Who's the Real Carpetbagger?

by: deciminyan

Mon Jan 30, 2012 at 03:19:09 PM EST

It didn't take long for ex-NFL bad boy Jon Runyan to bring up Shelley Adler's residency. In a statement issued today, Runyan's spokesman said, "After the Carl Lewis fiasco and the public backlash towards him, you would think candidates would be more wary of seeking elected office in a district that they don't actually live in,"

Ignoring the fact that the backlash against Lewis came not from the electorate (who were denied a vote for Senate) but from the Republican Party, a party whose middle name is "voter suppression", the Lewis case and the Adler candidacy are two different things.

Lewis' case is governed by the New Jersey Constitution and the ultimate judicial decision was that the dual-state long-time New Jersey resident did not meet the somewhat ambiguous residency requirement. Adler's case is different. The US Constitution only requires that a candidate be a resident of the state from which she is elected. Shelley Adler has been a resident of New Jersey, and of the third district, far longer than ~~meshugina~~ Michigander Jon Runyan has. Bottom line: Adler is a New Jerseyan, Runyan is a carpetbagger.

Neither Shelley Adler nor Steve Rothman is required to move into their newly configured congressional districts, but both have indicated that they will do so. In the case of the third district, Runyan should run on his record, not some artificial boundary line that has no bearing on the race. If he does, Shelley Adler will be our next congresswoman.

deciminyan :: Who's the Real Carpetbagger?

Tags: Steve Rothman, New Jersey Constitution, US Constitution, NJ-3 Republican Party, jon runyan, Shelley Adler, (All Tags)

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Who's the Real Carpetbagger? | 1 comments

You're right, but... (0.00 / 0)

...I think that this is another reason why a contested primary would have been a good idea as it would give Democrats the ability to test issues like this instead of assuming that the voters will accept our position on them.

I am not saying that Shelley Adler won't be a wonderful candidate. I am sure that she will be, but I think that our party in particular goes above and beyond to avoid contested primary elections at its peril.

I think that we would have a Governor named Codey today instead of Christie if our party wasn't so averse to contested primary elections.

by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Tue Jan 31, 2012 at 12:57:45 PM UTC