| But why should you, the reader care? After all, if you don't live in NJ-39, or even in Bergen County, why does this race matter? It's a fair question, and one I've asked of myself for a while. After all, it's not my legislative district either (I'm a bit to the south). But after thinking about it for a while, I've come up with three good, solid reasons why you, the reader should not only care about NJ-39, but send a few dollars our way:
Reason number one: NJ-39 is a prime example of the suburban changes in this country. Win here, and we can win seats anywhere in the suburbs of America, for this race will be a model to follow.
New Jersey is a state in transition, no doubt about it. That transition - from Republican to Democratic control, from urban dominance to suburban and exurban migration - has been going on for some time now, and is beginning to reach its apex. In the past, districts like NJ-39 have been largely controlled by the Republican Party; for example, Cardinale has held his Senate seat for 25 years, and Rooney his seat for 20. Yet the suburbs are changing; more and diverse families are moving in, with more progressive views on social issues than in the past. They're being joined in the Democratic column by moderate former Republicans (the "RINOs" that conservatives love to hate) who are sick and tired of their party's extremist agenda, but are not yet ready to switch parties. Together, they've formed a coalition that is evident across this country.
We've seen this trend emerge in states like Minnesota, where the suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul now are mostly Democratic in state representation; this happened in 2004 and 2006's elections. It is beginning to happen in other, more conservative states as well (such as Colorado). Together, they all represent a shift in the political coalitions of our country. The South has gone Republican; now the suburbs are going Democratic. And a victory in NJ-39 would be a textbook example of that change. 10 years ago, Gerry Cardinale would not be in danger of losing his job, nor would his running mates. Now, according to Rooney, they are "in the fight of their lives". And together, we can make sure they lose that fight.
The second reason is this: the Republican incumbents are serving as a roadblock to progressive reform in New Jersey, particularly Cardinale in the State Senate (where the numbers are closer). Replacing them with strong, loyal Democrats will enable Governor Corzine, Senate President Codey and Assembly Speaker Roberts to push through better legislation that will make New Jersey a model of how to change our states for the better.
Despite voting for the Democratic Party in recent years on a regular basis (Gore and Kerry, Lautenberg and Menendez, McGreevey and Corzine), New Jersey still has a notorious independent streak to its voting base. Over 55% of the state's voters are registered as unaffiliated, making it difficult to gauge which way they will vote each election cycle. As a result, only the state's redistricting program has kept the Democrats in control of the legislature since 2003. Currently the State Senate has a 22-18 Democratic advantage, and a 50-30 Democratic edge exists in the State Assembly. While it would take a political Category 5 hurricane against the Democrats to lose the Assembly, the State Senate is much closer in numbers, and so progressive legislation (such as full equality for GLBT citizens, gun safety, clean elections, ethics reform etc.) has difficulty emerging from the upper chamber intact.
State Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance is (thankfully) largely ineffective, and so it usually falls to conservatives like Gerry Cardinale to lead the Republican opposition to Democratic legislation. And as a 25-year veteran of the New Jersey Legislature, Cardinale is a master obstructionist. As I have written before, Cardinale's extreme positions on many different social issues, plus his ethical missteps (he's taken thousands from lobbyists in the form of vacation junkets) not only make him vulnerable to defeat, but worth putting in the time and effort to defeating him. He is, I am certain, the Mitch McConnell of New Jersey politics - and if you want McConnell gone on the national level, you'll want to get rid of Gerry Cardinale in New Jersey.
By contrast, the Democratic team running in the 39th - Joe Ariyan for State Senate, and Esther Fletcher/Carl Manna for State Assembly - would be responsible leaders for New Jersey if elected. Sure, being Democrats is a good thing, but it's not the only reason why Joe, Esther and Carl deserve your support. They each have different backgrounds, come with different public service records and offer a strong combined vision for how to create a progressive New Jersey. You can find out more about them at http://www.voicefor3... or by checking out my articles on the subject (they're in my user profile).
My final reason for giving to NJ-39 is that it is one of the key battlegrounds for 2007 in our state. While I'd love to win as many seats as possible this November, chances are that NJ-39 will be one of the closest, and possibly the nastiest, race in the state. Every dollar that can be sent there will prove vital to winning the district. Whatever we, the New Jersey grassroots can do to help there will be a major boost towards creating a more progressive majority in New Jersey.
In other words, whatever you can send helps not only Joe Ariyan, Esther Fletcher and Carl Manna (more on them at http://www.voicefor3...), but can help out New Jersey candidates of all walks of life (such as Gina Genovese (a DFA national candidate - http://www.ginagenov...) and State Senator Ellen Karcher, who has a tough reelection fight ahead of her (http://www.ellenkarc...)). The more Democrats we elect in New Jersey this November, the better off our state will be.
Finally, I'd like to answer a specific concern about our Democratic candidates - that they're tied too closely to Joe Ferriero. I'm not an idiot - I know that Ferriero and Loretta Weinberg have fought in the past, and I know what side the NJ grassroots (including Blue Jersey) are on. But we're not talking about Bergen County politics in this race - it's about bringing Joe Ariyan, Esther Fletcher and Carl Manna to Trenton, where they can work on behalf of NEW JERSEY, not any political machine. And I can say with confidence that Joe, Esther and Carl can provide a better independent voice in Trenton than Gerry, John and Charlotte can.
Hopefully you, the reader will come to agree with me about NJ-39, and why it is worth fighting for. I'll be keeping you all posted through November 6th (Election Day), so stay tuned! |
