The writer, Bob Braun, goes as far as saying that Garrett, "has a reputation as pro-conservation," which is utterly dishonest. He receieved a 0% rating by the LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS! He also thinks global warming is a hoax.
Braun sums up Garrett's political philosophy in the sentence, "People should neither blame others for their problems, nor expect others to solve those problems." While that is a good philosophy in general, it is a horrible philosophy for someone whose job is enacting laws to HELP people with problems they can't solve on their own.
Another guiding political philosophy Garrett mentions in the article is that "good people" make a good society...
I think Scott Garrett just discovered the solution to world hunger, draught, and the Middle East conflict - Good People!
Promoted from the diaries. Keep 'em coming, Retire Garrett. Are there any other independent opposition groups forming in any of our other congressional districts? It's never to early to start, you know - - Rosi
This is the most recent post from RetireGarrett.com. Although Blue Jersey readers don't need to be told that free market economies don't work, the Retire Garrett Campaign is attempting to work on certain frameworks that will most effectively convince voters of Rep. Garrett's incompetence. One idea put forward is attacking Garrett's belief that the market does not need to be regulated in any way, shape, or form. What do you think?
"market, heal thyself" - Scott Garrett
We hear a lot from Scott Garrett about the free market. He praises it. He thinks the unfettered free market is a boon to America. He thinks the lack of an entirely free market caused the economic meltdown. We now know Scott Garrett was wrong.
There is agreement across the spectrum from the left to the right that the abolishment of regulatory oversight was a major contribution to the meltdown and our recent economic troubles. No one was watching the cookie jar.
The free market philosophy can only work if the people handling our banks and financial institutions are honest and trustworthy. Of course, many are but too many are not. Hello Madoff, Thain, Enron, AIG, Bear Stearns etc. This is not new. History clearly shows how people seek advantages over others, permit greed to overcome good character, conform when they need to whistle blow, take risks with other peoples? assets and money and more. This is not new and it is not likely to stop or change.
I was a part of Dennis Shulman's campaign to unseat Congressman Garrett and now am collaborating with Blue Jersey contributors clammyc and Matthew Jordan on the Retire Garrett blog (retiregarrett.com). I was first introduced to bluejersey on Dennis' campaign and really enjoyed seeing the campaign's name in print so often here. I hope to stay involved with your blog as our campaign to unseat Garrett progresses.
I recently posted this abbreviated article on "Retire Garrett." It's about the Congressman's opposition to the bailout packages and his role in the current economic crisis:
Congressman Garrett's voting record since his 2002 election disputes the stances he has taken on the bailouts and economic crisis. His votes, speeches, and media appearances regarding the bailout and economy are dishonest.
The evidence speaks for itself:
* Congressman Garrett has consistently opposed government regulation of businesses since his 2002 election. Whenever a bill was proposed that held businesses accountable for how they earned their money, Garrett voted against it. His philosophy has been to let businesses act according to their own rules.
o The Congressman voted for decreasing government oversight of the Credit Rating Agencies. Many experts have blamed the lack of government oversight of Credit Rating Agencies for misleading investors, contributing to the collapse of Wall Street (Project Vote Smart).
* Even though he has aggressively criticized the CEO's of failing Wall Street banks and Detroit auto companies, Congressman Garrett actually supported out-of-control CEO salaries and "Golden Parachutes."
o The Congressman was a vocal critic of a bill that would have required publicly owned companies to fully disclose the salaries of their top executives as well as the payments made to departing executives, also known as "golden parachutes." (Los Angeles Times)
* Incredibly, the Congressman supported a $4,700 pay raise for himself and the rest of Congress that will be enacted in the middle of the current economic crisis, with taxpayers footing the bill. Garrett already earns $169,300 annually, which is the average for the rest of Congress.
o A bill co-sponsored by 34 Congressmen would have blocked the $4,700 pay raise from occurring. The bill had Republican and Democratic supporters, but Scott Garrett opposed it (Fox News; govtrack.us)
Scott Garrett claims he wants whats best for his constituents and the rest of American taxpayers. He says he did his best to hold Wall Street and Detroit accountable for their business practices. He has declared that he will fight to get the country out of the current economic crisis. Scott Garrett maintains there is a bridge in Brooklyn for sale at a bargain rate.
We all know that Scott Garrett would watch his own mother die rather than let the government buy her heart medication. I mean, this guy is so anti-government spending that he probably sits around and burns dollar bills on principle.
Rep. Scott Garrett benefited from a White House effort to have top administration officials appear around the country, usually at taxpayer expense, with favored Republican candidates before the 2006 election, a House committee report says.
Make the jump - part of this is fluff, but part has teeth. Public-funded teeth that should be aimed at Garrett's backside.
Jesmer: "Scott Garrett's a nut. That's who your dad's running against, right?"
"Shulman" is Holly Shulman, daughter of Dennis Shulman. Who is "Jesmer"?
At a rally for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in Houston on Saturday, Cornyn Campaign Manager Rob Jesmer probably did not notice the digital recorder when he struck up a conversation with Democratic rival Rick Noriega's press secretary, Holly Shulman.
Jesmer -- who was presidential candidate John McCain's political director for two months before quitting in July of last year, when his campaign seemed to be flailing -- asked Shulman about her father Dennis's chances in New
So here's your October Surprise: Even Republicans know that Scott Garrett is a nut. But then, that really isn't much of a surprise, is it?
*Update: Shulman has been nominated again this week for the Daily Kos Hell to Pay Fundraising efforts. Voting will be open soon and we will provide the link. You don't have to be registered at DKos to vote in the contest. (Jason Springer) *Update2:: Here is the vote (Hopeful)
Rasmussen has issued an update of House races and it indicates that as many as 27 House seats may be wrestled out of the hands of Republicans. NJ-03 and 07 are still listed as "toss-ups" but the real news is that NJ-05 is moved from "Likely R" to "Leans R". Even more notable is the reasons given:
When blind rabbi Dennis Shulman announced his House candidacy in November of last year, it seemed more likely to end up in Reuter's Oddly Enough than in Sabato's Crystal Ball. Shulman, however, has turned a surefire GOP win into a competitive race, on the strength of his fundraising and a generally strong campaign.
Shulman began running television ads in the primary phase of the campaign, but strong fundraising has allowed him to keep up the pace. His second-quarter haul of over $270,000 almost matched that of incumbent Rep. Scott Garrett, even though Garrett clearly leads in the category of cash-on-hand.
Why is this race competitive? It is hard to say. Voters don't seem to dislike Garrett in particular, as evidenced by an early Shulman poll showed that 31 percent of voters would vote to re-elect Garrett and just 19 percent favored definitely replacing him. Instead it seems Garrett is the victim of the environment, both anti-incumbent and anti-GOP, and the candidate, a strong fundraiser with a compelling narrative. While Garrett has the definite advantage in this district which gave Bush a 14 percent margin of victory in 2004, he'll still have to spend the last few months of the campaign sweating what should have been an easy victory.
With the McSame-Paler campaign being total absent, and the overwhelming number of new Democrats recruited in the last year, this may be the sleeper of the election season.
Last night, I joined a rally of Lobbyists for Republican Scott Garrett, who gathered to thank Garrett for supporting the financial industry that has run our economy into the ground. Scott Garrett, who represents New Jersey's fifth Congressional district, doesn't just accept campaign donations and personal loans from the financial giants that caused our current economic crisis - he hired a former Countrywide lobbyist as his chief of staff. Garrett is among the nation's strongest supporters for deregulation of the financial industry that puts profit before people struggling thanks to today's economic crisis.
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[UPDATE BELOW]The following update was added by clammyc, as it was part of a subsequent post on Garrett. Better to combine the 2 into one post.
Back in May, I discussed meeting the Ramapough Mountain Indians. The Ramapough must live with the legacy of two decades of toxic waste dumped on their land, and meeting them strengthened my desire to run for Congress in a profound way. That's why I'm running for Congress to represent the people of North Jersey who currently do not have a voice in Washington.
Now, I'm posting today because the Ramapough Indians and their neighbors in Ringwood face yet more environmental challenges. Near the Ford Superfund site, the source of the toxic waste dumps, are neighborhoods build on a network of abandoned mines. And those neighborhoods are sinking.
Explains the Bergen Record: "In recent years, two homes have been evacuated, one huge sinkhole has opened in a back yard of a house that is still occupied, and part of a street was lost to a sinkhole."
Although these sinkholes began appearing three years ago, little has been done about them. The street site was repaired, but the other sites cannot get money from the state because they are on private property. Moreover, two evacuated families still have no permanent homes. And although the sinkholes first appeared while Ford was excavating "tons of toxic waste sludge," the company refuses to accept any responsibility for them.
Yesterday, Scott Garrett stood alone among New Jersey Congressmen when he voted to eliminate language from an appropriations bill expressing the sense of Congress that global warming is a real problem policymakers must address. Joe Barton (R-Big Oil) offered the amendment striking the following language from the Department of the Interior appropriations bill:
SEC. 501. (a) The Congress finds that--
(1) greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere are causing average temperatures to rise at a rate outside the range of natural variability and are posing a substantial risk of rising sea-levels, altered patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and increased frequency and severity of floods, droughts, and wildfires;
(2) there is a growing scientific consensus that human activity is a substantial cause of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere; and
(3) mandatory steps will be required to slow or stop the growth of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
(b) It is the sense of the Congress that there should be enacted a comprehensive and effective national program of mandatory, market-based limits and incentives on emissions of greenhouse gases that slow, stop, and reverse the growth of such emissions at a rate and in a manner that (1) will not significantly harm the United States economy; and (2) will encourage comparable action by other nations that are major trading partners and key contributors to global emissions.
Twelve New Jersey Congressmen voted against the amendment and to preserve the language in the bill. Scott Garrett, true to his anti-science, anti-New Jersey record, voted for the Barton amendment.
Garrett also voted to drastically cut funding for the EPA, a position he shared with not a single other Republican from either New York or New Jersey. Then, after missing a vote, he gave New Jersey the finger when he once voted yet again in favor oil drilling off the Jersey shore.
NJ-05 may be a Republican district, but Scott Garrett's no mainstream Republican. He's so far right, he puts his ideology ahead of his constituents' interest, and he's the laughingstock of the delegation. North Jersey needs a congressmen who puts New Jersey ahead of big oil, which is why Scott Garrett needs to go.
We are 425 roll call votes into the 110th Congress, and already, Scott Garrett (R- Wantage Alabama) has voted against the rest of New Jersey delegation 39 times. On 22% of the roll call votes on which the delegation was split, Garrett was a lone dissenter.
Here is a sampling of his most disgraceful solo votes in the first five months of 2007:
Garrett alone among Northeastern Republicans voted against lowering interest rates on student loans. Later in the session, he voted to cut aid to college students in the district of Columbia. He also opposed forgiving student loans of Head Start teachers, Prosecutors and Public Defenders. Speaking of the Head Start Program, he voted with a minority of Republicans opposing a package of reforms to that program. In just one day, Garrett voted against science education and scientific research, opposing two measures even a majority of the far-right Republican Study Committee support. Later in the session, he voted to cut funds to the National Science Foundation, twice.
Garrett supported cockfighting and the commercial slaughter of wild horses. Hardly a "compassionate conservative", Garrett votedtwice against Hurricane Katrina victims. And, in perhaps the ugliest vote he cast this year, he joined just two other Republicans to oppose naming a post office after retired Congressman Lane Evans, who is suffering from Parkinsons Disease.
I supported Paul Aronsohn in 2006. And I am a big fan of his. He is smart, he is energetic, and he demonstrated his tenacity in a campaign that was dogged by a lack of attention by the national party committees.
I'm looking for a core team of great bloggers from Northern New Jersey or frankly, from anywhere to help Sidd Finch and I build up Retire Garrett. Ernie Scott Garrett is a terrible congressman and we need to get rid of him in 2008. I'm looking for bloggers who would like to join us in revealing the scandalous record of this embodiment of the radical Right. If you're interested, comment below!
We're calling all of the netroots here in New Jersey today to join with us here at Retire Garrett to begin a new people-powered campaign for change. In the 5th District, we're going to try something new, having netroots, from here in the District, from all around New Jersey, and from around the country, to have a leading role in changing our district and electing a Democrat to office in 2008.
We're going to have a larger role in shaping the debate, in researching the extremist record of Scott Garrett, of communicating a message to the press, in holding our nominee's feet to the fire, in raising money, in reaching out to the voters, and in shaping our ideas for the future. Please join with me in this new effort, which we'll launch after Thanksgiving. We can't do it without you, and you'll all be an integral part of it. Please give me your suggestions, your thoughts, and get ready for 2008!
The silence is deafening as New Jersey's Congressional delegation awaits instructions from Washington on what to say or do next over the escalating page scandal. It should come as no surprise.
With Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's announcement that he's sorry, but he won't resign, despite mounting evidence that he was complicit in a partisan coverup of Rep. Mark Foley's inappropriate advances toward teenage Congressional pages, the sad truth about NJ's "Shameful Six" has finally been laid bare: they are incapable of holding their own accountable for mistakes - no matter how grave.
Not upon learning their leaders ignored warnings in the summer of 2001.
Not when their administration utterly bungled its response to Katrina.
Not after a failed Iraq policy that is three years and almost three thousand American deaths (and so many more lives ruined) in the making.
And, not now.
They are the worst kind of apologists - all 6 voters for impeachment of President Clinton, mind you - without the courage to stand up against their own disgraced Republican leadership, or own up to their disgraced policies.
Radical Republican Ernie Scott Garrett has taken an unusual step; he's paid one of his Capitol Hill interns. Michael J. Inganamort, III was a rising senior at American University in Washington, D.C. when he received a congressional internship on Capitol Hill during the summer of 2005.
Unlike most internships, this one was paid. It was paid to the tune of $2,201.38 over a seven week period. In fact, as anyone who's ever interned in a congressional office knows, paid internships in a Capitol Hill office are almost unheard of, and almost never go to someone who is not a graduate or law student, let alone a college student.
So what's so special about Michael J. Inganamort, III. His father, Michael J. Inganamort, Jr., contributed $500 to Scott Garrett's campaign for Congress in 2004. And between 2002 and 2006, Michael J. Inganamort, Sr., Michael's grandfather, contributed $3,000 to Scott Garrett's campaigns.
Scott Garrett had other interns during this period. Michael J. Inganamort, III was the only one who was paid.
So why is this important? Scott Garrett takes campaign contributions from contributors and then gives their progeny a cushy Capitol Hill internship with some money to go with it. Well, there's one thing that makes this absurd. This is taxpayer money. And we all know how Scott Garrett feels about taxpayer dollars.
Garrett voted against Hurricane Katrina aid to victims devastated by the disaster. He was one of eleven in the House of Representatives out of 435 to vote against it.
Garrett voted against extending unemployment benefits to those on the unemployment rolls. He was one of four out of 435 in the House of Representatives to do that; it was his first vote in the House too.
And why does he hate helping poor people, and middle class families struggling from capricious natural disasters and the whims of unemployment?
On Garrett's reelection website, he notes that he has "been an outspoken advocate for fiscal restraint, having consistently called for more sanity and accountability in government spending." I guess paying off your campaign contributors with taxpayer money is pretty sane and accountable.
He goes on to say that "the Federal government must stop taking irresponsible liberties with your hard-earned tax dollars." Spending that $2,201.38 on education or health care is far less responsible than giving it to a contributor's kid. Boy, if only we could pay every silver spoon fed child some hard-earned dollars, we could just eliminate Social Security.
Garrett also makes clear that "as [our] Representative in Congress, [he] will continue to work for spending restraint and a shift it priorities away from the federal budget and back to the family budget." Clearly the family budget he's talking about is the Inganamorts' budget. At least he's looking out for some of his constituents.
Scott Garrett is a disgrace. Let's elect a real Representative.
Over at Retire Garrett, I've been covering Scott Garrett's mysterious evangelical church, the Lafayette Federated Church, and some of its literature, which I've obtained. Come and take a look at how the church claims stem cell research is "the commercial trafficking in the sale of baby body parts" and how the Netherlands' low gay marriage retention rate means that "homosexual marriage simply doesn't work." You'll get a bowl of laughs and realize why Scott Garrett has to go.
