic.
"This is a question that is presented to me time and time again," she told Jumping in Pools. "As the granddaughter of immigrants, I find it baffling. All I can say is that the only one that seems concerned about Senator Menendez's nationality is Senator Menendez."
New Jersey is among 18 states that allow the recall of elected statewide officials. Menendez's lawyers had tried to argue the rule doesn't apply to nationwide senators.
To succeed in placing the item on the ballot, the Committee to Recall U.S. Senator Robert Menendez -- headed by Salanitri -- must gather 1.3 million signatures. His term expires in 2012.
