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Sweeney: "I'm a Reagan Democrat"

by: 12mileseastofTrenton

Wed Dec 01, 2010 at 01:17:55 PM EST



Interesting discussion going on here in Comments. - promoted by Rosi

This is a Reagan Democratic district, and I'm a Reagan Democrat.
                                     - Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester)

Yep, the Democratic leader of the State Senate actually said he was a Republican.  How so?  Because there are no Reagan Democrats left.  That term went out of style about a decade ago.  They're now called Republicans.  Except, perhaps, for Steve  Sweeney.

This explains a lot.  It explains why Sweeney is constantly enabling Chris Christie.  And it explains his anti-state worker stance.  As a "Reagan Democrat," he must have cheered when Reagan busted the air traffic controllers union.  And he must have cheered on other Reagan policies, such as tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation, and the deindustrialization of America.

That this Republican is actually the leader of the Democrats in the senate is all you know to know about the pathetic state of the Democratic party in Trenton.  Hopefully, after redistricting occurs, the third district will be represented by a Republican with a R next to his or her name.  Rather than a Republican with a D next to his name.
12mileseastofTrenton :: Sweeney: "I'm a Reagan Democrat"
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Sweeney: "I'm a Reagan Democrat" | 36 comments
Fiscal Prudent Democrats win elections (0.00 / 0)
Is there something wrong with being fiscally prudent?

Is there something wrong with watching how taxpayer money is spent?

Sweeney is a "fiscal" conservative who simply wants accountability and common sense built into the government financial sector.

He is not anti-state worker,never has been. He is however concerned about their pension and health care fund which is a good thing.

He is the one who promoted raising the minimum wage.

He is the one who stopped Christie from pushing draconian pension reform for current workers without negotiating with the unions.

He stood alone for months on Paid Family Leave and got it passed.

He fought and won the fight against the 2% constitutional cap which would have destroyed collective bargaining forever.

I suggest that 12milles.. reads up a little on what a Reagan democrat really is. The truth is that the "old" Reagan Democrat is today's moderate Democrat.

"We" are prudent on fiscal issues and moderate on social issues.

"We" also represent the majority of the Democartic Party!

 

Steve Sweeney, he didn't...jeez (0.00 / 0)
That the "Reagan Democrat" is today's "Moderate Republican" reinforces the argument that the Republican party has completely gone off the rails. Reagan's alleged "fiscal conservatism" rep. is laughable (this point has been made repeatedly, google around).  Reaganomics ushered in the demise of the middle class.

mmgth
[ Parent ]
"Reagan Democrat" (4.00 / 1)
makes as much sense as someone calling themselves a "Clinton Republican".
[ Parent ]
Majority (0.00 / 0)
Maybe in the third district.  The most recent Democrats nominated statewide, Menendez, Lautenberg and Corzine, all were, and are, considerably to the left of Sweeney.
[ Parent ]
As are most New Jersey Democrats (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
Obama a Reagan Democrat? (0.00 / 0)
Interesting read for those who have an open mind!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Yes. (0.00 / 0)
He also spoke favorably of Reagan during the 2008 campaign:

"I do think that, for example, the 1980 election was different. I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. They felt like with all the excesses of the 60s and the 70s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think he tapped into what people were already feeling. Which is we want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."

No mention of Iran-Contra, or exploding the national debt, or "Star Wars", or selling weapons to the mujahideen, though.

[ Parent ]
Did you actually read the article? (0.00 / 0)
It actually calls for Obama to be challenged in the primary if he continues on the path of the "Reagan Democrat."
[ Parent ]
Sweeney Fiscal Ideas /Good For New Jersey (0.00 / 0)
What is wrong with supporting the prevailing wage?

What Is wrong with supporting collective bargaining for present employees but legislating pension and health benefits for future employees as a way to shore up the funds for ALL government employees?

What is wrong with extending unemployment benefits?

What is wrong with Paid Family Leave?

What is wrong with Project Labor Agreements that keep New Jersey work for New Jersey workers?  

What is wrong with getting Atlantic City fixed?

What is wrong with supporting a new work training idea that was started in another State.

What is wrong with watching out how tax money is spent?

What is wrong with " calling out" friend and foe when waste is discovered?

Some of you might not like the idea of using Reagans name on a label.

Get over it!

Sweeney has a prudent, common sense approach to the fiscal problems in this State.

There is nothing wrong with any of those things. (4.00 / 3)
There is something wrong with trying to represent Ronald Reagan as being for any of those things.  Because he wasn't.  
[ Parent ]
Why Couldn't he be a "Carter Democrat"? (3.00 / 2)
Calling yourself (as a democrat) a Reagan anything is fraudulent.  I read something not long ago that Reagan began the GOP's use of deceptive agenda's with the "compassionate conservatism" line.  Ever since then it has been a shell game using wedge social issues to fool people into voting for them.  It continues and is worse than it ever was.
I don't know what constituency Sweeney is trying to pander to by using the "Reagan" label.  It sure isn't progressives.

"Only a fool would follow a bully"
[ Parent ]
"Reagan Democrat" (0.00 / 0)
it certainly means different things to different people!

In many ways it is a "code" word for various things!

What facts bear out is that "supply side" economics when actually put into effect in this country, has resulted in record deficits and a skewing of median income, resulting in a widening of the gap between rich and poor and the the shrinking of our middle class!


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

Good God Almighty (3.50 / 2)
The term "Reagan Democrat" is practically meaningless, other than to indicate someone has a peculiar fetish for Ronald Reagan.

The idea that anyone in either Trenton or Washington is "fiscally prudent" should be taken as evidence of brain damage. In the past ten years, both sides have had power and neither one has put forth a single idea that would match ongoing revenues with ongoing expenses.

The term "fiscal conservative" is idiotic and should be wiped from the lexicon. What it actually means is "philosophically opposed to taxing those who actually have money." There is nothing either conservative nor fiscally prudent about it.

Reagan gets way too much credit for our economic rebound. Carter deregulated our gas and oil industries and the resulting boom fueled our economy. All Reagan did was demagogue social issues and accelerate the growth of our national debt. But he knew how to play to the camera.

Oh, and 225 people employed by the Reagan Administration were indicted or forced to resign due to ethics violations. That includes 138 in his first term. They include the White House Press Secretary, the President's Chief of Staff, the Secretary of the Interior, two National Security Advisors, and two Assistant HUD Secretaries.

Yeah, I can see why someone would want to hitch their wagon to that star.

Get Real! (0.00 / 0)
All Sweeney was indicating was that he is a fiscally prudent Democrat.

Nothing wrong with that at all.

All you " deep thinkers" must lighten up !

Remember ,actions not words are what count.

Sweeney is the last thing Progressives have to worry about! But I guess the " haters " will always try to make something out of nothing.  

And People on Sweeney's payroll (0.00 / 0)

will always say he walks on water.  Words do mean things.  A fiscally prudent Democrat is not the same thing as a Reagan Democrat.  

Perhaps you can look into Sweeney's soul (if you are related to him, let's say), but the rest of us will listen to his words to understand what he means.  To say you are a  "Reagan Democrat" means something and it's not the great good thing you make it out to be.  

But to paraphrase your words, I guess Sweeney's groupies will always support him regardless of what he says.  Hmm, that sounds a lot like Christie's followers to me.

[ Parent ]
Reagan Democrat in Recovery (4.00 / 1)
For better or for worse my, and allot of my generations political steel was forged during the Reagan Revolution. Call it a psychological relief from the media onslaught on President Carter and the daily reminders of the Iranian Hostage Crisis (via NIGHTLINE). The rally around the flag after the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Lebabnon. Add a touch of bravado firing the air traffic controllers and bringing in the military (think Die Hard II).

But what was and continues to be Reagans most profound influence on American politics, in my opinion, is the mental picture planted in the American consciousness of the "cadillac driving welfare queen." It has and continues to take mental effort to dispel these false notions

Without even addressing the conspiracy theories surrounding H.W. Bush (former director of the CIA) and the advantageous timing of the hostages release; expunged from our historical record was, and still is, the Iranian peoples well founded disdain for American imperialism. The result of the 1953 CIA lead covert overthrow of Iran's legitimately DEMOCRATICALLY elected president at the behest of Winston Churchill and the British Government to install the Sha (meaning King) and his brutal rule to ensure easy access to oil for the British Empire, "ALL THE SHA'S MEN."

"FREE LUNCH, HOW THE WEALTHIEST AMERICANS ENRICH THEMSELVES AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE (AND STICK YOU WITH THE BILL) by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston quickly dispels the notion that what ails our national finances is the random example of social service abuse. "The entire operating profit of the commercial sports industry comes from taxpayers" in the form of tax subsidies and abatements.

The fact that this information is lost on the general public (and more importantly our youth) is not surprising. The fact that it is apparently lost on the Democratic leader of the NJ Senate....well that is another story entirely.

[ Parent ]
Haters Loving it! But why no counter fiscal argument? (0.00 / 0)
I challenge any of the Sweeney haters on this site to refute my original " fiscal prudent Democrats win elections" post.

Please tell me what is wrong with the Sweeney fiscal policy ?

To the Non-Haters Sweeney's comment was strictly about fiscal policy. But to the haters it is a chance to ignore facts and make up stories.

Shame. Sounds like a few Rove followers have become " progressives.

So please .Look at the facts and tell me what is wrong with the Sweeney fiscal agenda!  

Really? (0.00 / 0)
He's been in the Senate since 2002, during that time, the state debt has doubled. Part of that time, he served on the budget joint oversight and appropriations committee.

I guess those are his fiscally prudent credentials?

"Where ever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Bonzai

[ Parent ]
One vote back then (0.00 / 0)
If he was Governor that would not have happened.

The state debt has doubled because ofthe pension fund ,which Sweeney wants to fix, and the national economic collapse.

Fiscal Prudence must be the Democrats mantra !  

[ Parent ]
Sweeney (0.00 / 0)
Is it fiscally responsible for the county government to build a horse park?

And is it fiscally responsible to put someone in charge of the horse park who has become the main defendant in lawsuits against the county for sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and workplace discrimination?

Is it fiscally responsible to force furlough days on county departments that have a minimum manpower requirement, which creates overtime to cover the employees on furlough days.

[ Parent ]
I repeat (0.00 / 0)
The term "Reagan Democrat" is practically meaningless, other than to indicate someone has a peculiar fetish for Ronald Reagan.

The idea that anyone in either Trenton or Washington is "fiscally prudent" should be taken as evidence of brain damage. In the past ten years, both sides have had power and neither one has put forth a single idea that would match ongoing revenues with ongoing expenses.

The term "fiscal conservative" is idiotic and should be wiped from the lexicon. What it actually means is "philosophically opposed to taxing those who actually have money." There is nothing either conservative nor fiscally prudent about it.


[ Parent ]
Care to actually comment on the subject of the diary? (0.00 / 0)
The Democratic senate leader calling himself a supporter of the patron saint of the right wing Republicans?  Or just more song and dance from you?
[ Parent ]
Facts not Fiction (0.00 / 0)
"Reagan Democrat" is a description. It does not mean you are joining the GOP. Get real here!

Sweeney ,LIKE MANY OF US,believes in fiscal prudence with the taxpayers money.

As I challenged you before,read my previous original post and tell me what fiscal policies that Sweeney supports that YOU are against.

I do not expect you to answer now since you did not in the past.

NO SONG AND DANCE! Tell me what you do not like that he did? What should he be doing fiscally that he is not doing?

No rhetoric, just facts!!!!    

[ Parent ]
A description (0.00 / 0)
Yes it's a description.  A description with meaning.  It means you were, and/or, are a supporter of Reagan and his philosophy.  Such person is not a Democrat, but a DINO.
[ Parent ]
may i reiterate? (0.00 / 0)
Let's not separate Sweeney the Freeholder Director and Sweeney the Senate President.  They are one in the same.  

Sweeney the Senate President is the same guy who spent over $200 million on his county's horse park, who's director caused the county a few lawsuits.

Sweeney the Senate president is the same guy who sold his county's fire academy to his county's community college to "save" the county money.

Sweeney the Senate President is the same guy who paid out overtime to certain county employees who covered for employees who were on furlough time.

Yes, fiscally prudent politicians may win elections, but do you really think you can get away with calling Sweeney fiscally prudent?

[ Parent ]
may i reiterate? (0.00 / 0)
Let's not separate Sweeney the Freeholder Director and Sweeney the Senate President.  They are one in the same.  

Sweeney the Senate President is the same guy who spent over $200 million on his county's horse park, who's director caused the county a few lawsuits.

Sweeney the Senate president is the same guy who sold his county's fire academy to his county's community college to "save" the county money.

Sweeney the Senate President is the same guy who paid out overtime to certain county employees who covered for employees who were on furlough time.

Yes, fiscally prudent politicians may win elections, but do you really think you can get away with calling Sweeney fiscally prudent?

[ Parent ]
does this make Obama a LBJ democrat (4.00 / 1)
and announce  .., "I will not seek, Nor will I accept, My Party's nomination for a second term."
one can only hope (4.00 / 1)
Obama cannot nor should not be spoken of with the likes of LBJ (or FDR for that matter).  He is a conservative, corrupt, and cowardly Carter/Clinton Democrat.

Wisconsin's and Pennsylvania's losses should be America's gains.  Draft Russ Feingold for President and Joe Sestak for Vice President in 2012!!!!!

[ Parent ]
For the Dense! (0.00 / 0)
Once again ,forget the disecting of labels and " what they mean" and PLEASE refute my other post( which I have pasted here)  if you can:

Sweeney Fiscal Ideas Good For New Jersey (0.00 0) What is wrong with supporting the prevailing wage?
What Is wrong with supporting collective bargaining for present employees but legislating pension and health benefits for future employees as a way to shore up the funds for ALL government employees?

What is wrong with extending unemployment benefits?

What is wrong with Paid Family Leave?

What is wrong with Project Labor Agreements that keep New Jersey work for New Jersey workers?  

What is wrong with getting Atlantic City fixed?

What is wrong with supporting a new work training idea that was started in another State.

What is wrong with watching out how tax money is spent?

What is wrong with " calling out" friend and foe when waste is discovered?

Some of you might not like the idea of using Reagans name on a label.

Get over it!

Sweeney has a prudent, common sense approach to the fiscal problems in this State.


Your posts have been refuted (0.00 / 0)

In this thread, and countless others over the years, your points have been discredited.  You just refuse to acknowledge anything.

Unfortunately, you have no ability to do anything other than to defend everything Sweeney does.  I have no idea if this is because you are Sen. Sweeney, you are his relative, or on his payroll.  But since you have not disagreed with Sweeney on any issue over the past four years, there's no reason for anyone to expect you to display independent thought here.

I hope you really are Sen. Sweeney or employed by him.  For otherwise, the blind loyalty you have shown him shows a complete lack of ability to think independently.  


[ Parent ]
You refuse to admit Sweeney is right (0.00 / 0)
Whether I agree or disagree with the State Senator on most issues is irrelevant.

This discussion is about his economic ideas and I continue to state that the ideas AS I PRESENTED THEM TWICE are good, solid ideas for New Jersey.

Stop with the personal attacks and refute them if you can! Discredit them if you can! State what economic policies YOU disagree with!

It appears that open discussion with you is  only open when people agree with the " pack" .  

[ Parent ]
firstamend07 (0.00 / 0)
When will you answer my questions about Sweeney's fiscal policies?

I've voted for Sweeney every chance I got (for both offices), and I will vote for him in the future.  But until you can have an honest conversation about the man, and admit some of his faults, you are part of the problem in today's political society.

I am glad he has supported collective bargaining, extended unemployment benefits, paid family leave, and the new work training program.

But to say he is a watch dog for wasteful spending is laughable.  He may call out friend and foe on wasteful/unwise spending, but when will he call himself out?

[ Parent ]
Deal (0.00 / 0)
The Fire academy is still operating,right?

Furlough days were a general union deal. Some services got caught in the middle. Very little was spent on overtime( you should have seen some state departments bills!).

The horse farm sounds silly but it actually worked out. Land was saved and a " rateable"  was created.

As you well know Gloucester County taxes have been very stable,so he must have done something right.  

[ Parent ]
ok (0.00 / 0)
Yes, the fire academy is still operating, but that fact is irrelevant.  Why do the Freeholders have to sell the fire academy to the county college?  Doesn't county money already go to supporting the college? It's just his way of hiding money from one budget inside another budget.  It's not saving the county any money.

I don't know the exact dollar amounts spent on overtime to cover furlough time, but that's not the point.  The county saved no money through EMS doing furlough time because they already only work 39 hour work weeks.  They allowed that 40th hour to be part of their furlough time, even though they never got paid for that hour to begin with.

Yes, land was saved through building the horse park.  But couldn't the county have leased that land to a private company to build a horse park? Why is it the government's job to build something like that?  Couldn't the county have built something that benefits a larger portion of the public?

While we're on that topic, how much did the overruns cost? And how much of that money came from the landfill's budget?  And why was Mr. Palimeno in charge of the park when he caused at least one lawsuit that the public knows about?

No, county taxes have not been stable.  However, you would be correct by stating the tax rate is stable.  Two totally different things.  But when did "stable" become such a good word? Why aren't we aiming to CUT the tax rate significantly?

[ Parent ]
Stable comes before cuts (0.00 / 0)
In this day and age I will take a stable tax rate,and at the same time a stable menu of services.

Gloucester County has done well under Sweeney. Like you I hope it can do better. If the State was run as well as Gloucester County we would be much better off.  

[ Parent ]
finally (0.00 / 0)
we can end this argument.

I'll take stable tax rates over rising tax rates any day.  And I am satisfied that you recognize that things, as good as you may think they are, could be better.

Your next response should have been "the county can't lower taxes when they are supporting consolidated services that the municipalities no longer have to pay for, allowing them to attempt to stabilize their tax rates.  In fact, one town even cut their tax rate this past year."

[ Parent ]
Sweeney: "I'm a Reagan Democrat" | 36 comments
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