Karl Rove, the architect of George W. Bush's disastrous and disreputable presidency, is the speaker tonight at the excellent speakers series at Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, Rider University. Rove is also now a Fox News contributor, and columnist at Wall Street Journal. Neither of those items should be at all surprising.
"An Evening with Karl Rove" will be in the Bart Luedeke Center (Student Center) on Rider's Lawrenceville Campus (map and parking). Speech, followed by a Q & A period (fun!) will begin 7pm (doors open 6pm), seating first-come, first-served. Overflow seating in a room adjacent to the theater where Rove will be speaking, where the speech will be simulcast.
Looking for more evidence of Rove's relevance? Just last week, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz sent out a fundraising email referencing Karl Rove. Santorum ad. Schultz' email links to a GOP subliminal message ad that quickly flashes a photo of Obama with the words "sworn American enemy" (meant to confuse you that Obama is like Iran's Ahmadinejad). And connecting it by reference to the Rove-era Bush campaign's "RATS ad", in which RATS was briefly superimposed with Al Gore's picture.
Rove, still a Democratic boogeyman. At Rebovich, Rider U. Wish I could go, but I can't. You going?
This past week, we've seen a lot about the impact of congressional redistricting and the positioning of candidates in North Jersey for the upcoming election. Congressman Steve Rothman has declared that he will move and challenge his colleague Bill Pascrell in a primary rather than face incumbent Republican extremist Scott Garrett. Whether or not Rothman's decision is a good one, it hurts me to see two Democrats spending a million dollars to knock each other off when the money could be better spent in an all-out effort to oust Garrett, one of the worst members of Congress.
It also bothers me that the Fourth Estate has virtually ignored the important race in the Third District. Another member of the "worst congressman's club" is former NFL bad boy and current congressman Jon Runyan. Runyan's voting record is as bad as Garrett's, and over time if Runyan builds up seniority in the House, his impact will be just as deleterious.
If you want to go as a delegate, the state Democrats are offering two free workshops this month to walk you through the process. The Democratic National Convention, which is expected to confirm Barack Obama as the party's nominee against whatever wholly inadequate nominee the GOP throws up in their infinite wisdom. The Democrats meet in Charlotte, North Carolina - Sept. 3-7, 2012.
At the workshops they'll review the delegate selection process and go over the deadlines requirements. These are the first two workshops. More will be scheduled after the new year.
NJDSC Bergen County Delegate Selection Workshop Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, 687 Larch Avenue, Teaneck
NJDSC Middlesex County Delegate Selection Workshop (following MCDO county committee meeting)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Woodbridge Hilton, 120 Wood Avenue South, Iselin
Here's a couple links to the docs that lay out how delegates will be selected. Enjoy:
Warm congratulations and a Blue Jersey Woo Hoo! to Babs Casbar Siperstein, who broke ground again just a few minutes ago by her election to the DNC's Executive Committee. That vote came at the DNC Fall Meeting in Chicago. Babs, the first out transgender person in the DNC's history now rises to help lead the national Democrats, joining its top-most leadership committee.
There are now two New Jerseyans on the DNC Exec. Committee. Babs joins Tonio Burgos in that work. Babs sent us a jubilant email a few minutes ago. But we're looking forward to hearing more of this story when she gets back from Chicago.
(@Jay_Lass: I am hearing very positive preliminary results from the DNC election. This is good news for Babs, pending confirmation by Babs herself. - promoted by Jay Lassiter)
Until 2 years ago, the DNC had never had a member - there are more than 400 across the country - who is a transgender person. In 2009, Babs Casbar Siperstein (yes, Siperstein like the paint company) from Edison, New Jersey & a member of the Blue Jersey community, became the first. Tomorrow, if she wins a party election at the DNC Fall Meeting in Chicago, she will become the first out transgender person ever on the DNC's Executive Committee.
Babs, who has been a Democratic contributor for about 10 years, didn't always feel as accepted in Party circles as she's beginning to now. About the national Dems of past years, she says:
All they knew about 'trans' was baby drag queens. They didn't know. So they needed to be educated. It's 100% better now. Rather than confront or turn people off I tried to engage in a positive way.
Many people get involved in politics because they are passionate about an issue; they are concerned about soaring property taxes, overdevelopment, ensuring quality education for our children, or guaranteeing our civil rights--whatever the issue, at one point or another your political party has had a heavy hand in the decision making process.
People understand that they need to participate in the political process if they want results. For most that participation is limited to showing up on Election Day and casting a vote, for the more engaged it may be going door to door and helping out in a specific candidate's campaign.
What we don't often recognize is that those individuals who assume party leadership have a direct impact on which candidates run and what issues are on the party platform (if any). These positions are available to ANY concerned citizen and the time to seize the power is now.
The great thing about serving on the county committee is that it does not require a large investment of time, and provides a large measure of control of who represents us in Trenton.
In addition to electing the county party chair and awarding the party line for Senate and Assembly seats along with local offices, the county committee members participate in filling vacancies in office when someone resigns in disgrace, retires, or passes away. Shockingly, more than a third of the legislature has entered office by way of a vote of the county committee, not the general public.
It's because the county committees wield so much power that Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-37) and Senator Diane Allen (R-7) sponsored the Party Democracy Act, to ensure the political parties adopt rules and procedures ensuring fundamental fairness and guaranteeing a secret ballot when making important votes. The Party Democracy Act was signed into law in 2009, and now every Republican and Democratic voter is offered a fair chance to vote their conscience.
So if you're ready to do something, here are some basic tips for running for county committee. 1) Find out from your municipal clerk which political party committee seats are up for election this year; 2) Complete the Party Declaration Form (Democratic or Republican Party) for the County Committee you wish to run for; 2) Get a petition & required number of signatures from the municipal clerk (in most cases no more than 10 signatures needed); 3) File the petition with your town clerk by April 11th; 4) Show up on June 7th with your family and friends and vote for yourself (most seats are won with just a few dozen votes or less).
Visit www.TheCitizensCampaign.com and take our free, half-hour online class and learn the tips and tools to become a successful neighborhood party leader.
Once elected, you have the power to adopt or amend your party constitution, create your party platform, and seek the chairmanship of your county party.
The bottom line is, if you want to gain these powers, then you need to take this opportunity to step up to the plate.
A survey plopped into my Inbox today. You probably got it too. I filled mine out, because as usual, I had a few things to say. (hmm, does this get you there?)
I'm on record here as a non-fan of the deconstruction of 50-State Strategy, and its replacement Organizing for America, which looks grassroots but isn't, and seems to take a cookie-cutter approach, with a prime directive of protecting President Obama's position, no matter whether it's right or wrong. Problem is, I've learned to expect more of my Party. Don't get me wrong. People who come running when OFA calls an action are awesome; I'm sure state leaders are too. My issues are with whether OFA empowers people for change, or just uses their power for aims that don't reflect those folks. Nevertheless, this survey came via OFA. I was glad to get it.
It never asked where on the spectrum my politics lie. On the first page (takes less than 5 min. from soup to nuts) it wants you to self identify: Are you African-American? Native American or Alaskan? Entrepreneur? LGBT? Student? Educator? Labor? Vet? All well and good, but I'm a progressive. That's my prime directive, but thanks. Also asked: How you feel about OFA? Were your expectations of OFA high or low? Were they met?
Also - what resources you'd have liked to see OFA provide that you didn't already have, what new goals OFA should tackle, your comments how OFA should go about achieving the goals you suggest. All good questions. I said I hoped to see a return to better uses of the national voter file, that if local organizers no longer had access, they couldn't feed new info in, keeping it fresh, with more detail about what voters are concerned with.
Asked for an overall assessment, I said this:
DNC (via White House) made a poor decision dismantling 50-State Strategy and putting in its place the fake-grassroots, top-down organizational structure which has as its main goal protecting the President's position. The party should be doing much more than that.
Click SUBMIT and you land on a page asking for money. But I don't have a problem with that. It's what the national party should be doing, and I like the fact that an amount as low as $10 is suggested. The great power of the tubes makes requests like that possible without the investment of a direct mail or farmed-out dialing-for-dollars company that has to generate a certain level of raising just to stay afloat. Yay, internet.
The Chairman of the NJ State Democratic Party wants 50-State Strategy back. And so do I.
When Howard Dean was Chairman of the DNC, the Democratic infrastructure was challenged by the paradigm shift he oversaw. Money flowed out of the hands of beltway insiders and to state Democratic organizations, some that had struggled understaffed for years, and freshly trained organizing and communications talent, trained and salaries paid by DNC, fanned out across the country. It was the first time, perhaps in decades, that DNC pulsed with a sense of mission. And during Dean's tenure, we took both houses of Congress and the White House on that, and the hard work of thousands of Democrats who were themselves ready for change. The paradigm shift Dean presided over did not always go down easy in D.C. - (then) DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel had a temper tantrum of embarrassing proportions, but nobody put Howard Dean off his plans. Underlying 50-State Strategy was the radical idea to concede no vote, no town, no state, no election. It was fresh hope for red states full of Democrats who also wanted change; in New Jersey, it provided an already well-staffed state party with more staff that could be deployed to work miracles like this one in Flemington.
With Obama in the White House and Emanuel positioned as his Chief of Staff, it was obvious one of the elements of the change the President promised would actually be the deconstruction of 50-State Strategy.
The president and First Lady are rallying with Democrats in Columbus, Ohio tonight on the Ohio State campus, with a gaggle of performers including John Legend as a warm-up act. I'm going to post this now while the other performers and speeches are going on. The latest news I have from DNC is that the President will walk to the podium around 8pm.
This is the smaller view. Let me know if you'd prefer I post the larger widget.
Tonight, there are a series of house parties across the country to watch a broadcast live from George Washington University, the president talking to and encouraging the involvement of some of the first-time voters that pushed him to victory in 2008. The feed is from DNC:
Basically, the two parties seem to be on the cusp of achieving alignment on two calendar-related issues. First, both parties clearly want to push the so-called "pre-primary window" for the approved, early states to after February 1, instead of January 1. Second, because the RNC's ad hoc delegate selection committee has recommended designating Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina as the four states that would be allowed to conduct primaries/caucuses in the February, pre-primary window, the two parties could very well have the same four contests in the same four states on identical dates during February 2012.
...(The GOP is also likely to require proportional assignment of delegates for any state that holds its primary or caucus before April 2012, but I will wait to talk about the implications of that once the GOP's new rules are set in stone.)
There's no reason to imagine this matters for President Obama's re-nomination but the Republicans are a different story. You might remember that New Jersey Republicans used an early winner-take-all 2008 primary, intended to help Rudy Giuliani, that ultimately benefited John McCain. (McCain had already taken a commanding lead for the nomination in Florida's even earlier winner-take-all primary.) Under these new proposed rules, that won't be possible, and perhaps the state will be more competitive.
The schedule the two parties want to push through will conflict with many states' desires to go early, desires that have been codified here in New Jersey election law
19:2-1. Presidential primary elections for delegates and alternates to national conventions of political parties shall be held in each presidential year on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in February.
Will the current Democratic legislature* cooperate with the Republican National Committee to change our election law? It will be interesting to see. I also look forward to the spectacle of Governor Christie trying to maximize his influence using New Jersey's primary.
Would you move New Jersey back to March if the RNC and DNC asks us to? Would you just return to the regular June date?
*I don't see how it could wait until the next legislature in January 2012.
The DNC announced the other day that they will target Congressmen Lance and Lobiondo as part of their effort to focus on the group of 32 House Republicans who opposed the healthcare bill that are in Congressional Districts won by President Obama in 2008:
Through this campaign, the DNC will send a message to Republicans who have reflexively said no to health insurance reform by urging them to do the right thing and support reform when it comes to the House again for a final vote. The campaign will include press releases, Op-Eds and letters to the editor, local events and will leverage the energy and enthusiasm of the DNC's grassroots supporters and its email list in holding these members accountable for their vote. The effort may also include paid advertising. DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan released the following statement on the effort:
"You would think a Member of Congress should think twice about voting against health insurance reform that their families and small businesses so desperately need and want. But you have to think to vote against health insurance reform in a Congressional District won by President Obama just a year ago could be a political death knell at a time when Americans are clamoring for solutions to vexing issues like health care," said Sevugan. "These members not only represent districts that voted for President Obama, but also where health insurance reform, as in the rest of the country, is badly needed and where passing it will be politically popular. Some on the very far right wing would have people believe that voting for health insurance reform is a mistake politically - when the truth is that any Republican who votes against reform, especially those from districts won by the President, will undoubtedly place themselves in real political peril."
We've focused here at Blue Jersey a good deal of a attention and effort on getting the people in our own party on board with healthcare reform, but the DNC is taking a look at the other side of the aisle and lining up their targets for the next election based on what they see. In separate releases, the DNC noted that President Obama received 54% of the vote in Congressman LoBiondo's district and didn't give a percentage in Lance's district, but pointed to the President's victory. In fact, they and Organizing for America started putting out those releases hitting Lance and LoBiondo immediately following the vote on Saturday night. Congressman LoBiondo's spokesman had a simple, short response to the targeting:
Asked about the DNC's targeting of LoBiondo, Galanes asked, "Are they targeting John Adler? ... Just curious."
Are we in Congress or pre-school? A bad vote by Johnny doesn't excuse Franky from doing the right thing by his people.
Organizing for America (OFA), the DNC-ruled "grassroots" organization formed from the massive Obama '08 email list, is asking people in NJ-2 & NJ-7 to drop what they're doing and call Frank LoBiondo and Leonard Lance and ask them to vote Yes on the public option. The debate has been going on all day on the floor of the House. Watch LIVE.
Obama voters in 31 other districts got the same email, districts Obama won but have GOP congressmen. But it's a complete waste of time to call Republicans, and the DNC/OFA knows it. This is a muscle-flex for the GOP. They've spent all day, in some ridiculous, dramatic and even toddler-juggling vignettes, telling you they're voting no. So why is OFA trying to get you to waste your time on Lance & LoBiondo when you could be calling an actual Democrat who plans to vote no on Public Option?
In fact, our friends at AFSCME have an easy tool for you Adler constituents to call him now. Just click the green flashing ad to the right of this diary.
Stuck at work? Regretting you couldn't take the day off to help get out the vote? I totally get it.
So, this cool little tool is perfect for you. It generates 5 voters for you to call and remind to vote. And all five are your neighbors - they vote in the same precinct you do.
All you do is enter your address. It spits out your polling place and 5 Obama voters to call (you can get more), with easy tips to make the calls a success. Just update to "today" where it says "Tuesday." Love it.
Governor Tim Kaine, Chairman of the DNC will make 3 stops to campaign with Governor Corzine and Senator Weinberg tomorrow:
Gov. Kaine will first join Lieutenant Governor candidate Senator Loretta Weinberg at an event with American Federation of Teachers and Health Professional & Allied Employees union members in Saddle Brook before speaking at the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey's 30th Annual Installation Ceremony of the President and 2009/2010 Officers and Trustees in Hoboken. Later in the evening, Kaine will join Governor Corzine in Harrison for Mayor Raymond McDonough's Annual Cocktail Party.
If you live anywhere in the area, we'll put the event information below the fold. If you go to any of the events, take a few pictures for your friends at Blue Jersey and write about it in a diary.
What do you think? Personally, I thought the sound was distractingly bad. Anyway, I doubt web ads are very important, but I suppose they are trying out the new line of attack JRB discussed yesterday.
Most of this is just a summing up of details we have already been following, as we help New Jersey voters vet Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie, whose claims as a corruption-buster fade as more attention is paid what he actually did as US Attorney for NJ. His highly-questionable decisions on deferred prosecution agreements that feathered the nests of his friends, cronies and contributors. His lack of transparency and other abuses. But it's important to note how closely the national Democrats are watching. Which is closely.
Statement from the Democratic National Committee:
Chris Christie's testimony to Congress leaves too many unanswered questions about tens of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts that appear to have gone to friends and political cronies like John Ashcroft.
It's clear that as US Attorney Christie used his position to help his friends, and now those very friends are helping him fill his campaign coffers. Chris Christie's repeated ethical lapses demonstrate that he's just not up to the task of serving as governor of New Jersey," said DNC spokesman Michael Czin.
On the Ashcroft Contract
Christie awarded a no-bid contract worth upwards of $52 million to his former boss, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. "Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft was one of five private attorneys whom Christie hand-picked to monitor the implant makers. Now Ashcroft's D.C.-based firm is poised to collect more than $52 million in 18 months, among the biggest payouts reported for a federal monitor." Ashcroft was appointed to monitor Zimmer Holdings, of Indiana, in the investigation into hip and knee implant makers. [Star-Ledger, 11/20/2007]
· The contract contained lucrative provisions for Ashcroft, such as payments for private aircraft. It called for Ashcroft Group Consulting Services to earn an average monthly fee of between $1.5 million and $2.9 million, including individual legal and consulting fees billed at up to $895 per hour and as much as $250,000 a month for expenses including private airfare, lodging and meals.[Star-Ledger 11/20/2007]
UMDNJ, Inglesino, Stern, pay-to-play, and more - after the jump ...
Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, DNC Chair, DFA founder, and strong proponent of a public option to safeguard American health care needs, is in New Jersey and speaking tonight at a free public event at Kendall Hall, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). More info here.
TCNJ College Democrats are the sponsor of tonight's event and they promise there will be time for an extensive Q & A with Gov. Dean.
TCNJ students will be admitted for seating one hour before the general public, at 6:30pm.
I know I can't get there tonight, as part of my family is celebrating Passover. But if you go, Blue Jersey would love to hear about it, and see your pictures.
When carol gets it right, she knocks it out of the park. Promoted from the diaries...Thurman
Even John McCain couldn't argue - yesterday was one of those truly prescious moments in our lives. As someone born in 1965, I have to say, I've seen too few of them. I often felt like I was born into world of smashed dreams. Dreams I never had. The Boomers had JFK. We had ............. no one. Until now.
What truly struck me over and over and over yesterday was how happy everyone was. In our darkest hour. With everything at its absolute worst, we still have the capacity to envision perfection, success, and happiness. It wasn't about where we are now. It was all about where we want to be. For a few days at least we got a brief glimpse of what it will feel like when we get everyone health care, when we get our adversaries into meaningful dialogue to stop the killing, the destruction, the despair. When we can feed our families, house them and finally feel secure. It was a great feeling. Hope is a word that is often overused, but hope is no little thing to someone promised so much by their leaders - "We're turning a corner!" "Mission Accomplished!" only to repeatedly find that that light at the end of the tunnel is always a train, or that what lies around the corner is an ambush or an IED.
This week, we got a taste of what an Obama presidency would be like. A world free of fear, free of hunger, free of want and despair. And we liked it.
If you'd been watching this year's Democratic National Convention on C-Span or PBS, you'd likely be pretty pleased with the way things are going. A positive story is being told about Barack Obama, his family, his personal history, and his accomplishments. An image of John McCain has emerged as an out-of-touch W. clone who is intent on bringing us more of the same. The Democratic Party is the party of the people; the party of peace, prosperity, and progress.
But if you've been following the convention as most people have, via cable news and the Beltway punditocracy, a different image emerges. The Democratic Party is still dominated by the Clintons. The Clintons don't get enough respect from the Democratic Party. The speakers aren't providing any cohesive branding of John McCain, instead focusing too much on Barack Obama's positives. No one is effectively making an effective positive case for Barack Obama. Barack Obama is foolish for focusing so much on regular people by setting his speech at Mile High Stadium. Barack Obama giving his speech at Mile High Stadium is a sign that he's an elite celebrity, out of touch with regular people.
Confused yet? You're not alone. The media is hell bent on selling crisis, division, and a floundering campaign. Who cares if the reality doesn't match up?
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