Dems See Election Opportunity in GOP-Heavy Parsippany
County Democratic chairman rouses the local party faithful.
Photos
The Parsippany Democratic Party visible at its Wednesday meeting at the Parsippany Free Public Library was an apparently revitalized one.
Gone was the dispirited group resigned to accepting a position allowing them little to no voice in their town's affairs, one bruised after experiencing failure in election after election against a Republican Party that revels in almost complete control over municipal government.
Nominating Jonathan Nelson as its candidate for the special Town Council election to be held in November, local Democrats showed a rare enthusiasm—and growing confidence.
That ebullience was reflected in an address Morris County Democratic Committee Chairman Lewis Candura made at the gathering.
"Morris County is changing," Candura said. "Eight years ago, there was a ratio of 2.1 Republicans for every Democrat. But there is now a 1.5 to 1 ratio of Republicans to Democrats.
"That all comes from you working hard to try to get the message out that we're not the enemy, just other citizens with different points of view."
Candura said some of the shift can be attributed to a new mentality in the GOP.
"The Tea Party is pushing out moderate, mainstream Republicans, [making that party] much more radical," he said. "Now they have this 'mountain man' theory that we should have no government or taxes. It's ludicrous. We need services.
"For these people to cut services and the safety net for the handicapped, for the mentally challenged...," he trailed off. "Look what happened in the GOP debates."
Candura referred to the September 2011 Republican presidential debate in which former candidate Ron Paul was asked what should be done for a citizen without health insurance who is poor but ill. Audience members that night shouted at a visibly flustered Paul, "Let him die."
"Is that where we're going?" he asked.
"We have to express our opinions and work to get Jonathan Nelson elected to give us a voice and a seat at the table."
County Democratic Party Executive Director Chip Robinson spoke next, echoing the sentiment that fortunes are improving for the party.
"This town is changing," he asserted, pointing to a growing number of Democrats, non-party-line Republicans and unaffiliated voters who hold increasingly diverse viewpoints. "Parsippany is not the Republican town it used to be. There are people receptive to our ideas if we find them."
John Arvanites, 11th District Democratic candidate, was the next to speak.
"We have a five-point registration spread, thanks to redistricting," he said. "We have the ability to defeat [u.s. Rep.] Rodney Frelinghuysen with these numbers, with Democrats and unaffiliated [voters].
"Parsippany can can be the town that breaks his back."
Arvanites took a moment to thank former Democratic congressional candidate Tom Wyka for paving the way for him. Then, he focused his attention on the U.S. Congress.
"Congress is 56 percent Republican," he said, "fifty-six percent that attacks every move we make to build our businesses, educate our children, obtain quality health care and guarantee equality to all. They're well-funded and well-organized. We want to build an organization in the district that can match them."
The candidate said his campaign is focused on his race and on building the entire party.
"We can win this race and we will win this race from the top down to the local races, from President Obama, to [congressional and state legislative races] and to Jonathan Nelson," he insisted, earning applause from the audience in the crowded meeting room. "If we can get all the Democrats and some of the [disaffected] Republicans and unaffiliated, we can win."
To that end, local Democratic Party Chair Michael Soriano announced that plans are in the works to form a Parsippany Democratic Club to encourage more local party members to stand against the status quo and become active in politics.
g
11:05 am on Monday, July 30, 2012
An absolute lie:
"Now they have this 'mountain man' theory that we should have no government or taxes. It's ludicrous. We need services.
"For these people to cut services and the safety net for the handicapped, for the mentally challenged...,"
In 1933, the democrats proposed that private enterprise had failed leaving the jobless to starve, hope to fade and that the State must step in to save the country and protect the people from the dangers associated with the inherent problems of free enterprise.
Today, the call is very similar, the State must step in to protect the people.
The Corporate State is, in the minds of Fabians, the ultimate protector of the common man, the provider of security on all fronts, but it requires our complete compliance and the relinquishment of our liberty in exchange.
The State is to ultimately be the only one allowed wealth, the problem is that wealth is the people's wealth confiscated in exchange for their hard labor.
This can be found in the writings of one of the founders of the Fabian Society, George Bernard Shaw speaking of the Socialist Utopia, he said: "Under Socialism, you would not be allowed to be poor. You would be forcibly fed, clothed, lodged, taught, and employed whether you liked it or not.
Selene
12:11 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
You make no sense, what is your point?
Hank Heller
12:14 pm on Monday, July 30, 2012
I am not a member of the Parsippany Democratic Club nor the Parsippany Republican Club. I am, however a voter in Parsippany. I would like to see many more people getting involved in the political maelstrom that is Parsippany. What I do have a problem with is the great disservice Mr. Candura has presented to the people at his meeting which was quoted in Patch above. If the Democratic Party wants to use "the Tea Party" as it's weak link to attracting active voters participation, it will have to portray the Tea Party fairly. That was not done here. Mr/Ms "g" above is very correct in the comment above. Mr. Candura's fear tactics noted in the above article is dead wrong and will cause open-minded Parsippany voters, like me, to move very far away from both the "new" Parsippany Democratic Club and their candidates. It is wrong to speak to the voters like we are idiots. Many of us are not.
Selene
12:18 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Do you know the difference between the parties, do you have to be spoon fed? BTW most voters are idiots. That's why this country and town are soooo messed up. When a blue collar worker is voting republican we have a clear case of ignorance,
Steven Colpar
2:16 pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Hank – you’re right – these libs are so unfair along with Natalie and this lame stream media. See how she cleverly linked to that misleading video from the Tea Party debate. What no one in the “liberal press” never bothered to find out was that one of the audience members stepped on a mouse under their foot and after insisting to her husband that she get it to a vet – he and his friends screamed at her “let him die!” But you won’t see any investigative reporting on that on the Communist News Network. Oh noooo!
DaphneD
7:03 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Selene, my sister, even if you spoon-feed them they won't acknowledge the facts. Middle- and working-class Repubs are intent on voting against their own economic self-interest. That's why they voted for Bush-43 TWICE, as though his first term was a resounding economic success!?! How dumb was that?
These Repubs will go to their graves swearing that trickle-down economics is the answer. Why let facts and reality get in the way of their blind partisanship, baseless ideology, dedicated ignorance and outdated narrow-mindedness? The facts and data prove which party benefits average folks:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/09/why_elections_matter_in_one_gr.html; and http://www.hks.harvard.edu/inequality/Seminar/Papers/Bartels071.pdf.
VietNam Vet
2:59 am on Saturday, August 4, 2012
For you Salene, I am thinking your the ignorant one here, because its people like you that put this town and this once great nation in the shape its in right now. You and Dan Grant are of the same mind and you are so WRONG and you are being to blind to see what is really happening in this town and our country.
DaphneD
7:00 pm on Sunday, August 5, 2012
Paul Brown, ignorant is not knowing the difference between "your" and "you're"; the difference between "its" and "it's"; and the difference between "to" and "too." Our country has lost its greatness because poorly educated citizens make their voting decisions based on no information or misinformation. Raise your hand, Paul Brown.
Paul
12:33 pm on Monday, July 30, 2012
A young lady and Mr. Nelson knocked on my door yesterday which is surprising being that I am a registered republican. I did not see a tax and spend liberal in front of me. He was thoughtful, courteous, and actually had some interesting ideas.
VietNam Vet
1:11 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
I wouldn't vote for a democrap if you PAID me a million bucks. They are all brainless idiots.
g
1:24 pm on Monday, July 30, 2012
FDR's Assault on capitalism. A tax and spend liberal
-The top tax rates were 91% on personal income and 95% on corporations1 this prolonged the Great Depression by decades and cynically confiscated the wealth of the working class and investment class alike.
- On April 7th, 1942, FDR declared that no one in America should be allowed to earn over $25,000 annually (equivalent to $260,000 in 2004 money).2 This was a typically socialist/communist inspired steal from the rich program. It also assured that the rich would not be able to invest in their businesses, save for the future, invest in the stock market or build homes much less spend on luxury items.
Social Security, just another vote pandering exercise
FDR admitted that the Social Security Act, which we are burdened with trying to "fix" now, was nothing but a vote pandering device. FDR said, "I guess you're right on the economics, but those taxes were never a problem of economics. They were politics all the way through." This was a quote from FDR in reply to the fact that Social Security Payroll Taxes were a drag on the economy.
Michael Brancato
4:25 pm on Monday, July 30, 2012
"this prolonged the Great Depression by decades and cynically confiscated the wealth of the working class and investment class alike. "
Decades? What history books did you read? The Great Depression ended in 1941, with the US entry into World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#World_War_II_and_recovery
And FDR's policies actually lessened the Depression. In fact, when FDR tried to cut taxes on the wealthy, it actually deepened the Depression. http://bluemassgroup.com/2011/07/repeating-the-mistake-of-1937/
I would love to see a source for your quotes and facts, as they seem not only outrageous but biased and out of context.
Selene
12:20 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Where do you get your facts? Are you even educated beyond grade school?
Selene
12:26 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
G has ro be living on fantasy island.
VietNam Vet
1:14 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Selene do you have to be so nasty you show how dumb you really are, just tipical of a democrap I guess.
g
9:00 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Burton W. Folsom Jr.
FDR’s Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression
Why Did New Deal Spending Fail to Lift the American Economy?
By Jim Powell • Reviewed by: Burton W. Folsom Jr.
g
9:06 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Burton W. Folsom Jr.
FDR’s Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression
Why Did New Deal Spending Fail to Lift the American Economy?
By Jim Powell • Reviewed by: Burton W. Folsom Jr.
Congress reduced taxes. Income tax rates were cut across the board. FDR's top marginal rate, 94% on all income over $200,000, was cut to 86.45%. The lowest rate was cut to 19% from 23%, and with a change in the amount of income exempt from taxation an estimated 12 million Americans were eliminated from the tax rolls entirely.
Corporate tax rates were trimmed and FDR's "excess profits" tax was repealed, which meant that top marginal corporate tax rates effectively went to 38% from 90% after 1945.
g
9:32 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Selene The top tax rates were 91% on personal income and 95% on corporations1 this prolonged the Great Depression by decades and cynically confiscated the wealth of the working class and investment class alike.
You dispute these tax rate under FDR. Please tell me what the tax under was FDR.
Steven Colpar
2:11 pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
@ Paul Brown - "democraps" are so !@&%^# nasty - aren't they - just making up childish partisan insults and posting on this site all day. Who needs 'em.
Selene
12:36 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
has to be living ( sorry for the typo )
g
9:11 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Selene, you use innuendo to refute a fact. Why don't you present your facts.
Mike Panico
9:48 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
@G FYI there was a war going on at the time. It was called WWII. The tax rate was raised to extreme levels to fund the war, something few Americans complained about. These days, the political right likes to wage war but it doesn't like to use taxes to fund them which has always confused me.
g
10:37 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The top marginal tax rate was reduced to 58% in 1922, to 25% in 1925 and finally to 24% in 1929. In 1932 the top marginal tax rate was increased to 63% during the Great Depression and steadily increased, reaching 94%
Mike Panico
12:41 pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Your numbers are misleading. Again, the high tax rate did not cause the great depression. During the build up to war and through the war years, wages increased over 50% while prices rose 20%. The nation prospered during the time you write about. And during these years almost half of our GNP was spent on the war machine. To compare the tax rates of the mid 1930's through 1945 to today is ridiculous .
Mike Panico
12:46 pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Also, the average income tax rate peaked in 1944 at 20.9 percent.
Natalie Davis
2:29 pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Mr. Colpar, you are America and so can I.
DaphneD
6:32 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Too funny.
Steven Colpar
10:41 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
I am...who am....ma'am.
I am the eggman - I am the walrus ....goo goo g'joob goo goo g'joob.
Buy my book today!
VietNam Vet
3:06 am on Saturday, August 4, 2012
Natalie, I'm sorry but I think Steve is right, the democraps can be very nasty and uninformed as to what is going on in this town and the country, they voted for an idiot in Wash. and thats just what we got. Thats why alot of key dems won't even vote for Dumbo/Osama.
DaphneD
10:42 am on Sunday, August 5, 2012
Democraps? Idiot? Dumbo/Osama? If the question is who's nastier, Paul, you're the pot calling the kettle black.
VietNam Vet
9:46 pm on Sunday, August 5, 2012
I call it like I see it, Toi Xin Loi.
Steven Colpar
1:55 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Ah – Ha! I see your clever disguise my little friend. The jig is up. This is a foreign (Vietnamese) Communist infiltrator masquerading as an obtuse grumpy old conservative white male.... Sooooo clever of you. Ác gián điệp ! Arrest him Ms. Davis (use the cyber cuffs). Ác gián điệp !