VOX: How To Talk To A Conservative About Climate Change

Debbie Dooley, one of the founders of the Tea Party movement and a Donald Trump supporter, has some advice for talking to conservatives about climate change.



Read More at VOX

Fulop Announces Campaign For NJ Governor

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, April 1st, 2015


Jersey City, NJ/ Wall Street, NY) – Today, Mayor Steve Fulop proudly announced his candidacy for New Jersey Governor. Running on the Republican line, Fulop has already started lining up key supporters and staff.

“Everyone knows Jersey City has always been just a stepping stone for me,” said Fulop. “I want to be governor. And the easiest path will be pursuing my ambition via the Republican Party – where so many of my financial and political allies already reside. By announcing today, I hope they’ll forgive my support for the DREAM Act and Paid Sick Leave, and instead remember how - from education reform to privatization efforts - I’ve carried their water and taken their money for a long time.”

Fulop originally planned to wait until 2016 to make his official switch to the GOP. However, last night he had a dream where he was swimming across the Hudson River and Steve Sweeney and Philip Murphy were about to overcome him. Even worse, John Wisniewski, Raymond Lesniak, Marie Corfield, Joe Piscopo and NJ Weedman weren’t far behind. So, this morning, Fulop put away his blackberry, slipped into his wetsuit and made the big announcement.

“Abandoning his allies has worked out swimmingly for Fulop, so I’m going to take a page from his playbook and support Fulop for Governor,” said Joshua Henne, Fulop’s new spokesman. “The way he’s flipped back and forth so often as to what’s politically expedient, there’s a 50-50 chance Fulop would switch back to being a Democrat after 2017 anyway.”

Over the course of the next year, Fulop plans on hiring Christie’s campaign staff and apparatus. NJ Transit’s Michael Drewniak will become Fulop’s Communications Director…as soon as Christie Communications Director Maria Comella signs off. All other hires will transpire as soon as the Christie presidential campaign crashes and burns on the fields of Iowa and New Hampshire - where Christie is being outpolled by Donald Trump.

Governor James E. McGreevey, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and State Senator Kevin O’Toole will serve as Fulop’s Campaign Co-Chairs.

“I just want to be relevant again,” said McGreevey. ”As a Former-Governor-American, I can attest that Fulop hits the political trifecta: my non-stop work ethic, a low moral compass and even more transactional than I ever was.”

“Even though he had to google my name, Fulop has long enjoyed strong connections to Monmouth County Republicans,” said O’Scanlon “The same people down here who’ve supported me and were instrumental in Mitt Romney’s campaign have long backed Fulop - even before they were caught soliciting $10,000 a head at a fundraiser for his mayoral election in Jersey City. Hey, so long as he’s against red light cameras, Fulop’s my guy!”

“When I funneled Fulop tens of thousands of dollars for his mayoral campaign, I had to sneak it in at the last minute so voters didn’t know about it until after Election Day,” said O’Toole. “Today, New Jersey’s Republican Party is building bridges…instead of closing them. With Fulop at the top of our ticket, we’ll continue the stellar job Christie’s done for our state’s economy, transportation infrastructure and pension fund.

In July 2013, Fulop invited Christie to headline his swearing-in ceremony. Throughout that year’s gubernatorial campaign, Fulop failed to lift a finger to help Democratic nominee Barbara Buono. In fact, Fulop set up meetings between his Jersey City Council Team and Christie gubernatorial campaign operatives – as Christie aide Matt Mowers testified about during legislative Bridgegate hearings.

Fulop is currently polling whether to announce Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer as his Lieutenant Governor. These Hudson “reformers” have a shared history of playing footsie with Christie’s political operation and dangling a gubernatorial endorsement. Both went on to immediately use Bridgegate as a tool to garner national media attention.

“Um, Fulop told me he’d deny it if I ever told anyone he asked me about being Lieutenant Governor,” said Zimmer, in yet another interview with MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki. “I know this, because I wrote it in my diary.”


***********

April Fools!

Republicans Use Religion as a Political Tool

By John McCarthy
Cross posted from Huffingtonpost.com

The Republican Right has taken a break from their busy schedule of cutting services to poor people to tackle another hard hitting issue: The Democratic Platform didn't originally mention God once. Listen, I know we are working on building-up an economy and restoring a social safety net but this is important stuff. Thank God for the Republican Party! If they weren't spending their time combing through party platforms, I don't know how'd get by!

Republicans believe that life is a numbers game. We are only as religious as the amount of times we can fit God into a sentence. The bigger the American flag outside your house, the more American you are! You really want to support the troops? How about a nice yellow magnetic ribbon (Made in China) to throw on the back of your SUV? It's clear that the Republican Party focuses on quantity, not quality.

Let's dust off our Bibles and remember that as Jesus spoke to the multitudes at the Sermon on the Mount he reminded us, "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter." That's right: Jesus didn't want us to simply write about the faith -- he wanted us to live the faith.

Republicans have been calling a lot of "Lord! Lord!" but it appears they really haven't given Christianity a shot. They've crafted a political rhetoric to take their political agenda and force-feed it to Faithful America. They do an awful lot of talking about values, God (the American one), faith, religion, big cars, guns, rugged individualism, bootstraps, righteous wars, freedom and touching stories about Sunday morning mass with their family. They'll tell you that Jesus died for America -- and ONLY America. They talk a good game, but it doesn't line up with the overarching teachings of any major religion.

The Grand Ole' Party is causing these distractions in hopes that America won't notice how different their values really are. The key to a Romney-Ryan Victory is America never finding out what they really stand for. Faithful America shows a great concern for feeding the poor, helping the unemployed, providing healthcare coverage and respecting immigrants -- all of which goes against the Romney-Ryan plan.

Republicans only listen to the faithful when it suits them politically. They'll continue to ignore the urgings of religious leaders to protect the "least of these," all while courting the faithful voter. They'll keep staging these choreographed political productions to paint the Democratic Party as anti-faith. Moral of the story: they're using religion as a political tool, and that's the real War on Religion.

----------------------------

John McCarthy is Chairman of the College Democrats at The Catholic University of America and Chairman of the Keansburg Democratic Party

TO CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES ANNA LITTLE AND CHRIS SMITH...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The following is a release from Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal on behalf of Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (Monmouth-6) and Brian Froelich (Monmouth-4) - Democratic Candidates for US Congress in Monmouth County:

"This week, Joe Kyrillos broke from the Republican Party’s stalwart position against raising any taxes, even on the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in America. However, when the GOP establishment attacked his stance, Joe Kyrillos quickly backtracked. This incident does raise an important question that effects all NJ voters – where does our the Republican Senate Candidate stand on the issue of tax fairness and where do the Republican Members of Congress and candidates stand on this issue. New Jersey Democrats have consistently been leaders on this issue, pushing for a millionaires tax that would ask everyone to pay their fair share.

  Now is the time to ask these Republicans where they stand – do they stand with the Joe Kyrillos who has spent over 2 decades in Trenton protecting the wealthy at the expense of New Jersey’s working families and opposed the Millionaires tax? Or do they stand with the Joe Kyrillos who seems to only have existed only for one newspaper report and realized that he was on the wrong side of NJ families in his repeatedly demonstrated opposition to a millionaires tax."

New Phase and Shifting Balance: Democrats consolidate progressive base while Republicans in deepening trouble

From Democracy Corps


The latest national survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps and Women’s Voices. Women Vote Action Fund shows a Republican Party in deepening trouble and emerging underlying trends that may have shifted the balance for 2012. Barring sudden economic shocks, there is accumulating evidence that we have entered a new phase in the political cycle, substantially more favorable to the Democrats.


This survey sees a collapse of the Republican brand at almost all levels. Negatives associated with the Republican Party have not been this high since right after they lost the country in 2008. Their presumptive nominee flirts with a 50 percent negative rating and may now represent a big drag on the national party. 

President Obama nears the 50 percent mark and is now just four points away from what he achieved in 2008. Democrats have newly consolidated the progressive voters of the Rising American Electorate who were responsible for Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008. These voters—unmarried women, young voters, and minorities—dropped off in 2010 and lagged throughout 2011. They have returned in a big way for Democrats, led by a resurgence and re-engagement of unmarried women. Only young voters have not been re-consolidated, which is either a problem or an opportunity.
 

“The Rising American Electorate, unmarried women especially, is largely responsible for the gains Democrats are making and this survey demonstrates in vivid terms the importance of the RAE to the progressive base.”


-- Page Gardner, 
Women's Voices. Women Vote Action Fund

Seniors, who abandoned Democrats in 2010, have come back two surveys in a row and suburban swing voters watch the Republican primary debate with growing alienation from the Republican Party. The tax issue, a presumptive Republican advantage, has moved dramatically in favor of the Democrats.

These results may not simply be the result of a spot of good economic news and rough news cycles for Republican nominees, but the beginning of long-term structural changes that will characterize the 2012 election cycle.

Recent controversies over Planned Parenthood and contraception will not revive the Republican’s standing, indeed, the opposite may be true, as this survey shows voters disagree with them on principle and wonder why at a time of great economic distress, Republicans are consumed with denying birth control coverage for women.

This survey provides fair warning to the Republican Party that they may be losing the country.

A more detailed analysis of these results can be found at Democracy Corps.

Presidency of Middletown Library Board sought by new Board member; Proof of Politicalization

By guest blogger Linda Baum

Last Wednesday’s Library Board meeting (1/18/12) started at 7:00 p.m. and ran over four and a half hours. This was the first meeting of the new 9-member Board, five of whom are new appointees.

Sixteen members of the public attended the meeting, in whole or in part, and it was a veritable “who’s who” of the Republican Party. Among others, there were Committeeman and former Library Board member Kevin Settembrino, Committeeman and Deputy Mayor Steve Massell, Emil Wrede (TOMSA Board), James Hinkley (TOMSA Board), Tristen Nelsen (former Township Committee candidate), and some others sitting with them. I caught what I can only describe as “knowing” glances that told me many there were not strangers to each other. I leave to you to decide whether their purpose in attending was to support, to intimidate, or simply to be informed.

There were some regular folks at the meeting, too – we were discernable by our much more casual clothing.

Things began on a cordial note, with introductions and brief backgrounds. That was followed by a discussion of expenses and service contracts, which I’ll address in a separate post. Overall, the new Board members were very critical of Library operations, even accusatory.

When it was time for the election of 2012 officers, Ms. Sherry Miloscia presented the Nominating Committee’s recommendation of Mr. Randall Gabrielan as president, Ms. Vivian Breen as vice president, and Ms. Marjorie Cavalier as treasurer. There was no recommendation for the office of secretary because the original nominee, Ms. Rachel Raymond, the School Superintendent’s alternate for the prior year, was not reappointed to the Board for 2012. Ms. Miloscia found that out just five days before this meeting and had then contacted new Board member Lawrence Nelsen to offer him the role of secretary, but he turned it down, saying he didn’t feel qualified.

Committeewoman Stephanie Murray took issue with the use of a Nominating Committee – commonly used by many boards – and was fast to make her own nomination when informed that taking additional nominations from the floor was routine procedure. She started right at the top, recommending newcomer Lawrence Nelsen for president. She turned to him and said, “Would you do it? Would you do this?,” as if it had never been discussed. He agreed, of course, and didn’t seem surprised, but many of the public attendees were amazed at the audacity.

Ms. Miloscia asked Mr. Nelsen why he felt qualified to be president when he said he didn’t feel qualified enough to be secretary. Mr. Nelsen denied saying that. “Yes you did,” she replied.

Ms. Murray felt that a person with a financial background should be president -- Mr. Nelsen is an accountant. Others pointed out that the treasurer's position would be a good place for an accountant concerned with finances to start. The treasurer’s position was available, but Mr. Nelsen wasn’t interested in it.

The reasoning that the Board needs a president with financial experience is not supported if you consider that the Library Board drafted and approved a budget that, despite a reduction in the Township appropriation, still managed to maintain services, employment and most materials.

Something I think was being overlooked is that Board membership provides each trustee the opportunity to oversee operations, whether that person is an officer or not. That participation is precisely the reason given by the Township for expanding the Board.

New Board member Michael Convery asked, “Why do you think Larry can’t be president?” The experienced Board members explained that the position of president requires a lot of knowledge and a lot of time, and that the need to provide guidance to an inexperienced person would put an unfair burden on the Library Director. The many answers and lengthy explanations Ms. O’Neal was required to provide to the new members at this Board meeting is evidence of that.

In short, having an inexperienced person as Board president could hamper Library operations. Therefore, the new trustees did not appear to be acting in the best interest of the Library.

It was suggested that the new members could consult with any respected source, including the New Jersey Library Association, and would be told of the importance of experienced leadership.

I wondered what the president’s rights and responsibilities are that made the position so sought after. I have been provided this explanation:

The president is the first among equals as the Board's link to the Director on situations where library operations meet library policy, which is set by the Board. The president is the primary Board source for the Director on matters of economic, political, social, employment and legal concerns that impact the library. It is important that the president recognize and honor the distinction between the Trustee’s role of oversight and the Director's role of management and that the president not attempt to interfere in library operations. In order to fulfill this role, it is essential that the president be knowledgeable and experienced in these matters, qualities that have become even more important in today’s challenging environment.

Also, I am told that the president’s role at meetings is similar to the mayor’s -- he sets the tone and guides discussion but has an equal vote.

Ms. Breen pointed out to Ms. Murray that she would not expect to be mayor her first year as a committeewoman. She replied, “No, and I wouldn’t want to,” but seemed to miss the point that Mr. Nelsen was too inexperienced to be president.

The new Board members expressed concern about Mr. Gabrielan’s length of service as president, made reference to the size of the budget, and fell just shy of accusing him of wrong doing. The criticism was unfounded, in my opinion. It was an unfair attack on the character of a man who is well-regarded as a dedicated servant. But that accusatory tone underscored the meeting. Later on, Mr. Nelsen twice referenced Bernie Madoff. That comment offended many of us.

The new members also expressed some frustration with the materials they were provided and felt some information was missing. That drew a sharp response from the others, who asked what they were referring to. The Library Director did her best to explain the information provided and some differences between business in January and the other months of the year.

A woman sitting near me who was a former library employee felt strongly that the problem was that the new Board members were unfamiliar with library operations.

It seemed to me there was a lot of posturing going on by the new members. Last year the Library was villanized, and it seems the stage is being set for that again. I am reminded of that saying that the truth of an accusation doesn’t matter because the damage is done when the accusation is made.

Perhaps in an attempt to quell the accusation and argument, Ms. Breen suggested making Mr. Nelsen vice president. I thought that was a generous concession considering his lack of experience with library matters.

Mr. Convery asked if the election of officers needed to take place right then and was told that there was a need to have officers in place for financial matters and for continuity of operations. The Library’s by-laws call for elections at the January reorganization meeting because terms expire then. (Note that the Township Committee elects its officers in January as well.)

In the end, Mr. Gabrielan was elected president by a vote of 5 to 4. The four new Board members voted as a block for Mr. Nelsen. The deciding vote for Mr. Gabrielan was cast by new Board member Cynthia Wilson, the School Superintendent’s appointee.

While Mr. Convery said that his reason for wanting to delay the vote was to get to know people before voting, I wonder if that was his motive. Had the vote been delayed until the end of the meeting, for example, the outcome would have been different because two of the Board members who voted for Mr. Gabrielan didn’t stay for the whole meeting. Those early departures, at this meeting or any future meeting, change the make-up of the Board. Late arrivals or absences would have the same effect.

After the debate over the presidency, the other officers were selected quickly. Mr. Nelsen was elected vice president; Ms. Cavalier was elected treasurer, and Ms. Breen secretary – each held the same post last year.

As vice president, Mr. Nelsen will run meetings in the absence of Mr. Gabrielan, who has had a near perfect attendance record. Also, the VP title puts Mr. Nelsen in line for the presidency in 2013, when he is certain to get it because the new Board members will have the five votes they need next year with the Township’s replacement of Ms. Miloscia, whose term expires at the end of this year.

With one more voice, the Township’s new appointees will be able to elect to any office any candidate they choose, award contracts as they choose, make employment decisions, and unrestrict any amount of Library reserves for Township use.

Limbaugh & Cheney v. Powell

Today on MSNBC, anchor Contessa Brewer pointed out that Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney, rather than attacking Colin Powell - or as Brewer put it "two guys who have multiple draft deferments are going after a four-star general" - should use their influence and considerable stature within the Republican Party to champion substantive ideas - DemRapidResponse

Olbermann's WTF!?! Moment: GOP's 'Democrat Socialist Party'

Classic Olbermann, a truly golden moment that can't be missed. It's laughable how the GOP just doesn't get it.

Here is Keith's WTF!?! comments on the RNC's resolution to refer to the Democratic Party as the "Democratic Socialist Party"

Menendez:The Democrats Welcomed Sen. Arlen Specter Into Our Party

I received the following email message from Sen Bob Menendez a short while ago welcoming Pennsylivania's Arlen Specter into the Democratic party:

"The Democrats welcomed Sen. Arlen Specter into our party today. He gave one simple reason for switching parties:

"Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."

The extreme right wing lost the American people in 2006 and 2008. Now, they've lost their hold on another moderate voice in the United States Senate.

This one's a game-changer. Specter's move immediately improves the prospects of President Obama's bold change agenda.

But make no mistake - Republicans still have the votes they need to mount a filibuster. Sen. Specter's decision will make our opponents even more desperate.

Norm Coleman will dig in his heels and fight even harder to deny us that filibuster-proof 60th seat.

Even when Coleman finally, finally has no more appeals and is forced to concede defeat, the Republicans will be plotting day and night to defeat our candidates in 2010. They know that beating just one Democratic incumbent would let them filibuster, delay, and deny the President's agenda.

Today is a great day for all of us who want to help bring real, lasting change to this country...."  

Note to Sen. Specter: I applauded your decision to join the Democratic Party, as the Republican party has shown there is no place in its ranks for  a "moderate" Republican.  As the nation leans more towards the left, neocon-conservative Republicans have taken control of  all that is left of  the party of Eisenhower, Goldwater and Reagan.

While the Republican party has dwindled and became known as the "Party Of No", the Democratic ranks have swelled. Democats are the leaders of change that have and will, see this country through the current economic crisis and lead the way in the fight for healthcare, social security and tax reform.

Welcome,

MM      

Breaking: Specter Will Run as a Democrat in 2010

By Carl Hulse

New York Times

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday he would switch to the Democratic party, presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters as they try to advance the Obama administration’s new agenda.

In a statement issued about noon as the Capitol was digesting the stunning turn of events, Mr. Specter said he had concluded that his party had moved too far to the right, a fact demonstrated by the migration of 200,000 Pennsylvania Republicans to the Democratic Party.

Read More >>>Here

Quote of the Day: "Limbaugh...manipulating the G-spot of the neocon consciousness"

The last thing we all need are actors that express their political views, but I have to say that actor extraordinaire, Alec Baldwin, in an article posted on the Huffington Post hit this one on the head. 

"Until Limbaugh gets real, weans himself off the big salary and runs for office, he will always be nothing more than a poorly educated, marginally talented buffoon who has developed a real talent for manipulating the G-spot of the neocon consciousness and massaging the hate gland of so many economically displaced white voters in America."

Candidate For RNC Chair Sends Out CD With Song Called "Barack, The Magic Negro"

You would think that after the trouncing the GOP took at the polls in November, where the national ticket lost badly among growing voter groups such as young people, Hispanics and suburbanites that leaders of the GOP would be a little more sensitive than this.

Using race as a divide in order to gain political points is wrong no matter what the intentions of individuals are.  

  

Yesterday afternoon the following story was picked up by  Talking Points Memo. It was first reported on by the Hill  and followed up by Poltico.com just a couple of hours ago.

"If one of the Republican Party's challenges is how to effectively oppose the first black president without coming off as racist, one of the candidates for RNC chair is hardly off to a good start -- he is now distributing a CD that includes a racially-charged song called "Barack, The Magic Negro."

Chip Saltsman, the former campaign manager for Mike Huckabee, has distributed a goodie bag to committee members that includes a CD by Paul Shanklin, a writer of right-wing parody tunes who is often featured on Rush Limbaugh. The "Magic Negro" track, which first gathered controversy in the Spring of 2007, featured Shanklin portraying Al Sharpton as an Amos & Andy stereotype, ridiculing white liberals who support Obama.

Saltsman defended the choice of the Shanklin CD, telling The Hill: "Paul Shanklin is a long-time friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies." "

Read the follow up story from Poltico.com >>> Here