Civil Unions Passes Assembly & Senate

With Baroni and Panter on board... (4.00 / 2)

Roberts could probably have gotten A3685 through without much difficulty.

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by: Scott Weingart @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 21:07:42 PM UTC

The only difficulty is... (0.00 / 0)

...Dick Codey.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 22:02:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

why's that? (0.00 / 0)

Dick Codey has always supported marriage equality, didn't you hear? He wrote the legislation for it before he was even elected to the legislature. He's just been holding on to it, waiting for the right moment to surprise us!

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by: Juan Melli @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 22:28:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's obvious that (0.00 / 0)

he's doing such a great job on property tax reductions that he doesn't want to have marriage equality overshadowed. 

/snark

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

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by: Hopeful @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 03:32:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Joe Doria...WTF? (0.00 / 0)

He is introducing an equal benefits bill. S2414.

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by: Scott Weingart @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 22:30:33 PM UTC

And Cardinale ... (0.00 / 0)

... spoke favorably of it on the Senate floor.

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by: JRB @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 23:31:09 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

This is the "homosexuality = incest" bill that Cardinale harped on during the committee hearing. (0.00 / 0)

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by: Scott Weingart @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 23:32:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Baroni makes the 14th proud (4.00 / 3)

Bill Baroni maybe a Republican, but he deserves a lot of credit for his vote here -- and his involvement in the public financing of elections. He is proving to be among the more progressive pols in the Assembly.

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by: Hank Kalet @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 23:00:30 PM UTC

Baroni scares the hell out of me... (4.00 / 2)

If the GOP ran Baroni instead of Kean against Menendez, we might still have a Republican Senate. Baroni is a hell of a campaigner. Witness his utter dismantling of Dan Benson in 2005.

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by: Scott Weingart @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 23:37:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

agreed (0.00 / 0)

he is the most formidable republican in the state.  then probably John Murphy, imo.  Baroni far outshines Murphy though. On the upside, at least that's pretty much all they got.

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by: morrisdem @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 00:00:15 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Baroni wants ... (0.00 / 0)

... Corzine's job.

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by: JRB @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 03:27:18 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Benson, Baroni and bad candidates (4.00 / 1)

Baroni dismantled Benson for several reasons:

He is seen as being incredibly independent, willing to buck his party and vote his conscience; he is a tremendous campaigner and makes it a point to knock on as many doors as he can; and people know him.

I've talked with a lot of voters in the towns we cover -- traditional Democrats -- who voted for him because they'd met him and liked him. Consider that South Brunswick has a 5-0 Democratic Council and votes overwhelmingly for Dems at all levels, but he ran first among the four candidates, even besting his running mate, the former SB police chief.

Reason No. 3 has nothing to do with Baroni, however, and is something the Democrats need to consider -- especially if the Dems want to get Peter Inverso out of the Senate: Dan Benson was just another in a long line of weak 14th District Democrats. (Linda Greenstein stands out as the exception.)

The 14th is a strange district -- four of the seven towns (South Brunswick, Monroe, Jamesburg and Plainsboro) are all Democratic; a fifth, Cranbury, is 4-1 Democrat but votes Republican for higher office. West Windsor is non partisan and Hamilton is in constant flux -- it was 5-0 Democrat going into the 2005 election when the GOP won the majority by taking all three seats being contested.

My sense is that the Democrats in 2007 should focus all of their attention on Inverso, hitting him hard for being aloof and out of step, while working to ensure that Greenstein retains her seat. I can't see the party doing anything about Baroni.

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by: Hank Kalet @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 15:23:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's my hunch, too (0.00 / 0)

That Inverso will be easier to knock off than Baroni.

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by: Scott Weingart @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 15:27:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

this vote (0.00 / 0)

he may be progressive or he may be positioning himself for higher office.  If he voted against this, it would really hurt his shot at gov. or senate.  one thing is for sure, he's too smart and too saavy to be satisfied with where he is.

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by: morrisdem @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 00:01:43 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Asm Jerry Green (0.00 / 0)

My Assemblyman really made me proud!  He told me after the vote that he hadn't intended to say anything, but felt he had to respond to the opposition--some of them were pretty far out.

Those speaking in favor:  Assemblymen Caraballo, Hackett, Bramnick, Gusciora, Panter, Green, Manzo, Baroni, Deignan, Assemblywoman Beck.  Those speaking against:  Assemblymen Dancer, Gregg, Doherty, Merkt, Thompson, Carroll.

In the Senate, speaking in favor: Senators Lesniak, Weinberg, and Martin.  Against: Senators Cardinale and Singer.

"A leader is a person you will follow to a place you wouldn't go by yourself."  (from a Chinese fortune cookie)

 

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."  (Teddy Roosevelt)

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by: DottieG @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 02:32:29 AM UTC

Diane Allen needs to go (0.00 / 0)

She is cosponsoring the "Equal Benefits Act" S2414.  This is the same Senator that puts out Press Releases almost weekly using the word "Democrat" as an adjective.  There is no reason her Democratic district should tolerate any more of her B.S.

Allen needs to be exposed for the partisan BurlCo GOP hack that she is.  Then we need to send her home to her district next November.

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by: Scott Weingart @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 03:01:51 AM UTC

Re (0.00 / 0)

Everyone who voted for the bill needs to be on record explaining their lack of support for marriage.  If there "aren't enough votes for it" then it should be fairly simple to deduce who screwed this up.

XT

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by: Thurman Hart @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 03:28:44 AM UTC

Vote (0.00 / 0)

does anyone have a list of who voted no?

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by: jerzay @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 15:00:46 PM UTC

Waiting (0.00 / 0)

I should have one at some point today. Waiting for the full vote list from the Legislature.

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by: Hank Kalet @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 15:24:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You checking the ftp site or somewhere else? n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: Scott Weingart @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 15:29:55 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Legislature (0.00 / 0)

Call into the Legislative office.

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by: Hank Kalet @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 15:32:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Vote tally (0.00 / 0)

...to come later -- Legislative offices have not inputted them into the database and the office is only allowed to fax to legislators. Expecting a copy in the mail, but there remains a chance I will get them via e-mail later today.

14th District, however, went this way:
Assembly members Baroni and Greenstein -- yes
Sen. Peter Inverso -- no

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by: Hank Kalet @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 15:58:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

23 (0.00 / 0)

Congratulations to everyone on getting civil unions passed.  I hope that there is a strong effort to get as many eligible couples as possible to sign up.  It would be misguided to boycott civil unions in the belief that will get gay marriage passed.

I realize that many people have made themselves comfortable portraying Senate President Dick Codey as some sort of villain in this process.  But, all he said is that the votes weren't there.  Getting only 23 votes in the Senate for civil unions is a sure indicator that there was nowhere near 21 votes for gay marriage in the Senate.

Even for the Assembly, how many of the 24 no and abstentions are from safe GOP districts?  How many of the 56 yes votes would vote for gay marriage?  Nothing prevents them from co-sponsoring Reed's bill.  Unfortunately, I doubt if there are even 30 Assembly members willing to do that.  There is a lot of education that needs to take place over the next interval.

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by: Creed Pogue @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 16:06:38 PM UTC

mind you, (0.00 / 0)

Senator Scutari, a probable abstention, would have voted yes on marriage.

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by: Scott Weingart @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 17:21:07 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

curious about the Equal Benefits Bill-this could REALLY threaten marriage (0.00 / 0)

I am curious about what is in this Equal Benefits Bill.  I am sure these right wing nuts sponsoring this bill intend for it to replace the new Civil Union bill.  However, depending on what is in it, is anyone pointing out to them that this really could threaten marriage?  In other words, if any couples or siblings or family units defined as people who live together and are somewhat depending on each other for financial support can get benefits like helath insurance, pensions, inheritance, then don't they think there are a fair number of hetero-sexual couples who will NOT marry?  Maybe no one should tell them, just let them run into that buzz saw on their own.

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by: deme38 @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 18:49:28 PM UTC

You know what disappoints me? (4.00 / 1)

"I'm disappointed we can't go all the way....but the distance between nothing and civil unions is greater than the distance between civil unions and marriage."-Asm Gusciora

What disappoints me is that Assemblymember Gusciora's colleagues could sit beside him and then tell him that they do not recognize him as their equal in rights.  He can serve with them and deliberate with them, but they do not recognize his equality.  That's what disappoints me.

DBK

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by: DBK @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 19:57:31 PM UTC