I hope what Senator Menendez came to realize is that the debt ceiling increase isn't about spending new money but, rather, allows the Government to pay back the money it has already borrowed. I hope what Senator Menendez came to realize is that America defaulting on it's debt would be a huge international crisis. Look, I'm sick of all the spending and think we need to seriously address the rising debt with a balanced and focused approach. But defaulting on our debt isn't the way to do it. What we can agree on is that he hasn't been consistent and has cast his vote, not based on the principles and sound economic theory, but rather based on politics and that choices like that are a part of the reason we are such a divided country.

I think what Sen. Menendez is fighting for is obvious. The remainder of his appointment to the U.S. senate.

Candidate Kryillos has apparently researched Senator Menendez’s voting record but not the Republican voting record and the causes of the increasing debt. It was the Republican's unpaid for spending for wars and other items and their irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy that have ballooned the debt to current levels. Retiring Senator Coburn recently admitted that the Republican’s 'starve the beast' strategy of excessively cutting taxes was a 'disaster' and that their so-called ‘tax cuts’ were actually a “tax increase on the next generation”- since they simply increased the national debt.
For example, and as pointed out many times, my opponent Republican Representative Chris Smith is the perfect example of this fiscal irresponsibility. He has been in Congress 32 years and we have had 32 years of increasing spending, deficits and debt. He and the Republicans team have proposed and voted for almost all of that excessive spending and deficits. And he had a Republican President for 20 of those years, a Republican Senate for 16 of those years, and a Republican House for 14 of the last 18 years. Smith came in with the Republican darling, President Regan, and the debt increased dramatically and immediately from spending and tax cuts. And those policies have been unabated. Yet now Smith, Ryan, and the Republicans fraudulently claim to be fiscally responsible.

The Kryillos criticism needs to be directed at his own party not at a great Senator like Menendez.

Mr. Froelich, Neither Senator Menendez or Lautenberg have ever represented my needs or my family's. They do not represent NJ well. hey care ONLY for the big cities and NOTHING about the rest of the state. That's how they stay elected. One is as rich as any Republican who does not pay his fair share. The other is a dirty politician who uses his office for his own purposes and his wife's. I'll take a new senator from any party to replace these two dirtbags.

Great Senator Menendez? What a joke and waste of a Senate seat:

* NEVER questions Jon Corzine, the guy who has NO IDEA where BILLIONS disappeared from MF Global.

* Tried to sway Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a special favor for
First BankAmericano for a special "bailout" that would help Menendez' cronies.

* Seeks bto destroy the Second Amendment by making criminals out of law-abiding citizens;

* Seeks to legalize millions of illegal immigrants at the expense of law-abiding immigrants;

* Remained silent on HSBC's dealing with Mexican drug king-pins and (suspected) Iranian terrorist supporters;

...and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

"The Kryillos criticism needs to be directed at his own party not at a great Senator like Menendez."

@Joe Kyrillos Best honest, buddy, the only thing that separates you from Menendez is nothing. You will not challenge Menendez on the immigration issue. He wants to them a free pass to illegally enter and so do you. You supported Dubya & Cheney's wars which got us into debt. You will vote with Romney and Ryan to get us into war with Iran and North Korea.

Please stop with your faux overblown outraged moral indignation routine. You are no better than Bobby which is to say you are both awful.

what are you saying joe - that you would vote against raising the debt ceiling and bring this economy to a complete halt? that's not someone i want representing me.

this debate was already had and a politician i would vote for should find a way to fix the debt issue without holding the us economy hostage. enough of the partisan rhetoric on both sides. taking the governments check writing ability does nothing to solve the debts that have already been created. instead it just kills jobs.

Rehab, you don't understand much about economics, do you? It appears Senator Kyrillos wants the private banking cartel called the Federal Reserve to be more responsible and should answer to Congress -- not the other way around.

We also need to audit the Federal Reserve and determine just what they actually DO behind closed doors. Remember, rehab, the Federal Reserve is NOT a government agency. It's a private bank cartel.

My opinion doesn't matter with you anyway. You are for Obama and his tax scam called "Obamacare" -- and that tax is nothing more than a payment to the very private banks that make up the Federal Reserve.

People like you are amazing -- you support enslaving Americans to private banks through income taxes and now you want them saddled with ANOTHER income tax: Obamacare.

Amazing.

Ric 11:50 am on Friday, September 7, 2012 @Joe Kyrillos Best honest...You supported Dubya & Cheney's wars which got us into debt."

New Flash Ric: Joe Kyrillos is a STATE SENATOR. Please explain how his opinion as a STATE SENATOR influenced then-President George Bush?

BTW -- if the war was so bad, why didn't Obama recall the troops?

Using your logic, Obama = Bush when it comes to foreign conflict. (I do not, and never did support this insanity in Iraq and Afghanistan. But hey, how could I possibly convince you since you are such a die-hard Obama supporter.)

john jay what do you think about food alergies to eggs and gluten?

It is unfortunate that people have allergies to eggs and gluten. So many food products are made with them, "full name 69". Luckily man health-centric food stores are selling products that can help such people.

full name 69 -- I am also very aware of the GMO foods (genetically modified) -- and I am of the opinion that foods made with GMO, coupled with the scores of food chemical additives may be causing it.

Dear Mr Kryillos: Instead of negative campaigning why don't you tell us what you will do to fix the deficit. What programs will you cut? Are you in favor of eliminating mortgage interest deductions? What do you propose to do to increase revenue and decrease spending?
Thank you.

Being Greek myself I can say Kyrillos gives Greeks a bad name.

2 Wars & a Bush Tax Cut Not Paid For & A Near Collapse of Economy Not Recession but more serious A Near Collapse caused this Deficit.

And what do Republicans want? They want Wall St. that badly & greedily misbehaved that greatly contributed to the Near Collapse of the Economy, The Republicans want to Lift President Obama's regulations placed on Wall St to make sure their Greed doesn't help produce another Near Economic Collapse.

There is no such thing as food allergies. It is just a bunch of cry babies.

Is that ebonics or are you just plain illiterate?

I feel bad for that 4 year old...ever heard of Munchausen syndrome.

Lets remember that we are talking to neighbors! Food allergies are real! But what does this have to do with the Senate race?
Let's stop with the bullying and have a constructive conversation!

I love it how a different opinion is bullying. You must be a liberal 99%er democrat. You are the bully - the only thing worse than a bully is a passive aggressive bully.

.The only difference between Joe Kryillos and Bob Menendez is one wants to become a senator and the other is a senator. Their policies, especially in favor of illegals over Americans, are the same

Ric - you are just a typical uneducated underemployed 99%er. So sorry for your life, I am tearing up for you.

hey, what do you suppose would happen to some one whom actually fought for the good of all the "middle class" or for the average constituent? They'd be bought or killed out of office, if they made any real changes. So, don't hold your breath thinking anybody in government is gonna save you or us. it's not gonna happen. Those founding fathers expected us to have a revolution long ago and we let them down. They knew there system wasn't the best they could do for their time and now it's time to fix it the hard way as always.

Hope and change!

@Donald - No relation!

Time for the editor to close the comments for lack of civility. For those cutting and dicing each other time to stop. No article is worth this. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.