Yesterday on his blog, former Newark Star-Ledger columnist Bob Braun, who I must say is probably one of the best writers, if not the best writer in New Jersey, wrote a piece stating why he will be voting for Barbara Buono tomorrow. His reasoning is sound, heartfelt and full of anguish and frustration at establishment Democrats that have stabbed her in the back and abandoned her campaign early on (and during) to unseat Chris Christie as Governor. These cowardly Democrats, who thought that they could possibly ride the coattails of Christie's coarse and crude arrogance to an easy reelection this year may instead my be victims of their idiocy. If Christie's coattails are long enough to carry anyone into office behind him, it will be his fellow Republicans that will be taking the ride, not Democratic incumbents.
It's really a shame, Chris Christie's record is not stellar and leaves much to be desired. If these turncoats would have rallied around and behind Barbara Buono's campaign for Governor from the beginning, Christie wouldn't be sitting with a 20 point lead in the polls with his eyes looking toward 2016. Instead, he'd be on the verge of defeat and looking for a job.
For the same reasons that Bob Braun outline on his blog post (reprinted below) and a number of other reasons of my own, I'm not embarrassed at all to say that I am voting for Barbara Buono tomorrow too!
You know what, punk? I’m tired of you, too. I’m voting for Buono.
by Bob Braun
I am voting for Barbara Buono to take New Jersey back from the “bipartisan,” billionaire-funded coalition of bullies, punks and cowardly sycophants who are using the state as a testing ground for a future national assault on the welfare of the poor, working people, and the middle class. That makes voting for Buono Tuesday an essential act of patriotism.
I am voting for Barbara Buono because she acts with dignity and treats people with respect. Frankly, without those qualifications, I don’t care much about the rest. Despite the snarkiness of main stream media and stand-up comics—including those holding public office—I am tired of depictions of Jersey residents as crude, coarse, and stupid—depictions confirmed by a governor who is crude, coarse, and stupid. Or thinks he can gain votes and national attention by acting that way.
I am voting for Barbara Buono because she acted with courage and poise when other Democrats either ran from the Bully-in-Chief out of fear or sucked up to him for what they could gain. She was repeatedly stabbed in the back by party colleagues who care more about their own insignificant futures—where do you think you are going in Christieland, Joe D?—than they do about the future of the state and the nation. I am tired of Democrats who behave like obsequious little fawns whenever the Big Boy is in town.
I am voting for Barbara Buono because she respects those who believe in the life of the mind. Every governor in the past—Republican and Democrat—has supported the efforts of public school teachers to educate our children. But, now, teachers have been bullied, verbally abused, mocked and ridiculed by a man who is a poster boy for how not to behave. Buono sponsored New Jersey’s anti-bullying law—and, now, for all of us, she is the anti-bully.
Cause I gotta tell you–you know what, punk? I’m tired of you, too.
I am voting for Barbara Buono because, if she is governor, collective bargaining will continue to be the way in which disputes are resolved. Because, if she is governor, millions of dollars won’t be spent on religious voucher schools. Because, if she is governor, the headlong rush into charter schools will be stopped so that our neediest children are not warehoused and segregated in the least-supported schools.
I am voting for Barbara Buono because the residents of New Jersey need an independent state supreme court. Have you forgotten Christie removed the only African-American from the court? Have you forgotten he has promised to shape the court in his own image as if he were some sort of Old Testament godhead whose wisdom surpasses those of all others?
I am voting for Barbara Buono because she supports what I—and most Democrats– believe in:
Support for public schools. Fair housing policies that will begin to end the disgrace of racial isolation and segregation throughout New Jersey. A minimum wage. Fair taxes that lower the property tax burden and increase taxes for millionaires. Independence and academic integrity for Rutgers University. Good health care. Pre-school. Women’s rights. Human rights. Strong unions to protect wage earners against the depredations of corporations that already have extraordinary protections. Concern for the environment.
I am voting for Barbara Buono because I know she wants to be governor and only governor. She is not using this position to become president. I fear for my country to think Chris Christie will be catapulted to national prominence by the results Tuesday. I genuinely believe he will use the instruments of government—as he did when he was US Attorney—to move against his political enemies. The Koch brothers want to change our country in frightening ways and, as David Koch said, “Chris Christie is our kind of guy.”
I am voting for Barbara Buono.
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