Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Building our own wave.

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In 2009, Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell were the beneficiaries of the tea party anger purchased with corporate money, promoted by Fox News and organized by FreedomWorks and the Dick Armey in the Summer of 2009.

Christie of New Jersey and McDonnell of Virginia in November 2009 … Scott Brown of Massachusetts in March 2010 … and then the tea party wave election in November 2010 that appeared to sweep away our country’s common sense and which set up gerrymandered Republican majorities in statehouses across the country.

Today’s polls seem to indicate that we have a good chance to turn the tide in Virginia but not much hope in New Jersey where Gov. Chris Christie (R) appears to be a shoo-in for re-election.  

It would be rude of me to wag my nannyish finger at New Jersey Democrats because they won’t vote to advance my agenda. But I reserve the right to be sad that a Christie victory will be spun so that he can run for president in 2016 on the lie that he is a moderate Republican because “Look! Democrats voted for me!”. So I will try one more time to convince New Jersey Democrats to vote for the Democrat … because I am an optimist!

In 2012, New Jersey voted to re-elect Barack Obama by 58%. They have sent two Democrats to the US Senate. The New Jersey congressional delegation to the House of Representatives is split 50-50, Democrats to Republicans. Today Gov. Chris Christie (R) leading by 30+ points over this DEMOCRATIC candidate.


I’m Barbara Buono, the only one actually running for governor. Chris Christie’s got his sights set on the Republican presidential primary. That’s why he defunded Planned Parenthood, opposes abortion rights, vetoed gay marriage and stands with the gun lobby on background checks. With 400,000 New Jerseyans out of work and our poverty rate at a 50-year high, Christie raised taxes on the working poor-but won’t ask millionaires to pay another dime. He wants to be president. I want to be your governor.

Chris Christie:

– Defunded Planned Parenthood.

– Opposes abortion rights.

– Vetoed gay marriage.

– Stands with the gun lobby on background checks

– Is anti-teacher, anti-union.

Chris Christie can’t win re-election without Democratic votes. Period. And he is NOT a moderate Republican in the mold of former Governor Christine Todd Whitman … he is NOT a moderate Republican in the mold of former Governor Thomas Kean.

Chris Christie is a Republican governor who believes the same things that Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Rick Perry of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida and John Kasich of Ohio and Rick Snyder of Michigan and Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania believe: that tax cuts to the wealthy are more important than social safety nets, that teachers (and other public service unions) are the cause of all of our economic woes, that the way to win national elections is to disenfranchise Democratic voters,  and that women should be forced to give birth if they become pregnant (and they should not have access to birth control, either … uppity women!!). There is no space between him and the radical Republican agenda.

So why does a Democratic blogger from Wisconsin care about what happens in Virginia and about the ins and outs of New Jersey state politics?

Two reasons. First, one of those extremists swept in with the tea party wave is Gov. Scott Walker (R) of Wisconsin. New polls show that we have a pretty good chance of defeating him next year, turning the tide in Wisconsin and starting a return to our traditions of honest government, a government that reflects the values of our state, not the national Republican Party’s agenda.

The second is about momentum. Our country’s descent into electoral madness started with the FreedomWorks funded rallies in August 2009 and translated itself into electoral victories that year and in 2010. In 2012, the tide began turning when voters rejected radical anti-woman anti-commonsense Senate candidates, gained seats in the House of Representatives and rejected the Romney-Ryan agenda. And next year, we have a good chance to regain the governorships in a handful of states where tea party overreach has led to well-deserved anger at Republican officeholders: Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida … and maybe even Texas.

We will need a big wave in 2014 to sweep away the mess made when the tea party movement gained momentum in 2009.

Let’s win Virginia and let’s make sure that a Christie victory in New Jersey is not spun as a victory for his brand of politics: hiding behind a super-sized mantle of moderation while working against everything Democrats hold dear. Don’t be tricked … when you boil away the tea, you are still left with Republicanism: anti-worker, anti-woman, anti-minority, anti-commonsense regulations, anti-environment … anti-ordinary people.    

The wind blowing across the water’s surface forms ripples which become waves. Speak strongly, and as one, and create ripples … then waves … and sweep away the movement created by greed, fueled by fear, and stoked by racism.

Elections Matter. Regaining control over the future direction of our country begins now.

(Crossposted from Views from North Central Blogistan)


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 26 Comments

26 comments

  2. princesspat

    Koch Group Has Ambitions in Small Races

    CORALVILLE, Iowa – Election seasons in this small eastern Iowa town are usually cordial affairs. But this year, a group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers has changed that.

    ~snip~

    But here, in this town of fewer than 20,000 residents, the group has not been so welcome, and the nonpartisan campaign has become an informal referendum on the involvement of outsiders.

    ~snip~

    Chris Turner, a first-time candidate for the City Council who has spoken out against the debt, said that although he disagreed with Americans for Prosperity on most issues, he could not seem to catch a break because his campaign platform aligns with the organization.

    “Every time I go to a debate or anything, I’ve tried talking about the budget, and then they just go, ‘Koch brothers, Koch brothers, Koch brothers,’ ” he said of his critics, adding that he wished Americans for Prosperity “would just go away.”

    I hope the insidious influence of the Koch brothers money in local and state elections may finally be easing. I read a long article this weekend re how pervasive the influence of their policies and money is but alas I can’t find it now. I am glad to finally see articles published in the more main stream media.  

  3. princesspat

    How The Sabotage Of Obamacare Worked

    Over the weekend, Amy Goldstein and Juliet Eilperin reported that much of Obamacare’s flaws were not due to the president’s lack of attention or focus:

    “On the balmy Sunday evening of March 21, 2010, hours after the bill had been enacted, the president had stood on the Truman Balcony for a champagne toast with his weary staff and put them on notice: They needed to get started on carrying out the law the very next morning….”

    ~snip~

    But they also report that healthcare.gov was “was hampered by the White House’s political sensitivity to Republican hatred of the law – sensitivity so intense that the president’s aides ordered that some work be slowed down or remain secret for fear of feeding the opposition.”

    Even more reason to keep the momentum growing to elect Dem’s to office at every governmental  level in our country. The active sabotage by the R’s of the ACA has been under reported.

  4. nomandates

    Chris Christie:

    – Defunded Planned Parenthood.

    – Opposes abortion rights.

    – Vetoed gay marriage.

    – Stands with the gun lobby on background checks

    – Is anti-teacher, anti-union.

    Chris Christie can’t win re-election without Democratic votes. Period. And he is NOT a moderate Republican in the mold of former Governor Christine Todd Whitman … he is NOT a moderate Republican in the mold of former Governor Thomas Kean.

    Chris Christie is a Republican governor who believes the same things that Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Rick Perry of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida and John Kasich of Ohio and Rick Snyder of Michigan and Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania believe: that tax cuts to the wealthy are more important than social safety nets, that teachers (and other public service unions) are the cause of all of our economic woes, that the way to win national elections is to disenfranchise Democratic voters,  and that women should be forced to give birth if they become pregnant (and they should not have access to birth control, either … uppity women!!). There is no space between him and the radical Republican agenda.

    I don’t have anything to add, but just wanted to highlight that part.

  5. princesspat

    In New Jersey, Big Money Aims to Foil Christie’s Plans

    Democrats and unions, fearful that a landslide victory by Gov. Chris Christie will reshape New Jersey’s political landscape, have poured tens of millions of dollars into a record-breaking outside spending campaign that has transformed the state’s election season.

    The effort, designed to preserve Democrats’ dominance of the State Legislature and complicate Mr. Christie’s plans to build a record of legislative achievement as he considers a presidential bid in 2016, has inundated some legislative districts with millions of dollars in negative ads on a scale never before seen in New Jersey.

    Elections are changing thanks to the Citizen’s United ruling, but I hope this decision is successful.

  6. JanF

    Expand Social Security – Don’t  Cut It!


    In a town consumed by how quickly and how deeply to cut Social Security, a handful of Democratic senators have a different idea: expand it.

    Their pitch is to grow Social Security benefits by attaching it to a new formula, known as CPI-E (Consumer Price Index for the Elderly), which is based on the theory that seniors face higher-than-average price increases, such as on health care and housing. It would be paid for by phasing out the cap on wages subject to the payroll tax, which is currently $113,700. Supporters say this would raise Social Security compensation for all beneficiaries by $70 per month.

    Take on the Republicans by saying loud and clear “THIS is what we stand for”.

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