NJ drone 'crisis' is political circus

Officials seize moment ripe for grandstanding

By: Charles Stile
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... No one is really suer if the great drone mystery will ever be solved.
..... But one thing is certain: the extended freak-out over the not-so-friendly-skies episode has been a great opportunity for political grandstanding and branding.
..... Representative Mikie Sherrill has dusted off her old "top Gun"-style flight jacket from her days as a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot as she pursues the Democratic nomination for governor. She never misses an opportunity to mention how her chopper experience, as she did in her campaign launch video, prepared her the governor's office.
..... "The worst thing you can do in a crisis is freeze," she said.
..... On drone hysteria, Sherrill didn't freeze but leaned in.
..... On Monday [12/16/2024] the darling of the Morris-Essex suburban progressives, sounded off like a veteran G. I. Jane, sharing her knowledge of "electro-optical/ionfrared" gizmos as if she spent the weekend [12/14-15/2024] studying aerial footage at Central Command with the nation's befuddled military brass.
..... She wants to call in the high-tech cavalry, a fleet of CBP MQ-9 "Reaper drones" - ti sounds so much more authoritative and impressive when you describe it suing military manual jargon - that can hunt down these mystery drones "and identify their location of origin." So there's the answer: clogging the night sky with more drones chasing drones.
..... And, for those who don;t know by now, Sherrill noted that these suggestions come form her context :as both a congresswoman and a former Navy helicopter aircraft commander."

What does Trump have to say?

..... On the other side of the political spectrum, we have President-elect Donald Trump, who used the drone crisis to stoke more suspicions about the power of the "deep state" cabal running the country in secrecy. Trump has vowed to dismantle the deep state once in office - he claims he will slash thousands of federal jobs, shred regulations and dismantle parts of the Federal Bureau of Investigations under the rubric of reform.
..... "The government knows what is happening," Trump said. "Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went.
..... "And for some reason, they don't want to comment," he added. "I think they'd better off saying what it is. Our military knows, and our president knows, and for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense."
..... Trump's favorite New Jersey congressman, Representative Jeff Van Drew, the Cape May county Republican out did Trump with the conspiracy-mongering last week [12/12/2024] when he argued that an "Iranian mothership" deployed the drones, which drifted over Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County and the state's largest reservoir in Hunterdon, among other circularity infrastructure.
..... But the Pentagon said there was no evidence that a foreign adversary was behind the drones, and Van Drew walked back some of his comments late last week. [12/12/2024]
..... Others place blame on President Joe Biden for the drone crisis, calling him a lame-duck patsy. But the slamming of Biden is fueled by a variety of branding motives.
..... State Senator Jon Bramnick, the Never-Trumper Republican candidate for governor in 2025 who is casting himself as a moderate with across-the-aisle governing skills, released a statement Monday [12/16/2024]demanding answers form what he described as the feckless Biden administration.
..... But Bramnick's statement was also an exercise in sly self-promotion and branding. It used the phase "bipartisan," four times. He even dropped the phase as he cited the most famous line from the Laurel and Hardy comic duo of the early 20th center.
..... "With the massive bipartisan calls for transparency on the drone issue, President Biden, when speaking to his homeland security team, must be using the old Laurel and Hardy quote, 'Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten me into,'" said Bramnick who moonlights as a stand-up comedian.
..... And then there is the lambasting of Governor Phil Murphy, who has been a useful foil for Republicans like Jack Ciattarelli, the former Somerset County lawmaker, or Bill Spadea, the anti-vaccine conspiracist and radio talk show host.
..... Both are competing with Bramnick for the GOP nomination for governor next year. [2025]
..... The crisis allows them to continue tapping the anti-Murphy anger in the GOP base.
..... "Governor Murphy has failed the people of New Jersey once again," Spadea wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The residents of New Jersey are still waiting for answers, there is a continuing threat of airport closures and the drones continue to fly over critical infrastructure throughout the region. Enough is enough!"
..... But Spadea, of course, took his tweet one step further by cheering on Trump, who appeared on his radio show earlier this year [2024] and whose stronger-then-expected showing in New Jersey last month [11/2024] now makes the endorsement of the failed casino operator the most coveted in the GOP ranks.
..... Boot licking the Big Boss of the Party is now in vogue.
..... "As @realDoanldTrump said, 'Can this really be happening without our government;s knowledge. I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!'"

What has Murphy said?

..... Murphy. whose won ambitions past Trenton are unknown once his term is finished in January 2026, said federal authorities arrived in New Jersey on Sunday [12/15/2024] to begin investigating the phenomenon that has left the public so jittery. So far, they have found nothing alarming and continue to insist that the public is not in danger.
..... "First of all, I'd say, calm down. there's no evidence of anything nefarious here," Murphy said.
..... He added: "We never say never, but ... take a breath."
..... I wouldn't count on the candidates taking a breath any time soon.
..... Drones are good vehicles for marketing.

HOME