JPod- You may be right. But I think Kean should make an issue of this now. He could say — or suggest — that this is standard operating procedure of the Democrats and that this buzz shows how corrupt the entire New Jersey Democratic Party is. He could note that Menendez’s problems are simply further illustration that the Democratic bench is corrupt. He could highlight the air of desperation in the Democratic Party which proves that they don’t even have faith in their handpicked candidate. Etc etc.
The benefit of doing all this is that it would make it much harder for the Democrats to actually drop Menendez and it would prepare the public to react negatively to the tactic if they did. If he stays on the ticket, Menendez would be cast as a loser who doesn’t even have the tacit support of his own party, which would give his candidacy an aura of doom. I think Kean could do this in a very high-minded way, claiming — rightly — that this sort of tactic undermines the validity of elections and the democratic process.