| I live in a town that is in both the 14th Legislative District and the 4th Congressional District. My representative in Congress - and I use that term loosely - is Chris Smith. Chris Smith, the definition of an incumbent, was first elected with the 1980 Reagan Revolution. Since I have been politically conscious (circa 1996), there has never been a serious challenger for Smith's seat.
I have no idea who the Democratic challenger is this year, or whether anyone will be on the ballot. This, unfortunately, is not unusual for this district. And it's pathetic. Especially in a year then anti-incumbent fervor is at an all-time, nation-wide high, why were the Democrats either unwilling or incapable of finding a candidate who could say: Listen, Chris Smith is a nice guy, he helped that nice man who was on the Today show get his kid back, and his staff has been great at constituent services over the years. But this man has been in office for THIRTY YEARS. If you want to change Washington, you need to send different people to Washington. Let's thank Chris Smith for his service and move on, because our country cannot move forward unless we get some new blood and new ideas around the table.
It's really not that hard.
The 14th is unique because there is an election happening here, too - Republican Tom Goodwin and Democrat Linda Greenstein are in a race to fill the one year remaining on the term of former state Sen. Bill Baroni, who left for a job at the Port Authority. (Side note: I hope Baroni's departure is a temporary leave of absence, because he's one of the good guys.) Goodwin was appointed to fill the vacancy earlier this year. So you would think, this being a major swing district with a virtually unknown place-holder in the seat, that there would be a big fight going on.
Yeah, not so much. Since Labor Day, I have received five two-sided glossy mailers from Goodwin's camp. There are signs everywhere for Goodwin, Smith and other local Republican candidates. And where is Greenstein? I've seen a few signs spattered here and there in my town and in other parts of the district in recent weeks. But after nearly a decade in the Legislature, a devil's advocate would say that her name identification is already high and there's no need to waste money on more signs. But any field organizer worth his or her salt would tell you that direct voter contact is crucial to getting out the vote. How do you compare FIVE pieces of direct mail from the Republican candidate to ZERO contact from the Democratic candidate?! It makes no sense.
I am not an "average" voter - never have been - and I'm sure if you're reading Blue Jersey that you are not either. But that's not my point. I'm not worried about you going to the polls and I'm not worried that I will forget to vote. I am, however, worried about our neighbors who have heard virtually nothing from the Democratic candidates. And I'm also worried that the NJDSC is either too arrogant or too out of touch to give a damn.
If there are so many Democratic incumbents in trouble - Rush Holt, Frank Pallone, John Adler, and apparently Linda Greenstein - why is the NJDSC not running a statewide effort to remind people why they are better off under Democratic policies? Why aren't they reminding voters that a vote for a Republican candidate is a vote for John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mike Pence?
This is not rocket science, people! Where is the fight? Why is there no sign of life? You can't win unless you show up, and right now the Democrats - at least in my district - are in hiding. I hate to say it, but they deserve to lose. |
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