Wyka Frelinghuysen Debate wednesday, Oct. 22nd

by: FogerRox

Thu Oct 16, 2008 at 11:24:00 AM EDT

Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 8pm
Livingston Senior/Community Center
204 Hillside Avenue, Livingston

Directions

Frelinghuysen wears out new talking point in Wyka debate

by: Jason Springer

Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 10:14:27 AM EDT

"People who paid into the Social Security system depend on that system," Frelinghuysen said, adding that he wants both houses of Congress to work in a bipartisan way when addressing the crisis that funding for both entitlement programs might face a decade from now.

"I think there's a need for a bipartisan commission in both of these area," he said.

Rodney Frelinghuysen has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 87.8% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which Frelinghuysen did not vote.

Frelinghuysen described the recently approved credit package in excess of $800 billion "the start of a very long process. Just because we gave power to (Treasury Secretary) Henry Paulson ... doesn't mean we're out of the woods."

The congressman again called for a bipartisan solution, saying that Congress should work toward for both reviving and stabilizing the economy while improving consumer confidence.

Frelinghuysen, during his summation, stuck to his bipartisan theme in promoting the need for the nation to become independent of foreign oil, and to emerge from the current economic stagnation.

"We don't need members of Congress to poison the atmosphere as we're trying to calm the atmosphere (for) true financial progress," he said.

Obama policy advisor Mark Alexander to speak at Wyka event

by: FogerRox

Wed Oct 08, 2008 at 12:44:30 AM EDT

Mark Alexander, Senoir Policy advisor to Barack Obama has just confirmed he will be speaking at the New Jersey for Democracy sponsored Wyka Lunch on Saturday Oct. 11th

Event location:

Mexicali Rose
10 Park St.
Montclair, New Jersey
Saturday, Oct. 11th,
Noon to 2pm
Appetizers & Juice bar

Featured speaker
Ron Rice Jr
West Ward Newark Councilman
Essex for Obama Chair

Novick & Geenfield team for Wyka comedy fundraiser

by: FogerRox

Tue Sep 30, 2008 at 10:52:42 PM EDT

STARRING:  Joey Novick and Sam Greenfield
HOSTED BY: Kevin O'Driscoll
FEATURING:  Michael Hayne and Harry Terjanian
WITH SPECIAL GUEST STAR:  Alex Adams as Rudy Giuliani

Rudy's going to be there ? And Al Gore too ?

Rodney voted to cut benefits for military orphans and widows

by: FogerRox

Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 02:35:45 PM EDT

Last week my dairy on how the Congressman voted against the New GI BIll received some attention from a Vet who contacted my privately to ask for further documentation of the Congressman's voting record on Vets issues.

Your wish Sir, is my command.

Join me for short trip on the wayback machine to 2006...

TomObamaRama

by: FogerRox

Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 12:17:18 PM EDT

TomObamaRama will bring together some of your favorite progressive political comics in a hilarious night of election year comedy. Headliners Joey Novick (HBO, Showtime) brings his unique New Jersey home town brand of humor and Sam Greenfield (CNN, Huffington Post) brings the funny from across the Hudson River.

STARRING: Joey Novick & Sam Greenfield

HOSTED by Kevin O?Driscoll

WITH SPECIAL GUEST STAR: Alex Adams as Rudy Giuliani

FEATURING:  Michael Hayne and Harry Terjanian

SPECIAL INVITED GUESTS: Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bono, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Pope Benedict XVI

Darress Theater
615 Main Street
Boonton, New Jersey 07005

Thursday, October 23rd
7:30pm ? 9:30pm

VIP Guests Invited To Back Stage Cocktail Party with Performers
9:30pm ? 11:00pm

Students/Seniors: $20 / person
Single Ticket: $30 / person
Couple: $50
VIP Ticket: $75
VIP Couple: $125

http://www.actblue.com/page/to...

Why Wyka can win

by: FogerRox

Mon Sep 22, 2008 at 04:46:38 PM EDT

-Some key name endorsements are in the works.

-Our financial plan can put us in the position to afford the foundation of what we need to spend money on, to win.

-Internal polling has injected more than hope into the staff.

Instead of the days and weeks spinning by way too fast, everything has slowed down, I am personally being way more productive. Both my subconscious and conscious are in overdrive. Even in my sleep I come up with ideas.

Rodney doesnt stand up for veterans

by: FogerRox

Sun Sep 21, 2008 at 04:23:29 PM EDT

Its a shame that Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Vietnam veteran does so little to support his fellow veterans. Congressman Frelinghuysen is in the rare position to represent those who gone into harms way, and come back home to find the VA underfunded with discretionary funding that can't be relied upon during the fiscal year.

Most or all Veterans organizations that score members of congress on their voting record on Veterans issues place Congressman Frelinghuysen at the bottom of the list.

Since 2000 Congressman Frelinghuysen has voted against everything on the Vets agenda, except for items that were passed unanimously or nearly so. According to Disabled Veterans of America, Congressman Frelinghuysen has the worst record on disabled veterans in the NJ House delegation.

Goal: Raise $10,000 for Tom Wyka, NJ's best DEM challenger.

by: FogerRox

Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 01:09:18 PM EDT

But Tom Wyka knows how to talk to the libertarian leaning republicans in his district, and after his run in '06, is making serious inroads against this so called safe seat.

In NJ-7 Linda Stender ran in '06, she lost by 1 pt. She's looking to close the deal in '08 and win big. In NJ-5 Dems have improved steadily, year after year, Dennis Shulman looks to make NJ-5 even more competitive in '08. But Tom Wyka has the audacity to run against the Frelinghuysen Dynasty in NJ-11, and has shown he has what it takes to be New Jerseys best democratic challenger. Tom's 2006 campaign set district records for the number of democratic votes. To paraphrase what  Bill Clinton said recently "history is on our side", with that kind of Mojo, it just might be the year that Rodney Frelinghuysen is vulnerable. So its time to get out there anddeliver the change New Jersey needs.

NJEA Endorses Wyka

by: Wyka press office

Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 05:56:30 PM EDT

The NJEA is the state affiliate of the National Education Association. NJEA has a local affiliate in every school district in New Jersey, almost all of them the leg ally recognized bargaining agent for that district's teachers. NJEA also has local affiliates in most of New Jersey's county colleges and in several of the state colleges.

Wyka says, "NJEA has given me a great honor by endorsing me in the Democratic primary and now in the general election. It's risky for them to endorse a challenger to an entrenched incumbent. However, the NJEA knows that I am committed to education, and they've seen some of the votes that my opponent has cast in Congress. For example, in 2006 he voted for the 'Raid on Student Aid,' which cut $12.7 billion from federal student aid programs. The proponents of that bill claimed they were doing it to reduce the deficit, but at the same time they were planning to cancel out those savings with a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, especially those with incomes of over $1 million per year. My opponent seems to be out of touch with the needs of ordinary people in this district, most of whom find it difficult to afford a college education for their children.

"A strong educational system is absolutely essential to our future prosperity. Our children need a good education in order to be able to function in the workforce and as citizens. Unfortunately, the No Child Left Behind act has not lived up to its promises. We must pass the No Child Left Behind Improvement Act (HR 648), which would close serious holes in that flawed program, and make it work for our children as opposed to working against them. We must also provide better financial aid and lower interest rates on student loans, so that our young people are not burdened by a crushing load of debt upon graduation."

www.tomwyka.com

Wyka: Drilling Offshore Won't Reduce Gas Prices Anytime Soon

by: Wyka press office

Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 10:50:36 PM EDT

By Tom Wyka, Democratic Candidate for Congress, New Jersey District 11 

www.tomwyka.com

On Monday, July 14, President George W. Bush lifted his father’s ban on drilling for oil and gas off the East and West Coast and in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. But before anyone can drill there, Congress would have to lift its own ban. The President said that “Now the ball is squarely in Congress’s Court.” However, the President knows full well that lifting this ban will do nothing to solve our current problems. The Energy Information Administration estimates that drilling in those areas won’t affect oil production and thus oil prices before the year 2030. In addition, oil companies already have 68 million acres under government leases that they can currently drill, and exploration ships are booked solid for the next five years.

We got a wakeup call about oil back in 1973, with the Arab Oil Embargo. We hit the snooze alarm again after the 1979 energy crisis. Starting in late 1978, a strike in the Iranian oilfields nearly shut off Iran’s oil production. Although other OPEC countries increased their production, the world’s output of oil decreased by about 4% in the short run. I remember the resulting gasoline shortages very clearly. I was a young teenager then, and I made some money selling newspapers at the end of my block to the people waiting in line for gasoline, at a station about half a mile away. We knew then that even a small decrease in oil supply could cause major problems. Yet what is our government doing while our gasoline prices are soaring? President Bush and our current incumbent Congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen, opposed efforts to shift tax incentives from big oil companies to efficiency and clean energy technologies, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. If alternatives are the future, why propose an oil-based solution that will not show any results for years?

Since the beginning of the oil business, the “problem” that the oil companies nearly always faced was overproduction. The big oil fields were discovered early, and it was all too easy to pump too much of that oil too fast. The resulting “oil gluts” would drop prices very low. But conditions have changed recently. There’s still lots of oil, but what’s left is harder and more expensive to produce. As a result, oil production hasn’t increased lately, despite the record prices. And it’s likely production levels can’t increase. Even Saudi Arabia might be able to produce only 10.4 million barrels per day on a sustained basis, and might not be able to produce more than 12 million barrels per day in emergencies. This is far less than recent optimistic estimates. When you combine stagnant supplies with rising world demand, you get today’s skyrocketing prices.

Currently, the rise in gasoline prices is causing real hardship for people throughout the country. We need Congress to do something that will make a difference now. For example, the American Trucking Associations want the national speed limit to be reduced to 65 mph. We also need more funding for public transit, which is having a huge growth in ridership. We also need to plan for the future. Back in 2006, I called for a new “Manhattan Project”—but this time to develop ways to conserve energy and harness alternative sources of energy. During his last few terms in office, your current Congressman has been too busy supporting the Bush administration and the oil industry’s profit margins to do much about these issues. Don’t you think it’s time for a change?

For further information:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/hr6sap-s_2.pdf

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/offshore_drilling.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/524632-12m-barrels-per-day-is-saudi-oil-limit

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7506346.stm

http://www.truckline.com/NR/exeres/E002129C-7BD1-4480-8603-A70538EFD74D.htm

http://www.lightrailnow.org/

Won't You Be Their Friends?

by: huntsu

Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 08:59:35 PM EDT

For those who are not on Facebook, just join and get some new friends!  (If I miss any groups or other Facebook pages please post them in comments.)

• Join John Adler's (NJ3) Group, or better yet, his "cooler, hipper group"
• Join Dave Kurkowski's (NJ2) Group
• Join Josh Zeitz's (NJ4) Group
• Join Dennis Shulman's (NJ5) Group
• Befriend Linda Stender (NJ7) and Join her Group
• Befriend Tom Wyka (NJ11) and Join His Group

OK, so they aren't really Groups but Politician Pages but it amounts to the same thing.  Join them already.

Wyka wins by 69%

by: FogerRox

Wed Jun 04, 2008 at 12:32:29 AM EDT

ONE 4-YEAR HOUSE TERM
Republicans
#Rodney Frelinghuysen* .... 22,458
Kate Erber ......................... 3,402
Democrats
#Tom Wyka ...................... 10,056
Ellen Greenberg .................. 2,233
Harry Hager ........................ 2,126

Thats right, NJ dot com has it as a 4 year term. :-)

In Essex County 5th district incumbant Freeholder, Ralph Caputo won a tight race against former Montclair Mayor Bob Russo. Jerry Vorbach did not fair well in his at large Freeholder  race.

ONE 3-YEAR DISTRICT 5 TERM
Democrats
#Ralph Caputo* ............. 3,743
Robert Russo ................ 3,432

FOUR AT-LARGE TERMS
(with 97 percent of the ballots counted)

Democrats
#Donald M. Payne Jr.* ....... 29,454
#Patricia Sebold* ............... 27,596
#Rufus Johnson ................. 26,724
#Blonnie R. Watson* .......... 26,669
Kevin G. Kennedy ................ 3,824
Susan Sotillo ...................... 3,228
Jerry F. Vorbach ................. 3,033
George M. Tillman Jr. .......... 1,727

I think they have the right length term on this one.

Get to know the Wyka campaign

by: Juan Melli

Fri May 30, 2008 at 10:56:32 AM EDT

Briefly, what prior campaign or other political experience do you bring to this race?
Like many of my friends I was moved to action by the disastrous policies of the Bush administration.  By the Fall of 2004 I was spending most weekends in Pennsylvania and Ohio volunteering for the Kerry campaign.  The day Kerry conceded I knew I could no longer afford to sit on the sidelines between elections.

So I joined up with committed local party leaders and activists in my community who were already working hard to create a strong and lasting progressive majority.  I'm now a graduate of Camp Wellstone and two DFA trainings, both of which I highly recommend to anyone interested in progressive politics.  This past Fall I helped run Morris County Democratic Headquarters in support of all of our local and state candidates.  And now I'm honored to be part of a great team of people working to keep up with Tom Wyka as he campaigns to bring real change to the people of the 11th District.

What's the least healthy meal you've ever had on the campaign trail?
I'm the sort of person who can get so caught up in what I'm doing that I'll forget to eat.  That's especially true when I'm working on a campaign.  And being a vegetarian, I sometimes find myself cobbling together meals of side dishes when there's no vegetarian option.  At the very end of the campaign last Fall this all came together during an all nighter before the polls opened. At something like 1:00 in the morning I found myself picking the meat off a deli tray sandwich and making a meal of little more than stale bread and mustard.

Rodney Frelinghuysen and The Banality of Evil

by: Vietvet for Obama

Fri May 30, 2008 at 09:33:03 AM EDT

Those were the famous words of the young John Kerry before the Fulbright Committee in 1971.  

The question is as relevant today as it was then.  

Harry Hager is the only Congressional candidate (Democrat, 11th CD) who is astute enough and -- frankly, PO-ed enough -- to make the point.

Lies have been told, to justify the war.  The lies continue to this very day.  

They are willful.

Rodney Frelinghuysen knows full well -- or else he's amnesiac -- that this war cannot be won.

Why can it not be won?  It should be obvious, but let me spell it out.

We send hundreds of men with guns, big guns, and big trucks and heavy armor into a country where they do not speak the language and have maybe a crash course in the culture.

They take over the roads, they shoot the place up just to make an impression; they are foul-mouthed and disrespectful to the citizens including their women.  

We get only one chance in life to make a bad impression.

Almost immediately they have lost any hope of gaining the trust of the locals.

Almost immediately they have lost any cooperation and hope of so-called "actionable intelligence" to find the bad guys.

But they have to do something, so they interrogate people, treat them badly, run around, knocking down doors in the middle of the night.

It takes very little time before they have created more enemies than were there when they came in.

Pretty soon, they are in a cycle:  more bad guys, more casualties, more frustrating interrogations, more abusive treatment, more bad guys.

Rodney knows this.  He was in Vietnam -- where we saw it every day.

Still he repeats the militarist rhetoric.  It's bred in the bone of these old-line families, the McCains and Frelinghuysens, the families who gave their all to fight the cold war.  

They still don't get it that a guerilla war --  asymmetric warfare -- cannot be won by brute force.  

Moreover, in Iraq and Afghanistan we are surrounded and out-numbered.  

The borders are open to unlimited numbers of suicidal maniacs.  The Madrassas produce thousands of them.  They are waiting line to go out and kill Americans.  We have no idea who or where they are.  They refuse to wear uniforms. They look just like any other citizen, but they are waiting and watching.

Which goes to another reason why we cannot win: the element of surprise.

According to our own military doctrine -- which goes back to Clausewitz 150 years ago -- the element of surprise today lies entirely with the bad guys.  They have a thousand eyes, watching us, they know our every move.

We barely know who they are, much less what they are up to.

As much as Custer at Little Bighorn, Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan are surrounded and out-numbered.  

We are always on the defensive, surprised by every IED, every suicide bomber.

Then, throw in the endemic corruption in a society that has never known the rule of law.  Throw in the Sunni-Shia fanaticism.  

You have a witch's brew of an unwinnable war.  

Rodney knows all of this.  We should not have to spell it out.

Yet people die every day -- because of Rodney's lies.

"Cut and run," how many times did we hear that from Frelinghuysen?  '"Fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here."  

Now, he can't spin those lies any more, so he goes back to "...playing politics with our veterans."

He's the one who is playing politics.  He's playing politics with people's lives.  

He knows full well -- or else he's amnesiac, willfully -- that this war cannot be won.  

If we win the primary on June 3rd, we will raise the money, and we will bring Rodney down.

If we win the primary, we will reach out to Congressional leaders like John Kerry, Jim Webb, Jack Murtha, Joe Sestak, and Patrick Murphy -- all either Vietnam or Iraq war veterans -- who would love to see Frelinghuysen defeated.

And they would welcome more anti-war veterans in Congress.

With the grace of God, and a press corps using their God-given native intelligence, we will bring this terrible man down.

Willful lies.  The Banality of Evil.  Did you guys ever hear of Hannah Arendt?

It's all a matter of degree

Tom Wyka on Blue Jersey Radio

by: Jeff Gardner

Wed May 28, 2008 at 02:00:00 PM EDT

Tom Wyka, NJ-11 Congressional Candidate

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 NJ-11 Congressional Candidate Tom Wyka, who is back for a rematch against Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen in a District where the Dems have cut the Republican registration advantage by 20,000 voters this year alone. Tune in tonight at 8:00 p.m. and find out what Tom's got planned this year to finish the job he started in 2006.

We'll take your calls starting at 8:00 p.m. at:
(646) 652-2773
Talk to you then!

Now, don't worry if you get here early, because you can always listen to last week's show, featuring Josh Zeitz, Congressional Candidate in NJ-4 (with its brand new democratic registration advantage). It's definitely worth a listen.

Rodney "always there" for vets?

by: Tom Wyka

Fri May 23, 2008 at 11:43:52 PM EDT

Unlike our congressman, I'm not a veteran myself, and no deed that I can lay claim to even comes close to the sacrifice that these people have made for our country.....

A Hot Rod with Moneybags

by: Thurman Hart

Tue May 20, 2008 at 03:07:08 PM EDT

Funny thing about those warchests.  These days, donations have to be disclosed.  So OpenSecrets tells us that the occupations claimed by his top donors (for 2008) are: 1) "Retired" ($70,100); 2) Pharmaceuticals ($38,850); 3) Defense Electronics ($26,400); 4) Real Estate ($26,000); and 5) Lobbyists ($23,850).  The top five donors were: 1) DRS technologies ($11,600), 2) AT&T ($7,800), 3) Honeywell ($7,100); 4) Capitol Resources($6,900); and 5) Direct Meds, Inc.($6,900).  

What does it say about the race that Hot Rod picks up more money from the Pharmaceutical companies alone than Tom Wyka has been able to raise?  Well, it means that Tom has a tough job ahead of him.  It also means that the old Hot Rod is vrooming along with his tank full of drug money.

Now, anyone that represents this district is going to have a lot of money from pharmaceuticals - and from Honeywell.  They don't necessarily like Hot Rod - they may even hate his guts.  But they expect him to win and they want to make sure his door is open when they come knocking to kill universal health insurance (or at least the parts that will hurt their profits).  I don't think for a moment that Hot Rod, or any other member of Congress, can be bought for $25,000.  That's just the entry fee.  Make the jump

Engaging your supporters through technology

by: Jason Springer

Tue May 13, 2008 at 07:24:19 PM EDT

Do you ever see ads on websites, and think that you would do a better job at designing them? If so, enter the contest to design the first BlogAd for the Adler for Congress team!

It's important to note that while technology will not replace traditional campaign tactics such as door knocking and phone calls, it certainly can assist and enhance those efforts.  Technology can amplify the campaigns message across many mediums before numerous audiences.  It's another tool at your disposal to help get the job done.

In the recent diaries, you can see a video blog diary by candidate Tom Wyka utilizing the youtube platform so that people who are lazy like me and don't want to read a complete message all of the time can click play to watch a video of him giving a clear explanation of money in politics.

The Stender for Congress campaign has a facebook group.

The Andrews for senate campaign has capitalized on the skills of Jay Lassiter and a handy dandy youtube account to incorporate videoblogging giving us a behind the scenes look at a campaign for Senate along with having a facebook group.  I've gotten emails about their latest videos and last week I got a message through the facebook group inviting supporters to the filming of a TV commercial.  The Lautenberg re-election campaign also utilizes a facebook page allowing people to join and show their support.

Many candidates have attempted to engage the netroots through posts here on BlueJersey and other national blogs.  We thank them for that and encourage them to come back frequently to continue the conversation.  BlueJersey is also engaging people with technology, so feel free to follow us on Twittter and join our myspace or facebook groups.

I hope more campaigns will follow the lead of these candidates and Blue Jersey by continuing to engage technology as a tool to help enhance the great work they are already doing.    

Tom explains money in politics

by: Tom Wyka

Tue May 13, 2008 at 08:12:56 AM EDT