Loretta Weinberg: the other Bergen County political powerhouse

Let us not underestimate the sheer blunt force power of MONEY. The "mother's milk" of (pay to play) politics.

Having said that, I agree that Weinberg should have gone "for the kill" and run a full slate across the board.

I dare say, many of the folks who voted in the primary only voted for column two because it had a full slate.

If there ever is a REAL contest between the politics of Ferriero vs that of Weinberg; she will win hands down.

The ONLY (kind of) "valid" reason to vote for the machine ticket (in EITHER PARTY) is if you are a direct beneficiary...all others get the short end of the stick in one way or another.

Pay to play is not really a very efficient/effective way to run government. The built in legalized bribery makes everything that gets done more expensive than it needs to be AND it results in all manner in unjust screwings of average (read unconnected/middle/working class) families.

Imagine how different all our banking and insurance and environment and real estate and consumer protection laws would be if the people who wrote those laws were not bought and paid for by the monied interests who profit from the corrupt status quo?

Imagine a NJ that was actually run for the benefit of the PEOPLE who lived there; not just the small fraction that has it's bloodsucking fangs sunk into the lives of the hardworking law abiding shlubs who actually CREATE whatever wealth there is in this state!

Imagine living in a state where it was a CRIMINAL offense to give a politician more than, say, twenty bucks (which would then be proportionally matched using transparant formulas in quantities lare enough to fund campaigns)!

Imagine living in a NJ where massive corporations were legally prohibited from buying influence in Trenton!

If/When the average people in NJ (most of who do NOT VOTE...and see politics as a dirty/hopeless) business) come around to believing that they CAN actually make a difference by voting; they will come out in droves to register and to vote for real reformers like Loretta Weinberg!

It's in the interests of the bosses to keep the status quo, to keep people cynical, apathetic, passively pissed off and "caged" in a defeatist/helpless political mode.

I urge Loretta and ALL people of integrity/good will and common human decency to get behind an effort to clean up NJ politics from the roots on up through to the leaves!

Let's show the rest of the nation what can be done when the people of NJ "rewrite the book" on politics!

When we put aside our fixed ideas of what's "practical" and/or "doable"; what was seemingly impossible actually becomes the inevitable!

Here's a brief clip of Steven speaking on behalf of the Weinberg team.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkR9T0ukNF8

Ferrierro was smart to pull his tactical retreat by surrendering his candidates out of the race; but I don't think that ploy/game will work so well next time around...

From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

Matt Ahearn says...

"I'll bet more on him reining himself in to survive than that he will continue to fight the rising tide from the waves of reform emanating from the Governor's office above and the party rank and file below."

A fascinating speculation/projection.

If we see Joe Ferriero sincerely adopting progressive people oriented politics as "his own"; then he will have come around to, in effect, becoming Loretta Weinberg...and that would be cool (to say the least ;-)!

Matt you are right in that Ferriero is intelligent and adaptable; but what needs to happen here goes way beyond a cosmetic "fix" geared toward superficial "reforms" while leaving the underlying rot unaffected.

Frankly, I don't really like the idea that this discussion seems to be about one man vs one woman. It ain't that simple.

Joe Ferriero is not the disease; he's a symtom. On a personal level, he can come off as a charming decent fellow. To the extent that we allow this to become merely a matter of personalities we are off the mark.

If he resigned and retired tomorrow there would likely be another version taking over the next day.

The changes that are needed are systemic.

The tragicomic irony of all this is that the folks who profit from feeding off a corrupt (albeit legal) status quo don't necessarily see themselves as "bad" people.

I suspect truly conscious evil, in human beings, is rare (if it exists at all). (The question arises as to whether sociopaths are fully conscious...but that's another discussion for another time.)

We are all flawed imperfect human beings subject to the temptations of ego and the material world.

Our fears, insecurities and extant political/social/economic cultures combine to create a kind of petri dish in which the most ruthless/aggressive characters (i.e. bullies) tend to dominate.

Unfortunately for the human race, what is adaptive "survival of the fittest" behavior at the level of the animal world just isn't good enough in the realm of human existence.

On the contrary, unbridled competition is, literally, inhuman and can only lead to the eventual extinction of our species.

Politics can be about more than the base satisfaction of personal powerlust.

What Bergen County (and the rest of the state/nation/world) needs is for thousands of (relatively ;-) secure, sane, loving, smart, informed, competent, strong, creative and courageous people to become involved in politics at all levels.

The status quo is not sustainable in the long run.

We will either evolve a politics of common human decency; or the cumulative consequences of systemic corruption will bring systemic collapse.

The question/challenge of how we become "secure, sane, loving, smart, informed, competent, strong, creative and courageous people" is one I'm trying to work on...I know I certainly have a long way to go on that path.

PS (getting back to brass tacks...) As for the pressure for reform from the governors office...I have to wonder how serious Corzine is about making fundamental changes. I was disappointed to find out that his voice was used in a bunch of "robocalls" endorsing a BCDO candidate the day before the primary.

This, after one got the impression that he would, at least, remain neutral in this "family squabble", is troubling.

From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.