Democrats rally for Obama in Roselle

Roselle Mayor Garrett Smith today at the Obama rally. 

ROSELLE - It’s Garrett Smith country on a Saturday.

Emptying a chair alongside the young Roselle mayor, U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-Newark) stood in front of a microphone and gave Gov. Jon Corzine props for playing a role in discovering Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il) when Corzine chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Obama’s romping here in Roselle by every indication, but Payne and Obama aren’t eyeball to eyeball on everything, including last week’s Wall Street bailout.

While Obama and his Republican rival in the presidential race on Wednesday quietly supported the $700 billion measure that its critics say falls disproportionately across the shoulders of American taxpayers, Payne twice vociferously bucked the controversial bill in the House.

Today he laid out his views before a cheering crowd in Roselle’s Warinanco Park, where several hundred people gathered in support of Obama on the front-end of a Union County voter registration drive days before the Oct. 14th registration deadline.

"There were 159,000 jobs lost last month alone, and unemployment is going up to seven of eight percent," said Payne. "Everyone’s talking about Wall Street and Main Street, but man, I’m thinking about the back street."

Cheers ensued.

"Sure, I support Wall Street. Yes, I back Main Street. But I want to know what’s going to happen on the back streets," Payne told the quickly attentive and responsive crowd.

No one appeared to care that Obama supported the bailout bill, however. Where were these Democrats going to go who agreed with Payne, into the arms of the hard-right Republicans who also refused to back the bailout bill albeit on different philosophical grounds; or to McCain, who supported the bailout?

The crowd liked these hard-scrabble messengers with recognizable names and agendas, even if some of these electeds backed Sen. Hillary Clinton over Obama in the primary, as Payne did, and as did Gov. Jon Corzine, Democratic Party Chairman Joe Cryan, Assembly Majority Leader Bone Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) and state Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex), who one after another stoked the crowd’s Obama fever.

Policy nuances aside finally, it was all about Obama, whose cardboard cutout life-sized likeness stood in front of the stage amid haybales while Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Plainfield) introduced the luminaries.

Asked by the Obama campaign to talk about healthcare, Corzine tore into the issue with evident relish in front of the juked audience, who navigated the registration tables or Obama souvenirs corner in between tossing a football around or sitting and clapping in front of the covered stage.

"We’re all in this together," said the governor. "And if we don’t change this country, it doesn’t matter if you’re black, brown, green, wherever you come from - we’ve got a problem, it’s got to get changed, and Barack Obama is the guy to do it."

State Democratic Chairman Joseph Cryan, left, and Governor Jon Corzine in Roselle.: Politicker photo

The issue of healthcare has been lost in the "overwhelming tsunami" of the economy, but it’s been a contributor to the crisis, Corzine said, as America’s going broke in part trying to pay for a broken system.

"Here in New Jersey we’ve seen ten hospitals over the last 18 months close," said the governor. "We’ve got others that are in very serious financial trouble, and if we don’t get a change in policy and get people ensured, have them have healthcare, we’re going to have that problem going on and on and on. And I can tell you, the only person running for president right now that has a plan to get everybody in America ensured, is Barack Obama."

Cheers.

"And we’re going to ut the money where it’s necessary to make it happen," Corzine added.

When Rice mounted the state a few minutes later, he said he hoped the governor was still listening as he without warning transitioned from loyal Obama cheerleader to outlaw provocateur, coyly withholding his support for Corzine, who’s due up for re-election next year.

"The governor I’m going to support will...have an African-American candidate for lieutenant governor," said Rice. "I hope he hears."

Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex): Politicker photo

The Obama effort came through ultimately, as campaign organizers nosed through the crowd, steering people toward the registration booths and manning the wheels of one of some 50 cars traveling around the county as part of Saturday’s drive.

In case anyone here doubted it was hip to back Obama, grassroots organizer Nadia Brown of Piscataway set them straight.

"I don’t go on dates with brothers who aren’t registered to vote," Brown said.