IF YOU’RE EASILY OFFENDED, DON’T READ THIS COLUMN. Thursday night, at a Clean Ocean Action fundraiser at McLoone’s Pier House, I was asked to welcome the crowd to Long Branch. My wife Pat has been COA’s Board of Trustees recording secretary for 23 years and the group does great work and that’s what I said. Then I said if you’re upset with the insanity in Washington and care about issues like a clean ocean, you need to get out and vote. I added that the congressmen shutting down the federal government don’t want you to vote if you’re a woman, a person of color, or a person with an open mind. I didn’t mention the Tea Party or use the word Republican. Then I sat down with Pat and finished my dinner. A few minutes later, a man came up to me and told me he was offended by my comments because he was a conservative. He also said he was thinking of withdrawing his donation to COA because of what I said. I wanted to tell him what to do with his money but instead politely told him I disagreed. He muttered something I couldn’t understand while he turned and walked away. My remarks were quite restrained and accurate. What the Tea Party Republicans are doing is extortion, undemocratic, destructive, and nothing less than an attempt to sabotage our government. Remember, these same congressmen delayed the passage of aid to Sandy victims. As a mayor of a coastal city working with the federal government to rebuild the boardwalk and counting on sand replenishment, I’m concerned about the shutdown causing delays. That’s just one of dozens of ways Americans are going to be affected. Have whatever opinion you want of Obamacare. You have every right to be against an attempt to provide health care to the 50 million people who don’t have medical coverage. But Congress passed the bill, the Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional, and the president was re-elected. If the shut down isn’t enough, this week those same 80 congressmen are trying to force our country to default on our bills for the first time in history. The potential damage to the world’s economy is frightening to all rational people. I’m rooting for President Obama to invoke the 14th amendment and pay this country’s bills. Then watch the same crazies try to impeach him. Again, feel free to disagree, but if these people have their way, you might not get to vote again. Despite there being no evidence of voter fraud, state legislatures in Arizona and Kansas are working on restricting voting rights. Pennsylvania, Texas and North Carolina and other states have already passed restrictive legislation targeting people of color and the poor. The statistical evidence is clear. After passing voter ID laws, state legislators’ brag about how much harder it will be Democrats to win elections. Remember what started this column; I told people if they care about what’s going on in this country, they need to vote. If poll numbers are correct, the shut down and extortion are doing huge damage to Republicans around the country. I’m endorsing my GOP governor and legislators, but if they ever mess with voting rights or run for federal office, all bets are off. As for the guy I pissed off, that’s just one of the benefits of being Mayor.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:06:16 +0000
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