Hey Kossacks,
Up until now, I haven’t made any financial pleas for New Jersey’s 39th Legislative District. This is because I feel as if "getting the word out" about the district, its out-of-touch Republican incumbents (Gerry Cardinale, John Rooney and Charlotte Vandervalk) and the Democrats taking them on (Joe Ariyan, Esther Fletcher and Carl Manna) was more important. In fact, it still is, because turning NJ-39 blue – with your help – will not only be a tremendous victory for New Jersey and its Democratic Party, but will serve as a textbook example of how to turn the suburbs and exurbs of America Democratic as well. We Democrats in New Jersey are working hard to turn State Senator Cardinale and his Assembly running mates out of office – and now we need your help.
Voices for the 39th - Joe Ariyan, Esther Fletcher and Carl Manna
But why should you, the reader care? If you’re not from the district, and especially if you’re not from New Jersey, why should a state legislative race matter? It’s a fair question, and one I’ve asked of myself for a while. After all, it’s not my legislative district either (I’m a bit to the south). But after thinking about it for a while, I’ve come up with three good, solid reasons why you, the reader should not only care about NJ-39, but send a few dollars our way:
Reason number one: NJ-39 is a prime example of the suburban changes in this country. Win here, and we can win seats anywhere in the suburbs of America, for this race will be a model to follow.
New Jersey is a state in transition, no doubt about it. That transition – from Republican to Democratic control, from urban dominance to suburban and exurban migration – has been going on for some time now, and is beginning to reach its apex. In the past, districts like NJ-39 have been largely controlled by the Republican Party; for example, Cardinale has held his Senate seat for 25 years, and Rooney his seat for 20. Yet the suburbs are changing; more and diverse families are moving in, with more progressive views on social issues than in the past. They’re being joined in the Democratic column by moderate former Republicans (the "RINOs" that conservatives love to hate) who are sick and tired of their party’s extremist agenda, but are not yet ready to switch parties. Together, they’ve formed a coalition that is evident across this country.
We’ve seen this trend emerge in states like Minnesota, where the suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul now are mostly Democratic in state representation; this happened in 2004 and 2006’s elections. It is beginning to happen in other, more conservative states as well (such as Colorado). Together, they all represent a shift in the political coalitions of our country. The South has gone Republican; now the suburbs are going Democratic. And a victory in NJ-39 would be a textbook example of that change. 10 years ago, Gerry Cardinale would not be in danger of losing his job, nor would his running mates. Now, according to Rooney, they are "in the fight of their lives". And together, we can make sure they lose that fight.
The second reason is this: the Republican incumbents are serving as a roadblock to progressive reform in New Jersey, particularly Cardinale in the State Senate (where the numbers are closer). Replacing them with strong, loyal Democrats will enable Governor Corzine, Senate President Codey and Assembly Speaker Roberts to push through progressive legislation that will make New Jersey a model of how to change our states for the better.
Despite voting for the Democratic Party in recent years on a regular basis (Gore and Kerry, Lautenberg and Menendez, McGreevey and Corzine), New Jersey still has a notorious independent streak to its voting base. Over 55% of the state’s voters are registered as unaffiliated, making it difficult to gauge which way they will vote each election cycle. As a result, only the state’s redistricting program has kept the Democrats in control of the legislature since 2003. Currently the State Senate has a 22-18 Democratic advantage, and a 50-30 Democratic edge exists in the State Assembly. While it would take a political Category 5 hurricane against the Democrats to lose the Assembly, the State Senate is much closer in numbers, and so progressive legislation (such as full equality for GLBT citizens, gun safety, clean elections, ethics reform etc.) has difficulty emerging from the upper chamber intact.
State Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance is largely ineffective, and so it usually falls to conservatives like Gerry Cardinale to lead the Republican opposition to Democratic legislation. And as a 25-year veteran of the New Jersey Legislature, Cardinale is a master obstructionist. As I have written before, Cardinale’s extreme positions on many different social issues, plus his ethical missteps (he’s taken thousands from lobbyists in the form of vacation junkets) not only make him vulnerable to defeat, but worth putting in the time and effort to defeating him. He is, I am certain, the Mitch McConnell of New Jersey politics – and if you want McConnell gone on the national level, you’ll want to get rid of Gerry Cardinale in New Jersey.
By contrast, the Democratic team running in the 39th – Joe Ariyan for State Senate, and Esther Fletcher/Carl Manna for State Assembly – would be responsible leaders for New Jersey if elected. Sure, being Democrats is a good thing, but it’s not the only reason why Joe, Esther and Carl deserve your support. They each have different backgrounds, come with different public service records and offer a strong combined vision for how to create a progressive New Jersey. You can find out more about them at http://www.voicefor39.com or by checking out my articles on the subject:
NJ-39: A Microcosm of a Nation Turning Blue
Gerry Cardinale: New Jersey's Mitch McConnell
Gerry Cardinale and his dangerous beliefs on guns
Meet Joe Ariyan, Democrat for the 39th
My final reason for giving to NJ-39 is that, apart from 3 gubernatorial races this fall, no major elections will be decided this November outside of New Jersey and Virginia’s legislative races. With all due respect to Virginia, as a New Jerseyan I can tell you that the climate is ripe here for Democratic victories across the board. Your dollars can easily help make that possible – not just in NJ-39, but elsewhere too. The Democrats have candidates for every single legislative seat in New Jersey – the first time in recent memory. President Bush’s approval rating is even lower than his national support in the Garden State, and voters are ready to take out their anger at his party’s candidates. I cannot begin to tell you how many voters I’ve met that are prepared to vote Democratic this November out of pure outrage at what Bush has done to our country. Many, like my Dad have switched their party registration from the GOP for the first time in their lives. New Jersey is swinging to the Democrats once again this fall – and this time, it may be a permanent swing.
In other words, whatever you can send helps not only Joe Ariyan, Esther Fletcher and Carl Manna (more on them at Voice for the 39th - Joe, Esther and Carl's website), but can help out New Jersey candidates of all walks of life (such as Gina Genovese (a DFA national candidate – Gina's site) and State Senator Ellen Karcher, who has a tough reelection fight ahead of her (Karcher's website)). The more Democrats we elect in New Jersey this November (and this counts for Virginia too), the more progressive the state will become, and the more momentum we as a progressive movement will have for 2008.
Hopefully you, the reader will come to agree with me about NJ-39, and why it is worth fighting for. I’ll be keeping you all posted through November 6th (Election Day), so stay tuned!