Yesterday at 10AM I was warm and cozy, sleeping in my bed on a cold October morning at Drew University (Madison, New Jersey). I was dreaming peacefully about a Democratic landslide in November, with Democrats picking up 35 House seats and 7 in the Senate, and Bush being forced to resign, and Al Gore was somehow Vice-President again, so...
Then my phone rang. It was Chip, the Morris County Democratic Campaign Coordinator. I had forgotten to set my alarm for earlier. Oops.
"Hey Stephen, do you want to go to some rallies today?"
"(Yawn)Sure, what time?"
"I'll pick you up in a few hours."
So began my day at the rallies.
By the time Chip came to get me at 2PM, I had fortunately awoke from my non-drunken slumber and was ready to go. Unfortunately, I hadn't realized what the weather was outside, so I left for Dover, NJ with Chip in a t-shirt, with a cold breeze outside. Needless to say, I was freezing my buns off for the rest of the day.
Also needless to say, it was worth it.
Dover was our first stop of the day. The town is one of the heaviest Democratic areas of Morris County (which isn't saying much, being that Morris is heavily Republican), with a 70% minority population that is heavily Latino (according to Chip). In short, this is prime territory for Bob Menendez, our US Senator running in a fierce battle with Tom "Mini T" Kean Jr (http://www.menendez2006.com). Menendez needs a strong turnout in Dover to run well county-wide, which in turn is crucial to make sure the urban areas of the state are enough for the Democrats. The town currently has a Democratic government, but local Republicans are running well this year, so a Senatorial visit was in order.
I estimate that the crowd in Dover was about 125-strong. We met at a park in Dover in the center of town, where a cupola stood in for a stage. Hot dogs, apple cider and hot chocolate was served by the Dover Democrats, who were full of hospitality and good cheer from the citizens coming to see Menendez.
Also in attendence were NJ-11 Congressional nominee Tom Wyka and the Morris County Freeholder candidates: Dana Wefer, Jack Hartford and Rich Leary. Tom is an average citizen who became active in politics after the 2004 elections; he is passionate, energetic and a real down-to-earth guy. His website is at http://www.tomwyka.com, for those eager to read more. The Freeholder candidates (the equivalent of County Commissioners in other states) are building off of Dana's strong 2005 campaign against an entrenched incumbent, and with two open seats on the Freeholder Board this year are looking to be the first Democrats on the board since Watergate. (http://www.morrisdems.org)
Menendez arrived on schedule, and was greated with an ovation from the crowd. Many of those in attendence were Latinos, some of whom made themselves known by shouting "Viva Menendez!" and so forth. The Senator was accompanied by a former NJ prosecutor who had become friends with Menendez after the Senator had helped to bring down a corrupt political machine in Union City in 1982. Sadly, I forget his name, but he was an enthusiastic introducer of Menendez all the same.
The Freeholder candidates went first, with Leary discussing the need to reform Morris County, Hartford the need for balanced government, and Wefer the need for New Jersey Democrats to get involved and help topple the old order in Morris County and nationwide. She then introduced Tom Wyka.
Tom was a man on fire yesterday, to say the least. He had come back from meeting Rodney Freylingheusen (the incumbent GOPer) at an editorial board meeting, and Rodney had been rather rude towards him, even interrupting him while Tom was speaking. Tom has had enough of the GOP in Washington, which is why he is running, but having HIS Congressman, HIS Representative treat him like dirt was the last straw. At the rallies yesterday, he came out firing.
Tom took the latest Republican junk piece in New Jersey (tying Menendez to scary pictures of Bin Laden and illegal immigrants) and tore it to pieces, which sent the crowd into a cheering frenzy. Sentence after sentence came out of his mouth, lashing into Freylingheusen, Bush and Republicans in general for what he saw as nothing less than a "betrayal of what our country stands for." He went on to proclaim how the Democratic Party would fight for social, economic and military justice, whether it be raising the minimum wage to a "living wage" (which Menendez also supports), or ensuring legal equality for gays and lesbians (which Menendez also supports) or creating a timetable to bring our troops home from Iraq (which Menendez supported in the US Senate earlier this year, on the short end of an 86-13 vote).
All the while, his voice (which is usually level and discreet)could be heard bellowing on the microphone all the way to New York City. I noticed people getting out of their cars to get a closer look at who was shouting at them. "Whoa, Tom, stop with the Howard imitation," I was joking to myself. Then I realized that this was EXACTLY the sort of rhetoric needed to fire up the Democratic base; a cohesive mix of "throw the bums out" and a eloquent message for what Democrats will do in Washington.
Then it was Menendez's turn. Clearly inspired by Tom's speech, Menendez went off-the-cuff for a moment to praise Tom, endorse him fully for Congress, and made it clear that Congress "would do well to have Tom in there shaking the place up."
Menendez also gave a good speech, talking about what was at stake in the election. His stump speech comes in three parts:
1)"We need to change the direction of the country." By this, Menendez is referring to Bush's failed policies, and how he (Menendez) would help to fix the country if given six years in the Senate. He discussed raising the minimum wage to a living wage, restoring college loans programs to maximum funding and pulling our troops out from Iraq.
2)"I've stood up - Junior won't." By this, Menendez is referring to his record of public service (32 years of it), including standing up to Bush on the Dubai ports issues, testifying against a popular machine boss in court (and risking his own life to do so) and by voting against the Iraq War in 2002. He has two criteria in voting for a war, he says: "1, is this in our national security interest, and 2, would I send my own son and daughter to war?" (Menendez's kids are in their early 20s) He goes on to describe how he could never have dared to send his kids or anyone else's to Iraq, and he never saw Iraq as a threat to our national security. The crowd cheered him both times he said it yesterday.
3)"When you hide from your record, all you've got left is smear." By this, Menendez means that Tom Kean, Junior has attacked him repeatedly during the campaign on false, malicious charges, while hiding his own record that makes him unsuitable for holding a US Senate seat. For example, Kean voted against stem cell research funding in New Jersey, which Menendez (and most of the country) supports. Menendez also points out (on a populist note) that "There are some differences between me and Tom Kean Junior. I grew up in a tenement - he grew up in Drumthwacket (the Governor's mansion). I worked my way up from poverty to go to college - he already had a college named after him. I'll stand up to George Bush - and he won't." That also got the crowd cheering and stomping. He also made clear that while the GOP has swiftboated Max Cleland and John Kerry, he was fighting back this time as best he could.
Finally, Menendez wrapped up his Dover speech by speaking for a few minutes en espanol to those Latino audience members in attendence. But Chip and I were already making our way to the car, and for Morristown, where the next rally was.
I won't bore you all by telling the entire Morristown part of my tale. Needless to say, some parts were the same as at Dover. There were 300+ at Morristown, along with union members from all over the state, and a small group of Kean supporters who silently protested behind the stage (tastelessly, they all wore orange jumpsuits. I mocked one of them afterwards by asking, "Did you just get back from Jack Abramoff's cell party?")
As before, the Freeholders, Tom and Menendez spoke - and as before, all were excellent. Tom's bellowing eloquence could be heard all over Morristown, and Jack Hartford included some extra humor in his speech. I helped to hand out stickers to the crowd, including some adorable little children who all probably will be brought up to be good little Democrats.
After the rally, it was getting dark, so Chip and I (still freezing my buns off) went to the Morris County Democratic HQ with the Menendez staff for a NY Times interview with the Senator. It looks as if I'll be conducting an interview with Menendez soon, so stay tuned for that. Eventually, Chip finished his work and we headed home - with me being able to sit down and relax back in my little dorm room at Drew.
Needless to say, it was a fun day at the rallies.
[Note: My camera ran out of batteries soon after the Dover rally began, so no photos from me. The above photos are courtesty of the Morris County Democrats, with video hopefully coming soon]