Let the Cannibalism Begin

It didn't take long for the people who power Conservatives with Attitude CWA-NJ to start attacking Republican support of the SCHIP program vetoed by the President. At issue is Bill Baroni's support of the program. Baroni, running for the State Senate in the 14th Legislative District is a moderate Republican with broad support. Here's what CWA-NJ had to say about him:

In yet another case of the Republican candidate knocking people over to show how much like Democrats they are, the Baroni campaign rushed to produce a letter and proof of delivery of same, that Baroni sent to George W. Bush pleading with him not to veto SCHIP, but instead SIGN the 35BILLION dollar liberal supported expansion of government and entitlement program that puts us that much closer to HillaryCare, i.e.-SOCIALIZED MEDICINE.

[snip]

It takes more than an (R) next to your name to make you a Republican. RINO also starts with an R and until the Republican party actually starts acting like Republicans by doing the right thing and standing FOR something instead of standing WITH their opponents on to many issues, than an election win by an R doesn’t really mean a whole lot, does it?

Whatever happened to Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment, kids? Obviously, despite the facts, CWA-NJ has bought into the same lies Representative Scott Garrett bought into and perpetuated. This is going to play out on a national level, with the CWAs and Clubs for Growth assaulting those Republicans who supported SCHIP. The Republicans who supported SCHIP cut through the lies and fear mongering to stand with those served by the SCHIP program. Despite their ability to see the truth and vote for it, they will be painted with a different disingenuous brush by members of their own party.

Eric Sedler, one of the founders of Red Jersey, had the following to say in the comment section.

You continue to hurt and split the party, not realizing the Democrats are capitalizing big time on the split.

You’d rather primary challenge someone like Chris Smith or Bill Baroni, damage their resources, and leave them open to a Democratic machine with tons of money who could possibly defeat them.

That’s your game, taking out Republicans who don’t support your agenda. Yet, you fail to realize this only helps Democrats overtake the state even more.

Until there are more moderate Republicans like Sedler who are willing to stand up and fight, the Republicans will continue to slip to the right and further into irrelevance.

Don't Throw Rodney Under the Bus

Here's a lesson for those who may seek a nomination for a State or County office: don't throw a sitting member of Congress from your own party under the bus.

I had great hope for Steve Oroho, a Sussex County Freeholder talking about being a "true conservative" and doing things differently in his campaign for the State Senate in the 24th District. In looking at what Representative Scott Garrett is doing in Congress and how Guy Talarico has hurt the Republican Party in Bergen County, the 24th District having the last remaining Mountain Man as their primary voice in Trenton could be a bad thing. I've written before about the need to work with the other party, and Guy Gregg's philosophy is not one of cooperation. Oroho seems to have a good team and a blend of moderate to conservative candidates on his ticket, with a realistic view of representation.

However, at the first sign of "trouble", the dual endorsement of Gregg by both Congressmen serving the Legislative District he hopes to represent, Oroho decided to descend quickly into the labeling and trashing of Representative Rodney Freylinghuysen. While attempting to discredit Gregg, who is as conservative as Garrett, Oroho attacked Rep. Freylinghuysen on his abortion and gun voting record. It was the classic ridiculousness of the "Republican in Name Only" (RINO) attack that's been going on for the better part of a decade now. However, because Freylinghuysen is who he is, GOP leaders are demanding an apology.

Morris GOP Chairman John Sette and Morris County Freeholder Director Margaret Nordstrom said Oroho "went too far" in criticizing Frelinghuysen after he and Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th Dist.) both endorsed Gregg this week.

"He owes Rodney an apology," said Nordstrom. "He should know there's a grown-up way to act if someone doesn't endorse you."

In my hope for a change in the direction politics has been going the last few years, it's an unfortunate development. With State Senator Lorretta Weinberg and her slate running against Papa Joe's machine in the southeast corner of the District, I was hopeful there would be a solid ticket of folks running in the northwestern part of the District against the overly caustic conservative cannibalism that's been going on the last few years.

With retiring State Senator Robert Littell as his guide, who has a distinguished career and record of serving his constituents while practicing bi-partisanship, Oroho could have worked to change the nature of the Republicans' race to the right and change the focus to results instead of rhetoric. However, it doesn't seem that's the case. Obviously, this isn't over yet, but as of now at least it seems to be more politics as usual.