Ok... I'm Gonna Throw Up... 'New Jersey Democrats Who Endorsed Christie Stand By Their Man'

[WillyT]

New Jersey Democrats Who Endorsed Christie Stand By Their Man
“I believe him, I still support him,” says the mayor of Chesilhurst Borough. “I’d endorse Christie again,” says the mayor of Harrison, N.J.
Evan McMorris-Santoro - BuzzFeed Staff
posted on January 9, 2014 at 1:31pm EST


New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Chesilhurst, N.J., Mayor Michael Blunt Via njtvonline.org

<snip>

WASHINGTON — Democratic New Jersey mayors who bucked their party to support Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s reelection bid last year are denying their endorsements were coerced and defending Christie against critics in the wake of revelations over the George Washington Bridge lane closures.

“I still stand with Gov. Christie. You can hire people, you have good intentions and you think highly of these people, and people get fired every day,” said Michael Blunt, the Democratic mayor of Chesilhurst, N.J. “It’s not just Gov. Christie, any organization or business where you’re hiring people, people get fired because they do things they’re not supposed to do. So I believe him in what he said about what happened. I still support him.”

Blunt said he faced no political pressure to back Christie and said he never heard of Christie’s team applying pressure to others.

“My endorsement is based on the things that he’s done for my community and how he’s handled himself in the state of New Jersey,” he said. “There was no coercion,” he added.

The Christie campaign touted the backing of Democratic mayors and other officials to burnish the Republican incumbent’s bipartisan credibility ahead of an expected 2016 run for the White House. So far there’s no sign he’ll lose that Democratic mayoral support as he struggles to get his second term on track after firing some of his closest aides in reaction to what Democrats are calling Bridgegate.

“I can assure you I did not feel pressured at all,” Palmyra Mayor Karen Scheffler told the AP Wednesday. Scheffler did not immediately respond to questions left on her cellphone voicemail Thursday.

Other Democratic mayors are also sticking with Christie...

<snip>

More: http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/democratic-mayors-who-endorsed-christie-stand-by-their-man

[Whisp]

1. Christie's pose could lead one to believe he's got a gun stuck in the guy's back. n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Did they find horses' heads in their beds this morning?

[JoePhilly]

38. Ding ding ding!!!

[The empressof all]

3. Harrison NJ is a Hell Hole...

Just Sayin......

[smokey nj]

6. You're right. Compared to Harrison, Bayonne (where I live) is Paris.

[ailsagirl]

4. What a bunch of dummies!!

They must subscribe to the "Facts are irrelevant" philosophy

[smokey nj]

5. They did it because they feared retribution and cowards are awesome!!!1!!!11!

[arcane1]

9. They also likely endorsed him in order to get some favor from him.

[JoePhilly]

39. I bet a few are doing exactly that right now.

NJ runs on favors, grudges, bribes, paybacks.

"Hey Chris, my town needs some infrastructure bucks ... and you look like you could use a friend right now." wink wink.

[riversedge]

31. +1

[Warren Stupidity]

7. If you do, and you use a re-useable shopping bag to barf in, please wash it

before going to the grocery store.

[Lost_Count]

8. They know it will pass...

... And he'll still be in charge.

[niyad]

13. welcome to du

[ProgressSaves]

10. There's only one major party in New Jersey: Corruption. nt

[niyad]

12. welcome to du

[niyad]

11. well, since these cretins say there was NO political pressure, involved, that they are just clueless

cretins, or dinos's, maybe all support from the d side should just be pulled.

[MisterP]

14. somehow it's a trick by Nader (since the 3Wayers seem to think he's God)

Last edited Sat Jan 11, 2014, 02:15 AM - Edit history (1)

bet they're the sort that warns us about leftbagger infiltrators whose only purpose is to get Republicans elected

[jsr]

15. Just about as worthless as they come

[JI7]

16. local politics is often different from state/national, it's more about who gets what

and people directly see whether what is important to them is working.

[sabrina 1]

18. And when members of the opposing party abuse their power to this extent, it is beyond

state politics. And any ethical person would at the least state that they are going to wait to see what role, if any, Christie played in this retaliation scheme, using their power to so before making the mistake they already made, again. No decent person would stand by someone who has such an ethical cloud hanging over his head.

But then we are talking about morons. Morons who touted the difference between DC and NJ, wrt how 'bi-partisan' they are in NJ, that old Third Way mantra where Republican policies are so attractive to them that it's hard to tell the difference more often than not.

THIS is why we have problems in the Dem Party. If ever there was an example of what has gone wrong with this party, these betrayers, no different than Lieberman, have just pointed it out clearly.

And we are told to 'elect democrats' regardless of anything other than the letter after their names. I hope at least the Dem VOTERS in NJ can now see the mistake THEY made when they allowed themselves to be fooled by a Right Wing Bully and so-called Democrats and I hope they toss them all out in their next election.

[JI7]

20. this has nothing to do with lieberman, local politics is often about whether the roads are working

and other shit like that. people don't look at it through a partisan way as they do state/national politics as much.

and most people including regular voters don't follow politics very closely .

for those who actually have done on the ground campaigning and other work they would know that .

[sabrina 1]

21. Well then it doesn't matter who WE vote for, does it? If there's no more 'partisanship'

and it's all about issues that affect OUR lives, then I hope I never see anyone here attacking people who state that from now on they will vote their own interests.

Seems that this site eg, will have to change its requirements for people who post here. Amazing how quickly some people flip to 'party loyalty'\ has no place in politics' when Dem Officials are caught endorsing a Republican in a Blue State. Just amazing.

NJ is a BLUE STATE. So voters there are far more likely to vote for a Democrat IF the party doesn't tell them to vote for the Republican. Which is exactly what happened in NJ. Anyone campaigning in NJ, and I have friends there, KNOWS that they are going to have a far easier time campaigning for a Democrat, since there are 700,000 more Democrats there than Republicans, than in other states that are a lot less Blue.

I'm going to remember all these new rules regarding who to vote for when we hear the old, apparently no longer in effect, admonition to 'vote democratic no matter what'. I'm wondering if I am still on DU lately as we are now hearing all these excuses for voting Republican.

[JI7]

22. this is a Dem site, they don't have control over what every fucking democrat in this country does

they can only control what is done on their site.

[sabrina 1]

26. That didn't answer my question. I'm seeing people on DU advocating for Republicans

like Christie and defending Elected Dems for abandoning their own Dem Candidate and endorsing a Republican. It's not the first time either. So, if it's okay for the Dem Party to abandon their own candidates, like Buono who stated today that she could not get any financial help from the Dem Party, then it appears that things have changed around here. Because I am talking about DU where I am seeing excuses and even support for voting for Republicans. Happened re a Florida race also. And the support for Republicans in a Dem president's cabinet. If Dems want voters to vote for Republicans, as in NJ eg or Florida, looks like that is what will happen, as it did in NJ.

[JI7]

27. i think acknowledging reality can be a good thing

[sabrina 1]

33. Yes, that is absolutely true and the reality is, in case anyone missed it, we have a party

that is okay with their own members voting for the other party. The NJ Dems have now confirmed that they did not vote for Christie out of fear, they supported him willingly and still do. Why are they in OUR party and why were the usual steps not taken by the Party against Dems who vote for Republicans? They do have rules about voting against your own party, yet nothing was done to these Lieberman clones.

Buono has also confirmed what we suspected, that she was unable to get financial support for her campaign as Dem candidates normally do. No surprise there either. The Progressive shunned by the Party in favor of Third Way candidates has become a habit with the leadership of the Dem Party.

THAT is the reality and yes, it's a good thing to acknowledge that our Party is in dire need of new leadership and of ridding it of wanna be Republicans who have a party that suits them a lot better as they have demonstrated.

For so long we did not understand why we could not achieve at least some of the goals we worked for. We were puzzled by the talk of 'bi-partisanship' and 'compromise' for Dems, not so much for Republicans but this race in NJ has exposed the serious problems we have seen in the Dem Party, most of all the love affair of some with Republicans. And that has to stop.

I hope those Dems in NJ join the party they state they support so we can get some real dems like the Mayor of Fort Lee who apparently wasn't afraid of Republicans and voted for the Dem Candidate and he is the one who came out on top of all this, isn't he? A real Democrat. Shame on the voters who were fooled by the Dinos. I hope THEY at least have learned their lesson.

[MADem]

29. Uh...Lieberman was from CT, not NJ....

An orthodox Jewish guy with blind spots re: US-Israeli issues and an increasingly right-wing world view, who quit the Democratic party because he lost a primary and ran for/kept "his" seat, has nothing to do with the Garden State. He's retired, anyway. Why even bring him into this conversation?

NJ politics, as others have pointed out here on this thread, have a strong element of corruption about them. It's not "beyond" state politics--it's what politics in that locale is all about. They have a lotta graft, greed and corruption happening in that state. These people have either been threatened or bribed--or both. AND, they may well have had a bone to pick with Christie's Democratic opponent--and that's an "All Politics Is Local" story for another day, perhaps.

The Sopranos wasn't set in Vermont, now, was it?

[Starry Messenger]

17. Gosh, since Dems are supporting a Repuke, does this mean we can support other parties now?

[sabrina 1]

23. I've been told several times now on DU that I don't understand politics and that those Dems

in NJ, more than 50 of them btw, were right to vote for the Republican. And Christie is not the first Republican endorsed by Dems either. It seems to be becoming a trend, so yes, I'm curious if this site has changed its rules to coordinate with the new 'vote Republican' theme we are seeing.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. See 24, there is something to be said

About local state politics. They get uggly...as in real uggly.

City politics, those sharp elbows really get pointed.

In an ideal world, but we don't. Working multiple city halls really makes you go, ok theory and practice are not the same.

Think the Sopranos and you'll be very close. Though I think Tony was a better guy.

[dionysus]

42. "ugly"

[DevonRex]

43. It is now uggly just like it is kerfunkle and riffle.

[dionysus]

44. i'll meet you at high noon at the riffle. it's gonna be one uggly kerflunkle!

[DevonRex]

45. We can have a duel!

[dionysus]

46. that's even if we make it to the riffle. three meters of hail is hard to slog through. i'll see if

Wadsworth has a bobcat we can borrow to get up there in...

[DevonRex]

48. Ok

I'm dying here.

[dionysus]

49. let me call an EMT

[JoePhilly]

40. Can you show where some one claims they were RIGHT to vote for a Republican?

Maybe I missed it.

[DevonRex]

47. I'd like to see one too. nt

[Zorra]

30. No, sorry. You are only allowed to support republicans or Democrats.

Supporting Democrats is generally better, but in certain circumstances it is advisable to support republican candidates over genuinely progressive Democrats.

sincerely,
third way hq

[woo me with science]

54. Nailed it.

[Art_from_Ark]

19. (With apologies to Tammy Wynette)

Sometimes it's hard to be a flunkie
Giving all your love to just one man
You'll have bad times
And he'll have good times
Doin things that you don't understand
But if you love him
You'll forgive him
Even though he's hard to understand
And if you love him
Oh, be proud of him
Cause after all he's Da Man

Stand by your man
Give him two arms to cling to
And something warm to come to
when nights are cold and lonely

Stand by your man
And show the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man

Stand by your man
And show the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Well, if he survives the firestorm...

And local mayors like to be in the good graces of the governor. Some states it's worst than others (it's proportional to size of state). Hedging bets, and all.

Small time state politics can be really disgusting. Oh and I think they believe he will survive this.

If he does not...it will be fascinating to watch.

This is why many mayors cannot wait to run for higher, preferably national office. Some of this local crap does go away.

And yes, it is disgusting. But politics is a blood sport.

[JoePhilly]

41. Agree.

[JI7]

28. i wont be supporting whoever the fuck that is when they run for President

[adirondacker]

32. Sometimes it's hard to be a Democrat...

[City Lights]

34. Ick.

[geek tragedy]

35. assholes, traitors, scum nt

[bullwinkle428]

36. Well, the "top dog" Dem from NJ right now is Bob Menendez, and he sure

ain't no prize at the moment as far as I'm concerned.

[WillyT]

37. Good Point...

[Vashta Nerada]

50. What's the point of having political parties if one isn't going to support their own party?

[dorkzilla]

51. Its New Jersey…no other explanation needed...

…said one smug as hell New Yorker...

[DonCoquixote]

52. Judas goats

Of course, there is an elephant in the room, the fact the NJ churches are to the hard, hard right, and that they make sure they reward their servants.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

53. I get it now.

Voting for or supporting a third party progressive = always bad (because it's a vote for republicans!!!!!)


Actually voting for a republican = ok sometimes (I mean it's politics these things happen you people don't get it)

[WillyT]

55. EXACTLY !!!

[TroglodyteScholar]

56. I think your title got cut off...

'New Jersey Democrats Who Endorsed Christie Stand By Their Man

...If They Know What's Good For Them'

Edit: Just noticed something else that got cut off:

“I can assure you I did not feel pressured at all,” Palmyra Mayor Karen Scheffler told the AP Wednesday

...before repeatedly blinking "HELP ME" in Morse code.

[WillyT]

57. LOL !!! - Good Catch !!!