Sigh.

Oh boy. (4.00 / 1)

LoBiondo is my congressman, and I always look forward to voting against him. But thanks to the Democrats, whose failure to even run a candidate allowed this whackadoodle Reaganite to claim the nomination, I'm probably going to end up voting for LoBiondo for the first time in my life.

Another brilliant GOTV strategy from the Democratic Party brain trust.

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by: Dennis Hyer @ Fri Aug 13, 2010 at 23:55:18 PM UTC

Oye Vey! (0.00 / 0)

Stein ran for governor as a Republican in 2009 and now as a Democrat for congress in 2010.

I will admit that if he is the only Democrat to run .... it is pathetic and one must question what is happening in South Jersey.

Let's at least hope there is a great GOTV for Adler vs. the donkey farmer and ex-pigskin player!

"Discrimination caused by ignorance and fear is a tax on human progress" - Barbra Casbar Siperstein

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by: Babs NJSD @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 03:13:11 AM UTC

Me! (0.00 / 0)

From Project Vote Smart which is due in next week...
Gun Issues
a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? yes
d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? yes
e) Other or expanded principles  
My opponent has been a consistent and reliable water carrier for the NRA.  Of all the myriad issues and troubling problems facing America, here's one issue Frank LoBiondo hasn't wavered on- guns!
....whaddya you folks want from me!

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 12:40:18 PM UTC

thanks for posting (0.00 / 0)

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

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by: Hopeful @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 16:42:07 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

whaddya you folks want from me! (0.00 / 0)

Your position on abortion,marriage equality, NJ family health clinics, millionaire's tax, homebuyer tax credits, immigration, and job creation for starters.

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." - Sen. Ted Kennedy

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by: Bill Orr @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 13:17:46 PM UTC

o.k. (0.00 / 0)

I'm for a woman's right to choose. I'm for single sex marriage, I'm for Single Payer, I'm for taxing the rich, I've ridiculed my congressman for not extending a hand to homeowners- I was actually hitting him on that one back in 2008 for a callous vote when the problem was then only limited to states like Florida and Nevada......and I'm for amnesty.  What else?

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 13:38:36 PM UTC

and ..... (0.00 / 0)

I might be half nuts too.....
http://www.steinforcongress201...
.....this constant carping between us folks on the short end of the s*^##* end of the stick is tiring, brother.

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 13:43:03 PM UTC

How to take seriously ... (0.00 / 0)

a candidate who says he might be half nuts ... difficult.

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 14:25:31 PM UTC

half nuts... (2.00 / 1)

or most sane.  See, we're having one of those endless debates (politics is famous for) over something silly, like an off the cuff remark.  That's really crazy...
http://www.steinforcongress201...

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 15:03:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Off the cuff ... (0.00 / 0)

No, I have seen some unwise emails as well, confusing, with insults to the press (to whom you were sending), curse words, or with links to incomprehensible webpages.

My personal opinion is that I'm for people running. I believe in primaries and in upstart campaigns, even when they don't win (you never know, and upstart campaigns sometimes have a larger effect of defining issues). It looks to me like you run every year, from one party or the other. And maybe if you have friends or supporters, you might benefit from upgrading your communications strategy a bit so that if you do have something to say, people can access it more readily and to your benefit. Completely unsolicited advice, I know, and you know your own candidacy, but that's my 2 cents FWIW.

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 16:55:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's 150 pages (0.00 / 0)

Find one you like, forget the others and realize I'm better than the alternative.  Shouldn't be that tough.  LoBiondo ranks in the bottom 1 percent of his peers.   He's awful.  Who better to tell the story than me.  I voted for him 6 times.
Here's one of my favorite pages.  It's nothing.....so what?  I like it!
http://www.steinforcongress201...

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 17:13:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What Do We Want? (0.00 / 0)

Mr. Stein, how can anyone take you seriously as a candidate if you can't even cobble together a half-way professional-looking website?

And giving a laundry list of your "positions" ("I'm for amnesty" is not a position) is not all you need to win over the crowd here: you've got to have a plan to mount a credible campaign. Sorry, I don't see it.

This is what Rosi talks about in her signature: why are we letting LoBiondo get away with not even running a campaign this year? Why are we letting him off so easily?

Congressional races are wars of attrition. Even if you think no Democrat has a chance against LoBiondo, you still run a credible candidate against him for four reasons:

1) Force him to spend money and use resources that his party can otherwise give to candidates in tougher races.

2) Give an up-and-comer training and exposure that can help them in a future race.

3) Have a credible challenger in place in case LoBiondo gets caught "hiking the Appalachian Trail" in some other scandal (not saying he is in one, but you never know).

4) Pump up the base in the district to keep them organized and ready for state-wide and national elections.

Blue Jerseyans want a progressive to run, sure, but I would settle for a conservative Dem if he or she was a CREDIBLE candidate. The state chair has got to understand this.

I guess that it was too late for John Wisniewski to do anything about this (correct me if I'm wrong about that, please), but I can't think of a better way to judge his effectiveness two years from now.

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com

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by: Jersey Jazzman @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 15:49:47 PM UTC

Stein's web site (4.00 / 1)

He may have a pretty disjoint web site, but it's got some really cool music!

Blog: http://www.deciminyan.org

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by: deciminyan @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 16:48:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

that's true (3.00 / 1)

I made it easy to go to your favorite song.
http://www.steinforcongress201...

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 17:05:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

any volunteers... (0.00 / 0)

to help me put together a half way decent web site?  Listen, Mr. E, I appreciate the long, thoughtful response, I really do.  I'm not raising any money and I have no way to pay for professional consultants or web sites.  No ones offering any help either, so I'm not begging.  And it's all  besides the point anyway... and trust me, you have no idea how much I've given up financially, emotionally, and in the home,  in order to hold one of these goofs accountable.  I'm at this almost 3 years and LoBiondo, or any other phony in Washington, never figured in my original plans- get this- when I  came back from Mexico on the first of several trips to the "heartland"- and then sought out a news outlet in NYC to listen to my very unique history with the illegal immigrant community- including the real deal about what Mexicans are up against day to day, in Mexico, and how it could be reversed.  Some journalist in mid-town Manhattan could have cared less.  A frigging ice skating ring,  a nice Art Deco bldg, a cold windy November day,, blah, blah.  I tried them all, CNN, FOX- even cornered a few FOX personalities in the corporate lobby.  Then I tried 100's of emails.  Next was the ballot process, and my congressman.  He's not the same person I  thought I voted for ...6 times.  I'm his perfect-worst nightmare....so everyone stop nitpicking- or I'll put up another web page-diary, #150+!
The web site is the very best I can do.  Stop seeing the glass as half full and stop wishing for the ultimate lefty to run against LoBiondo.  
"Frank" would murder them!  And he has.  p.s I'm posting another web site soon, "The essential stein for congress, 2010"  Another amateur job, but concise.  Me vs him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 17:03:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Mr. Stein, ellington ... (0.00 / 0)

ellington has laid out for you, very succinctly, some very good advice - why expressing your political platform in ways more detailed and thoughtful than simple platitudes is important, and why whether the Democratic challenger in NJ-2 is running a serious campaign matters to the rest of us.

Very few people are in the position to run a credible campaign for Congress if they haven't developed themselves by running lower office (not for Governor as you did in 2009 as a Republican, and not for federal office) and actually legislating and being responsible to the citizens they serve. When Rush Holt ran and won - having never served local/state office - I think some folks got the idea that was easy. First, I doubt they know how well-prepared Holt was when he ran (I was on his staff, believe me, it was very well-prepared) and how much he had developed his own understanding of policy and how to get things done.

Your candidacy says gadfly to me. That may be poor communications or it may be that you're really not prepared for what you're doing. And ellington's point about the Appalachian Trail ... oy, I hadn't even thought of that, but oh my, yes.  

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 17:14:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Is there something (0.00 / 0)

wrong with a gadfly?  I'll make a deal to the voters.  Get me in, and I'll say with 99.9% certainty, I'll leave quietly after 2 years, and I promise unequivocally to never spend one second raising any money for me, or anyone else while I'm there.  I'll spend more time with my staff, dealing with 2nd district constituents and their individual problems,  then the great the "great man of the people"- Landslides LoBiondo.

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 17:25:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

by the way (0.00 / 0)

I'm not running against Rush Holt or any other credible congressman.  I'm running against a very shallow man who lied his way into the job.
Grilling my lunch upstairs, and heading to work soon.  Will check in for next hour or so, Rosi.

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 17:35:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not running against Rush Holt (0.00 / 0)

Yes, I know you're not running against Rush. And we agree LoBiondo should go. My point about Rush is that like you he never held local or state office before running, but that he was differently prepared than you appear to be.

I think Hopeful's point, and several posters here, is that your candidacy is confusing, not likely to generate support, and an indication the state Democratic Party has work to do.  

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 18:16:26 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

This is 2010, (0.00 / 0)

they say anything is possible this year?  And wait for my new web site, I can hardly wait myself.   That's fair warning, Congressman!  Start answering the questionnaires.
off to work, back in 2 hours.

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 18:24:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Gadfly (0.00 / 0)

No, if there is something more serious and purposeful behind your candidacy than simply that.

And nobody's going to be invested in "getting you in" if you don't compel them with reasons - and platform, and history, and ability - more than that. It isn't enough to ask people to vote against LoBiondo. It can't all be about him. There should be reasons to vote for you. And you've added another hurdle for yourself, which is that you ran as a Republican for Governor - just months ago. So, you're not known by Democrats in your District or elsewhere and I don't know that you've given them much reason to get behind you or even understand you.  

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 18:06:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

o.k. (0.00 / 0)

more status quo.  Don't mean to be smart, and have to get going for 2 hours.  Look forward to anything you care to add.  I ran for Governor last year because it was a cheap way to get my name out in prep for this.  What did I say on my other web site?  I said we have two formidable candidates and you don't need 8 other wannabes complaining about them.  Anytime, a major newspaper reporter wants to quiz me about Mexico, I'll feel like I made my mark.  Later, Rosi.  

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 18:20:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I don't get it. (0.00 / 0)

I don't get your candidacy, at all.  

Running for Gov from the GOP as a "cheap" way of getting known to run for Congress as a Dem: doesn't make much sense, and would seem to invite voters to waste their time with you. I apologize if that sounds harsh, but you're not giving people much to work from here, or many reasons. No substance beyond gadfly and wacky. But that's way more a problem of the NJDSC than you. It's their ticket this is a problem for.

Okay, peace out.

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 18:52:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Let's cut to the chase (0.00 / 0)

Say I won, I'd take one of these publicity hound Congressman, or Senators, one from from each party, and I'd drag them down to Mexico where I could show them the way it really is down there.  We'd come home in a general agreement as a result, and soon after we'd have genuine bi-partisan immigration reform in this country.  They'd be so impressed after 2 weeks with me and Beto- the guy who lived with us for 5 years- they'd get all 533 other members of Congress on board!  If that's too wacky, it's too wacky- time will tell, just trust me.

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 21:38:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Did Obama win NJ2 in 2008? (0.00 / 0)

Wikipedia says Obama won NJ2 54-45%. Is that correct?

How could the state party look at that and think NJ2 is NOT in play?

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com

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by: Jersey Jazzman @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 21:20:23 PM UTC

Because (0.00 / 0)

LoBiondo is a sneaky political hack who took some Democratic positions in the past.  It's backfired on him now because over last two years, Republicans were down and now their  up and he got caught with his pants down.... and backpedaled. Remember 2 years ago?  The talk was of a Republican party that would be extinct soon.  So this is the year Dems. should have called him out.   It also doesn't hurt that he took in 2 rescue Weimaraner dogs.  I'm not kidding.

"the black sheep can wear the golden fleece and hold a winning hand" Tim Hardin

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by: gary stein @ Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 21:46:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]