Other ethnicities are not that way. They’ll say yes to you constantly and then you’ll realize they really didn’t mean it.

Thanks for enlightening us Congressman. As bad a Congressman as you are, please don’t quit to become an Anthropologist.

Blue Jersey

It is a real good thing that the right for women to vote isn’t up for reauthorization as well – because you never know what Garrett will come up with to deny them the most basic right as an American.

Why do I say this? Back in 2006, Garrett was only one of 33 Representatives to vote AGAINST the reauthoriziation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In attempting to explain a vote that seemed to anyone with a conscience as insensitive and racist, Garrett said the following:

Now, I have been here now for 3 years, just as the gentleman from Iowa has been as well, and I can think of many other very important significant legislations that we have reauthorized. But for the life of me, and I stand to be corrected, I cannot think of any other bill, any other important issue, whether you are dealing with the air, the water, the environment, our schools, our education or our health, our defense or otherwise, I cannot think of any other areas, and again I stand to be corrected, where we have reauthorized something for two and one-half decades. So I think that is the first area that we need to be addressing, and you are rightfully so for bringing it up.

Just as a side note on this, I did put in an amendment that would limit this down to 6 years, but that was the proverbial compromise amendment if we were not successful in getting your amendment to the floor tomorrow which would eliminate the multi-lingual ballots entirely.

Now, Garrett had a number of issues with the reauthorization, but his first two are incredibly telling. For starters, he felt that equal rights for something as basic as voting should only be reauthorized for 6 years, and not 25. Garrett’s own words on this issue were that “circumstances in this country will be significantly different than they are today 25 years hence”. His second issue? That ballots would not be English-only.

I ask this – what could possibly change in this country that would make the right to vote obsolete?

]]> http://retiregarrett.com/2010/08/23/womens-suffrage-turns-90-and-garrett-cant-do-anything-about-it/feed/ 0 Adam Lambert http://retiregarrett.com/2010/08/20/reasons-not-to-vote-republican-this-november/ http://retiregarrett.com/2010/08/20/reasons-not-to-vote-republican-this-november/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:25:25 +0000 msimonson19 http://retiregarrett.com/?p=869 ]]> Cross-posted from Blue Jersey by Adam L aka clammyc

So, someone sent me a way too long video that they received which was of the “you eeevil soshulist Demmocrats better watch it cuz we are coming to git ya” variety, and I decided that it was way too easy to come up with a powerful rebuttal.

That being said, I put this little video together to remind everyone just how things were back when Republicans ruled Congress (and the White House).  And that this is precisely what they will do if they regain power.

Enjoy…..

And courtesy of BlueJersey.com, clammyc’s take on the issue:

Of all of the scummy things that Rep. Garrett has voted against (cuz he doesn’t actually vote FOR anything), this is one of the worst:

A bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust fell short in the House on Thursday, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts.

The bill would have provided free health care and compensation payments to 9/11 rescue and recovery workers who fell ill after working in the trade center ruins.

So those who were brave enough and put their time, lives and health on the line to help those in the days and weeks after 9/11 have to fight in court to have the diseases and illnesses they got from serving this country after the 9/11 attacks.  This vote actually had a huge majority – it got support from 255 Reps and voted against by 159 – far more than 50% support.  But it failed to get a 2/3 majority and lost by around 20 votes.

Now, only 12 Republicans in the entire House voted for this, and 4 of them were from New Jersey.  You know, the state that had the 2nd most victims on 9/11.  And guess who was the one Representative that couldn’t even stomach helping his own fellow New Jerseyans pay for the health problems that arose from them stepping up for their country in its’ darkest day?

There is no excuse.  Nothing can be more indicative of what Garrett’s priorities are, and who his is as a person to his core.  There is a quote I saw recently that goes something like this:

Don’t tell me what you believe. Tell me what you do and I’ll tell you what you believe.

How true it is, Rep. Garrett.  How true it is.

The RG Campaign hopes you are enjoying this unseasonably hot summer. As Election Season approaches, we need your help to achieve our goal of Retiring Scott Garrett from Congress. We have endorsed a candidate, in Tod Theise, to campaign against Representative Garrett. On June 3rd, Tod decisively won the Primary to become the official Democratic Nominee.  Now we need people to help Mr. Theise undertake his campaign. Can you help him?

If you would like to help Tod by volunteering, interning, or just attending a meet-and-greet, please e-mail RetireGarrett@gmail.com, or comment on this blog post with your e-mail listed, with a with “YES” in the body. You can also contact us through the Get Involved! tab at the top of the page. We will place you on the official Theise for Congress e-mail list. In addition, if you are interested in holding a house party, fundraiser, or other type of event for Tod, please elaborate in your reply.

About Tod

Tod Theise is committed to helping the 5th District get the representation it deserves in the United States Congress. He also cares deeply about the well being of Americans no matter what Congressional District they live in. Tod is a successful Litigation Analyst with one of the most prestigious Law firms in the country, a 1st Lieutenant in the New York Guard, and a New Jersey political veteran. Read more about him at his website, www.theiseforcongress.com.

Tod and the rest of his campaign look forward to working with you to bring a progressive voice back to the 5th District!

Heard about that oil spill in the Gulf recently? Yeah, Scott Garrett didn’t exactly go out of his way to stop it from happening.  He has consistently voted on the side of oil companies and against regulatory bills that would have reduced the chances of a disastrous spill from occurring. I think the below summary of Scott Garrett’s voting record on Energy and Oil related bills, from the non-partisan website OnTheIssues.org, says everything we need to know about Congressman Garrett’s efforts to reign in the recklessness of British Petroleum:

As I sat on the beach last week, I couldn’t help but reflect on the state of our politics.

We are, once again, approaching election season; a series of rituals are impending which in calmer times demand relatively little of us in the way of time or energy.   On this occasion however, we can ill-afford to be cavalier.  No one needs to be reminded that we are in a period of profound national turmoil.  We are still reeling from the near collapse of the global financial system; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to fester unresolved; and we are struggling to contain an oil spill of such magnitude that it threatens the ecological health and economic stability of the entire Gulf Coast. 

Sitting in the sand, it should come as no surprise that the latter crisis stood front-and-center in my mind.  As I absorbed my surroundings, the endearingly anachronistic shops, the people bronzing in the sun, a street performer practicing his craft, it became clear to me just how vital our beaches are, not only to our livelihoods, but to the way we identify ourselves.  Juvenile caricatures about the state of our beaches aside, our shores are a source of natural beauty, economic dynamism, and cultural significance; they are places where many of us live, many of us work, and many of us escape to. 

Mr. Garrett is showing a willingness to sacrifice the interests of his constituents upon the stained altar of big-oil, and that is unacceptable.

I tried to imagine the despair of those in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida as they witnessed the toxic blackening of their waters.  I couldn’t.  The true externalities of this oil-spill will be vast, terrible. Incalculable. My selfish side made an appearance too; I couldn’t help but wonder how we could avoid such a catastrophe here.

The answer, in short, is relatively straightforward: better government, better regulation.  We have been lucky enough in this state to be represented by (relatively!) clearheaded politicians who understand the risks of offshore exploration.  And we are fortunate that it has not devolved into a petty partisan issue.  Our Republican Governor, Chris Christie, wisely opposes it, as did his Democratic predecessor, Jon Corzine.[1]

Yet, I remain troubled by a few elected officials; namely, my own representative, Scott Garrett (NJ-05).  Representative Garrett has a disturbing record on energy. From supporting East Coast exploration[2] to buttressing the monopolistic powers of foreign oil cartels such as OPEC[3] and discouraging investment in green technologies, representative Garrett has amongst the most blunderous and shortsighted energy records in congress. 

This latest crisis is a lesson that the costs of drilling are much larger than the prices we pay at the pump.  The Greeks had a word for this kind of revelation, anagnorisis, that is, wisdom derived from tragedy.  But it should not be taken for granted that Representative Garrett has fully absorbed what everyone else clearly understands.  I called Mr. Garrett’s office yesterday to see if this latest tragedy had changed his stance on coastal drilling, and I was dismayed to find out that it had not.  Mr. Garrett is showing a willingness to sacrifice the interests of his constituents upon the stained altar of big-oil, and that is unacceptable. His ideology, his corporate sponsors, his pride, none of them is as valuable as our shoreline.

We, as voters of the 5^th district, need to draw upon our own wisdom, derived from our own experiences in recent history, and pressure Mr. Garrett to change his positions on off shore oil exploration.  Our failure to do so now, even after the horrible consequences of inaction have been made so plain, would be a true tragedy indeed. 

[2] http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/corzine_mccains_support_for_of.html

[3] http://www.ontheissues.org/NJ/Scott_Garrett_Energy_+_Oil.htm

It’s still early, but if you have literally 10 seconds available, please give us an indication of who you will be voting for this November. This isn’t Quinnipiac or Gallup, but it will produce a fairly accurate and unbiased result and may help us get an idea of Scott Garrett’s vulnerability. Please send the poll to friends, family members, and others interested in the NJ-5 race. Thanks for participating!

Scott Garrett would be against a cure for cancer if it came up for a vote in Congress. The only people who aren’t aware of Garrett’s obsessive tendency to vote against legislation are the ones who just can’t bring themselves to follow the shitstorm that is American politics, and Chris Matthews.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, in the last week Congressman Garrett voted against two bills that for all intents and purposes would have benefited people in his district as well as the rest of the country.

The first worthwhile bill Garrett voted against, entitled Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act, would have allowed for a government study to determine whether the Hudson River Valley, which abuts the 5th District, should be designated as a National Park. If a property is classified as a National Park it can potentially receive millions of dollars in public funding. Additionally home prices tend to rise within the National Park, increasing the quality of life for people in and around the area.

The Hudson River Valley Special Resources Act passed by a vote of 293-115. The entire Tri-State area delegation (45 Congressman from NY, NJ, and CT) voted for the Act, except for Scott Garrett, despite the fact that it would have potentially led to a windfall for an area literally next door to the district he represents. Garrett complained about the economic downfall being caused by Democrats while voting against a bill that could practically boost the economy in his own district overnight.

The second extremely helpful bill Rep. Garrett voted against was entitled Energy Jobs for Veterans Act. The bill would establish a five-year pilot program to award grants to states to start a grant program for energy industry employers and labor management organizations that provide training, apprenticeships, and certification classes to veterans employed by an energy employer. The bill would help war Veterans retain their jobs in the difficult economy while also solidifying an industry that America relies on for a significant part of its resources. Who doesn’t want to help those who have put their lives on the line for the country while restoring arguably its most important industry?

Scott Garrett, that’s who. The Energy Jobs for Veterans Act passed by a vote of 397-19. Scott Garrett was one of the 19 who voted against it. He was the only Northeastern Congressman to vote against the bill.

Still think Scott Garrett represents his consitutents’ best interests?!