CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER for Edward Durr, the Logan Township truck driver who defeated Democratic Senate President Steven Sweeney Wednesday. If it were any other Democrat in any other district, this would be a categorical win for New Jersey residents.
Unfortunately, reality will soon show us that when you take out a leader, warring factions will compete to fill that vacuum. With the blood on the post-Election Day floor settling, it is clear that Democrats will still retain control over both the Senate and the Assembly, and state Republicans will remain as inept as they have for decades.
Sweeney may have rubber-stamped the worst of Murphy’s pandemic protocols, but it is important to remember all the areas he fought back. Before COVID (B.C.), Sweeney at least pretended to fight Murphy’s tax and spending schemes and was instrumental in voicing the need for pension reform in the state. He was also an advocate for charter schools, which will be even more critical as a means to escape public schools in the wake of a Murphy victory.
Make no mistake, though: Democrats love taxes and spending, and Sweeney was a loyal Democrat. But his “Path to Progress,” which involved converting all new public employees into a 401K pension hybrid, would have helped the state’s financially crippling retirement burden.
The Senate and Assembly should learn from the losses of Sweeney and others and become more vocal in the fight against Progressivism. But it is hard to tell now what the shift will be and whether it will go along with Murphy if his victory projection pans out.
A clear sign that there is a dark cloud on the horizon in New Jersey comes from Sue Altman of the New Jersey Working Families, a Progressive group. Altman, a white lady who was dragged out of the courtroom that was hearing the case of Sweeney ally George Norcross and then took the time to harass the cops who did for also being white, took to Twitter on Thursday to celebrate the loss of Sweeney and victory of Murphy.
She also was proud to point out that Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in his acceptance speech that the legislature would be “Getting to the heart of deep inequalities,” adding “this is a great sign- Speaker Coughlin forging ahead with forward-looking, equity-focused progressive messaging in his acceptance speech.” You hate to see it.
For those not up to date on Progressive jargon, this means more critical race theory and more redefining of gender by government fiat. And Altman has celebrated on Twitter her belief that the legislature is now more Left than before. We’ll have to take her word for it.
The truth, however, is that Sweeney has held his district with ease for almost two decades. He only lost because Gloucester County flipped Republican in a time when voters across the country were stepping up and fighting against radicals in school boards and higher government office. Biden won New Jersey by over 10-points 12 months ago while the current race for governor is razor-thin. If the lesson you take from that is that you need more woke politics and more Progressive candidates on the ballot, then Republicans will be happy to take a few Assembly seats in two years.
But Altman and her fellow Progressives know that the country is fighting back. And she knows her agenda is not popular outside of Twitter. She just doesn’t care. That is the entire reason Progressives target the classroom: to train the next generation, much like the “Junior Spies” of George Orwell’s 1984; they have abandoned all resistance by merely marking off the concerns of voters who don’t agree with them by calling them racist.
None of this is to say that Durr is not politically capable. In response to people calling him Senator-elect based on the AP’s projection, he refused, stating that “everybody keeps calling me ‘senator-elect.’ But until that official document says that I am? I’ll [be] holding my breath until then.” That is an important mark of political consistency from a novice politician, as the state GOP had previously criticized the AP for calling the governor’s race when the vote was split by less than one percent.
Unfortunately, Durr will be another silenced Republican against the backdrop of New Jersey’s backroom Democratic politics. The best he can do is to make noise and inform his constituents of the policies that will affect them and that the small media landscape here doesn’t report on.
As for Sweeney. He was a Democrat, and it is difficult to support some of his moves during the Murphy administration. Being a shrewd and experienced politician, though, he helped the administration of former Republican Governor Chris Christie reign in the egregious benefits packages given to public school teachers. When he did propose to spend money, it was on real projects that people in his district could enjoy or benefit from, like the Gloucester County Dream Park and the revamping of that same county’s ambulance system.
Most importantly, however, was the fact that he served as a bulwark against Progressives. And no one should cheer on the loss of that role.
Please remember to Like, Share, and Subscribe
When Subscribing, please be sure to check your spam and promotions folders as content can show up there. Subscribe in the box below: