Broken Glass and Leadership

Are Progressives EVER Happy? (1.67 / 3)

"And we wonder where the hell New Jersey is going."

The answer is , " in the right direction!"

This is not about Buono and Cryan. This is about a Democratic Party that envelopes diversity and the whole spectrum of opinion.

Everyone is represented on the leadership team. North ,South,and Central,male and female ,moderate and progressive.

How can anyone argue about that?    

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by: firstamend07 @ Thu Nov 10, 2011 at 23:40:49 PM UTC

To what ends? (0.00 / 0)

More Republican budgets?  More Democratic budgets stripped by the line item veto?  More pathetic attempts to pass a millionaire's tax, instead of broad-based spending and tax reforms that will both raise revenue and save money?

I have been defending Loretta Weinberg's presence on this leadership team since it was first announced, because she he has earned our trust through years of committed, dedicated, and progressive public service.

However, if it turns out that she is just progressive lipstick on this pig of a leadership team and we have two more years of capitulation to Christie's agenda, then as our progressive standard-bearer, she should be prepared to not only hear our complaints, but also listen and respond to them.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 00:16:16 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

In the "right" direction (0.00 / 0)

For once you've stumbled onto the truth.

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by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 01:20:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Great diary until the last full paragraph (0.00 / 0)

Everything you wrote leading up to it leads to the conclusion that Buono and Cryan were purged because they objected to the bosses and their minions Sweeney and Oliver siding with Christie on a number of major issues.  The inevitable conclusion from that is that Weinberg was put in there because she will not object.  But will be a good soldier once the bosses have given their orders to Sweeney and Oliver.

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by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 01:18:09 AM UTC

only time will tell (4.00 / 1)

I understand your reasons for assuming that Loretta's ascension has bought her silence, but that just belies an ignorance of who she is and how she is able to accomplish everything that he has accomplished to date and advocate for everything that she has advocated for to date.

Buono was part of the coup that ousted Codey and was not silent once she was there.  At the same time, she was not particularly effective in winning the battles that she fought.  It is very possible that Weinberg will be just as visible and vocal in that position and may not be much more effective in winning the battles that she fights.

You and I agree on more than we disagree.  I wish that you could trust me when I ask you to give Senator Weinberg the benefit of the doubt and judge her performance going forward.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 02:18:36 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It gets better (0.00 / 0)

Despite being the one who has consistently said that progressives should look past 2012 and focus on 2013, this story about Newark Councilman Ron C. Rice considering a Congressional run next year against the incumbent, Donald Payne, gives me a reason to reconsider my previous position somewhat.

In my recent efforts to draw a new congressional map, my vision for Payne's/Rice's district has been pretty consistent, which is for it to consist of almost all of Essex County minus a town or two.  One way or another, Payne's district is going to have to be enlarged to include all of Newark as well as not only other urban centers like East Orange and Irvington, but also parts of Suburban Essex, where Ron has allies from his work on Howard Dean's Presidential campaign and membership in DFA-NJ.

Lobbying members of the CRC to extend this district into towns like Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair, South Orange, and West Orange on behalf of Ron C. Rice should become a top priority of the progressive community.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 02:12:15 AM UTC

Yes, Time Will Tell! (4.00 / 3)

I appreciate the "give and take" that is always an integral part of Blue Jersey. Yes, time will tell. I will stand up on the issues important to all of us including collective bargaining; women's reproductive freedom and access to health care; marriage equality; public education and the defeat of vouchers. I can't promise a 100% success rate, but I can promise I will always articulate the progressive side of the issues in the 'back room; and in the 'front room'. We all have different approaches to leadership and different ways to accomplish our common goals. I think my record of accomplishment and willingness to do the "messy work" to get things done is pretty well known. It will be fun and very challenging to keep it up. You will all be your own judges, but I'm pleased the Senate President asked me to join this team. I believe that those leading the next legislative session are actually ready to stand up to Governor Christie over the next two years.  Yes, time will tell!

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by: Senator Loretta Weinberg @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 03:31:59 AM UTC

I disagree (0.00 / 0)

I do not believe that your colleagues in leadership are anything other than pawns in a game being played by the party bosses and Chris Christie that could go on for another six years, primarily because I think they know that they cannot elect one of their own as Governor and they would prefer to work with Christie than Barbara Buono or Dick Codey, which is reprehensible on so many levels.  However, as much as I disagree with your votes in 2009 and 2011, I believe that you have your reasons for voting the way that you did and you are entitled to them.  I would love to know what they are, but I don't expect you to share them with us.

I am glad you will be a part of this leadership team, primarily because unlike most of your colleagues in the leadership, you have earned your position, but also because like Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, you are our only hope.  There is nobody else on this leadership team who we can count on to do the right thing, so the burden falls to you and I wish you the best going forward with it.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 04:59:43 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It was a shunda (0.00 / 0)

You should be ashamed for your complicity in what happened to Senator Buono.  It goes beyond what happened to her.  You sided with the bosses who are holding this party hostage while they feather their own nests and sell out the party's principles.

You had a choice.  You could have stood up to them and supported Buono, or you could have sided with them and stepped over Buono.  You made the wrong choice.  Even worse, you gave them a progressive to provide cover whenever they sell out to Christie.  Why else would would they have gotten rid of Buono?

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by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 11:25:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well as I said (0.00 / 0)

....time will tell. TO: "12mileseastofTrenton" I appreciate that you have made your judgments on what happened here. Any time I give them "cover" to "sell out to Christie", please feel free to write about it. As to your last question, I know you've already decided the answer to that rhetorical question. Sen. Buono was part of that same leadership team for two years and I respect her work. Now let's see if anything can change. You might be right....but again you will watch and hold us all accountable!

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by: Senator Loretta Weinberg @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 21:31:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I've said my piece (0.00 / 0)

We'll all have to live with the consequences.

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by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 22:39:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Would you be happier... (0.00 / 0)

...with Theresa Ruiz?  Or Sandra Cunningham?  I know that I wouldn't be.

With all due respect to both Senator Buono and Senator Weinberg, the bosses are going to do what the bosses are going to do and it didn't make a difference before that there was a progressive in the Majority Leader's chair and it most likely still won't matter that there is a progressive in that chair.

But what if Senator Weinberg is able to leverage her position on behalf of marriage equality or women's health or maybe even an expansion or modification of NJFamilyCare so that the available funds can be better distributed between both the uninsured unemployed and uninsured working poor better than Buono was able to?

I don't know why you aren't willing to at the very least give her the benefit of the doubt and wait and see what happens before you criticize her.  She has worked hard for a very long time as a progressive advocate and deserves at least that much.

You aren't accomplishing anything for your issues of concern by being so reactionary.  If anything, you are turning yourself into a pariah, like FA07.  We agree on far more than we disagree, so I think that you would be better off trusting those of us who know Senator Weinberg, love her, and standing up for her, than just standing firm just for the sake of consistency.  

What if you're wrong about Senator Weinberg?  Is it really worth alienating so many potential allies over an assumption that you are making and feeling the need to stand by?

Finally, I don't know if you are Jewish or not, but if you aren't, please stop throwing around the Yiddish.  Jim McGreevey somehow got away with using Yiddish with Jewish audiences, but I always thought that he sounded moronic when he did it.  

If you are Jewish and you are fortunate enough to have your bubbe and zayde still with you, you should spend some time with them and get a refresher course on your Yiddish, because shande is not spelled shunda.  Sorry to be nitpicky.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 22:15:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You say shande, I say shunda (0.00 / 0)

It's actually more commonly spelled shanda.  

As for the rest, I don't care if I'm a pariah.  I'll say my piece.  If they want to ban me, fine.  I'm not going to give special dispensation to an official just because she happens to be a BJ favorite.

As for what happened, you can rationalize it away anyway you want.  The fact is that the crowd we've been railing against is more entrenched than they were two years ago.  And not standing up to them is a prescription for ongoing defeat.

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by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 22:37:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Think about FA07 (0.00 / 0)

Anytime someone sees that he/she has commented on something, they pretty much know what they are going to read before they read it and have already discounted it.  Do you really want to be viewed the same way?

You have serious issues of concern that you want to advocate for and they are extremely important, so it is important that people take what you have to contribute here seriously.  That is not going to happen if you do not show a willingness to take both a long and a short view of the political situation as well as be cognizant of the political history involved.

I am not saying that we should not stand up to Adubato/Oliver, Norcross/Sweeney, Christie et al, but at the same time, we should be careful not to paint everyone who is associated with them with the same brush.  Jim Whelan is a perfect example of this.  Yes, he was wrong to vote for pen/ben, but he was right to break from the others in South Jersey and vote for marriage equality, and I understand if you do not care about marriage equality as much as pen/ben, but to discount this vote entirely says to me that you are only interested in advocating for the issues of concern that are most important to you and less interested in being part of a progressive community that advocates for a wide range of issues and grows by bringing people together, who have their own primary issues of concern, but are able to forge alliances by respecting and valuing those issues even if they are not necessarily primary for everyone.

Would I prefer that the political environment be simple with black hats and white hats, bad guys/gals and good guys/gals?  Of course.  I would prefer it if everyone who I liked was on the same side and everyone who I disliked was on the other side, but that is just not going to happen.  This is obviously going to make it very difficult to build a statewide progressive movement and identify and recruit candidates to challenge Democratic electeds in primary elections in 2013.  This is why we should just be focused on organizing right now and judge the electeds on their actions going forward as time goes by.

I am not asking you to give anyone special dispensation, just because she happens to be a BJ favorite, but you should be smart enough to know that two votes that you disagree with does not make someone your enemy, especially when the two people who you consider your ally, Barbara Buono and Joe Cryan, cast the same vote that Loretta did two years ago.

I don't believe that the axis of evil is anymore entrenched now than they were two years ago.  Hudson is more of a partner than they were two years ago, but it is not like Hudson was ever or will ever be a source of progressive action in this state.  They are as corrupt if not more than any other political machine in the state.  The only difference is that they are now more organized as a unit than they have been in the past few years during which there has been some jostling.  

John Currie is literally and figuratively a used car salesmen and he and Passaic are never going to be a power broker, because he and his electeds are always walking around with a "For Sale" sign on them, which is why they are always looking for a deal and almost never get much in return for their loyalty.

So what has transpired over the last two years will probably continue.  We might see more of a facade of independence and leadership from Sweeney if he is serious about running for Governor, but it will never be more than a facade.

But the only thing that we can start doing right now is organizing and that is very hard to do if we waste as much time as we have wasted over the past few days, debating the progressive bona fides of someone whose progressive bona fides are beyond debate.  This has been neither constructive nor productive.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Sat Nov 12, 2011 at 05:14:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Isn't Open Discourse Great! (0.00 / 0)

The two biggest radical leftists on this site cannot agree on the merits of State Senator Weinberg's promotion into a leadership position while at the same time ,the voice of "moderate"reason (myself) shouts her praises and this move.

That is what makes this site so vibrant!

Just send kudos to the Senator and move on.

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by: firstamend07 @ Sat Nov 12, 2011 at 16:14:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

define radical leftism (0.00 / 0)

You like to throw around labels rather than participate in open discourse about the merits or lack thereof of the Christiecrat agenda.  Aside from my personal preference for democratic socialism as an economic and political system, please let me know the positions on issues for which I advocate, including but not limited to my hostility towards anti-democratic political machines, that are so radical, leftist or otherwise.  What positions on issues do you advocate for that are so moderate?

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Sat Nov 12, 2011 at 17:42:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The tea partyist FA07 (0.00 / 0)

The reason FA07 is pretty much a tea partyer is because he likes to throw labels around rather discuss the ideas.  That may be because the ideas he has defended have been things like reducing the quality of health care for public workers so that his benefactor George Norcross could make more money.   Rather than debate the merits of a position, he prefers to tar and feather the opposition as radical leftists.   Just like the tea partyers!

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by: princetonblue @ Sat Nov 12, 2011 at 20:16:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Moderate = Tea Party? (0.00 / 0)

Some of you have to rejoin the real world.

My views are that of a typical moderate Democratic Party member.

I have defended all of my views and I have offered FACTS not rhetoric in the defense of those issues.

I only attack when I am attacked. I much prefer to talk issues .

I was right on the need for fair  pension benefit reform.

I was right when I stated that it is Sweeney and Oliver who have kept NJ from becoming Wisc.

I was right when I stated that the State taxpayers must be respected by government worker union leadership or that leadership will lose credibility.

Quite frankly ,I do not know when I was last wrong!  

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by: firstamend07 @ Sat Nov 12, 2011 at 22:49:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Even Tea Partyers think they are moderate (0.00 / 0)

You can keep repeating to yourself that you a moderate Democrat but that doesn't make it true!  It makes you delusional.  

When have you ever talked issues?  

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by: princetonblue @ Sun Nov 13, 2011 at 04:07:21 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

wrong on all three (0.00 / 0)

Your views are that of a Christiecrat, more beholden to the political machines than the rank-and-file members of the Democratic Party or their constituents.

Pen/ben was neither fair nor needed.  The pension system has been badly mismanaged by both Democrats and Republicans for almost two decades and a long-term resolution.  Recognizing this should have been the first step towards resolving the problem.  Negotiating a solution that serves the needs of both present-day and future beneficiaries should have been the second step.  Legislating a solution that forces public employees to pay for the corruption, incompetence, and malfeasance of others should never have been an option.

State income taxpayers must be respected by their elected representatives and the way that respect is shown is by managing their dollars wisely, not unilaterally reducing the net compensation of public employees who are not responsible for healthcare cost increases, particularly in a state like New Jersey, which could benefit from the economy of scale that its population density affords it by taking private health insurance companies out of the equation and pooling the money that it receives from the federal government for Medicaid and SCHIP with money it has budgeted for the healthcare expenses of public employees as well as money that the private sector would normally spend on the healthcare expenses of its employees, spreading the risk, and saving money for everyone.

Instead, Adubato/Oliver, Norcross/Sweeney, and Christie have made NJ worse than Wisconsin.  If NJ were Wisconsin, there would have been a similar public backlash against their policies to what occurred in Wisconsin and Democrats would have upset Republicans in LD11 and LD16, but because there is a perception of bipartisanship in New Jersey, neither Democrats nor Republicans were successful in turning the public against either Democratic or Republican incumbents, producing the stalemate that we saw on Election Day.

The only thing that you are right about is Senator Weinberg, but only because she is now a part of the leadership team that is run by the bosses for whom you advocate.  If there was any debate about her inclusion versus someone who was bought and paid for by the machines like Sandra Cunningham or Theresa Ruiz, there is no doubt in my mind that you would be advocating for someone more controllable like them.

You and the bosses are betting that Senator Weinberg can be more easily controlled than Senator Buono.  With respect to this, 12M would probably agree with you.  I would be willing to bet that she actually proves to be less controllable than Buono and more effective in her advocacy, primarily because the only ambition that drives her are the issues of concern for which she advocates and not higher office.  This means that she might be less likely to hold press conferences and make speeches and more likely to raise a ruckus behind closed doors, backed by the threat of public action, involving the mobilization of the progressive community that has her back whenever and wherever she needs it.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Sun Nov 13, 2011 at 05:04:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Why Argue,Join Others in the Big Tent (0.00 / 0)

You have your view on pen/ben. Fine.

It is the wrong view but that is ancient history.

Christie crats? What are they? All I know is that all " factions" are welcome in the Big tent.

I hope you come in since your passion can be used for some good.

Stop the venom! There are too many important issues coming up to keep fighting about ancient history.

Your biggest fear did not occur . Collective bargaining is alive and well in New Jersey. Government workers have survived!

Come on in to the Big Tent!  

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by: firstamend07 @ Sun Nov 13, 2011 at 12:13:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Government workers... (0.00 / 0)

...should be able to do more than survive.  They should be able to thrive, but that is very hard when their net compensation is reduced legislatively rather than through collective bargaining, which would have enabled them to get something in return for any givebacks.

A Christiecrat is a Democrat (In Name Only), beholden to one or more of the many political bosses in our state, who enable Chris Christie's agenda and provide it with an image of bipartisanship. Yes, there are very important issues coming up and I am sure that we will be on different sides of them.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Sun Nov 13, 2011 at 20:19:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not Sure How Much Will Change (0.00 / 0)

Yes, a different leadership style could make a difference.  The problem I see (that  will continue) is that the Christiecrats are either ignorant, corrupt, or both.

There could be no other possible answer as to why Democrats have turned on our progressive  ideals to jump on the same train that took us to unnecessary war and the collapse of our economy.

I wish Senator Weinberg luck in her new position, but hold out little hope.  You can't fix stupid, and the corruption of our democratic party seems so systemic that turning that ship around appears nearly impossible especially with an eight hundred gorilla at the helm.

"Only a fool would follow a bully"

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by: brendanod @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 18:59:55 PM UTC

800 pound Gorilla (0.00 / 0)

"Only a fool would follow a bully"

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by: brendanod @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 20:22:48 PM UTC

I am always surprised to hear (0.00 / 0)

folks expressing fear that Loretta will somehow cowtow to the party for political reasons.  Knowing Loretta as a I do, I have to shake my head and laugh.  She has never ever NOT said what she believed.  No matter how often other progressives worried whether she was with them or not - I never ever questioned her motives.  And she has never let me down.  She always tells you where she stands and always sticks to her principles. Why on earth would she change now?  Her forthrightness, courage and integrity has gotten her this far - it's what gets her 70% of the vote.  Why change a winning strategy?  No. you should worry about other folks.  Not Senator Weinberg.  Not many folks remember how graciously Valerie Huttle stepped aside when running for the State Senate seat that Loretta ultimately won.  It was gracious of Senator Buono to step aside in the same manner, to allow Loretta the position. Back then, women were't even allowed inside the club, let alone allowed to make the rules. Assemblywoman Huttle, thankfully is still here as part of the team - I like to think that Senator Buono will continue to be a strong part of the team.  

One Vote.  Yours.  It really does matter.

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by: carolh @ Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 20:27:21 PM UTC