Labor gets behind Congressman Pascrell

B&CT support is not surprising (0.00 / 0)

When I was deputy campaign manager on Pascrell's re-election campaign in 2000, I was asked to be his surrogate at a Sierra Club meeting that he very simply did not want to attend.  When I got there, it quickly became apparent why.

The SC membership in attendance that night was not happy with him.  It appears that like most machine politicians in NJ, when the environmental community and the B&CT collide over construction and development issues, Pascrell sides with the B&CTs 100% of the time.  Everything that I had been briefed on before this meeting had to do with all of the environmental issues that he had supported during his tenure in Congress, but none of them had anything to do with construction and development.

I did the best that I could to put the best spin possible on the situation and in the end, the Sierra Club endorsed him despite their complaints, primarily because they did not have much of a choice.  His Republican opponent who had little to no chance of winning was even worse on environmental issues.

But what was most frustrating about this incident was what I was told when I reported back to campaign headquarters, which is that the Sierra Club was absolutely right.  When it is easy to support an environmental issue, Pascrell has no problem supporting the environmental community's position on an issue, but when they are on the opposite side of the B&CTs, he will be with them every time.

So if Pascrell wants to take pride in his B&CT endorsement, he should.  He has earned it, often at the expense of our environment.

That said, this has nothing to do with Rothman's decision.  Pascrell cannot claim ownership of a district just because his town of Paterson is in it and the town that Rothman moved to a few years ago isn't.  Rothman's ties to the new CD9 are as strong as Pascrell's if not stronger and he has every right to make the decision that he made.

The people in CD9 who like Pascrell are going to use this ridiculous talking point, because they have no other reason to dislike Rothman.  But I seriously doubt that many, if any, of the residents of CD9 who like Rothman are going to demand that he run against Garrett, because they like the job that he has done representing them and want him to stay.

Anyone who is willing to look at this situation fairly and honestly realizes that there are other candidates who can run against Garrett and in my opinion, at least one of the them, Assemblywoman Connie Wagner has the potential to be a stronger candidate against him than Rothman.

Conversely, Pascrell is going to have as hard of a time beating Rothman in CD9 as he would have beating Frelinghuysen in CD11.  The difference is that he is without a doubt the strongest candidate who the Democrats could run in that district and win or lose, could go out in a blaze of glory and possibly with greater statewide prospects than he has at the moment.

So for Pascrell's sake and the sake of his staff, some of whom could be retained by Rothman, he should seriously consider running in CD11 instead of CD9.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Jan 06, 2012 at 01:23:24 AM UTC

So let me get this straight. (0.00 / 0)

The Sierra Club hated Congressman Pascrell so much that they......decided to endorse him.  

Right.  

And don't say they didn't have a choice.  They could have not endorsed in the race, a common thing with groups like the Sierra Club.  

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by: Matthew Jordan @ Fri Jan 06, 2012 at 14:53:36 PM UTC

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Or maybe... (0.00 / 0)

You were just so convincing as his "Deputy Campaign Manager" they had to endorse Pascrell.  

I'm not sure how the Pascrell team let you get away.  It might be the difference maker in this primary.  

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by: Matthew Jordan @ Fri Jan 06, 2012 at 15:43:41 PM UTC

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you used the word hate (0.00 / 0)

I didn't.  They were unhappy about the fact that when their issues of concern collide with the interests of the B&CTs, Pascrell always sided with them, but they also recognized that when their issues of concern did not conflict with them, he supported them.

My point was that the support that Pascrell received from the B&CTs was well deserved, but it often comes at a price that our environment must pay.  I would think that this is something that progressives would want to consider, especially considering the relationship that the B&CTs have with the Christie-Adubato-Norcross axis of evil.

As I have mentioned here in the past, a B&CT leader once told me quite proudly that the B&CTs were the most conservative part of the organized labor movement.  This is something else that progressives should take into consideration when reading a diary about labor support for Pascrell.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Jan 06, 2012 at 15:45:03 PM UTC

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