The BCDO Mutiny Begins

Depending on the numbers, you may be missing the chance to give Loretta and her team the party line if you "opt out" of the meeting that chooses the candidates.  Get the numbers first and count the votes! 

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

In June, Ferriero threw any CC member who openly endorsed Weinberg and Huttle OFF the county line in ALL of the towns I listed above.

In towns where we knew what was coming - like Tenafly and Teaneck, we kept our seats. In all the OTHER towns listed, many incumbent CC members LOST their seats to Ferriero plants.  Even if we count the votes, the Ferriero plants who got on the CC by a combination of chicanery and voter apathy, not honest campaigning, will be the ones casting the votes.  I had to call EVERY DEM in my district to keep my County Committee seat.  Not all Weinberg and Huttle supporters were so lucky.  The process is tainted from TOP to BOTTOM.

Weinberg, Johnson, and Huttle won 75% of the general election.  They are duly endorsed by the people, including Republicans, Independents, and undeclared. Ferriero is trying to UNDO the last general election.  Unilaterally.

Another line on the Primary ballot means it won't be just 240 of Joe's closest friends, but all the Democrats of the 37th voting. 

It is our duty as elected officials to represent the Democrats of our districts.  THIS current CC does NOT represent the will of the voters of the 37th.  It represents the will of the man who got them all county jobs. 

One Vote. Yours. It really does matter.

In the meantime--Loretta and her colleagues should win the primary, but it will take a lot of sustained and coordinated effort and some hard work between now and June.

Max Weber, the German sociologist, described politics as "the slow boring of hard boards."  How right he was!

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

This way all decent Democrats (i.e. those who are offended by the machine/boss politics of the BCDO) can coalesce under a common flag and a truly clean slate.

Meanwhile, let's all take advantage of this opportunity tonight.

The Bergen Grassroots meeting went well and Senator Weinberg was great at filling us in on the details of just how things actually work in local politics in Bergen County. And Robert Gulack gave quite a stirring speech about getting involved.  There was only one woman in the back of the room not clapping at all.  She had come to the meeting so interested in what we had to say, she taped it all for Joe Ferriero.  And from my sources, I know he heard it.

How nice.  Bergen Grassroots has really hit the bigtime.  Now I know how the Quakers and the vegans felt when the Homeland Security folks infiltrated their meetings and ate their cookies.

One Vote. Yours. It really does matter.

When you equate the actions of BCDO with the actions of Cointelpro or DHS or whatever other hyper-oppressive bogeyman you might come up with, you do yourself and your cause a huge disfavor.  Why?  Because when normal people read this stuff, you come off as unhinged and unreasonable.  I think it's time to start reining it in and keeping the debate to the issues.

Here's what I really don't get.  Do you want a dialogue with those in power, or do you not?  Do you want a seat at the table, or would you rather wallow in oppression fantasies?  Would you rather have BCDO paying attention to what goes on among the Bergen Grassroots, or would you rather they ignore you?  You have a choice to make here.  Are you going to be taken seriously as a political force and demand attention or are you going to shut the doors and build up walls around your clique? 

I think it's fantastic that so many people have personally invested themselves in this race.  It's good for democracy and it's good for Bergen County.  This race, for the first time, has seen BCDO engage the New Jersey netroots.  That's healthy and historic.  So you didn't like what they had to say.  Fine -- debate and disagreement is also healthy.  But please, enough with the victimization histrionics.  It's unbecoming.

The woman from BCDO was there and welcome as was everyone who walked in.  However, taping the meeting and running back to Joe to play it for him says more about his paranoia than mine.  My reference to Quakers and Vegans and cookies should have filled you in that I was also joking. 

Joe Ferriero can be funny too, but I think at this juncture, he is quite a bit more paranoid than I am.

If you read the latest letter from Joe to the BCC about the situation  as to why Loretta is bypassing the convention you will also see that ...sigh.... once again, Joe is the victim.

However, what really must have freaked him out was our interest in following the money trail.........


One Vote. Yours. It really does matter.

The only way that the BCDO will become a legitimate Democratic organization once again is if enough of Ferriero's puppets are defeated in next year's County Committee elections so that he can be replaced when the BCDO is reorganized.  Until then, progressive Democrats can only fight to protect progressive elected officials like Weinberg, Huttle, and Johnson.

There are no issues to be discussed with the possible exception of pay-to-play.  It is not like the BCDO has adopted a anti-abortion or anti-gay agenda, although based on statements from people like Paul Sarlo, it is possible that if the BCDO is left to its own devices, it could eventually adopt a more conservative policy agenda.

It is true that the Weinberg team was aware that there was a BCDO spy in attendance at the Bergen Grassroots meeting, but there was no need to bring attention to this person at the time.  It wasn't like it was a top secret strategy meeting.  In fact, my "source" described this person as a friend, which is the saddest part of this whole state of affairs.

Many, if not most, of Ferriero's people are good at heart, but like all of us, they have bills to pay and patronage jobs generally pay better than fast food or supermarket jobs.  I think that it is fair to say that we all have a price, but some of our prices are higher than others.

If Ferriero or one of the other party bosses wanted to offer me $250K a year for a no-show job in order to make me shut up about how they are destroying our party, I might just take it.  Sadly, for me to be able to sell my political soul, someone has to want to buy it, and at this point in time, it just isn't worth that much.

Then again, for some, maybe access is a high enough price.

This race, for the first time, has seen BCDO engage the New Jersey netroots.  That's healthy and historic.

What does this mean?  How are the netroots being engaged by the BCDO and to what end?

I hardly think that Carol or anybody else speaking on this topic is utilizing victimization histrionics.  We are simply complaining about the fact that their county party organization has been hijacked by someone who chooses to use it to consolidate power for himself and his cronies, not to serve the interests of the people of Bergen County or a progressive policy agenda, as well as the fact that the party is operated in an anti-(small-d)democratic manner that is antithetical to the values of its rank-and-file members.

There is also nothing that has been written on this topic that should make anyone view Carol or anybody else who has spoken out about this as unhinged or unreasonable.  If anything, the only thing that could possibly enable someone to come to that conclusion is that the idea is being presented by a credible and longstanding blogger such as yourself.  In fact, if you weren't so credible and longstanding, one could argue that you were a troll.

But since you are so credible and longstanding, that is clearly not the case, but my earlier question still stands. 

How are the netroots being engaged by the BCDO and to what end?

There is also nothing that has been written on this topic that should make anyone view Carol or anybody else who has spoken out about this as unhinged or unreasonable.  If anything, the only thing that could possibly enable someone to come to that conclusion is that the idea is being presented by a credible and longstanding blogger such as yourself.  In fact, if you weren't so credible and longstanding, one could argue that you were a troll.

And here's the problem.  Everyone here knows me.  You know I'm not a troll.  You know I'm not carrying water for anyone.  But I know what happened as well as Carol does.  Her presentation of the facts as some sort of evil Bond villain-esque conspiracy is laughable.  And the more that happens, the more people like me -- people with longstanding credibility here at Blue Jersey -- are going to peel away from your cause, dismissing you as over the top and paranoid.

Like I said in response to Carol, this is about tough love.  Take it or leave it, but "rein this"?  Right...

It was a public meeting.  If Joseph Ferriero had any courage at all he would have been man enough to have shown to the meeting and to have directly addressed Weinberg with any disagreements.  Instead he chose to send this lady who, evidently, recorded it.  Scott, who is the one being "paranoid" in that instance?  Eh?

Scott, the reality of machine politics is an ugly one.  Every one knows Ferriero is an influence peddler; that's what he does.  To some extent, that's politics: but the way he does it doesn't even accrue to the benefit of the taxpayers, but rather is great for all manner of patronage recipients, vendors, real estate interests, contractors, and pols who want his $upport to pay for their campaigns.

It's all about raw power, greed and fear.  I strongly suspect you already know this.

Joseph Ferriero is a particularly offensive example of political bossism.  He happens to be in our party (NJ Republican have more than their share of the same crappy "leadership"); but my party loyalty doesn't extend to supporting dishonest, unethical bullies who routinely sell out the best interests of the people of Bergen County.

Do I really have to make the case against Ferriero to you?

Loretta Weinberg may not be a perfected saint who has never done anything wrong in her whole life and Ferriero may not be the devil incarnate; but I sure as hell know which one of these two is relatively good and relatively evil.

I believe the ONLY way to EVER be rid of monstrosities like Ferriero is precisely to let their stink waft far and wide and to shine very very very bright lights into as many ugly details of their political dirtyness as possible. 

Ferriero-ism is why so so so many good decent people avoid politics like the PLAGUE!!!

Ferriero-ism is, in great measure, why so many people don't WANT to bother to vote. 

Cynical apathetic potential voters (who fail to register and/or to come out to vote) believe that "the fix is in" and, guess what Scott?  FERRIERO LIKES IT THAT WAY!

Ferriero can't really be negotiated with.  He needs to be extirpated from the body politic like a tumor (that's a simile Scott....I know Joe is a human being). 

Defeating a political opponent means confrontation and it means not always being "nice".

Scott, I sense that you see yourself as a moderate establishmentarian Democrat; don't forget that it was Jon Corzine who was involved in another DIRECT CONFRONTATION with Joseph Ferriero's "over the top" BOSSISM!  Thank God the courts allowed all the votes to be counted and Corzine prevailed over Ferriero....and Loretta was allowed to fill out the rest of Byron Baer's term.

I dare say, that our Governor wouldn't shed any tears, not a single one, over the political death of Joe Ferriero.  Do you doubt that Scott? 

Scott, do you really have a problem with the substance of what I've just said here?  Or is it just the intensity/style that you are not comfortable with?