Marks & Pappas argue: Far-Left Democrats are preferable to Moderate Republicans

A precedent is being set within New Jersey’s Republican family. It is the precedent of fratricide. That if you disagree on issues of substance – or even those of perceived “loyalty” to a national figure or, dare we say it in New Jersey, the national party platform (for there is none here) – then it is okay to kill your fellow Republican outside the arena of the primary.

The tradition of old was that these matters were settled in the internecine contests in June and that afterwards both winners and losers joined together in commonality to defeat the real enemy, the common foe. This method was created by men who had been to war, who had trained hard, unit pitted against unit, who had their likes and dislikes even within their own unit, but who understood that they had to put all that aside and fight together – if they wanted to survive.

But the draft ended a long time ago – before many in politics today were even born – and military service is no longer the commonplace it once was. Now we hold grudges, nurse them, fondle them, and make them the reason why.

And so we come to Martin Marks and Harry Pappas. They have formed a third ticket in the District 21 Assembly race. Like the Democrat Party candidates, they are running against incumbent Republicans Jon Bramnick and Nancy Munoz.

Marks is a former Republican mayor and Pappas is a former Democrat county chairman. Both have publicly stated that their campaign is about defeating the incumbent Republicans. Marks and Pappas acknowledge they have no chance of winning themselves and indeed they have not even taken the necessary measures to mount a serious campaign in terms of resources, organization, policies, or time.

Marks and Pappas are present in the race for the purpose of killing the Republicans. And in killing the Republicans, Marks and Pappas will play an important role in electing Democrat candidates Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman.

They are not just any Democrats. They are pink pussy-hat wearing members of Action Together New Jersey – a far-Left organization that supports the policies of the so-called “Jihad Squad”, so often criticized by President Donald Trump. They support Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ Green New Deal and are actively cohabitating with an Islamic group that campaigns for the anti-Semitic BDS Movement. This group has been designated a “terrorist” organization by one of America’s closest Islamic allies – and we have just sent troops there and they are actively engaged!

How can helping to engineer the election of two such dangerous, far-Left Democrats be thought of as a “conservative” act? It is an act of delusion by anyone advancing it.

Whether you like him or not, Jon Bramnick is the Republican Leader in the Assembly, and as such, he is our Colonel. If you have a disagreement with your commanding officer, you do not replace him by allowing the enemy to kill him.

Harry Pappas is clearly a fellow-traveler of the Left. His actions on behalf the Democrats are transparent. Worse is the so-called “idealism” expressed by Martin Marks. This “idealism” is like that of Jane Fonda, who hated the policies of her country so much that she called for the execution of American military personnel.

In killing the candidacy of Nancy Munoz, Martin Marks will be derailing one of the most important issues on the agenda of social conservatives: The Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act. Assemblywoman Munoz is the legislation’s prime sponsor in the Assembly and its most outspoken proponent.

Both the U.S. State Department and the United Nations have warned about the rise in human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and children. These and other national and international agencies have warned against the kind of porous borders created as the result of policies like Governor Phil Murphy’s illegal Sanctuary State scheme.

Due to the hard work of legislators like Assemblywoman Munoz – and activists like Rev. Mandy Leverett, Rev. Greg Quinlan, Rev. Dominick Cuozzo, Rev. Phil Rizzo, Gabriella Brandeal, Josh Jalinski, Barb Dedeyn, Theresa Yarosh, and many others – the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act has enough bi-partisan support to become law. The defeat of Assemblywoman Munoz at the hands of Marks & Pappas/ Mandelblatt & Gunderman would be a horrible set-back for those currently enslaved or about to be enslaved by human traffickers.

Martin Marks should have taken this into consideration before launching his petulant jihad against those with whom he has some disagreement, on behalf of those with whom he agrees on nothing. As in the Vietnam War – to any thinking man – the sins of your own should always be preferable to the tyranny of others.

Rev. Mandy Leverett has been working with victims across New Jersey – from all walks of life. Marks should have talked with her and met some of those victims before deciding to bring down the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act.

But all that is past now. Martin Marks has done what he has done –aided or guided by ex-Democrat Party boss Harry Pappas. The question now becomes… Who will follow him? Who will compound this?

A precedent is being set within New Jersey’s Republican family. It is the precedent of fratricide.

Why would Pappas & Marks choose a Liberal group to host a debate?

Harry Pappas is the former chairman of the Union County Democrat Party machine. Martin Marks is the former Mayor of Scotch Plains. They are candidates for two Assembly seats in a six-person race in District 21.

Some have said that Pappas and Marks are acting in concert with far-Left Democrat candidates Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman. They say that Pappas and Marks want to skim enough Republican votes away from incumbents Jon Bramnick and Nancy Munoz so that the Republicans lose.

The latest thing to raise an eyebrow or two is the debate that Pappas and Marks agreed to participate in with the Democrats. Pappas and Marks say they’re “conservative” – but why would anyone calling themselves “conservative” agree to a debate hosted by a Liberal group like the League of Women Voters?

The League of Women Voters (LWV) hasn’t hosted a Presidential debate since 1984, when Democrat Walter Mondale faced-off against incumbent Republican Ronald Reagan. That’s because the LWV isn’t only concerned about getting more people out to vote – it takes ideological positions on controversial issues.

The League of Women Voters is a pro-abortion, anti-Second Amendment, pro-illegal immigration, pro-ObamaCare organization. Here is just a sampling of what you will find on the group’s website:

League Joins Amicus Brief in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission: The case involves a bakery in Colorado which refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple citing religious objections. The brief that the League joined argues that allowing the bakery to refuse service violates public accommodations laws and opens the door to discrimination of other groups.

League Urges U.S. House to Pass Clean Dream Act: Members of the League's Lobby Corps will be visiting with members of the U.S. House urging passage of the Dream Act of 2017. The legislation will ensure that the 800,000 "dreamers"--young immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. by their parents--can establish legal residency within the country.

We believe that the proliferation of handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons in the United States is a major health and safety threat to its citizens… Strong federal measures to limit the accessibility and regulate the ownership of firearms by private citizens is necessary for consumer safety.

The League of Women Voters United States (LWVUS) and the League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) filed an Amicus Brief in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Juliana et al v. United States. The Leagues continue to support the 21 young people from across the United States who have filed a landmark constitutional climate change lawsuit against the federal government, via the Eugene, Oregon- based organization, Our Children's Trust.

“Besides Planned Parenthood, the bill has drawn opposition from groups such as the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters.”

To mark the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, the League of Women Voters of Texas guest blogged on the new abortion restrictions in their state.

So why are Pappas and Marks participating in a debate hosted by such a biased Left-wing organization? If they truly are conservatives, like they claim, they will demand a neutral host. But if they are shills for the Democrats… well, we will know soon enough.

There are four Leftist candidates in LD21 Assembly race

It has now emerged that there are FOUR Leftist candidates in the District 21 Assembly race. Two are straight-forward members of the far-Left. They came from the ranks of Action Together New Jersey, a far-Left group that supports the socialist Green New Deal of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

If you are looking for a future of meat-free diets (soylent green, anyone?), the end of air travel (unless you are a member of whatever Politburo equivalent they adopt), the American Bill of Rights (“thought crime is a form of violence,” don’t you know?), and restrictive prohibitions on reproduction (think of Red China’s “One Child” policy on steroids)… then the Green New Deal embraced by Democrats Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman is for you!

The Democrat Party is embracing the death cult of Anti-Natalism. Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the top Democrats in the 2020 presidential race, recently argued against human procreation on the basis of its impact on the environment. At a CNN townhall earlier this month, Sanders said he would support making population control part of his climate-change agenda. It was extensively reported in the Washington Post, New York Times, and other national media. So what is Anti-Natalism? Well, we know that traditional conservatives don’t agree with it, so let’s look at it from the left-of-center point of view of an anti-tradition humanist…

Yep, even most anti-traditionalists can’t quite wrap their minds around this new cult that embraces human extermination (even as it makes an argument for the short-term extermination of certain strains of DNA… like Americans). But this is who the Democrats are. And now for their fellow-travelers…

Harry Pappas, the former party boss of the Union County Democrat machine, is running for Assembly in District 21 as a third-party candidate. Pappas claims to be a “conservative independent” but it is very clear what party he’s from. True to his roots, Pappas is a “Democrat”, plain and simple.

Martin Marks, the former Mayor of Scotch Plains, is a different matter. Marks recruited Pappas to run, which says a lot. Last week, New Jersey Globe ran a story that explained their motives and provided a background to their effort and why they have chosen to run as third-party candidates…

It’s possible that former Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks and former Springfield Township Committeeman Harry P. Pappas could serve as spoilers in a highly competitive race where Democrats think they can flip two Assembly seats. That might be their objective.

Semi-surreptitiously, Marks and Pappas say their goal is to force Bramnick, the Assembly Minority Leader, to cuddle a conservative agenda – like embracing his 100% NRA rating rather than run away from it.

But privately, the two (so-called) “conservatives” (note: our quotation marks) really want to take responsibility for Bramnick’s defeat.

The New Jersey Globe has learned that the (so-called) “conservatives” could spent more than $20,000 on their race, although that number won’t be verifiable for several weeks.

The independent campaign is targeting high-propensity Republican voters with a conservative bent in a low-turnout election through digital ads and direct mail…

Marks and Pappas are taking votes only from the incumbents. None of their support is likely to come at the expense of Democrats Lisa Mandelblatt and Stacey Gunderman.

The question will be – and there is no rocket science in this – just how many voters in the off-off-year midterm elections will actually come out and vote for two independent candidates who stand no real chance of winning?

That’s right. Pappas and Marks are fellow-travelers of the far-Left.

Fellow-traveler is defined as… a person who is not a member of a particular group or political party (especially the Communist Party), but who sympathizes with the group's aims and policies.

You can’t be a conservative anything and run a campaign to ensure the election of two far-Leftists who are members of an organization that is on record as embracing the Green New Deal. You can’t claim to be Pro-Life but then plot to elect two Democrats who are on record as being members of a group that endorsed the Green New Deal and the Anti-Natalism death cult it represents.

That isn’t Pro-Life. That is Pro-Death Cult. That is Anti-Natalism.

The New Jersey Globe has done a great service for conservatives in exposing the lie behind the candidacy of Pappas and Marks. That lie is clear: Their campaign is not about electing conservatives, it is about ensuring the election of the most virulent kind of left-wing extremists imaginable. Any conservatives who buy into it are not worthy of the name.

Martin Marks is a strange kind of “conservative”

The NJGOP is in an existential fight for its very survival.  The fighting confidence of its flag officers has been shattered and its field officers are rattled.  Nothing they have tried has worked.  Too often they are saved by chance and the victories won are by means less unconventional.  The commanders at NJGOP HQ need to re-think their assumptions, come up with a new strategy, and re-tool their tactics.

Conversely, morale is high amongst the troops.  In some ways, it has never been higher.  Thousands of registered Republicans and ideological conservatives, libertarians, and Trumpian populists engage the machine Democrats and socialist left each day on social media.  They do this on their own – without prodding or direction from their leaders.  They are keen for battle and ready.

What the NJGOP lacks is an NCO class.  It lacks on-the-ground leaders in towns, neighborhoods, parishes, churches, gun-clubs, PTAs, taxpayers’ groups, and community associations to take the message from the generals to the troops, focus them, and then get it done. 

So the job of any thinking conservative who genuinely cares about the future of the Republican Party and the conservative movement in New Jersey is to help mold that new strategy, the new message, and then to motivate and train a new corps of grassroots NCOs.  This is what must be done and we need everyone focused on doing it.

But people are naturally selfish and cannot be relied upon to set aside their ambitions to do what so desperately needs to be done.  Even in the midst of a crisis, some will continue to  grab for whatever remains to satisfy a swollen ego. 

And so we have the madness of Martin Marks, of late the Mayor of Scotch Plains and someone who likes the activity of running for higher office.  Having failed to achieve it as a Republican, he has announced that he will run as an Independent or Third Party candidate.  Yes, you heard that right:  Unable to accept defeat, he seeks annihilation. 

The annihilation of such a once promising candidate would be sad.  He could be an asset to his party.  But it is worse than that, because Martin Marks intends to run against the Prime Sponsor of the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act, Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, and in doing so Martin Marks will almost certainly ensure her defeat by a machine Democrat or Democratic Socialist. 

In consciously choosing this path – to be on the November ballot, ripping votes out of the heart of the Republican coalition, to the benefit of some Leftist – Martin Marks will most assuredly and consciously be participating in the election of some rabidly pro-illegal immigration, pro-human trafficking, pro-criminal, pro-abortion, pro-Planned Parenthood, anti-law enforcement, anti-Religious Liberty, anti-Second Amendment, anti-First Amendment, anti-Bill of Rights, anti-Constitution scumbag.  Why would any thinking person who claims to be a “conservative” do this?

In stories printed elsewhere, Martin Marks has claimed that he is a supporter of President Donald Trump and that he is running because others within the NJGOP have expressed their concerns about the President’s tone and policies.  Some have noted, for instance, that the President’s tax cut plan passed last year ended up putting congressional Republicans – and, by extension, the NJGOP – on the wrong side of the property tax issue.  There is no disputing that the Democrats seized upon it to campaign to the right of Republicans on property taxes.  In New Jersey, that is deadly for any Republican candidate.  And it was.

It should be noted, that Martin Marks himself was a critic of Donald Trump, even after Trump was assured the nomination.  Marks went out of his way to write a column in SaveJersey that pissed all over Donald Trump:

“I am not happy that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party for President. In a field that at first rivaled the size of your typical Kentucky Derby, Trump was my last choice. “ (Martin Marks)

Having said that – which, of course, is his right – why would Martin Marks then use others’ concerns with Donald Trump as an excuse to assure the election of a machine Democrat or Democratic Socialist?

There is a job for Martin Marks to do and it is an important one.  If he wants to show that he can motivate and lead, there is something that he can do this year that will unite Republicans and conservatives around him.  Recent changes to the law now allow candidates for school board in New Jersey to bracket together and run as a team.  They don’t run as Democrats or Republicans, these are non-partisan elections, but they can run as pro-taxpayer or pro-traditional values.

People like Martin Marks can be leaders in the NJGOP fightback by going school district by school district in his county and recruiting like-minded people to run for school board.  Then he can provide direction and guidance to see them through to victory… his victory and a victory for our movement.  Instead of destroying, he will be building.  

The school board is everything.  Every day we hear people complain that kids don’t know the Constitution, they don’t know their history, geography, the process of government, and their responsibilities as citizens.  Well take the school boards over and teach them!  Children only know socialism because they have only been taught socialism.  That’s our fault… but we now have this great tool to recruit, run, and take it back.  What we lack are people with a working knowledge of campaigning who are willing to set aside their own egos and spend a cycle or two building the party.  After 2021, the districts will all be different again and new opportunities will be present, only now you will have built something. 

Conservatives seek to C-O-N-S-E-R-V-E the institutions that are the vessels of our values and hopes.  The Republican Party in New Jersey is in an existential fight for survival.  For better or worse, it is the best political institution we have to conduct the fight from the right.  Don’t work to weaken it.  Don’t kill it.  If you do, your soul will regret the part you played in doing so.