Today is Senator Loretta Weinberg's 75th Birthday.
At Democracy for America (DFA-NJ), we call her the Godmother of Progressive NJ.
At Blue Jersey, our new Monday morning columnist has another nickname. LW gives speeches sometimes about Blue Jersey's coverage of her during the Senate seat fight, when she was standing up to the Ferriero machine, and we were all standing behind her. We had so many diaries about her - each tagged with her name - that she was on our Hot Tag List for months. In this video (shot by Nick Lento, introduced by Steven Goldstein) below, she crows about that at her campaign kickoff in 2007:
What has made me happiest in my public career is being listed as a hot tag at Blue Jersey.
With Mama Rosi's computer on the fritz, I'm pinch-hitting this morning's roundup. It's a little South Jersey-centric today, but that's just how I roll.
Mayors Dana Redd of Camden, Dave Mayer of Gloucester Twp and Bernie Platt do the NIMBY Shuffle as Camden County Freeholders play hot potato with location of a new prison.
Maybe this time it'll stick?
DRPA planning makeover for Camden transit hubs. It's a lot of money going on here, folks. pInky takes a peek.
Something positive from Camden.
I looked far and wide and found this quirky hopeful video about a grassroots group fighting for a better fate in Camden City. Who knew the inner city could be so Jersey Fresh?
Frantic City.
Gov. Christie signs an executive order to keep Atlantic City casinos open in the event of a state budget shutdown. Casino workers are now "essential."
Some of his best friends are gay.
And now Sen. Sean Kean wants to kill COAH. I guess when you've got a bunch of gays and lesbians doing the dirty work to gentrifying your district, who needs to bother with policy solutions to affordable housing?
Hey, Blue Jersey, let's talk about this. This perspective is one I share, and one Steven & I have discussed - as many of us have - as we've watched not only what our legislators are doing - or not doing - but also how progressives are knitting together in levels of teamwork that crack open new possibilities, and grow new muscle. How does it feel to you, Blue Jersey?- - Rosi
Hi, Blue Jersey, and happy new year to you!
Part of the buzz in Democratic circles in Trenton is this: Look, after the marriage equality battle is over, Chris Christie will be so conservative, so anathema to the progressive Democratic base, that the progressive base - as upset as it is with the state party now - will come rallying to Democrats no matter what we do on marriage equality.
According to this thinking, there's no way progressives would support or even sit out an election between an awful conservative and a Democrat aligned with progressives on every issue but one or two.
This, friends, will indeed be the major debate among us progressives, including here at Blue Jersey, I gather. I, for one, believe we're going to have to make painful choices - choices that will show the state Democratic Party some tough love and prove its theory wrong.
It won't be easy for many of us as we do wind up seeing some far right-wing policies that will drive us nuts.
But for the longer run, to remake the state's Democratic Party - to make it as progressive as rank-and-file Democrats all across New Jersey - we're going to have to take a stand, and it's going to have to have some surprises that shock the establishment and make it clear we progressives will never be taken for granted again.
Otherwise, for years and years to come, the best we will ever do is a state Democratic Party that acts like it does right now.
For those who might think, "What impractical, ideology-driven thinking; it would be ridiculous if we were to cut our noses off to spite our face and sit out an election or oppose Democrats who don't reflect all we stand for," I say this:
You're right - were we to live in Montana. We happen to live in a progressive state where good progressive policies are not at odds with good electoral politics.
If we don't use our own New Jersey as our laboratory for making the party as progressive as its members, we will have defaulted on our obligation to improve the lives of a generation to come.
No News Roundup this morning. The biggest news of the weekend was last night, snuck under the cover of a slow news day like our own New Jersey version of the Saturday Night Massacre - The Thursday Night Massacre: Speaker Joe Roberts' announcement that the Assembly won't take up Marriage Equality, until and unless the Senate does first. Not what we want, or what the state deserves. And here's what we're going to do about it. But what I want to know is this: What's next? What do you want to see happen, and what are you willing to do in 2010 to get us there? Dreamcast, but don't give me pipedreams. Build me a future. What does it look like? Consider this an Open Thread.
Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts has signaled that the Assembly will not take up marriage equality as lame duck session resumes Monday, unless the Senate does first.
This is not good enough. New Jerseyans on both sides of this issue deserve an up or down vote from every legislator, in both houses, in both parties. Given that the testimony December 7th before the Senate Judiciary Committee made history - with 7 hours of testimony and 1,300 marriage equality advocates taking the day off to show up at the statehouse (against a few handfuls of opponents), it is right and proper now to hear what the people we elected to represent us have to say. And we want it on the record.
I have statements from Roberts, Garden State Equality Chair Steven Goldstein, and Sen. Loretta Weinberg.
Speaker Joe Roberts:
After more than seven hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Dec. 7 and continued public debate in the weeks since, we've certainly had a chance to hear all sides on marriage equality legislation. I believe ample opportunity has already been given for all views to be heard and additional Assembly committee debate is not needed. I've advised the Senate sponsors that, if the bill is passed by the Senate, I am prepared to bring the bill directly to the Assembly floor for a vote before the end of this legislative session.
UPDATE: Sen. Loretta Weinberg statement to Blue Jersey: It is right and appropriate for the full Senate to now vote. Senator Lesniak and I requested Senate President Codey post the Civil Marriage and Freedom of Religion bill for a vote. Let the public know where the majority party in both houses stand on this civil rights issue so important to a strong segment of our supporters.
Garden State Equality Chair Steven Goldstein:
We're far from dead - in the long and winding road in this marriage equality battle, anything and everything has happened. On an issue like marriage equality, which thousands of key players in the Democratic party support so passionately, you predict at your own peril. Remember, earlier this month, we won a major victory in the Senate Judiciary Committee when no one thought the bill would even go to any committee. We call on Senator Codey and Speaker Roberts to bring the bill to a vote before their respective houses, and in the meantime, we will continue to work day and night for victory soon.
We're not taking this announcement from Trenton lying down - not any of us. Garden State Equality is again massing supporters, gay and straight. I'll add my voice as co-Chair of Democracy for America-NJ, and I know my colleagues on the DFA-NJ board back me up - they include Jeff Gardner. Blue Jersey also stands behind Garden State Equality - this is a matter of fairness and equity for all of us.
An ACTION ALERT, called for MONDAY, by GSE:
We're going back to the statehouse. Meet this Monday at 10:00 am in front of Garden State Equality's Trenton office across from the State House - 110 West State Street. We will lobby and rally - keep up the pressure to do the right thing. Massive turnout is key. Please spread the word.
We know from the wild ride that this year has been that this issue is no longer the province only of the gay people whose committed relationships should be recognized in our community. This is about equality. It's that simple. And that matters to us all - it's about what kind of a state we're going to live in. Fair, or unfair. Our legislators have the responsibility to all of us to commit their votes, and we shouldn't accept anything less.
It's been a rough and tumble few weeks on the road to marriage equality. We've seen ups and downs, moments of despair and moments of great hope. Emotions have run high on both sides of the issue.
Last week, State Senator Loretta Weinberg, the bill's key Senate sponsor, made the case for marriage equality advocates and supporters to keep their message positive, rather than resort to nastiness or threats. She's right.
When you boil it down, we progressives are fighting now a fight that we've fought so many times before in history. Our fight is about positive rights, about affirmational policy, about granting equality where there is inequality, about providing justice and opportunity where there were none. About giving everyone a shot at the American Dream, not just some. About moving our state forward. The other side is looking to deny and prevent and delay progress kicking and screaming if need be for as long as possible. We shouldn't sink to their level.
One of the striking contrasts at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing of S1967 (which was a judiciously and fairly-run hearing for which Senator Sarlo deserves much credit and appreciation) was the fundamental character of both sides. Marriage equality supporters were committed, loving families and children, ordinary folk just wanting to get on with their lives and be left alone. Clergy and community leaders. Legal scholars. Medical professionals. Legendary civil rights leaders. Both gay and straight spoke. The testimony was heartfelt, moral, and striking.
In deep contrast, the other side resorted to typical fear-mongering and scare tactics. That marriage equality would lead to polygamy and bestiality. That gay people are making a choice and weren't born that way, so they should be less than equal. That marriage equality would lead to depravity being taught in our educational system. That it would, in fact, cause the sky to fall.
We've seen this movie before. We, and people of conscience, know all those things to be terribly false, horrific distortions designed to incite fear and to intimidate. But as Martin Luther King, Jr.--whose legacy endorsed marriage equality recently in the words of John Lewis and through the powerful voice of Julian Bond-- said, "Dark cannot drive out dark; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
We must not respond in kind to vicious name-calling and bigotry, as much as it pains us (and it does so deeply). Negativity, name-calling, and threats only close minds that we need to open. Like King said, we must respond with positivity and with making our case. With light, and with love.
Like Gandhi said so many years ago, we must "be the change we wish to see in the world." Let's get our Gandhi on. Let's draw another contrast by making the case that equality and fairness are real family values, while the other side calls our LGBT friends sinners and sickos and shovels hate speech upon them. Let's rise to the bigness of the moment, not shrink to the smallness or pettiness of the other side. Let's push forward and not look back. Let's be positive.
And let's fight like hell. Because justice and fairness for our LGBT brothers and sisters has already waited long enough.
Steven Goldstein sent out an email to supporters last night with some reflections on the past week, and a historic one it was. Within the email, he gave a passionate shout out to our very own blog:
I'd like to thank one organization among many - I'll get to the others in the coming days - for being our tireless partners for equality. Blue Jersey, the blog of the state's progressive activist community, has been the unwavering, pure and passionate voice for marriage equality on the web. If you don't regularly visit Blue Jersey - it's at www.BlueJersey.com - you must. There you will find some of the most effective champions of marriage equality anywhere in America.
Special thanks go to all the Blue Jersey front-pagers, including Blue Jersey's editorial director Rosi Efthim.
I'll put Steven's whole email below the fold. It is our honor join with you in this fight for equality and we certainly appreciate the eloquent endorsement. But the work isn't done and we look forward to continuing to stand up for equal rights as this journey continues.
So ... we had this little election. And lost the biggie, and a lot of downballot races local people were counting on. I want to say something about - and to - the frontpage writers here. Then something to the rest of you.
The relationship between the Corzine campaign and some of the organized grassroots and netroots infrastructure was not what it could have been. I'm at a loss to explain it. We heard murmurs repeatedly during the campaign that 2009 was not 2005, and that this was an insiders campaign, with less room for roots involvement. Yes, 2009 wasn't 2005; we won 2005. One of the beauty parts of Corzine's first governor's campaign was something called the Corzine Connection which several people here worked on. It was an imperfect, but exciting, effort by Corzine to put himself and high-level surrogates into rooms with people who usually don't have that access. Smart. This blog, it should be said, also had its birth during that campaign and was an unofficial driver of its movement forward.
This year, very different. We wish the ties between us were closer. We very much enjoyed the opportunities we did have with the Governor, and his team. Some of the campaign's best and most forward-thinking idea-people may have been drowned out in the noise of the campaign's daily engine. We don't know. But we're proud of this campaign staff, who worked so hard. And we sure as hell wish our Governor and his kick-ass running-mate won. Hurts like hell.
Here at Blue Jersey, all the people you see in that list to the right - Staff Writers - stayed up late, sneaked away from work, and ignored their families to find new ways, new angles and hard info to help that campaign and more importantly to keep supporters informed, engaged, and supplied with arguments to make with their Christie-voter neighbors.
So, to the Blue Jersey frontpagers, a big and hearty Thank you. If I could send you all to St. Barts for post-election vacation, which is where the Governor sent himself, I would, oh yes I would. You were nothing less than an unpaid oppo team. You worked till you were tired and cranky; you were tough and you rocked.
Thanks, too, to the Blue Jersey community. We're a community blog, and there was a sharp uptick in participation we all hope continues. You gave as good as you got. Clued us in to what was going on by you. Pointed us to the local candidates who mattered. Traffic was through the roof - higher than Obama's election. But here's what we want now:
Got your own thanks? Please drop them here. I want to close thanking Garden State Equality. Facing down a vote in lame duck, everything's on the line, because Chris Christie is no friend of this movement. GSE chose to spend some hard-earned advertising money here, which the Corzine campaign for whatever reasons, did not.We alreadybackequality. But GSE spends here to engage you, because it values you, and needs you now. That means a lot to us. And it's what's next.
Well, Jason and I have landed at the East Brunswick Hilton, site of victory and site of defeat in the Democratic Party's NJ history. Everyone here is wrapped up tighter than a drum. It's either that nobody knows anything, or the incoming info is conflicting ... or it's not great.
There's not much to see here yet. Frank Pallone just arrived and was immediately set upon by reporters. We're in a press room set up writers. Kind Hunterdon folks have brought me gin and tonic rereshment.
And we've got massive problems with Jason's computer, the one we were hoping to run Blue Jersey Radio off of in just 21 minutes.
Last night, on CNN's The Situation Room, Jon Corzine acknowledged it would have been a good idea if his campaign chose better phraseology to illustrate that Chris Christie likes to use undue influence to excuse himself from punishment for things like unsafe driving. Better choices than describing Christie "throwing his weight around."
The ad gave Chris Christie about 3 weeks permission to cast himself a victim, brought sympathy for his averdupois, and shifted the Corzine campaign off message. It also put Democrats in the uncomfortable position of defending the indefensible, as we pointed out in a Blue Jersey editorial - Weighty Statements - that took two friendlies, Joe Cryan and Steven Goldstein, to task for doing just that. Corzine's campaign wasted some time trying to deny that they said what they so coyly implied about Christie's size.
"I don't give a hoot about his weight," the New Jersey governor told Blitzer. Echoing themes in the ad, Corzine also said Monday that Christie had a pattern of receiving special treatment.
"How many people can abuse their power, abuse their office by flashing their credentials - throwing their weight around - however you want to say it," Corzine said on CNN.
Asked whether the ad should have used a different phrase than "threw his weight around," Corzine said, "That's probably a good idea," because of the distraction the weight controversy has caused.
You were slam-dunk right about Christie, wrong only in how you said it. Good on you for owning it, Governor.
Hey, we've had some emails over the last few hours from new users trying to set up new accounts and running into error messages, or endless requests to copy box after box of verification code. Grrrrr.
As you can imagine, our traffic's going through the roof. And we want all you new people to be able to access Blue Jersey and participate. Thanks to the new folks who gave us the heads-up there was a problem, and apologies to anyone having problems. We're working to get this fixed right now. If you're having trouble, please shoot us an email and let us know your username (not your password). We'll get you up and running as soon as we can, and all will be right with the world.
In the middle of the night we clicked over 1.5 million visits since Blue Jersey started in September of 2005, during the last mad weeks of the last Governor's race. Since then, over 13,100 diaries have been written, and over 47,700 comments made in those diaries. We're at 3.8 million page views since we started.
The late Laurel Hester, though she never knew it, was our mentor in understanding marriage equality. If this blog has a hero, it's she. Our coverage of Laurel's fight to win family benefits for the love of her life, as she herself was dying, won us Garden State Equality's Laurel Hester Prize for Citizen Courage.
We hope our loyalties are stronger to forward-thinking, and progressive action than to any Party, including our own. We know you feel that way. When Democrats are wrong, when the Democratic Party is wrong, we're going to challenge them, because we know you stand behind that. We're not the conscience of the Democratic Party. You are. And we hope to be your daily reading.
We hope you'll encourage people to advertise here (rates negotiable for community members) to defray our costs, and keep the lights on.
We'd like this 4-year old community to rise. We want to grow our diversity - in every way. We want you to write here when you have a story to tell, and to post a comment when something you read provokes you. The papers won't always tell your story; but you can. When you have candidates you believe in, if you don't find them here, we hope you'll bring them here for others to discover. Hell, we hope some of you will run yourselves.
We know a lot of blogs soar, then fail. We're here for the long run. Thanks to the writers and readers who have been a part of this team, past and present. You made this place.
A campaign can never control its surrogates, but the Corzine campaign opened the door to a flood of idiocy when they started obliquely referring to Chris Christie's obviously unhealthy weight problem in an ad last month. The Corzine campaign seemingly wanted to be sure people knew it, but didn't want to be called on it. They tried to do the Rovian dog-whistle thing where they could pretend not to have said what they implied, but the media and Christie partisans glommed onto it in a successful effort to distract from various mini-scandals like abuse of power to avoid tickets, over-paying for hotel rooms and travel, poor policy statements from the primary, etc.
But when you whistle, dogs hear it and start to bark. Unfortunately, we now see a series of barks on Twitter and other places. Democratic state chairman Joe Cryan asked how it would feel to have the heavy Christie as Governor. Steven Goldstein, who is supposed to be a champion of tolerance, told a joke suggesting people mistook Christie for a large balloon floating over the state.
Sure, dog whistling worked great for Bush for six years, but it imploded and we see the results. We're supposed to be better than that, fighting for the issues that matter for people and not just doing whatever disgusting thing is needed to win elections. Corzine, who is a good and decent man (sometimes to his detriment), is better than this.
There are so many issues in this campaign that matter to New Jersey and our future. A Christie administration would gut education and health care, the foundations of a good place to live. The environment, contrary to the Tittle-ing crowds, would get short shrift and likely irreparably damaged. Whatever political good will there is in this state would be removed under Christie's My Way Or The Highway attitude.
Added to that, Corzine has a good story to tell. He has cut the budget by almost 15 percent during his time, and reduced the state workforce. While there are more types of taxes, there are fewer dollars collected. Our math scores are up, our air is cleaner, more money is going to property tax relief, and more people -- including children -- have health insurance while the national trend is for people to lose it.
There are a thousand reasons to oppose Chris Christie in this election, and just as many to support Jon Corzine. Christie's health should be a concern for voters as the health of any candidate is, but it should not be a campaign issue.
One of the best things about spending the last four years following politicians around with a video camera is the tons of file footage I've acquired. It's an especially useful tool for expressing one's self when words are hard to find. Like now.
Blue Jersey migrated to a new server this week, and we're getting some messages from people saying they're having trouble logging in, and using the search function. Little glitches.
We really want to stay on top of that for you, so if you have any issues, please shoot us an email to contact@bluejersey.com and let us know as specifically you can what you had trouble with. And we'll try not to break the blog to get it fixed for you.
This morning, clammyc and I are hitting the road on the way to beautiful Pittsburgh and Netroots Nation 09. I'm stoked.
I'm going as one of Democracy for America's Netroots Nation Scholars. DFA has this fabulous competitive program to underwrite costs for people they think ought to have that opportunity. It's a savvy way of undescoring deep ties between grassroots political organizers and those of us who ride the interwebs. I'm very lucky they chose me. (Shrugs.)
If you've got the means, throw DFA some coin. They're sending 40 of us this year to NN09- and that's all expenses paid.
Last year, they sent 30. On of them was Jeff Gardner, my buddy and a denizen of this site, and of DFA-NJ, like I am. There was a friendly, but cutthroat competition for votes with one Robert Harding at The Albany Project, which Jeff won, being that he's awesome. Don't worry, Robert got to go, too.
Clammyc's an old hand at NN, and he's participating in a session on red districts (for the fighting NJ-5) and moderating this one on PTSD.
Saturday, we'll be there to greet Governor Corzine, headlining the keynote panel, on 21st Century economy. It's a great "get" for Netroots Nation. With just two big state races this year - NJ & VA - the Republicans are focusing a lot of resources here to try and climb out of their hole. That's a story every blogger at NN09 is going to know. (Barring last-minute surprise, Creigh Deeds, running for the open seat in VA, won't be there).
Who wants to play? We've got 4 in already - - promoted from the diaries by Rosi.
This may sound nerdy, but occasionally I'll sift through old diaries on Blue Jersey, mainly to reflect on past political discourse and read people's work. Tonight I came across a post that I thought was worth rekindling for several reasons. Scott Shields, a former front page contributor at this very site passed the Four Memes on from Matt Stoller at MyDD way back in December 2005. I thought it would be a good exercise for everyone at the Blue Jersey Community to better get to know one and other in more aspects of life than just political persuasions.
I have gotten to know a lot of new people because of Blue Jersey, including Jeff Gardner, Rosi Efthim, and Adam Lambert (the artist formerly known as clammyc), and am thankful for those new friendships. Hopefully this exercise will let us all get to know each other better.
This week, Carol Hoernlein resigned from the Tenafly Council seat she's held for two and a half years, and withdrew from her re-election campaign, citing health reasons.
You can trace the arc of Blue Jersey by Carol Hoernlein, who posts here as carolh, a username hardly anonymous given how clearly she's localized herself by her writing. She's one of the early registered users here, and contributes on a number of fronts, from tainted food, to the arrival of a new firetruck in Tenafly. But most powerfully, she's chronicled the mutiny that rocked the Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO), the thirst there for party transparency and democracy, and the strong progressive undercurrent that fuels it. For me, the best things she writes are about her joy discovering the power of ordinary people to drive change.
We hope you feel better, Carol. Rest up. And with so much of the pulse of the 2009 Governor's race centering on Bergen County, I'm sorry to see you off Council, but I hope your voice raisesup somewhere else.
