Good Idea/Bad Idea

not a ridiculous strategy (0.00 / 0)

Before Linda Stender proved that a strong candidate could come very close to winning in the 7th Congressional district, I believed that the strategy that grass roots progressives should employ in conservative districts, counties, and towns is to run stealth candidates against incumbents in lower turnout primary elections and mobilize Democrats (who would not have a contested primary on their side, because it is often hard enough to find one person to run for an office in a one-party district, county, or town, much less multiple candidates who will face-off in a primary) to register as Republicans and vote in the primary.

There is no downside to this strategy.  Even if it fails, it could still put a dent in an incumbent's image and require him/her to burn some of their campaign cash.  But if it were to succeed, general election voters would most likely have two good candidates to choose from.

Of course, the Ferriero/Wildes scheme is a variation on this  approach that highlights the fact that he and most of the BCDO infrastructure that supports him and his cronies have more in common with Republicans than Democrats, which is probably true for many establishment Democrats in this state.

In fact, because the Republican Party in this state is as weak as it is in both Bergen County and statewide, it is fair to say that if there is ever an obstacle to a progressive policy change of any kind, more often than not, that obstacle is a Democrat, not a Republican.

It is for this reason more than any other that I feel that our "victory" in the 37th is more of a missed opportunity than anything else.  In fact, 2007 will most likely prove to be a year of missed opportunities, because it would have been the best chance that grassroots progressives have had and will have until 2011 to dramatically change the political landscape in our state by challenging every incumbent State Senator and State Assemblyperson, both Republican and Democratic, who does not share our values and our vision.

Instead, the only contested primaries on the Democratic side that remain are intraestablishmentarian battles that have more to do with power than policy.

Does anybody want to bet on whether or not grassroots progressives will pass on the same opportunity in 2011 or even before that fail to have a say in how the state's congressional and legislative districts are redrawn?

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 14:45:12 PM UTC

Maybe I'm a bit too idealistic, I don't know. (4.00 / 1)

But this reeks of a scorched-earth, Rovian strategy.

Planned by Democrats to be used against Democrats.

Who's advising Joe? Dan Gerstein?

The nom de plume has a long and distinguished history.

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by: Tandalayo Scheisskopf @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 15:31:14 PM UTC

I had no idea (0.00 / 0)

the Wildes team was that desperate.  Wow.  In his OWN city too.  I knew the polls were putting the Weinberg team ahead, but, gosh, gee wilikers, they didn't even try the Independents first? 

One Vote.  Yours.  It really does matter.

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by: carolh @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 20:45:49 PM UTC

Primaries are different. (0.00 / 1)

Because turnout and the pool of voters is so much smaller, party-switching and absentee ballots play a far more critical role in delivering votes.

Historically Bergen has never been a primary county like Hudson or Essex, different methods are used to deliver reliable voters to the polls.

I would assume much of Wildes support was with conservative Jews who were not Democrats but would vote for him.

It's comparable to Assemblyman Gary Scaher's base in Passaic. Large Orthodox community that leans Republican but votes for him even though he is a Democrat.

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by: BigDaddyDem @ Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 22:57:38 PM UTC

You never disappoint. (0.00 / 0)

I can always count on you posting something un-PC.  Me? I think Michael had the photographer vote all sewn up.

One Vote.  Yours.  It really does matter.

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by: carolh @ Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 02:37:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

What is a "prominent member of the Jewish community"? (0.00 / 0)

Could someone please tell me the meaning of the phrase "rpominent member of the Jewish community"?  Is it possible to say that there is one "Jewish community" and that there is some consensus on what it means to be "prominent" and who decides on that?  I think that the term "a prominent member of the Jewish community" is too much of a generalization or stereotype. The feminist Vivian Gornick is an example of a "prominent" Jewish leader to me, not these guys who don't care at all about the status of women.

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by: proud2Bliberal @ Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 00:08:01 AM UTC

father of Dennis Prager (0.00 / 0)

link:

Dennis Prager is one of America's most respected radio talk show hosts. He has been broadcasting on radio in Los Angeles since 1982. His popular show became nationally syndicated in 1999 and airs live, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to Noon (Pacific Time) from his home station,  KRLA. Widely sought after by television shows for his opinions, he's appeared on Larry King Live, Hardball, Hannity & Colmes, CBS Evening News, The Today Show and many others.

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by: Juan Melli @ Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 04:33:55 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well... (0.00 / 0)

I don't think being the father of a right-wing talk show host qualifies Max Prager as a prominent member of the Jewish community. I'd say it's more things like the fact that Prager and his wife were awarded the Lifetime Acheivement Award by Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County. In other words, I have no doubt that he is a legitimate prominent member of Englewood's Jewish community.

Normally, I wouldn't hold someone's feet to the fire for the actions of their children. However, in this case, Prager was presented, on behalf of Michael Wildes, as a prominent Jewish Republican -- a political figure. Max Prager regularly appears on his son's radio show, where Dennis Prager does things like attack a 12 year old girl for being a Democrat, accuse Democrats of thinking that the military is fundamentally evil, and explain that the reason Democrats care about global warming is that "The Left is prone to hysteria." These are the politics that Max Prager identifies with. No one at the BCDO would agree with any of this, of course. So why give Prager a platform?

This was a monumental misstep. It would have been interesting to see how this would have played with Democratic primary voters had Wildes not dropped out.

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by: Scott Shields @ Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 15:56:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

that's part of the answer (0.00 / 0)

I imagine that being the father of Dennis Prager definitely gives someone some prominence in the Jewish community, but it doesn't answer the question completely.

I don't know enough about Vivian Gornick to say for sure, but based on p2Bl's description of her, my guess is that she would be more accurately described as a prominent woman than a prominent member of the the Jewish community, although for all I know, she could be both.  The two are not mutually exclusive and very often, they are mutually inclusive.

That said, the Jewish community, because of its relatively small size, but conversely large access to resources, primarily financial, has evolved locally, nationally, and internationally into a highly organized community.

Wherever there are significant concentrations of Jews in a particular geographic area, Englewood-Teaneck and MetroWest (Western Essex County and Morris County) are prime examples, you will find a local/regional presence for a national network of highly organized institutions, primarily, but not exclusively, philanthropic, providing a myriad of services for a vast array of concerns, including, but not limited to:

UJC (United Jewish Communities - aka United Jewish Appeal or United Jewish Federations)
JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Committee)
JFS (Jewish Family Service)
JCPA (Jewish Council on Public Affairs)
ADL (Anti-Defamation League)
NJCW (National Council of Jewish Women)
AJC (American Jewish Committee)
AJCongress (American Jewish Congress)
JNF (Jewish National Fund)
AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee)
NJDC (National Jewish Democratic Council)
RJC (Republican Jewish Coalition)

Staffed by Jewish communal professionals and supported by an infrastrucure of lay leadership, prominence in the Jewish community usually comes as a result of a high-level of activity within one or more of these organizations or a person's synagogue and is determined from a combined self-selective/other-selective dynamic.

Newspapers that are highly engaged with local communities like the Record of Bergen County and the Newark Star-Ledger are usually pretty savvy when it comes to their determinations of prominence as are local weeklies, but the best source of information on prominence within the Jewish community are Jewish newspapers like the Jewish Standard, a weekly that serves Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson Counties, and the New Jersey Jewish News, which serves Northern and Central New Jersey with the exception of the aforementioned Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson Counties.

As far as whether a prominent member of the Jewish community cares at all about the status of women is highly individualized, dependent on factors too numerous to enumerate.  Knowing how conservative Dennis Prager is and applying the applying the apple not falling too far from the tree adage to his father, it is probably fair to guess that he isn't much of a feminist, but I don't know for sure.

Conversely, knowing how liberal the Jewish community as a whole is, someone who is considered a prominent member of the Jewish community does care about the status of women more often than not.

I hope that this answers your question.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 12:42:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thank you for explaining that (0.00 / 0)

I know you know your stuff on this topic. There may be organized structures for service to the community - the things most people all agree on, but because of the sheer number and differences between the individual communities -I find it very hard to assume Bergen voters of Jewish faith vote the same way and would be that easily swayed by one Republican in Englewood.

One Vote.  Yours.  It really does matter.

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by: carolh @ Mon Apr 16, 2007 at 16:00:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

of course not (0.00 / 0)

Just because someone is a prominent member of the Jewish community doesn't mean that every Jew in that community does what that person says.  He probably has a certain amount of influence over a small percentage of the population that respects his opinion, but that's it.

As far as ethnic communities and voting goes, for good or ill, the Jewish community is without a doubt the most independent and least in lockstep with one another that I have experienced in my political life.

In fact, there is an adage that says something to the effect that whenever you put two Jews in a room together, you will have at least three opinions.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Mon Apr 16, 2007 at 20:45:01 PM UTC

[ Parent ]