Newark West Ward councilman Ron C. Rice makes it official with the release of the video below on his website, issuing a primary challenge to Rep. Donald Payne - first African-American ever elected to Congress from New Jersey - for the seat that's been his since 1989. Payne is 77.
Our Congress is broken. We need new ideas and new leadership to finally tackle age-old problems that have persisted in our nation for far too long. I'm asking for your support. Ron C. Rice (video)
Unlike the northland's other congressional primary contest, Rothman v. Pascrell, this is not the clash of resentful equals and titans that race has apparently gelled into. This is different, the challenge of a young man making waves across generations to an older man in a 22-year incumbency. Donald Payne has a progressive voting record, Ron Rice is a progressive man. That, among other things, will make this an interesting race. Note: Rice's website still lists his as an Exploratory Committee.
As West Ward Councilman Ron C. Rice explores a challenge to 10th District Councilman Donald Payne, he spoke to supporters this week, charging them to help bring "new blood" to the seat held by Payne since 1989.
I apologize in advance if what I am about to write offends anyone and I invite Councilman Ron C. Rice to completely disassociate himself with me if what I am about to write causes him or the congressional run in CD10 that he is currently exploring any difficulty. The following are my thoughts and my thoughts only and should not reflect on anyone with whom I have any relationship of any kind.
For as long as I have studied the civil rights movement, more often than not as part of a larger study of United States history, I have never completely understood nor been comfortable with the celebration of only one of its leaders, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., either on the merits of his own spectacular leadership or even as a symbol of the civil rights movement as a whole. Whether MLK Jr. deserved such an honor is not the point of my question as much as whether a day focused on one man is sufficient enough of a forum for the recognition of something as massively inspirational as the civil rights movement.
These feelings became even more acute when I first watched Laurence Fishburne's phenomenal one-man performance of the life of Thurgood Marshall recently and came to the conclusion that Marshall's contributions to the civil rights movement were just as important as MLK Jr.'s if not moreso and his birthday is just as deserving of celebration as MLK Jr.'s if not moreso.
This statement is not meant to diminish the recognition of MLK Jr. as much as it is meant to uplift the recognition of lesser-known civil rights leaders like Marshall. But it is for this reason that I believe that the national holiday known as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be renamed Civil Rights Leadership Day.
Among the scores of Democratic politicians in today's crowded Marriage Equality press conference was one federal official, Congressman Rush Holt. Holt represented the entire New Jersey congressional delegation - all seven congressmen and both senators - in expressing their support for the Marriage Equality bill, S1. Holt's brief remarks are below; the text of the letter is after the fold.
Donald Payne is one of my favorite Congresspersons. He has an excellent voting record, and heres an example why:
Donald Payne voted with Republicans in 2010 against the Disclose Act. (Hr 5175)
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit foreign influence in Federal elections, to prohibit government contractors from making expenditures with respect to such elections, and to establish additional disclosure requirements with respect to spending in such elections
http://www.opencongress.org/bi...
So many amendments had weakened the original bill- worst were the exemptions to disclosure, (Like Green Peace and NRA), that Donald Payne felt he couldn't vote for it.
SEIU, UAW and the AFL-CIO have rated Donald Payne 100%.
I've asked Freeholder Carol Clarke if she had considered running for Donald Paynes seat, a few times... but I think she loves Essex County to much.
One of the many people I've met thru DFA, is Newark Councilman Ron C Rice, before he ran for council. Hes impressive in his due diligence in representing the people of Newark's West Ward, in a quite conversation on housing and the effect of the Bayonne Boxes that developers were erecting in Newark, he spoke of something better than that. Knowing that knocking down old row housing and building new row housing was not a long term net plus solution.
Ron spoke at a Tom Wyka fundraiser in Montclair in 2008, before the end of the afternoon, I joked with Ron, "So Ron when are you running for Congress?'. And in 2010 at a Rice fundraiser at the Spot Lounge in Newark I asked Ron again, when are you going to run for Congress. Its become a running gag between us.
But seriously dude, when are you going to run for Congress?
In 2004, 24 year old Jamel Holley was elected to his first term on the Roselle council. Last night, the 31 year old won the Democratic Nomination for Mayor of Roselle, which essentially means he is a lock to with in November, along with his 2 council allies who had overwhelming victories in their ward races. Hundreds of people poured into the Cavalier on Wood Avenue last night to congratulate Roselle's next Mayor, who won by a near 2 to 1 margin.
US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is in Newark right now, at a "Town Hall" open only to teachers and other "education stakeholders". He is joined there by Congressman Donald Payne, and Newark's mayor, Cory Booker.
Duncan will be discussing the federal TEACH Campaign to recruit teachers to "high-need" urban and rural school districts. But it's likely other issues, like privatizing New Jersey schools and the role Acting NJ Ed Commissioner Chris Cerf has played in the direction Newark's public schools may take.
President Barack Obama's decision to commit the American military to the United Nations action in Libya has come about without a Congressional vote and can safely be described as controversial. Evidently the President thinks Col. Gaddafi will be overthrown quickly. Our two senators are strongly in favor. Naturally, most of our Representatives have taken the opportunity to say nothing--as you'll notice I'm doing too. As for our regular users, Couch Potato Politics thinks Obama's Libya war is unconstitutional and unwise. Here's what I've found...
"It is welcome news that the Security Council has voted to stop Qaddafi's slaughter of thousands of Libyan people who are seeking freedom" stated Lautenberg. "The madness employed by Qaddafi's guns, tanks, planes and artillery against innocent men and women seeking human rights must be stopped immediately."
"Muammar Qadhafi is a terrorist - plain and simple. Just days ago, Qadhafi said he would hunt down every person opposing him. After years of violently oppressing the Libyan people and silencing political opposition, we cannot - and should not - take Qaddafi at his word. The announcement today is nothing more than an attempt to distract and deceive the international community while internally pursuing his hunt. The international community must follow through, impose an immediate no-fly zone, provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance, and extend a hand of friendship to the Libyan people. This is our opportunity to effect change and end Qadhafi's rule of terror."
Bob Menendez: Banking (chairs the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development subcommittee); Energy and Natural Resources; Finance; Foreign Relations (chairs the International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection subcommittee)
Frank Lautenberg: Appropriations (chairs the Homeland Security subcommittee); Commerce, Science and Transportation (chairs the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security subcommittee); and Environment and Public Works (chairs the Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health, Chair subcommittee)
If LGBT rights matter to you, you might wanna check out this website to see how your Congressman stacks up in the fight for gay rights.
I am in NJ's 3rd Congressional district where freshman Congressman John Adler turns in an impressive score of 92%. Looks like Adler gets an A in this class.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been raising questions about the efforts of the Obama administration when it comes to fighting for minority issues. Congressman Donald Payne isn't keep his opinions a secret:
Several prominent caucus members have expressed doubts about the interest of administration officials in black American issues, referring to figures including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and senior adviser David Axelrod. They "haven't had much involvement with minority communities in their careers," said Rep. Donald Payne (N.J.). "They've been in suites and boardrooms."
This is the kind of comment you generally see without attribution. I can't imagine that Rahm and Axelrod will be pleased when they see it.
Each week, Blue Jersey Radio streams LIVE with New Jersey's latest political buzz, interviews with newsmakers, and your stimulating calls.
This week: Our guest is Congressman Donald M. Payne, NJ-10, who's not only Newark's long-serving representative, but also the new Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. He'll be talking about the CBC Foundation, what his role will be, and what role it plays in progressive politics. Plus, we'll catch up on his perspective of all that's going on in Washington.
With a great guest like this, it's tough to decide where to start - so help us out. What should we ask the good Congressman?
Drop your questions in the comments, then tune in and join the conversation!
Progressive Democrats of America to host Statewide Conference & Winter Warm Up Dinner
Conference will feature local and state progressive champions including U.S. Congressman Donald Payne, SICKO's Donna Smith, PDA National Director Tim Carpenter and others.
Let me preface this conversation by stating that I supported Senator Frank Lautenberg's re-election campaign during both the primary and general elections last year, but...
1) ...after seeing him speak in public numerous times at a dramatically reduced level of performance than in the past...
...and...
2) ...after last week's gubernatorial election results...
...and...
3) ...assuming that the aspiring Governors that are currently serving in the State Senate and State Assembly are not going to be willing to rescind the power that the Governor currently has to fill vacated U.S. Senate seats, I think that Democratic Party leaders, electeds, and rank-and-file members should reach out en masse to Senator Frank Lautenberg and ask him to resign his seat.
And we have gotten some good press and recognition around the intertubez for our efforts in this area. So, when I got an email from Jane Hamsher at FDL telling me that Mike Farrell had recorded a video thanking us for our efforts, I couldn't wait to see it and share it.
That being said, the fight is far from over, but at least we can enjoy some props:
Congressmen Bill Pascrell, Rush Holt, Donald Payne and Albio Sires deserve a standing ovation.
Before the Congressional recess, I started a series about calling our Representatives about the public option. And as fast as things were moving, our goal changed as quickly as we started - for a number of reasons. For starters, we wanted to have our Reps. commit to vote against any health care bill without a public option. And at the time, there were 2 (Holt and Payne) who committed to do so - Holt even did it on Blue Jersey Radio.
As bills passed the various House committees and the teabagging restarted, both Pascrell and Sires joined Holt and Payne in Taking the Pledge. So now, we are here, and we have a bit of a different take on things:
Instead of using a stick and "whipping the public option", a netroots-wide initiative is underway to use "carrots, not sticks", and thank those who have taken the "pledge" in the form of online donations to all members in the House who have taken the pledge.
For starters, here is the ActBlue page called They Took the Pledge that you can click on to show our 4 Reps. some love. I just donated $20 to each of them.
As my good friend, David Atkins (thereisnospoon) said the other day:
A new initiative organized by Howie Klein, Jane Hamsher, my brother Dante and myself to verbally and financially reward Congressmembers who pledge to vote down any healthcare bill that does not include the public option is catching fire. The objective is to use carrots as well as sticks to achieve progressive goals. As I said in the diary kicking off this intiative at DailyKos:
Human beings are psychologically predictable creatures, much like Pavlov's famous canine. We do respond well to punishment, but we respond just as well if not better to positive reinforcement. Do nothing but beat a dog with a stick, and the dog is likelier to be aggressive than lovingly loyal. Do nothing but scream at a child, and the child will eventually fail to respond to her abusive parent. Senators and Representatives, no matter how elevated, are still just people: the rules of psychological conditioning still apply. If all we can do is scream at people who don't do what we want, eventually no one will listen to us at all.
From this initiative, one that started 3 days ago, there is already $250,000 raised from over 4,000 donors - all to show that we have the backs of those who have ours.
As members of Congress headed home for break, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed out their version of the healthcare bill. They wanted to arm members of Congress with the facts, so they put out district by district breakdowns:
The Committee has prepared, for each member, a district-level analysis of the impact of the legislation. This analysis includes information on the impact of the legislation on small businesses, seniors in Medicare, health care providers, and the uninsured. It also includes an estimate of the impacts of the surtax that is used to pay for the legislation.
America's Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 7th Congressional District of New Jersey: up to 18,200 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 8,100 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 800 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $30 million in uncompensated care each year; and 21,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.
You can see the benefits by district for each member of Congress:
You can see the full bill text and a summary put out by the committee as well. If you support this bill, your member of Congress needs to know about it. If you call, get your member of Congress to take the pledge. Our representatives are being inundated with phone calls and emails opposing healthcare. We need people who support the healthcare overhaul to start putting some action behind the talk, otherwise we'll be counting the time until the next chance to do something about healthcare.
He is widely viewed as the leading expert on African affairs in the Congress. He has traveled throughout the continent, including two recent trips to east and southern Africa. In a series of recent interchanges with AllAfrica, he discussed those trips and outlined his views on many of the most pressing African issues.
Here are some of the highlights from the interview. On Sudan and whether the Congressman thinks the sanctions should remain in place:
I would hope that President Obama's administration is not thinking about relaxing sanctions or making any kind of concessions to the government of Sudan. I would hope that we are not going to allow Bashir to continue to reign terror on the people of Darfur and also not really comply with the CPA.
Below the fold I'll have more of the Congressman's interview.
I went through the FEC filings to see how our House members are fairing with their fundraising efforts. First here are some observations
Congressman Adler raised the most money in the 2nd quarter with over $518K, followed by Congressman Pallone and then Garrett.
Congressman Pallone has the most Cash on Hand by far and away with over $3.7 million. He has twice as much as the next member, Congressman Rothman who is followed by Pascrell and then Lobiondo.
Congressman Adler raised the most form individuals at over $267K, followed by Pallone, Garrett and then Rothman.
Congressman Adler raised the most from PAC's at over 250K, followed by Pallone, Lance and Frelinghuysen.
The members of the NJ delegation that raised more from PAC's than individuals were Congressmen Andrews, Payne, LoBiondo, Frelinghuysen, Pallone and Lance.
From the Hill.com, we learn that the Independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) wants another look at a trips taken by Congressman Payne and others:
The ethics committee, however, confirmed Monday that the five cases stemmed from two trips five Congressional Black Caucus members took to the Caribbean in November 2007 and 2008 that may have violated House travel rules barring corporate sponsorship. The members who attended those trips are Democratic Reps. Carolyn Kilpatrick (Mich.), Donald Payne (N.J.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.) and Charles Rangel (N.Y.) and Del. Donna Christensen of the Virgin Islands.
The panel has since launched a formal investigation into the trip.
"While the Committee was previously investigating the Carib News trip, the OCE did refer five related matters to the Committee," Blake Chisam, staff director for the ethics committee, said in a statement. "The Committee's statement forming an investigative subcommittee in the Carib News matter makes reference to the five Members that were the subject of the OCE referrals."
The Hill reported that the OCE interviewed several CBC staffers about the trip. The OCE apparently found enough evidence to forward the matter to the full ethics committee for further review.
Here's a copy of the press statement they issued on the matter. They formed an investigative subcommittee for a further look at the officially-connected travel in 2007 and 2008 that was sponsored, funded or organized by Carib News or Carib News Foundation:
The subcommittee will have jurisdiction to conduct a full and complete inquiry into allegations that have arisen regarding the sponsorship of the travel in 2007 and 2008. At the conclusion of the inquiry, the subcommittee is to report its findings , conclusions and recommendations to the full committee.
We'll have to see if anything further comes of this when those finds, recommendations and conclusions are reached.
