Corzine and Christie Need to Fill Out Project Vote Smart Questionnaire
At a time when it is decidely hard to pin down politicians' views on specific subjects,
Project Vote Smart is an invaluable resource. The web site compiles pertinent quotations on state and national issues from politicians and provides an issue-oriented questionnaire for nearly all potential elected officials in the country. This type of transparency is what should be encouraged.
As of yet, however, neither Jon Corzine or Chris Christie have bothered to fill out the issue-position questionnaire that has been given to both campaigns by Project Vote Smart. In Corzine's defense, he did fill out a questionnaire for his 2000 senate run, but that was nearly nine years ago, and voters need to know his and Christie's views on a variety of state subjects. Fill out those questionnaires, Corzine and Christie.
Labels: chris christie, jon corzine, project vote smart
New Global Warming Legislation Must Move Forward, Despite Republican Opposition
President Obama and congressional Democrats are holding true to campaign promises to lessen carbon emissions and protect the environment. A recent bill that is currently in subcommittee would move toward cap-and-trade for pollution, a way to curtail the amount of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere, and dictate renewable energy mandates for American energy needs.
The New York Times calls it
"the most ambitious" climate legislation ever debated in Congress. Not surprisingly, some Republicans, ever close to business lobbying interests, oppose the bill and have attempted to change its wording even before it gets out of the subcommittee.
This week has been a remarkable one for the environment, as President Obama has proposed a regulation to have all cars average 39 mpg by 2016, an ambitious, but doable, goal. This aforementioned congressional bill must move forward in Congress and be approved in order to jump-start the green economy and create a shared set of environmental mandates that all companies must follow. Republicans should not be allowed to "tinker" with the language of the bill in order to placate industry interests.
Labels: environment, global warming, Obama, waxman
In Haddonfield, Vote Ed Borden for Mayor
Municipal elections and commissioner positions are sometimes not the most flashy or glamorous things in the world. On top of that, residents can be quick to criticize or turn on elected officials if local taxes go up or any other event is deemed "their fault." As someone who is more engaged with state and national politics, I've happily found myself equally engaged in a local election: the 2009 Haddonfield municipal elections.
Ed Borden, who won his first commissioner term four years ago, deserves to be the next Haddonfield mayor, in my estimation. Borden has been proactive in preserving the downtown district, has sought ways to preserve open space without raising taxes, and held down costs of his department, Public Safety. I know that if there is a way to reduce spending while also maintaining services, Borden will find that solution. From talking to him personally, I also know that Borden is deeply involved in borough issues and is well-versed constituent concerns. From a progressive vantage, Borden is pro-environment, as he was the most proactive commissioner in a recent attempt to acquire open space, and he is pro-transparency.
My sense is that the borough needs a new direction, with someone who has the legal expertise and basic understanding of borough and county concerns. Ed Borden should be elected as the next mayor of Haddonfield.
Labels: commissioner, election, Haddonfield, Mayor
Trying to Make Sense of Republican Opposition to the Stimulus Bill
The past few days have been spent in some degree of meditation and retrospection: What is the Republican justification for opposing a stimulus bill that most economists contend we as a country need? How a Republican can, with a straight face, contend that trickle-down supply-side only snake oil economics is the answer to our country's economic plight is beyond me. Further, that some Republicans are so ill-informed as to suggest that ACORN, a poverty-centered organization, is directly benefitting from the stimulus bill, when ACORN, factually speaking,
isn't even mentioned in the stimulus bill. Multiple economists suggest that a larger economic stimulus bill is needed than the one presented. Economists such as Will Straw
suggest "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an important step in getting the U.S. economy back on track. The $787 billion package includes a mix of investments in infrastructure, science, education, and health—measures to put the United States on a greener path, help those most affected by the recession, support states that would otherwise have to lay off additional workers and cut back key public services including education, and provide tax cuts for low- and middle-income people and businesses." In other words, long-term economic growth, from public works projects and other endeavors, combined with short-term relief to those in poverty and middle-class and lower-class families through tax cuts, makes this stimulus package a successful, multi-tiered approach.
President Obama has reached out to Republicans in an attempt at real bipartisanship, and Republicans have instead stuck their heads in the stand, contending that the problem can be solved by the same lame bromides ("tax cuts for the richest Americans") that got us into this economic mess in the first place. Sadly, this inaction may be a recurring gesture by Republican "leadership" in the house and senate.
Labels: infrastructure, Obama, Republicans, stimulus bill
New Jersey Assembly: Reelecting Albano and Milam
Over in New Jersey's First legislative district, there are two Assemblyman who merit reelection, Matt Milam and Nelson Albano. Both represent what has traditionally been a Republican district, that is, Cape May county. But by having a progressive-centrist message and by having the juggernaut that is Sen. Jeff Van Drew at the top of the ticket, they both have been elected to the assembly multiple times. Over at
PolitickerNJ, the latest assembly rankings have both Albano and Milam at "Leans Democratic," just a smidge above the "toss up" rank.
Milam and Albano are responsive, smart legislators who respond to local Cape May issues, such as
illegal dumping on state beaches and money for rural police patrols. They are pro-environment and generally vote with the Democratic majority on the important bills, including backing affordable housing for the state's most impoverished residents. For this and many other reasons, I am compelled to think that Albano and Milam deserve reelection in 2009 and encourage other Democrats and Independents (even moderate Republicans) to volunteer and support their re-election bid.
Democrats: Govern with Humility
At no other time in my adult life have Democrats controlled the White House and both the U.S. House and the Senate, the former with a massive majority. When Pres. Bush was in office, he enjoyed Republican control of both the House and Senate, and Republicans overplayed their cards, particularly in overstepping in the Terry Schiavo case and in pushing through Iraq War legislation. Democrats should pursue progressive policies but also work with Republicans on key bills. Pres. Obama should include Republicans in foreign and domestic policy talks, and Republican leaders should be seriously consulted on major bills in congress. Democrats must govern with humility and truly not be hyperpartisan, as their predecessors were.
Chris Christie's Shameful Actions as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey
Do you, reader, know who Chris Christie is? He's a former Bush-Cheney "pioneer," that is, someone who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for that uber-conservative presidential team. And now he's the Republican dream candidate for governor against Jon Corzine in 2009.
His tenure as U.S. Attorney has garnered praise (and deservedly so) for his role in convicting corrupt politicians, mostly Democrats such as Sharpe James and Wayne Bryant. But Christie abused the office of U.S. Attorney when he awarded a
no-bid contract to former Bush Attorney General John Ashcroft. Unfortunately, Christie, who was supposed to be nonpartisan
as U.S. Attorney, also used his office to further the Republican agenda, whether it is his attendance at Republican events or his endorsements of Republican candidates; he also participated in a
controversial college t.v. show that the college in question wouldn't air because it was too partisan.
Christie got his position as U.S. Attorney because of his fundraising for Bush-Cheney, not because of his merits, which is the definition of quid-pro-quo. He also went after Democratic politicians, including a subpoena to Bob Menendez shortly before the 2006 senate election, that never amounted to anything. Christie has abused the office of U.S. attorney and should not be lauded as some type of "reformer" or ethics-minded politician.
