December 4, 2007 - 5:54pm
Abate touts labor support
By Matt Friedman
Tags: Camille Abate
Fifth district Democratic congressional candidate Camille Abate wants to emphasize her support from organized labor.
Last Wednesday, the Passaic County Building & Construction Trades Council sponsored a breakfast in honor of Abate, attended by representatives from several local branches of the United Association of Plumbers, the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators, Asbestos Workers, the International Brotherhood of Carpenters, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Laborer’s International Union.
"In order to take back this country and improve the quality of life for ordinary Americans, we have to stick together, as working people with a common goal,” said Abate in a press release.
Most of those unions contributed money to her campaign, Abate said, although they have not sent official letters of endorsement. One union not represented ,the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, has formally endorsed Abate.
Abate is seeking the Democratic nomination to take on entrenched Republican incumbent Scott Garrett. She ran for the Democratic nomination last year, getting 33% of the vote against Paul Stuart Aronsohn. Also seeking the nomination is Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi and psychologist.
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As if it matters
Any Democrat candidate getting organized labor support against Scott Garrett is akin to expecting the morning dawn.
She can emphasize all the support she wants. Garrett wins each time. In a lousy year, he still won by double digits. Nobody... and I mean nobody on either side of the aisle expects her or any other Democrat to beat Garrett.
Abate...
Pleeez go away!
Garrett Is An Embarassment...
....and, more importantly, he's vulnerable this time out.
Let's face it folks, Scott Garrett is ashamed of himself. His only chance/hope of staying in office is to hide in as many dark corners as possible.
The last thing Garrett wants to do is to come out into the sunshine of common human decency and to extensively/repeatedly discuss/debate/argue his deepest beliefs and his whole record in front of the people he's allegedly representing.
To Scott Garrett, the light of day, in the form of media attention and close publc scrutinty, is about as welcome as Sunshine is welcome to Count Dracula.
Garrett is a stealth candidate. He always was. The man is a radical extremist who hides behind a superficially inocuous demeanor (most of the time) while his true hidden ideological agendas are in opposition to the spirit of the United States Constitution.
What really nails Garrett above all is the extent to which he's become an enabler and a supporter of George Bush.
Sure, Garrett will do his "best" to come up with instances where he opposed this or that Bush policy; but it doesn't wash. Garrett is more Bushy than Bush himeslf would dare to be.
It won't be easy to retire Garrett; but it is possible...all it will take is the shining of large quantities of very bright sunshine on to his core beliefs, agendas and actions.
Couple that with a dynamc positively aggressive/dynamic opponent and a massive increase in voter registration/GOTV, and you have a formula for a Democratic victory in Nvember.
And let's not forget that there is a critical presidential election coming up which will further motivate people to come out to vote against the Bush policies and to punish any and all who have enabled this horrendous maleficent incompetent dangerous (mis)administration.
I'm looking forward to a spirited positive competion in the Democratic primary so that the victor will be well honed and energized to take on the darkness that is Scott Garrett.
From Frederick Douglass
Anti-labor GOP
With an anti-labor administration and an enabler like Scott Garrett in Congress, middle-class families suffer.
Thank goodness New Jersey has a strong union presence. Unions have helped develop a strong middle-class with a high standard of living and has protected employee rights.
With rising costs for basic necessities, gasoline, college education and especially healthcare, New Jersey citizens need an advocate in Congress for working-class families.
The Fifth district needs a representative who will fight for affordable healthcare, pension rights and keeping social security and medicare out of the private sector.
Garrett has voted against the S-chip program to provide childrens' healthcare, wants to privatize social security and is anti-choice.
Camille Abate will fight and stand with union workers and working-class citizens in the Fifth district. We need a change of direction in the district and the country from the incompetent policies of the Bush administration and from Bush apologists like Scott Garrett.
Constitutional Republic
Just another two words that are NOT in the Abate dictionary.
Enough said
Dear Bergenite
Actually, Abate is an expert on the US Constitution.
Do you have enough confidence in your boy Garrett to ask him to go one on one with her in a free/fair/open debate re Constitutional questions/issues?
Go for it!
I would love to be surprised; but I suspect that Garrett would ignore your request and will continue to hide in the dark little corner he calls home.
Say what you will about Camille; but she's got more guts than Garrett (and that's putting it politely).
Then again, it's somewhat understandable that Scott Garrett is ashamed/afraid of letting his views be aired in the crucible of public discourse.
From Frederick Douglass