Is Nancy Munoz the first victim of the authoritarian vs freedom divide?

By Rubashov

Earlier this year, an event of great importance happened in New Jersey’s Republican Party: At the June primary election, the establishment candidate – the candidate with all the county party lines and all the public financing – received less than half the vote. Two underfunded, lesser-known candidates – one who began his political career just a year earlier (at a restaurant in New Hope, Pennsylvania) – together captured 160,000 Republican votes.

The winner of that election, Jack Ciattarelli, got 167,000 votes. 11,000 went to a fourth candidate. The primary saw the state’s conservative movement divided between “pragmatists” and “purists” – with the purists further divided between two candidates. The emerging consensus: Never allow the movement to become divided again.

That primary result has been trumped by an even more remarkable event – the intervention of the grassroots into the contest over who will lead the Republican minority in the Assembly. In the late afternoon of Friday, October 15th, New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein broke the news that Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-21) had the votes to become the next GOP Assembly Leader. Wildstein reported:

Nancy Muñoz appears set to become the next minority leader of the New Jersey State Assembly after forging a coalition with John DiMaio, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

DiMaio (R-Hackettstown) will drop his bid for the post and become the Minority Conference Leader, the number two slot in the Assembly GOP leadership. The new minority whip will be Antwan McClellan, a freshman lawmaker from Cape May County.

Assemblyman Ned Thomson (R-Wall), who had also been campaigning for the post, will also exit the race and back Muñoz, sources have confirmed.

The New Jersey Globe tally gives Muñoz, a six-term assemblywoman from Summit, enough to clinch a majority of the GOP caucus in the lower house after the November 2 election. Those numbers led to Thomson’s exit. He will be offered the post of Assistant Minority Leader.

In reaction to this, the grassroots erupted and Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-25) offered himself as an alternative. Over the next week, traditional conservative grassroots activists from the Second Amendment and Pro-Life communities began an effort to block Assemblywoman Munoz. Critically however, it was the muscle of a newer grassroots effort – those resisting government medical mandates – that shocked sitting GOP legislators with wave upon wave of lobbying contact.

This group is not part of the traditional “conservative” world of guns, babies, and taxes or the post-Trump “populist conservative” guns, babies, illegal immigration, and taxes. This is new, post-COVID, and was predicted by Ralph Nader in his 2014 book, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left–Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State.

Former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a candidate for president last year, has written and discussed this extensively. Earlier this month, Tucker Carlson described the old partisan Democrat vs. Republican divide as meaningless in understanding the politics of today and termed the new divide this way:

“The people in charge are intent on replacing our free democratic system with an authoritarian system, where they don’t convince you of anything, they simply make you do things. And they benefit from that.”

Here is a video with the entire segment…

“The people in charge are intent on replacing our free democratic system with an authoritarian system, where they don’t convince you of anything, they simply make you do things. And they benefit from that.”

That last sentence is very important: “And they benefit from that.”

The people who brought us the opioid epidemic certainly benefit. Americans pay the highest prices for pharmaceuticals in the world to companies that use our tax dollars for research and development. Goldman Sachs is benefitting from Green Energy mandates to the tune of billions every year. Even Garden State Equality is getting fat off contracts related to the new LGBTQplus curriculum mandates. With every mandate there are those who trouser the cash and those who turn over the cash by way of taxes.

Did Assemblywoman Munoz reckon on this new group? It is looking like she didn’t. Like Jack Ciattarelli and running mate Diane Allen, Nancy Munoz was prepared to smooth the edges around her positions on the Second Amendment and abortion – but it seems she didn’t take the growing free democratic system vs. an authoritarian system divide into her calculations.

If Tucker Carlson and the others are right, going forward, politicians of all political persuasions will need to take this new divide into account. That is, unless you are a committed authoritarian, like Phil Murphy and his charming Lady Macbeth.

"What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?"
Lady Macbeth
(from The Tragedy of Macbeth, by Wm. Shakespeare)

Steve Lonegan endorsed by every NW NJ Legislator!

With today's announcement that Assemblymen John DiMaio and Erik Peterson, (both R-23) have both announced their support for conservative Republican Steve Lonegan in his campaign for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th District, Lonegan now has the backing of every legislator representing the Sussex and Warren counties portion of the 5th District. 

“Steve Lonegan has been a consistent conservative voice for Northwest Jersey,” said DiMaio, president of a general contracting firm.  “It's especially important to me that Steve understands the needs of small business owners who ultimately create jobs."

“Republicans believe in limited government and in empowering local governments -- which are most in tune with the people -- with the greatest responsibility," Peterson said.  "Steve has been a champion for lowering taxes and curtailing federal overreach."  

Both DiMaio and Peterson agreed that Lonegan's victory over Cory Booker in the Fifth Congressional District in the 2013 U.S. Senate election makes him the strongest candidate to take on and defeat Josh Gottheimer.

Earlier in the week, Assemblyman Parker Space and Assemblyman-elect Hal Wirths (both R-24) gave their support to Lonegan:

 “Steve Lonegan is a principled and unapologetic conservative who knows what the people of Sussex County believe,” Space said.  “No one would represent Northwest New Jersey more faithfully than Steve Lonegan.”

Wirths — a former New Jersey labor commissioner — said Lonegan’s focus on creating more high-paying jobs is especially important.

“Steve knows that America is strongest when Americans have opportunities for high-paying jobs,” Wirths said.  "Steve knows that good jobs provide a personal dignity that government programs never could.”

Lonegan’s campaign is focused on creating jobs, lowering taxes, and enacting term limits.

Space said the Lonegan agenda is just what North West New Jersey wants and what America needs.

“Congressmen Gottheimer is a far left ideologue masquerading as a moderate,” Space said.  “Whether on taxes, the second amendment, or the right to life, Josh is completely out of touch with the Fifth District — especially Sussex County.”

This is a view that has been echoed by Senators Mike Doherty (R-23) and Steve Oroho (R-24) who have both led in supporting Steve Lonegan for Congress.

“Steve Lonegan is the strongest and best candidate we can nominate in 2018 to take back the Fifth Congressional District,” Wirths added.  “He’s a solid, lifelong Republican who has been a tremendous standard bearer for our Party whenever we needed him.”

Lonegan has already been endorsed by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Bergen County State Senator Gerry Cardinale, Mrs. Ann Kievit, President of the Northwest New Jersey Taxpayers' Association, Rev. Greg Quinlan, President of the Center for Garden State Families, on behalf of New Jersey for a Conservative Majority, Alexander Roubian, President of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS), United States Senator Ted Cruz, Warren County State Senator Mike Doherty, Sussex County Senator Steve Oroho, Passaic County Senator Joe Pennacchio, Assemblyman Parker Space, former Labor Commissioner (and Assemblyman-elect) Hal Wirths, and Sussex County State Committeewoman Jill Space.

The tea partiers who destroyed Scott Garrett

Most Tea Party members are good intentioned people who want to engage in political action to affect change.  Most hold generally conservative views.

Then there is the unacceptable face of the tea party.  These are the people who are there for the rage.  They show up to vent and to blame and they don't care about facts or ideology or consequences.

Republican Scott Garrett wasn't just the most conservative Congressman in New Jersey, he was the most conservative in the entire northeastern region of the country.  And he had a pretty safe seat too.  That is until he underwent the "death by a thousand cuts" treatment, courtesy of a few people who call themselves members of the tea party movement.

There are some people who will always find a reason to hate even the most consistently conservative elected official.  For them, if you have an A from the NRA or a 100 percent from AFP that simply means that the NRA or AFP is screwed up.  The reason for this is fairly straightforward:  These people want that elected official's job.  And it never occurs to them that they lack the qualifications or the skills or the support to achieve and hold it.  There are some people who look into a mirror and see, staring back at them, a congressman or a legislator.

There are some common elements.  Usually a recent financial or employment crisis has occurred -- a bankruptcy and loss of status -- as was the case with Mark Quick, when he began his jihad against Congressman Garrett seven years ago. 

Believe it or not, Mark Quick is a blue blood.  He claims his American ancestry goes back to the Mayflower.  But as Nathaniel Hawthorne observed, "Families are always rising and falling in America."  In Quick's case, they have been on a losing streak.  After serving a truncated stint with the Marine Corps, Quick went into business and farming.  Both ventures failed.  Then he tried his hand at politics.

Quick is a wildly optimistic opportunist of the "start at the top" variety.  His first attempt at public office was to run for Congress.  And it was not as a Republican, in a primary.  Quick went after Scott Garrett in a general election -- threatening the Congressman that he would "split his vote" and cause a Democrat to win.

Quick bad-mouthed and harassed anyone he thought connected with Garrett, including the women in his congressional staff.  Quick's behavior was so threatening that the police had to be brought into it.  His anger and frustration were evident too at a debate, where he appeared to be taking out his personal problems on the poor souls he was running against.

In that 2010 race, independent Mark Quick got 1,646 votes and came in behind the Green Party candidate with 2,347, the Democrat with 62,634, and Congressman Garrett with 124,030. 

The following year, Quick filed for bankruptcy and promptly announced his intention to run -- once again as an independent, not a Republican -- for the Assembly against Republicans John DiMaio and Erik Peterson of Legislative District 23.  Quick was deep into trashing these Republican incumbents with his usual rant, when the state redistricted Quick's hometown out of District 23 and into District 24. 

Quick didn't lose a beat.  He simply started saying the same things he was attacking DiMaio and Peterson about and applied it to Republicans Alison Littell McHose and Gary Chiusano of Legislative District 24.  It doesn't matter who holds the seat that Quick wants.  They all get the same trashing.  Quick came in last of six candidates, with 1,382 votes to top vote-getter Alison Littell McHose's 19,026. 

Others followed Quick's example, so that in the 2012 Republican primary, Congressman Garrett faced two minor candidates, each of which did their best to damage him.

Mark Quick ran in the general election that year -- once again as a third-party candidate -- but he dropped out to endorse a candidate in the Democrat Party primary.  The Democrat who Quick endorsed had the support of a special interest PAC run by Lyndon LaRouche, a notorious left winger and former head of the Marxist U.S. Labor Party.

In 2014, Quick was back at it again, proclaiming loudly that Scott Garrett wasn't conservative enough (even as Quick worked with Democrats to undermine him).  Running again as an independent, Quick siphoned a handful of votes away from Garrett, but not enough to throw the election to the Democrat.

Quick threatened runs for the Legislature, hinting strongly that he would hold off on running if he received a state job.  These threats were uniformly ignored, and an ever frustrated Quick became increasing violent in his language and actions.

In 2016, Congressman Garrett found himself facing his toughest challenge since winning the seat in 2002.  In the primary, two Quick-inspired candidates ripped at him and drove up the Congressman's negatives. 

Mark Quick drew distinctions between himself and Congressman Garrett, with Quick saying that he supported same-sex marriage while claiming to be the true conservative and Garrett an impostor.  The result was a terrible one for the Republican Party and for the conservative movement.  Quick greeted Garret's loss as a personal victory. 

During his career, Scott Garrett had a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 99.38%.  The next highest Republican has a rating of 69% and the lowest Republican 46%.  The best Democrat was 10.42% and the worst has 0%.  Now there is a liberal Clinton Democrat were once there was Scott Garrett.  We will probably not look on Congressman Garrett's like again.

And what about Mark Quick?  He announced today that he is running for Assembly against Republicans Parker Space and Hal Wirths.  This time Quick is running in a GOP primary as part of a ticket with Gail Phoebus and Dave Scapicchio.