Great way to clean out your basement

Great way to clean out your basement

I had the opportunity of interviewing David Larsen, the guy who scored the most points against Leonard Lance in the seventh Congressional District in the primary. Larsen told me that he showed up one day at Lance's district office in Flemington with 50 or so “flip-flops” nailed to a board––to represent Lance’s “flip-flop” votes in Congress. Larson videotaped that for his website––and I must say Lance's staff was very patient.

A few weeks later Democratic Congressional candidate Ed Potosnak came to Lance's office with a box full of munchkins to represent Lance's vote on closing the doughnut hole a Medicare payments––I think.

So this gave me an idea: what a great way to clean out crap from your basement! All you need is an incumbent candidate running for office, some crap from your basement you’re trying to get rid of, and a good bull should reason for dropping off that stuff that the office. And–voilà! –You’re in business.

Let's say, for example, you have one of those Stairmaster™ exercise machines in your house that's become just a place to hang dirty laundry. You can drop it off at, let's say, Congressman Scott Garrett's office––and proudly declare, “Garrett has to step up and start working for the people––not just for himself!”

That might work.

Or your aunt Edna sent you a fruitcake for Christmas but you're still trying to get rid of. All you need to do is drop it off at Sen. Gerald Cardinale’s office in Cresskill, while passionately stating, “the senator’s votes on marriage equality make him as nutty as a fruitcake.”

Suppose you have an old ugly green paisley un-upholstered chair that you purchased at a yard sale and it has been in your basement for about seven years, (we had such a chair)––maybe you could leave it off at Sen. Michael Doherty’s office fiercely stating, “Since winning a seat in the Senate, Doherty’s votes are all worn out. And green and paisley.”

Well maybe some of them don't work perfectly, but you get the idea. I'm sure they’re are others.

It’s time to dump Doherty in the 23rd

The 23rd Legislative District is represented in Trenton by Senator Leonard Lance, Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow and Assemblyman Michael Doherty. As Repubs go, like the Meatloaf song says, “Don’t Be sad, ‘cause Two out of Three Ain’t Bad.”

In that mix, Doherty needs to be dumped in November. Doherty actually wants to be the US Senator from NJ. Yes, really.

He is bad for the 23rd, and would be bad for New Jersey in DC.

Assemblywoman Karrow and Senator Lance are moderates on many issues. However, every once and a while they go completely cold-stone conservative ---probably to retain their neo-con ‘street cred’ with their right-wing peeps.

For example, they both took a hard right-turn when they followed their Party line on domestic partnerships and civil union. Sometimes the two diverge on issues, too: Like Lance went environmentalist on the Highlands Act, and Karrow went anti-Democratic Party/populist. He supported the Highlands; she opposes it big big time.

But one thing they both agree on: Doherty should be the next U.S. Senator from the Garden State. Yes, really.

Now, I do not know what hallucinogens they have been downing at Hunterdon County Repub Party meetings ----maybe Kuhl-Aid? Who knows.

They have signed on to be part and parcel of Doherty’s Exploratory Committee for Senate. I know both of them reasonably well, and Karrow and Lance are way too smart to support a dullard like Doherty.

Doherty is a guy who is Ronald Reagan-ish all over, from head to toe: He opposes stem cell research. He denies the existence of global warming. He said that ‘it does not matter’ if one believes creationism or evolution. He supports President Bush’s war in Iraq.

This guy is out of touch with the 23rd district, and radically out of touch with the working families of New Jersey.

Other neo-cons who have signed on early to be part of the Doherty for Senate exploratory panel:

• Bogota Mayor and leader of the super right-wingers in the state, Steve Lonegan.
• Congressman Scott Garrett.
• Conservative activist and former election opponent to Rep. Rush Holt, Bill Spadea.
• Lance and Karrow round out the Committee.
  

It is doubtful that Doherty would even survive a primary, let alone a general election. And remember, he does not have to give up his Assembly seat to run.

But, we can work hard to dump Doherty early and derail his Senate plans by supporting full-throttle a great guy for Assembly in the 23rd ---Pete Maurer ---in November 2007.

More on Pete later, but he is the guy for the job.