This afternoon at 2pm (ET) Blue America is hosting a live chat with New Jersey Democratic congressional candidate Ed Potosnak at Crooks and Liars. If you're not raptured by then, please join us for the discussion.
New Jersey's 7th CD, a traditional Republican suburban stronghold, has been trending Democratic in recent years. Gore and Kerry came close and Obama won it outright-- he beat McCain 51-48%. Not a single Democratic challenger beat a Republican incumbent last year, when Blue America first endorsed Ed Potosnak for that district. However, running his grassroots campaign on a shoestring budget, Ed more than held his own and proved that in 2012 he can beat health care hypocrite Leonard Lance. "The issues we care about today are as important as they were this past November," he said, "creating jobs, growing the economy, improving education, promoting innovation, and protecting the American dream... Things need to get done in Washington. The GOP has done nothing to address jobs and the economy.
Ed has an excellent chance of unseating a career politician we successfully branded as a "Health Care Hypocrite" earlier this year. Barney Frank has thrown his considerable clout behind Ed and is raising money for him. If you can help, now's the time to get his campaign started with a contribution today.
Ed is a chemistry teacher and small business owner and several years ago he was selected as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow. "In my first year as an Einstein Fellow I helped craft legislation to improve science and mathematics education. This bill was introduced by then-Senator Obama, it passed, and is being implemented. In the second year of my fellowship I worked on legislation to ensure every student has access to a high quality education, establishing a 9-11 like commission to address the urgent crisis in our schools. This also passed and the Equity Commission is currently underway... There is so much more to do and I am running for Congress to once again get the job done."
Like all the Blue America candidates, Ed is a person who understands, first hand, the real problems people are facing. His opponent, career politician Leonard Lance drank the Tea Party Kool-Aid and voted to end Medicare as we know it, gave tax breaks and subsidies to big oil and eagerly joined in the wars against women, struggling workers and the environment.In a district that went for Obama in 2008 there's no excuse for such teabagging. Please help make sure Ed has the resources he needs to battle in the New Jersey media market against an opponent loaded with special interests cash.
"As a progressive, I am honored to once again receive the endorsement of Blue America. Our 2010 campaign laid a strong foundation in the district and there is a clear path to unseating Rep. Lance and victory in 2012. Our hard work in the last campaign has put this race on the map for 2012, our race and my opponent are being targeted by the Democratic Party."
An openly gay candidate, Ed takes equality and social justice very seriously. "We need better representation in Washington to ensure that America's policies are fair and just for all.The future of America depends on the education we provide today and we need to act with urgency to improve our schools and foster innovation. We must ensure that every single child in America is prepared to help our nation overcome the challenges of the modern world, innovate, and lead the global economy."