by: Matthew Jordan

Since the start of the 111th Congress Representative Scott Garrett has managed to show his constituents 3 major points. First, if you are a woman you don’t deserve (nor are entitled) to make the same amount as your male counterparts. Secondly, American children do not have the right to free healthcare. Finally, and possibly the worst of all, the SEC did nothing wrong in overseeing the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme and more oversight isn’t necessary. This is what Garrett had to say regarding Madoff and the role of the SEC (per Herb Jackson):

But Rep. Scott Garrett, the top-ranking Republican on the subcommittee, said he did not think more government regulation was needed.
“Each and every one of Mr. Madoff’s relevant business fell under the jurisdiction of one or more financial regulators,” Garrett, R-Wantage, said at the start of the hearing. “Given what we currently know about this situation, I do not believe there was a regulatory gap that needs to be filled with more, often excessive regulation.

“Rather, we should be focused on ensuring that current regulations are being met and that proper oversight is occurring… We cannot end all fraud nor guarantee these changes would have prevented it.”

Excessive Regulation? Nearly $50 billion dollars have been stolen and our Congressman doesn’t think we need anymore “excessive regulation?” This is the kind of representation constituents of New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District get. Click below for more:

If a Democrat in NJ-5 cannot rally together a coalition of voters who think that women should be paid the same as men, that all children are entitled to healthcare, and that the Bernie Madoff scandal didn’t warrant a rethinking of our regulation policies, then we do not deserve to beat Garrett.

These votes need to be used against Garrett in 2010, but they need to be coupled with a message of new policies that would better benefit the residents of NJ-5. Simply heaving negative press at Garrett does not work. It needs to be clearly expressed that the Democratic nominee thinks and how his/her policies diverge from Garretts.

Democrats, Republicans, and Independents from Warren County to Bergen County need to realize the positions our Congressman is taking and need to start the work right now to unseat him in 2010.