The American people are being sold a bill of goods. Make no mistake about it - the upcoming New Jersey gubernatorial election is a national event. Not just because Chris Christie is leading the diminishing sane wing of the Republican Party for the 2016 presidential nomination, but also because he will be using his media-induced star power to raise tens of millions of dollars for his gubernatorial race this year.
The problem is that Christie's record is painted by his handlers and the media as a tough-spoken, hard-driving manager who has put New Jersey on the road to economic salvation. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Yet, most people outside of New Jersey and even many in the Garden State don't see it that way.
No doubt, the Democrats led by Senator Barbara Buono will work hard to get out the message that the effect of Christie's policies are not much different than those of some of the more extreme GOP governors like Scott Walker, Rick Scott, and Rick Snyder. And if Christie is re-elected, it will embolden him to move even closer to a dictatorship of the wealthy.
Christie is running a national campaign for the New Jersey governorship. This is exemplified by his fundraiser with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and his cozying up to the Koch Brothers and their billions of dollars of stealth campaign contributions.
No Democratic candidate would be able to match the GOP's Citizens United juggernaut of campaign dollars. Environmental and gay rights groups can't match the fortunes of the polluters and the education/military/insurance industrial complex.
Because a significant portion of Christie's campaign dollars are coming from outside the state, it's important to educate America about Chris Christie. The nation needs to know the truth about his infrastructure blunders, his anti-equality stance, his dealings with his cronies, his dubious budget manipulations, and his politicizing just about everything from the Supreme Court to the Rutgers Board of Trustees.
We can't stop the flow of right-wing dollars into the Christie campaign, but by taking Senator Buono's message nationwide, we can help to work to mitigate the Christie dollar advantage. Talk to your out-of-state friends about the truth about our governor. Make them understand that this election is not just about New Jersey, but it's for the future of our kids, minorities, and women's rights. Having them send a few bucks to Buono's campaign would be nice, but educating them about the real Chris Christie is essential.
January 26 was a freezing cold day, but that didn't stop about
200 citizens from gathering in Lincoln Park in Jersey City to hear elected officials
and others talk about sensible gun laws.
Not a single speaker spoke about repealing the Second
Amendment.
Not a single speaker proposed taking guns away from
responsible citizens.
Instead, they spoke about the children of Newtown and
countless other tragedies that have been precipitated by this nation’s
obsession with guns.
It took a generation to change the tobacco culture in
America. It may take longer to change the faux machismo worship of killing
machines. But we have to start some time. That time is now.
Below are links to the videos of remarks from the speakers
at the Jersey City Rally.
According to the gun fanatics, the Second Amendment gives
Americans unfettered access to assault weapons.
Why draw the line there?
Can we extend their rationale to say that the Second
Amendment gives Americans the right to own bazookas? How about surface-to-air
missiles? If someone is carrying a surface-to-air missile and launcher in the
back of their pickup truck near an airport, do the gun fanatics claim he shouldn't be arrested?
Why draw the line there?
By their logic, any American should be able to own a
Howitzer to launch tactical nuclear weapons.
This exercise in absurdity shows that the Founders never
intended for Americans to own weapons of mass destruction like automatic
weapons with large clips.
I wonder why the Second Amendment absolutists don’t attack
restrictions on the First Amendment. If they are to be consistent, they should
lobby for the repeal of libel laws. After all, those laws inhibit “free speech.”
The Constitution is a living document. Hopefully, our
legislators and courts apply a common sense filter to extrapolate 18th
Century intent into 21st Century reality. Is expecting reality from
the gun fanatics achievable?
In exploring the answer to this question, one must separate
the NRA leadership from its members. I suspect that many NRA members are sane,
law-abiding citizens who register their guns and do not fire them in fits of
anger. But an organization reflects the position of its leadership, so when I
refer to the NRA, I’m talking about its leaders and sponsors – the
gun manufacturers.
By this definition, the NRA is not a terrorist organization.
The organization itself does not use violence to achieve their goals. Rather,
they leverage the killings that their policies abet to lobby for unrestricted access
and unbridled proliferation of guns. And I suspect that not all of the hundreds
of killers that we read about all too often are members of the NRA.
The goal of terrorists is to instill fear in the general
population. And the reaction to that fear is more police presence, more
intrusion into the daily routine of life.
Al-Qaida, the preeminent terrorist organization of our time,
has forced us to spend billions of dollars on transportation security,
establish a multi-billion dollar Cabinet department, and has eroded our
freedoms due to government surveillance and intrusion. Al-Qaida has succeeded
in instilling fear and achieving their political goals.
While the NRA’s political goals are to elect right-wing
anti-gun-safety politicians, they also
have a political agenda. More significantly, their stated goal, to
establish a TSA-like atmosphere in schools plays off their agenda of
unrestricted access to guns and other lethal weapons. And schools are just a
start. If we place armed guards in schools, what about malls, churches, parks,
and other places where children and adults congregate? In the end, if the nation adopts the NRA
agenda, the result is no different than that which Al-Qaida has already
accomplished, only on a much larger scale.
So by strict definition, the NRA is not a terrorist
organization and Al-Qaida is. The difference is that the policies of the NRA
have resulted in more dead Americans than Al-Qaida could achieve in its wildest
dreams.
First of all, if I intentionally use an inflammatory term
like “gun nut”, you need to understand why. In my mind, there are differences
between gun nuts and responsible gun owners.
Responsible gun owners keep their weapons locked up when they
are not in use.
Responsible gun owners practice safety first.
Responsible gun owners own their guns because either they feel
they need a gun to defend their homes against intruders, or they are
responsible hunters, or they are responsible collectors.
Responsible gun owners don’t normally own automatic weapons.
If they are collectors and desire to own these killing machines, they have the
firing mechanism welded shut so the weapon can never be used to shoot.
Responsible gun owners register their guns with authorities.
Responsible gun owners understand that background checks are
necessary to keep guns away from those who would use them irresponsibly.
So here, I’m not talking about responsible gun owners, but
the gun nuts. I’m talking about the gun zealots who are afraid that the
government is going to take away their weapons, or that the United Nations is
going to somehow usurp the Constitution. I’m talking about the nuts who contend
that the murders in Connecticut, Blacksburg, Columbine, and elsewhere are the
fault of gays, Jews, blacks, liberals, Mayans, abortion doctors, or gun-control
advocates.
It’s difficult to put myself in the mind of these gun nuts,
but it seems that their main argument is that they need their killing machines
in vast quantity and unparalleled lethality to defend themselves against the government.
They seem to contend that someday the black helicopters of the “guv’mint” will
descend on their homes to take away their freedoms.
Well, gun nuts, I have news for you. The process of the
government usurping our freedoms has started, and your guns are impotent. Your
freedoms are already being eroded, and your assault weapons are powerless.
Guns cause harm to physical bodies. But the erosion of our
freedoms is not corporal, it’s mostly cyberial. (OK, so cyberial is not a word.
But I can invent words, can’t I? It’s an adjective meaning “pertaining to cyberspace.”)
Unless you’re a prisoner in Guantánamo, the government is
not going to lock you up for your thoughts. But it is eroding your freedoms
with the invasion of your privacy through cyberspace.
With the cooperation of the telecommunications oligarchy,
the government has complete records on your phone calls and internet activity.
Since the so-called “Patriot Act”, the government has access to your financial
data, travel activity, and God knows what else. Much of this without a warrant.
Want to open a bank account? You need to
fill out Patriot Act paperwork. If you buy e-books or visit a public library, I
would not be surprised if your reading habits are being monitored. What we know
is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s what we don’t know about government
intrusion that’s worrisome. And your guns are powerless in today’s
information-centric world.
So to those who believe that the government is going to take
away your guns, chill out. If you’re a
responsible gun owner or just a patriotic American, instead of sending your
money to the NRA, send it to the ACLU, where it will do some good.
The candidate that he so vociferously supported for
President was overwhelmingly defeated. Christie, who has angered the Democrats
and a few moderate Republicans with his words and deeds, has been the target of
similar vitriol from the mainstream GOP for embracing President Obama and big
government in the hurricane relief effort.
His brusque style, while endearing to some, diverts
attention from his agenda.
He embraces right-wing extremism by drinking from the teat
of the Koch Brothers and supporting wacko candidates like Steve King in Iowa.
Yet he pisses off those same extremists by appointing a Muslim judge, walking
hand-in-hand with a black president, and extoling the big-government virtues of
FEMA. He preaches bipartisanship while holding a lock on most of his GOP
legislators.
Unlike those who only espouse family values, he actually
practices them. I don’t think you’ll see Chris Christie join the litany of many
GOP powerful politicians who hold back false tears while confessing to an
extra-marital affair. Yet his ethical behavior leaves many questions unanswered,
such as his friend’s dealing with the lucrative halfway house privatization business
or his questionable “charity” to help hurricane victims.
He claims he’s a friend of the environment while simultaneously
and unilaterally waiving environmental regulations. He vows to rebuild the
Jersey Shore while ignoring the root cause of the magnitude of the destruction –
man-made global climate change.
Unlike Mitt Romney, who had multiple and changing positions
on just about everything, Christie invariably stands firm on the issues. Once
he makes up his mind, he rarely changes it. And that, in a nutshell, is
Christie’s problem.
There’s a difference between flip-flopping and evolving on
one’s position. President Obama and New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney evolved
on their position on gay rights and marriage equality. They weren’t for it one
day and against it the next. They moved slowly along the continuum toward the
side of tolerance and then equality.
Chris Christie can leverage his popularity to fill the
post-election void in Republican party leadership. If he does, how will he use
that power? Will he continue to allow the party to slide down the abyss created
by the extreme right wing? Or will he lead the charge to form a neo-moderate
power base within the party? Will he embrace the thoughts of Michelle Bachman
and Steve King, or will he move the party toward the more moderate positions of
former Governor Christine Todd Whitman and State Senator Diane Allen?
His actions over the next few weeks and months should
provide us with a hint. Now that Obamacare has been affirmed by the Supreme
Court and the popular electorate, will Christie finally sign the health
exchange bill? Now that the influence peddling of the Koch Brothers has been
neutered, will Christie evolve into a friend of the environment? Now that both
polls and referenda have shown that marriage equality has the overwhelming
support of the population, will Christie release the lock he has on GOP
legislators and allow them to vote their conscience? All of this will play out
over the next twelve months as New Jersey elects its Governor and legislature
in what we hope is the post-Tea Party era.
Make no mistake about it – Christie is governed not by
ideology, but by his supersized ego. He craves power and attention. The
question is, will he achieve his goal by creating a winnable scenario as a
neo-moderate, or will he continue down the destructive path of allying himself
with Tea Party and corporate extremism?
This year, the Deciminyan blog presents its first set of
election endorsements. In a presidential election year, there are hundreds of
contests that I could weigh in on, but I've chosen to formally endorse
candidates in contests in which I have had some personal involvement – either through
personal contact, campaign activity, or just because I felt these candidates
were people I’d like to contribute money to. In some instances, I
enthusiastically endorse these candidates. In other cases, I pick the lesser of
two evils. But in all cases, I feel these people are the best choice for the
office they aspire to.
President and Vice President
Barack Obama and Joe Biden
Despite a Republican-dominated Congress with a very public
statement that their number one mission was to make Obama a one-term president,
Mr. Obama has accomplished much. If you’re an Obama supporter, you know what he’s
done. If you’re an Obama opponent, you either rationalize that these
initiatives are detrimental, or give the GOP credit for them.
Unfortunately, the President’s accomplishments also come
with disappointments and missed opportunities. The centerpiece of Mr. Obama’s first
term is the Affordable Care Act. I’m glad to see that the President embraced
the term that the GOP invented to denigrate this initiative, “Obamacare.” And I’m
glad to see the President running on it. Obamacare will make health care
available to tens of millions more Americans, through affordability,
elimination of pre-existing condition clauses, and availability to young
citizens on their parents’ policy. Despite the warbling rhetoric of the right,
it will save the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars. Most importantly, it
will save lives. But let’s keep in mind a few disappointing things about Obamacare.
First, in the battle to pass the first comprehensive health
insurance reform law in generations the legislation moved through the sausage
factory that we call Congress. Right off the bat, the President took the best
option off the table. Medicare for all would have augmented the for-profit
insurance cartel with a demonstrably more efficient system. Call it “socialism”
if you want, but it would have been a simpler, more modern way of bringing
American health care into line with that in other developed countries.
Secondly, credit for the passage of Obamacare really belongs to Nancy Pelosi
and Harry Reid. The President stood on the sidelines while the Democratic
congressional leadership herded all the diverse cats in the party, from Bart
Stupak to Russ Feingold, to make things happen. I’m fine with giving Obama
credit for this, but if he had been more effective in using his bully pulpit (a
la FDR and LBJ), we might have made this good system even better.
The repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is another major
accomplishment – and here the President deserves full credit. He recognizes gay
rights as the next great civil rights struggle and in the grand scheme of
history, this may prove to be more important in his legacy than the Affordable
Care Act.
The President and Vice President came into office with the
nation on the precipice of Great Depression II, and their stewardship of the
economy, the saving of the American automobile industry, and their successful job
creation program – in spite of GOP intransigence – have literally saved the
country.
There’s a much longer list of accomplishments including appointing
two fabulous women to the Supreme Court, ending the Koch/Halliburton war in
Iraq, improving automobile mileage standards, restoring funding for stem cell
research – the list goes on and on.
I would have liked to have seen the President do more –
closing Guantanamo, eliminating the unconstitutional surveillance of American
citizens, and showing more proactive movement on renewable energy. But these
disappointments are tempered by the frightening prospect of a President Romney.
We need to let the Obama/Biden team
finish the job.
U.S. Senate
New Jersey
Senator Robert Menendez is being challenged by a man unknown
outside the State of New Jersey, and hardly known inside the Garden State.
State Senator Joe Kyrillos, a foe of the Abbot decision that
levels the playing field for access to education, touts his great friendship
with Governor Chris Christie.
Menendez has been an effective senator, despite the
(literal) roadblocks that have been placed in his path by the Governor. Senator
Menendez has promoted much-needed job-creating infrastructure and civil rights
for all Americans.
Kyrillos is channeling Mitt Romney in his desire to appear
moderate while kowtowing to the Tea Party line. He’s voted against women’s
health, gay rights, and aid to the less advantaged. While there are a few
moderates in the New Jersey Senate, Kyrillos is not one of them.
We endorse Bob
Menendez for another term in the U.S. Senate.
Missouri
While I’m not fond of Blue Dog Democrats, I abhor extremists
like Todd Akin. So when Akin espoused his position on rape, I immediately sent a
donation to the campaign of Claire
McCaskill, whom I endorse in her race for re-election.
U.S. House of Representatives
NJ-3
In 2008, then-State Senator John Adler broke a century-long
GOP stranglehold on this district. Adler won the election on Barack Obama’s
coattails, replacing long-term (and moderate) Republican Congressman Jim
Saxton, who retired.
The Tea Party revolution of 2010 doomed Adler’s campaign.
Instead of nominating a qualified candidate, the Republicans decide to go the
celebrity route and nominate former NFL bad boy, Jon Runyan. Runyan’s victory
in 2010 was bad enough, but after the election, John Adler’s life was cut short
by a fatal medical condition.
Taking from the GOP playbook, the Democratic establishment
decided to exploit name recognition in the 2012 congressional race, even though
this ploy was a spectacular failure last year when they ran Olympic hero and
local icon Carl Lewis for the state senate. Adler’s widow, Shelley was tapped
to run for Congress even though her residence was moved out of the district in
the decennial congressional redistricting. The difference here, though, is that
Shelley Adler is qualified to sit in Congress, while Runyan has proven that he
isn’t.
Shelley Adler has an uphill battle. She’s behind in the
polls in a heavily Republican district that became even more Republican in the
2010 redistricting activity. Her support from the DCCC has been cut back, so
she can’t match the onslaught of GOP money being sent to Runyan.
Adler is no great progressive, but Runyan is clearly in the
Tea Party camp. We need to turn 25 seats in the House to oust John Boehner from
the Speaker’s chair. And we need a woman’s voice in the New Jersey
congressional delegation. For those reasons, I support Shelley Adler in NJ-3.
NJ-7
New Jersey’s congressional delegation is split – there are 6
incumbent Republicans and 6 incumbent Democrats running for re-election. The
best chance the Democrats have of taking a majority is in NJ-7, where State
Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula is vying to oust incumbent Leonard Lance.
Like many formerly moderate Republicans, Lance has drunk the
Tea Party Kool Aid and his voting record has demonstrated his rightward
movement. Chivukula has been in the New Jersey General Assembly for a decade,
and has been the force behind innovative legislation promoting renewable energy
and modern telecommunications. As an engineer, Chivukula is trained to solve
problems and has been a voice of reason against a governor whose policies are
geared to benefit the Koch Brothers, not the consumer and the environment.
I’ve gotten to know Chivukula over the past year, and he is
a true gentleman, always making time to discuss issues with me even though I am
not a constituent. His election would bring diversity, intelligence, and common
sense to our House of Representatives. I’m proud to endorse Upendra Chivukula in his race this
year.
VA-9
OK. I’ll admit that I don’t know much about this race. But
it piqued my interest when I learned that an acquaintance from New Jersey is
working as a field organizer for Democratic challenger Anthony Flaccavento.
VA-9 is a district in southwest Virginia about the size of
New Jersey. Flaccavento’s incumbent GOP opponent’s web site touts more coal
mining as one of his keynote platform items. For that reason, and because I
trust the judgment of my friend, I’m happy to endorse Anthony Flaccavento for Congress.
State Legislatures
NJ-16 Assembly
Outside of the presidential election, this race is the most
important in New Jersey. It’s a referendum on Governor Christie’s policies,
especially in education.
In a total disregard for election ethics, when Governor
Christie is not campaigning for the 2016 presidential nomination out of state
(on the taxpayer’s dime), he is campaigning for his own re-election throughout
New Jersey, also on the taxpayer’s dime. Christie has held about 100 political rallies,
which he calls “Town Halls.” These are elaborate affairs, complete with
overwhelming security and professional stagecraft, and they are geared to
self-promotion, not substantive discussion.
At the start of the 2010 school year, an art teacher from
Flemington decided to attend one of these so-called Town Halls on her lunch
hour. She was fortunate that the venue was across the street from her school
because Christie holds these rallies during the day when it is inconvenient for
working people to attend.
That teacher, Marie Corfield, attempted to engage in a civil
discussion with the Governor during the question-and-answer period. But instead
of answering the question, the Governor decided to produce one of his
made-for-YouTube moments and excoriate Corfield for no apparent reason other
than that she is a public school teacher concerned with the Governor’s
policies.
Christie’s rudeness catapulted Corfield on the national scene,
with interviews on Fox News, The Ed Show, and other media outlets. Corfield
demonstrated her intelligence, passion, and coolness under pressure. Through
some politically-savvy progressive activists in her home town, Corfield was
urged to run for the New Jersey General Assembly in 2011. Although she didn't win, her opponent’s margin of victory was small in the Republican-dominated
district.
What many voters didn't know at the time was that Corfield’s
opponent was extremely ill, and he tragically passed away a few days after the
election. Under New Jersey law, the Republicans were then permitted to appoint
a replacement, and they did so, elevating Tea Party sympathizer Donna Simon to
the Assembly. But the appointment was only through the next election cycle, so
Corfield is running again, and has the energy, enthusiasm, and endorsements to
win this year. She was the top vote-getter in the Democratic Legislative
Campaign Committee’s nationwide grass roots campaign. She’s got the endorsement
of Howard Dean’s Democracy for America organization and is supported by
numerous unions including her own New Jersey Education Association. But even
though she was catapulted to fame by her encounter with our bully governor,
Corfield is not a one-issue candidate. She understands that to make the state
better, investments are needed – in small business and infrastructure, as well
as in education. She’s for marriage equality and the middle class. Her opponent
voted against women’s health programs. Marie will support all New Jerseyans.
Marie is a rare breed of Democrat. Her ascendancy did not
come from the party establishment, but rather via grass roots support. Her
election would be a great tribute to traditional democracy.
I’ve worked on Marie’s campaigns, contributed funds, and am
pleased to endorse Marie Corfield
for the New Jersey General Assembly.
NJ-4 Assembly
The first time I met Gabby Mosquera was when she ran for the
New Jersey General Assembly in 2011. Despite her impressive and inspiring life
story, I was not impressed. An immigrant from Ecuador, Mosquera earned an MBA
and landed a job as Chief of Staff to a local mayor. But when she ran in 2011,
I felt that she did not have a good grasp of the issues that confront a member
of the Assembly.
Nevertheless, Mosquera won an overwhelming victory, but the
local GOP worked relentlessly to suppress the will of the voters. It turns out
that her residency in the district was one month short of the year required by
law – a law that was declared unconstitutional a decade before.
Even though Mosquera’s opponent - Shelley Lovett - a GOP operative
prevailed in the court’s reversal of precedents, by state law the Democrats had
the opportunity to fill the empty seat, and they appointed Mosquera. Now,
Lovett and Mosquera are facing off again to fill the final year of the two-year
term that Mosquera won but was annulled by the court.
I spoke with Mosquera recently, and found that she has come
a long way. Her year as a legislator has been a great learning experience, and
my concerns about her knowledge of the issues are gone. With Chris Christie in
office, it is essential that the Democrats come closer to a veto-proof
majority, and I’m pleased to endorse Gabriela
Mosquera this time around.
NY-49 Senate
It’s tough enough to keep track of the politicians in one’s
own area, let alone those in other state legislatures. But I’ve been acquainted
with New York State Senator Dave Valesky of upstate New York for several
decades. When I knew him, he had not held elective office but was a staffer for
another local politician. We met when he was an executive of a non-profit
organization that I chose to help. There, he was always appreciative of his
volunteers, and was an all-around nice guy.
After I moved away, I was pleased to discover that he was elected
to the New York State Senate in 2004. I was especially pleased to learn that Valesky,
a practicing Catholic in a conservative-leaning district, voted in favor of
marriage equality. So based on my friendship and his courageous vote, I am pleased
to endorse Dave Valesky in his
re-election bid this year.
County Freeholders
If you’re not from New Jersey, you probably don’t know what
a Freeholder is. They’re essentially a panel of elected officials who run
county government. Here in Burlington County, there are five of them – all Republicans.
Freeholders have an awesome responsibility – they spend the
taxpayer’s money on infrastructure and services. Ideally, this would be done
with maximum transparency and ethical conduct, but one-party rule tends to work
in the opposite direction.
This year’s sale of a county hospital to a for-profit entity
begs many unanswered fiscal questions. It seems the Freeholders are balancing
the budget using one-shot gimmicks (a skill they apparently learned from
Governor Christie), while they accept thousands of dollars in campaign
contributions from companies who receive county contracts.
We need a change in Burlington County government, and there
are two open seats on the Freeholder board this election cycle. I’m proud to
work for, support, and contribute to the campaign of two women who will bring
transparency and fiscal responsibility to the board – Aimee Belgard and Joanne
Schwartz, running for county freeholder.
Afterword
It probably comes as no surprise that there are no
Republicans on this list. That makes me sad. A once-great party has succumbed
to the corruption of the almighty dollar by Citizens United and the corruption
of the Fourth Estate by Rupert Murdoch.
There are exceptions of course. My own state senator, Diane
Allen, is a moderate Republican – a rare breed. But she’s got enough courage to
buck the pressure from the Christie cabal when she thinks they are wrong. I’d like to see more moderates return the GOP
to its roots.
If you think I’m partisan, you’re probably right. I’m active
in local Democratic politics. But when I see a moderate Republican who is
clearly better than a mediocre Democrat, I’ll support him or her – as I did
last year in a state legislative race in a nearby district.
I’m also not so naïve to ignore the fact that Democrats are
not perfect – especially here in South Jersey where the endorsement of
unelected power brokers is a prerequisite to getting on the ballot. That’s not
the way democracy is supposed to work, but even then, we have some great
Democrats who I am proud to support.
If you got this far, I salute you. These posts are cathartic
for me, and I enjoyed putting my thoughts on (virtual) paper here. And if it
encourages you to vote for or contribute to one or more of these fine people,
that’s even better.
