What events in NJ attract a crowd of over 600,000 people? Izod Arena holds 23,000 and Meadowlands stadium holds over 60,000. One of the few event I can think of is a result of intensive training, winnowing of candidates, incredible guts, supreme determination, laser-like focus, and the highest level of professionalism. Unfortunately it's not our NJ politicians. It's the air force Thunderbirds and colleagues - a total of 80 pilots who flew in the Atlantic City Air Show on Wednesday dazzling us with their skills, death-defying aerobatics, and precision teamwork.
It's not that we haven't had great political leaders in New Jersey. Today a person like Senator Loretta Weinberg who started as Assistant Administrator to the County of Bergen, and then went on to become a Teaneck Councilwoman, Assemblywoman, Senator and LG candidate is an example to emulate. Our own Jeff Gardner first spent time learning the craft and then mobilized Democrats in his town to take over the Democratic committee.
Politics, above the introductory level, should be a vocation not an avocation. People with huge sums of money and zero political experience should not assume they are qualified for a high position. Those who are idolized only as a sports hero lack the training. Those who hold multiple positions lack the focus and are subject to conflicts of interest. They also need to understand what they do not know and avoid micromanagement, like thinking their office has the skills to direct the rewrite of a complex grant. As in all professions, politics requires training and ongoing education. Starting at a local level is an important step. Mastering new media is a virtual requirement today. Working smart and total immersion are necessary. A variety of groups including DFA provide the nuts and bolts for beginners. Garden State Equality recently offered a seminar to its constituency.
I don't particularly want a Thunderbird pilot as a NJ governor or legislator. But I sure would like politicians to receive more training and education before assuming midlevel or high positions and then to display more professionalism, focus, dedication and teamwork. If such were to happen maybe our leaders would have a higher voter approval, more voter turn out at the polls, and a level of enthusiasm, interest, and respect somewhat closer to what the Thunderbirds receive. And it's up to all of us to insist on higher standards.
Mayor Anna Little may be "Tea Party approved" but it looks like the bridge over the Shrewsbury River leading from the Mayor's home town of Highlands to Sea Bright was approved by Democrats in Washington and is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Something she would have voted "No" on - had she been in the seat she's running for now, Frank Pallone's in NJ-6.
DFA-NJ's Will Rosenthal poses by a stimulus project
On Saturday, Democracy for America (DFA) national Chair Jim Dean and DFA-NJ met up in Monmouth County for their 6th Annual DFA at the Beach event at Moby's in Highlands. Great deck bar, by the way.
Monmouth County DFA Chair, Red Bank Councilman Ed Zipprich casually mentioned to me that the bridge construction in the background of the DFA group photo is ironic because Tea Party candidate Little has benefitted from yet another Democratic chunk of ARRA stimulus money right in her own back yard.
At least the crane in the background is painted red!
Now, speaking of beach + fun, Dems 2000's having their Beach Bash tonight, by the way - have a blast, Dems 2000!
More pictures from DFA at the Beach, after the jump (thanks, Joe Osborne & Ed Zipprich, for the pix).
Yesterday was a wash in terms of getting anything out the door. There are 2,000 bloggers and politicians here at the swanky Rio Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, but yesterday so much pull on the bandwidth that it crashed the internet here ... for hours.
Everybody here is working on strengthening the progressive movement. It's a buzzy place.
The first big session of the day yesterday was Primaries Matter: Reclaiming the Democratic Party. Bill Halter the big draw; his narrow loss in the Arkansas Senate Primary last month to incumbent Blanche Lincoln was the kind of galvanizing opportunity that drew in activists from all over the country, showing up to buttress the drive for change of the locals on the ground. Redefining what the Dems are all about via the choice of a forward-thinker over a moderate.
Halter was great, giving credit for making his campaign viable quickly. He outlined how roots groups massed - superquick - to make his run viable. He declared March 1. By end of day March 2, he'd raised $1 million on the strength of asks made by DFA, PCCC & MoveOn. Later, field staff and organizers materialized from all over the country.
And the drivers of Halter's soar were the rest of the panel - Arshad Hasan who runs DFA, Adam Green (PCCC), Ilyse Hogue (MoveOn), Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos, and the CM for Elaine Marshall's Senate .
Adam, who used to be the Communications Director of the NJDSC, talked about how progressives were viewed by the Party as rabblerousers, clueless complainers who didn't realize how much their desire to shift the party progressive was going to cost Democratic seats (a theme echoed in Washington Post's coverage of the session.
That got big laughs. The room was packed with people who make things happen for candidates the infrastructural party ignores, or opposes. They're primarying candidates who deserve challenge. The mother of all is Ned Lamont's meteoric (winning) primary challenge to Joe Lieberman, which gave courage to the entire class of 2006 Dem congressional candidates to come out against the Iraq War.
Halter said the only thing he'd have done differently in his race was getting in earlier - he had only a 77-day window (but lost by only 3 points). Halter's campaign had the life, the drive, viable $$ (credit netroots) - he was the stronger candidate. (Our old friend Steve Kornacki does a great job explaining why the wrong candidate won this race - at salon.com)But Lincoln's had the power of incumbency, the infrastructural party (which should have been with Halter, if it was smart) and Bill Clinton who used his considerable powers for her. On this, Adam Green was definitive:
It's tough to see someone you've believed in betray you in a big way. We need to pick our heroes. . . . I think it would be sad if we went through this entire conference without calling out Bill Clinton for what he did.
More later. Met up with Adam L aka clammyc this morning, and we're hitting up sessions and meetings.
Ok, let's face it. If you're on Blue Jersey on a sunny Friday evening in July, you're either a progressive junkie, or in serious need of a pick-me-up. Either way, I've got something for you.
Democracy for America is once again sponsoring its annual Grassroots All-Star Contest this year, and the first round ends at midnight tonight.
Ed Potosnak, NJ-7 is the only NJ candidate in this year's contest, and he is currently in the Top 10 - he's currently #9 - of 100 candidates competing nationwide. The first round is about to end, and Ed needs every vote he can get TONIGHT!
Only the Top 10 finishers go on to the final round, and there's plenty at stake: bigtime exposure, and DFA financial support in the tens of thousands of dollars.
DFA-NJ has had great success winning many of DFA's online contests in the past, and we've come oh so close to winning the Grassroots All-Star Contest in the past, but we've never won it. But, we've got a great chance this year with Ed. Can you get behind him? If you VOTE for ED POTOSNAK right now, you can keep Ed in the Top 10 and into the final round next week. The winner will be our national DFA Grassroots All Star.
And let's face it, it's Friday night and you're reading this. I think you can spare the 30 seconds. I did.
:)
In about 2 minutes, you can do something for a candidate who's picking up a lot of national attention. Ed Potosnak, who's running against the GOP's Leonard Lance in NJ-7, is up for the national Democracy for America endorsement in a contest called DFA Grassroots All Stars. You can show him the love whether you're in DFA or not. More on Ed in a minute. Here's what you can do to help Ed Potosnak become the next DFA Grassroots All Star:
1. Vote here. (Keep Ed your 1st choice; only the 1st-choice votes count towards this national contest).
2. Give a shout out: Shoot a personal note to your contacts using this link: www.grassrootsallstars.com/Potosnak. (Link makes Ed the First Choice).
3. Twitter? RT this to your followers: Help @edpotosnak become the next DFA Grassroots Allstar VOTE http://bit.ly/bUguGu
Ed's running an uphill battle and he knows it; he does considerable progressive grassroots outreach. The only Dem challenger who came to the DFA Campaign Training, joining Pallone, Holt & Wisniewski. He called every Democratic county committee person in the primary. National Stonewall Democrats-endorsed (one of only 12 nationally). Garden State Equality-endorsed. He does the work. That stuff gets noticed.
On Memorial Day in Flemington, 30 Tea Party folks marched behind a big Tea Party banner. And there were no Democrats to counter them. But today, thanks to some swift organizing, more than 30 Democrats and progressive DFA folks marched in the Lebanon 4th of July Parade. I'm particularly proud that our effort's MVP's - Dianne Perfit & Jill Fuhrmann - put this together the old-fashioned way, with door-to-door outreach and phone calls. Congressional candidate Ed Potosnak (waving in last picture) joined us. This is Hunterdon, so it was nice to see our folks enjoy plenty of applause as the strolled by. From such things come wins. And there were far more of us than Republicans in the parade. The Tea Party was nowhere to be seen. Here's just a few pictures (photos courtesy Bob Flisser, Hunterdon DFA):
Hunterdon County has two big events in the summertime. And on Memorial Day in Flemington, the Tea Party showed up in numbers for the first time, behind their Tea Party banner. And there was zero Democratic Party presence. Zero.
And to hell with that.
So, this Sunday, the Democrats - and DFA & candidates & families - are roaring back at the Lebanon 4th of July Parade, NJ's oldest. Marching with us will be Leonard Lance's NJ-7 Democratic challenger, Ed Potosnak.
Walk with us, Blue Jerseyans. We need you, and we intend fun. Lebanon is the kind of town where residents wake up super-early on Independence Day to hang bunting on everything that doesn't move. Kind of place where the parade ends up in the park where everybody hang outs, eats hot dogs and drinks beer. Frankly, it's important there be progressive - and Dem - visibility. For 21-County Strategy to work, Democrats have to do the unexpected. Be visible in places where nobody expects. The truth is, we're everywhere. And part of the job of organizing is making it easier for progressives to see that they're not the only ones around. Can you help us show up big?
--- Progressives have a reason to walk with Ed Potosnak - some nice poll numbers against the weaker-than-expected Leonard Lance.
--- Gay people and straight supporters have a reason to walk with Ed Potosnak. Ed picked up 2 big endorsements this week. He's one of just one dozen congressional candidates Stonewall Democrats will endorse in 2010 (Rush Holt is another of the 12). Garden State Equality also endorsed Ed. And Leonard Lance voted against the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT).
---DFA people, Ed is endorsed by Hunterdon DFA (full disclosure, this is a group I help run).
Email me to join us! Or drop a note in Comments. Seriously, we want you there, Blue Jersey. Kids, too.
We had a Bloggers Breakfast this morning, before the start of the 2nd day of the DFA Campaign Training here in Ocean County. A very different breakfast than I expected. I thought we'd have 5 people. And we had 19.
Jeff Gardner & I played host, and some familiar names showed up. Deciminyan tells me it's okay to out his real name - Steve Stern. Deciminyan blogs here and also at his own blog. And he explained how he took his username - one-tenth of a minyan. tabbycat31's here too - Caroline - for Blue Jersey and her Outspoken Liberal. And Joey Novick focuses on writing about the right-wing. And that kicked off a ferocious conversation about Tea Party followers, and what might be gained from talking to people who disagree with you, or whether it's a complete waste of time (it isn't).
One of the most interesting conversations was started by Clay, who is sharp and young and despises all pundits. He thinks blogging's a complete distraction from winning elections; he doesn't want our reliable voters (like most bloggers) talking to other reliable voters, but to persuadables. My issue with that is that blogs - unlike many party activities - are never dormant the way elections often evaporate when the last confetti hits the floor. Blogging is one way to keep a community informed, engaged and prepped for what's next. And do research, the way people like huntsu and Thurman Hart were digging up stuff on Chris Christie and putting it in context 3 years ago. They had Chris Christie's number before almost anybody did. Adam Gordon from Fair Share Housing Center was there too, and he talked about how Blue Jersey readers flooded key legislators' offices with calls demanding more transparency, and how Asm Jerry Green responded to that.
We also had some regular posters at Daily Kos, and regular readers of TPM. There was a lot of talk about how to break ideas out of the echo chamber. How linking posts to facebook & Twitter, which your college roommate, your friends from the gym and the guy you work with read - and aren't the well-informed progressive you are - gets your stuff outside the prog circle. There's also a lot of quiet reading of right-wing blogs. Shhhh.
Several people who came this morning are so fresh to blogging that they didn't know how to find a blog, or what to do once you find one. And that was great; we love new people and Blue Jersey will be emailing them a little info package of blogging stuff to dive into.
A couple cool ideas came out of this morning's conversation, one a resource for activist writers that Blue Jersey might be able to make available and the other a maybe way to have Sunday Morning Bloggers Breakfast every week.I want to say thanks to everybody who came this morning and all the old hands reading this right now.
The training's in Ocean County. It's not too late to decide to come. And you don't have to be DFA, or running for office. It's the first time we've ever done something this big in this red a place. And we chose Ocean County because that's where Chris Christie picked up his largest margin of victory (oh hell, second largest - my county of Hunterdon was a shade worse).
The training's an intense 2-day boot camp, covering everything from message development, how to ask for money, social media strategy, how to run a canvass and how to get a job in politics. Full schedule.
Here are some of the extras that will make this so much fun.
Special Guests: Congressmen Frank Pallone and Rush Holt. Newark Councilman Ron Rice. NJDSC Chair Asm John Wisniewski. DFA national Chair Jim Dean.
Candidates Roundtable: A special session, for candidates only. Campaign mentors Rep. Frank Pallone, Councilman Ron Rice, DFA Chair Jim Dean and several DFA-trained electeds now helping to run their towns, like Ed Zipprich and Chris Leitner, who are both councilmen and municipal chairs in their hometowns of Red Bank and Point Pleasant Borough, respectively.
PARTY Saturday Night: Whether you can come to the Training or not, we'll wind up at the waterfront bar The Lobster Shanty in Point Pleasant around 7. Bar's to the left - of course - when you walk in.
Bloggers Breakfast: 8:30am Sunday morning. Hosted by Blue Jersey. Just a casual meet & greet for training attendees who blog, or lurk here at Blue Jersey or anywhere else in the interwebs. Jeff Gardner & I will be there, Deciminyan, tabbycat31, Jersey Shore John, and whoever else rolls in the door at that ungodly hour.
Looking forward to seeing everybody tomorrow. #DFAtrainingNJ
Jeff Gardner is the new Democratic Municipal Chair in his hometown of Hawthorne, winning Monday over long-time Chair Sen. John Girgenti. How did that happen? It happened because Jeff & his team - key players from Passaic DFA and DFA-supported candidates - reached out to voters with better ideas and stronger progressive platform. And they won. Jeff is a graduate of Democracy for America (DFA) Campaign Training.
Ed Zipprich is the new Democratic Municipal Chair in his hometown of Red Bank. How? Ed's been a valuable asset to every progressive step forward in Monmouth County for years. And when it was time for the long-time Muni Chair to step down, he wanted to hand that job ... right to Ed. Ed's a graduate of DFA Campaign Training.
Chris & Jack & team
Chris Leitner & Jack McHugh won an election nobody expected them to win, the first straight-up Dems elected in Point Pleasant Boro in 30 years, restarting a defunct Democratic Club with Chris as Municipal Chair. How? Chris & Jack are graduates of DFA Campaign Training.
People, this is the new age of Gov. Chris Christie. Uphill battles. Deeply screwed-up priorities, sometimes in both parties. So DFA Campaign Training - intensive, fun-filled progressive action boot camp - is going where Christie slammed it: Ocean County. Are you running for office? Thinking about it? New, or just defeated county committee member? Working an important issue? Come train with the best allies you'll ever meet. Seriously, you'll grow muscle you never knew you had in you. I'm just sayin.
Update 6/10/10 - The vote-by-mail results have been counted and have not altered Tuesday night's outcome of this election. Jeff has a majority of county committee members, and the party election for new municipal chair in Hawthorne must take place by Tuesday.
Update: Jeff Gardner is the new Democratic Municipal Chair of Hawthorne, NJ.
Jeff Gardner is now well-positioned to become the next Democratic Municipal Chair of his hometown of Hawthorne (Passaic), having just prevailed over longtime Municipal Chair Senator John Girgenti in a party contest for county committee seats. Voting machine results show Jeff's slate won 19 of 26 seats, to Girgenti's 7 seats. Still to be counted, however, are at least 79 vote-by-mail ballots, which could still change that equation. So, it's going to be a late night in Hawthorne, which may spill into tomorrow before the obvious trend is certified as a clear win.
During this campaign, Girgenti's team employed disreputable tactics against the upstart party reformers led by Jeff, including sending out a mailer with a snarling police dog, an ugly chain link fence and the headline: Beware of Fake Democrats, accusing Jeff's Democrats for Hawthorne team of being secret Republicans. In fact, something like the opposite was true, as GOP stalwarts in Hawthorne seemed uncomfortable enough at the idea of change that they inserted themselves into the Democratic primary as something quite more than mere bystanders.
But assumption of voter loyalty and contempt for challengers of your own party are no substitute for shoe leather and fresh ideas.
Jeff and the team behind him showed how it's done. His people - who include bluestatejoe - simply and plainly did their work. They were out weekends, and evenings meeting voters, laying out their plans to fellow Democrats and engaging them in the changes to come. Also a factor in Jeff's win was the Democracy for America group he leads in Passaic County, which meets in Hawthorne, enthusiastically supports the primary process, and contributed labor and ideas to the Hawthorne party reformers.
Congratulations, Jeff. Congratulations Democrats for Hawthorne. Next comes the reorganization meeting, and the election of a new Municipal Chair. You earned change. Can't wait to watch you make it. And I hope you have Glee Tivo'd.
One month from today, we'll be in the 2nd day of a big, buzzy campaign training, in a place most people won't expect it to be. DFA's bringing its national Campaign Training to Ocean County, where Chris Christie decimated Jon Corzine. 21-County Strategy, baby.
DFA's founder is Howard Dean, whose 50-State Strategy helped vault President Barack Obama to the White House, by changing the dominant paradigm of whose vote - in what part of the country - was worth fighting for. It feels right, in 2010, to plunk this down in Ocean County.
More info/RSVP to join us at the DFA Campaign Academy, June 26-27, in beautiful Brick, NJ. A rollicking weekend of intense and fun study with some of the country's best political experts & mentors awaits, in a room of allies and local opinion leaders like everyone reading this post. Plus, a big party. Candidates, their teams, people there just to learn how to organize more effectively. Running for office? We've got special sessions just for you. But there will also be plenty of people there just to sharpen organizing skills and effectiveness. And the models we'll use will be the campaigns, issues, and organizations that walk through the door.
Ocean's the farthest south - in the reddest county - we've ever brought DFA Campaign Training to, in NJ. We're pretty stoked. Some of the organizing already going on in South Jersey is extraordinary. There are remarkable advocates & candidates.
What you can expect to be covered: writing a field plan, developing message, making the "ask" in fundraising, voter contact, event planning, running canvass and phone bank teams, media outreach, working with volunteers, and using social media. Low-cost (special rate for low income/student).
Full disclosure, Jeff Gardner & I help run DFA-NJ and we'll host the trainers flying in from all over the country, along with Will Rosenthal (Essex), Deb Magin (Monmouth) and Sabastian Belfon (Bergen).Intrigued?
Zerlina blogs as Lady Z at The Urban Politico, a blog I like a lot. She's a founder, and the manager. And she just started blogging in September.
The Urban Politico's a 4-person team, in NJ, Philly & D.C. - one a lawyer, one in state government and the other working in D.C. Zerlina's works as a paralegal by day, and attends Rutgers Law School, Newark as a night student. She's "the most liberal" of the four, says they talk all day long, and often collaborate on diaries. And they weigh in on each other's posts with "2 cents" reactions that broaden the conversation. Some of those conversations go on for a days, like the question, Is Gay the New Black?
Zerlina's a fellow at New Leaders Council, and was an organizer posted in Virginia for the Obama campaign, but says her blog chops come from heavy on-line reading after college (Tufts, she's 28). Before she found blogging, she shipped op-eds she found to friends via facebook. She's always been the person "everybody goes to for news."
Best way to describe Netroots Nation is blogger heaven. A couple thousand extraordinarily smart and opinionated people under one roof all at the same time to confab and, uh, seriously party. Speakers lineup isn't out year, but Senator Al Franken (damn, that still sounds awesome) is closing, and last year's speakers included Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, and Valerie Jarrett. Anybody can go, but the DFA NN10 scholars get most of their expenses paid (want to help contribute to that?), an extraordinary thing DFA does. Want to see what a winning application looks like? Here are the Round One winners. May 23's the deadline for Round Two.
I'll be at Netroots Nation. So will Adam. And Lady Z. You coming?
Cross-posted at Jack & Jill Politics, where founder Baratunde Thurston writes as Jack Turner - Promoted by Rosi
(Note from Baratunde: I'm a resident of Brooklyn, NY and co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics. I perform standup comedy and work by day at The Onion. Finally, GO BLUE JERSEY!)
Last night I visited Newark, NJ for the first time. I'd been through Newark on buses and trains between NYC and Philly or DC, but I had never bothered to stop. I'd become mildly obsessed with the city as my previous posts on Mayor Cory Booker and the Brick City documentary made clear. However, last night, I had good reason to exit the train station and stay a while.
These are all nice boxes one can check off on a list defining a "good progressive candidate," but these are not the things that convinced me to jump on a commuter rail and tell jokes to strangers. What stood out to me was that Rice helped start the West Ward Collective whose stated mission is:
To finish the business of the 1969 Black and Puerto Rican Convention by decentralizing the decision-making process of the city of Newark by example in the West Ward and to empower West Ward stakeholders to create a holistically stable ward for all of its residents.
The West Ward Collective is organized and run by workgroups and ward based organizations and non-profits... Each workgroup is made up of West Ward residents, community based organization leaders, ward business owners, etc. that have expertise and/or interest in working on these issues directly for the benefit of the West Ward. It is ward based.
The WWC is organized into a series of workgroups such as education, arts and culture, housing, etc and meets twice a month. It helps raise awareness of city resources within the community, and operates in the opposite direction, influencing city policy based on community involvement.
I was impressed with Rice's commitment to sharing and distributing power deeper within the community. Elected officials often use their positions to consolidate power for themselves, to make themselves indispensable to the extreme and create something that looks more like a kingdom than a democracy. Rice appears to be doing the opposite, and I was proud to support that effort in a small way last night.
Side note: I also learned that making Sharpe James jokes in Newark is still a bit risky. He has some vocal supporters who let me know my jibes and Marion Barry comparisons were unwelcome. As we often say in the business: too soon.
You can find out more about Ron Rice Jr on his website. (Incidentally, his father is State Senator Ron Rice, whom Booker defeated for mayor in 2006).
John Wisniewski's people trumpeted the news yesterday that he has secured the endorsement of all 21 Democratic County Chairs. We bit. We wrote about it - because it's interesting, and people want to know.
But what I want to know, is where Wisniewski wants to take us, and how. I'm less interested in the personalities of who leads the state party than in what - specifically - they're doing to change party infrastructure and methods. Transparency. Platform. Outreach.
I'll tell you a story of something I got very wrong, before I got it right. I host Hunterdon DFA, and I'm one of the people who organized the state DFA-NJ. It would have killed Howard Dean if the surging grass/netroots organizing that grew up behind his campaign came to a dead stop after he stopped running, as Democratic organizing so often peters out behind unsuccessful candidates. So Democracy for America was born. And in the early days of it, some of us got a call: What did we think of Howard Dean running for DNC Chair? Well. I was against it - a solid no. I wanted Dean to re-emerge as candidate for president, again.
But when I took the question to Hunterdon DFA, they set me straight: If we don't have somebody who can fix the party infrastructure, who can change everything, we won't win anything - not the White House, or the House, or the Senate.
Lightbulb. Really, sometimes I can be so slow.
When Howard Dean ran for DNC Chair, he ran on a clear organizing principle: Reform Democratic spending and focus; less to hidebound inside-Beltway consultants, and more to training and underwriting energetic organizers to fan out and work locally (thank you). End the focus on "target" races only; concede no voter, no District, no state.
He told everybody what he was running on. It was out on the table. And he was right. So, John Wisniewski, I want to know your plan.
Taking my lesson from Hunterdon DFA, the challenge NJ Dems face is every bit as critical as the Bush White House that Dean stared down. The vectors aren't ours right now. NJGOP has a reason to live for the first time in a decade of looking stupid. They're high on life, and we are not. We face a GOP executive riding high. And the rootin'-tootin' corruption shooter Chris Christie is our boots 'n spurs tough-talking George W. Bush. The wind isn't going to shift in our direction without change from within. I think we're owed hearing how Wisniewski is going to be New Jersey's Howard Dean.
This is in no way an indictment of Joe Cryan, who I like a great deal. And I was in the room for this meeting too, and I agree about the man Wisniewski is. This isn't personal.
The NJDSC will have a Vice-Chair, too. I'm told in confidence it's likely to be someone I know. I hope she comes forward with her proposals, too, and I hope I never see anything like this happen again. And Steve Sweeney, with the awesome party power of his office, will I hope also be public about how he can and will change the party's paradigm.
Hell yes, it's on. And if any of you Blue Jersey readers are down there advocating for parity in our marriage laws, by all means chime in with your own comments, pictures or a diary of your own. - - Promoted from the diaries by Rosi
Update 12:01pm 300 pro-equality lobbyists - gay and straight - showed up on our side, with people still coming. Fewer than 75 people showed up to tell your state legislators to keep marriage only for us straight folks. 300 is 4 times 75, babies. Fierce turnout!
Update! 11:44am Our press conference begins at noon. Video to follow.
Update! 11:08am. Senator Cardinale just arrived. He's at his irrepressible best which means all is well with the world. One thing I've noticed about our opponents is their thinking is a generation behond for a good reason: They tend to be older. I'm thirty-seven and I'm an elder statesman on my side. On their team, I'd be the youngest buck.
Update! 10:20 am and the pro-equality crowd is so massive that we're still filing through security. In fact the progressive coalition's now filled yet another committee room to capacity. The pro-marriage crowd looks young and vital while the haters have a look that says "time is NOT on our side."
It's 9:20 am and it's officially on. If juicy lame duck is you're thing, the State house is the place for you.
The Senate Judiciary hearing room is packed to max with marriage equality friend and foe.
But little do they know, we have reinforcements. See below.
If you can't make it personally, maybe you can make some phone calls. You guys know the drill: Sweeney and Sarlo need to hear from you. Every day.
There's been a lot of buzz about the progressive coalition headed to Trenton Monday to lobby towards Marriage Equality. (details below, hat tip Alison Pelzman)
I'll be there. Lots of my friends and allies will be there too. Will you? Consider this a pre-lobby day open thread.
Rally with the Garden State Equality/BlueJerseyACLU-NJ/DFA in Trenton Monday, November 23.
We're meeting at:
Garden State Equality's New Jersey Office
110 W. State Street, Trenton
Monday, November 23, 2009
8:30 a.m.
If there's a day to take off work for a cause, it's Monday. Your day off could mean a lifetime of equality for families in New Jersey.
If you live in another state, just promise to help us raise hell, deal? If we win, we'll celebrate at the Atlantic City boardwalk. If we lose, we'll go to the casinos and take bets on what we'll see first: civil rights for New Jersey's gay families or a lesbian Miss America.
DFA-NJ is the Jersey homebase of Democracy for America, the nation's largest progressive political action community. With local groups meeting monthly all over the state, DFA is a grassroots engine to change the Democratic Party from the bottom up. We provide campaign training, organizing resources, and media exposure so our members have the power to support progressive issues and candidates, up and down ballot. We're proud of every one of these candidates, they're our progressive standard-bearers. And some of them might be local to you. Full disclosure: Jeff Gardner & I both serve on the DFA-NJ executive board.
Jon Corzine & Loretta Weinberg It's enough that Jon Corzine's running against a candidate as unacceptable Chris Christie. But above that, we find Corzine an admirable governor struggling uphill against a national economic downturn (read: George Bush). Expanding health coverage for NJ kids. Paid family leave. First-in-the-nation economic recovery program, ditto return-to-work. Ready to sign Marriage Equality. Expanded early childhood education. Choice. Ends the death penalty. Corzine stands with Obama, and that's the future. Christie's a product of Bush, and we don't want to go back. But for us, when Corzine chose that corruption-busting, pro-transparency, no-nonsense progressive hot chick Loretta Weinberg, this race took off. She's our ally. There's nothing tempered, or guarded about the way we admire her. Website.
Doug Singleterry & Cecilia X. Birge for Somerset Freeholders Cecilia was born in China and spent part of her childhood in Chinese labor camps where her Western-educated parents were sent. As a student, she was in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, then came to America for college. She put her Wall Street background to work on Montgomery Twp council. And in 2007, she became the only Asian-American woman mayor in NJ history. Cecilia & North Plainfield Councilman Doug Singleterry focus on DFA core issues: transparency, accountability, fiscal responsibility, pay-to-play. Website.
Marianne Rampulla & Chan K. Leung for Raritan Twp Committee Raritan Twp's the center of one of the toughest GOP strongholds in the state. Every race is uphill. But this year, the Dems already have one of their own on committee, so if Marianne & Chan both win, the population center of red Hunterdon swings to Dem majority. Running for the 2nd time, they started early, came on strong. They're both very well-known in the community, both professionally and in high-level municipal and volunteer capacities. Website.
Naomi B. Collier for Hawthorne Mayor First woman ever to run in the general election for that position. An attorney, Naomi is sensitive to issues that face families, both young and old. Serves on the Executive Board of Woman Lawyers in Bergen County, & Trustee/Treasurer for the Jean Robertson Foundation. Volunteers for Alternatives to Domestic Violence. Instrumental in bringing the hugely successful farmers market to the borough. Priorities include developing a sustainable economic plan, revitalizing downtown & improving services to seniors and families. Website.
Dan Benson for Mercer Freeholder Dan Benson was appointed March 2008 as a Mercer Freeholder to an unexpired term and won a special election later that year for a 1-yr term. Dan's priorities are to expand on his progressive record of fiscal responsibility, open space preservation and job creation through infrastructure investment, and ensure Mercer County has a progressive voice in government. He is running for a full 3 year term. Website.
Tammeisha Smith for NJ-23 Assembly First time Hunterdon DFA members heard Tammy speak, it was on the need for health care reform, with a strong personal story and concern for her elders. It was a surprise that she works in the insurance industry. But there, she manages outreach programs to bring access to affordable medical/prescription coverage to the community. Health care reform is her passion. Website
Randy Bishop for NJ-11 Assembly Randy is a Neptune Township Committeeman and the 3rd openly gay Mayor in NJ history. Randy believes that service to your community is one of the highest callings. His community background includes time serving on boards. He's been the local Chamber of Commerce President. In his professional background, Randy has both corporate experience, and is a small business owner. His priorities: job creation, meeting resident's health care needs and stemming the flight of families and businesses spurred on by our tax and regulatory structure. Website.
Jeff Grayzel for Morris Twp Committee Elected in 2007 with the help of many DFA members, he was the first Dem elected to Morris Twp. Committee in 34 years. Since Watergate. Jeff works hard for open & participatory government and citizen involvement, against pay to play & for improved land use. His grassroots efforts have won him the support of many Independents. Seeking a second three-year term. Website.
Not too long ago, there was a conversation between some of us political bloggers; it went on across the country and across state lines. We talked about this: How long do you think it will be before somebody on the right takes Ted Kennedy's memorial service, and what will inevitably be said there, and trashes it like they did Paul Wellstone's?
That struck me. I count two things as the engines behind everything I'm doing in politics right now. Howard Dean's What I want to know ...speech. And the massive arena celebration of the lives of Paul & Sheila Wellstone. Sen. Wellstone was not perfect; he was not angelic. But what he was, was brave. An ordinary, everyday guy with a Minnesota Senate seat.
Ted Kennedy was a very different guy. Tried most of his life to connect with the ordinary. And you bet there's going to be an effort to remind grieving congressional Democrats that health care was the cause of Kennedy's life. They'd better damn well pass it. And there's no way the right will not challenge that.
The answer to that question - How long? - is now. Today, Rush Limbaugh ridiculed Wellstone's memorial, that arena brimming with people who knew early that change was coming, and there was work to be done. Forward-thinkers, progressives, and fearless local organizers. There was more loss, and backlash, before there was winning. But that memorial - those people, those speeches - meant everything to me. And I can't just sit and listen to what was just said on the radio, without saying this:
Paul Wellstone didn't die. Not like they wanted him to.
UPDATE: Are you tweeting the Training? The hashtag today is #njdfatrain. Want to read people's tweets? Click here.- - Rosi
So here we are at Day 2 of DFA training. Matt and Rosi kicked it off with a few announcements - including one by Rosi regarding our humble liveblog today.
And with that, welcome to all new Blue Jersey users and DFA participants!!!
Today is a bit different from yesterday in that there are breakout sessions instead of everyone taking the same sessions. While it is tough to choose between fundraising, issue advocating, canvassing/phonebanking, media, stump speeches and volunteer management - but it looks like there are more than enough sessions to play to each participants' strengths.
For me personally, I am looking forward to the online organizing and new media sessions (and not just because "obi Juan" Melli, who is the New Media Director for the Jon Corzine09 campaign, will be teaching it).
So......what are you looking forward to learning today?
