Cheer Up. Things Could be Worse

by: deciminyan

Mon Jun 27, 2011 at 06:00:00 PM EDT

No doubt, he will continue to brag about his "leadership" ability and the "bipartisan" support he got for the stripping of collective bargaining rights from state workers.

I watched as assembly members I like and admire, people like Lou Greenwald, Pam Lampitt, and Herb Conaway, voted to affirm the path taken not only by Chris Christie, but also Scott Walker, Rick Scott, Rick Snyder, and others of their ilk.

So as bad as things are in New Jersey, next year could be worse. If Democrats and Progressives stay out of the next election cycle, we could have a Republican legislature in New Jersey which would be a rubber stamp for the Chris Christie/Koch Brothers regressive agenda. Can you imagine an Assembly Budget Committee chaired by Declan O'Scanlon who promotes right-to-work laws? Can you imagine a Senate President Tom Kean Jr who would go even further in giving tax breaks to the wealthy? It would be a nightmare.

The primary season is behind us, so it's too late to recruit and groom Democratic candidates who are not under the influence of the South Jersey/Essex County axis of evil. But by not supporting the Christiecrats who disappointed us, we are making it easier for Republicans to have a monopoly on the reins of power in Trenton.

So how do we encourage Progressive voters to hold their nose and vote for the faulty Democrats in November? We can take a page out of the Tea Party playbook and use a wedge issue to energize the electorate and get out the vote.

Clearly, that issue has to be marriage equality. Marriage equality is a fundamental right that shouldn't have to be legislated, but unfortunately the real world does not recognize it as such. Since that fight will be an uphill battle as long as Chris Christie is governor, let's make the best of it. Marriage equality is more important than just as a wedge issue, but if we can leverage it as such, we should.

As evidenced in New York and elsewhere, public opinion on same sex marriage is changing. You can count on the fact that Tea Partiers and bigots will be voting in November - we need to be able to counter that.  The younger generation is moving in the right direction on marriage equality, and it is important to get them to the polling places, especially in the 2011 off-year.

Despite the fact that any bill promoting equal rights would be vetoed by our governor, Democrats should introduce and push for marriage equality legislation now. Let's get every legislator on the record, with a vote, and those who vote NO (who will be primarily Republicans) should be punished at the ballot box by an invigorated electorate. Getting out the vote to defeat Republicans in 2011 is better than giving Christie even more power. And by doing so as a voting bloc, we send a clear message to the Christiecrats that if they don't change their anti-worker stance, they will be primaried and will lose in 2013.

Doing nothing elects Republicans.

Supporting a third party candidate elects Republicans.

As bad as they are, Christiecrats are better than Republicans. So 2011 is the year of supporting the "good" Democrats and holding our nose in voting for Christiecrats, all to prevent a Republican majority. Now is the time to show support for the pro-worker legislators like Joe Cryan and Loretta Weinberg, to elect those new progressives that are already on the ballot like Marie Corfield, and to work toward retaining the majority taking back the governor's office, and ensuring worker's rights and marriage equality in 2013.