Think voting the party line is the right thing to do if you are a true party loyalist in NJ?

Wrong.

A thread:

Just today we heard that Jeff van Drew, representative of CD-2, is switching parties from Democrat to Republican. This comes as no surprise to those who know anything about him: he was always a Dem in name only (DINO) https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/14/jeff-van-drew-change-parties-085036

By doing this, van Drew is betraying every one of the voters who voted him into his seat less than a year ago

How did this happen? How did he come to represent CD-2 in the first place? Were there no real Democrats opposing him? (Spoiler, there were!)

Here's where the devious and treacherous Party Line comes in.

Primary ballots in NJ are organized such that some candidates, those on The Line, have a 40 point (!!!) advantage over opponents.

Basically, if you are on The Line, you win.

Otherwise, you don't stand a chance.

Who chooses who "gets the line"? Not you, the voter. That is what party bosses are for. That is what MAKES someone a party boss. If you have control over who is on the Line, you control who wins. Magic.

And the voters? Who cares about them. They can be trusted to tow The Line.

Van Drew is a great example of what that buys us: representatives that do not represent us.

They represent their (party) bosses.

The party machine OWNS van Drew's betrayal.

But they used all of us to get the job done.

What can we do? One thing EVERYONE can do is *check who the candidates are* -- read about them, choose wisely, vote for someone who really represents your views.

IGNORE the line. Not everyone on it is bad, but not everyone on it is good. You choose.

This is true not only for the top positions. Every representative matters! Your county committee members? They elect the county committee chair, who decides who is on the line (and can or cannot be bought by money and power).

Your Freeholders? They control the purse strings for a huge county-level budget, and can suddenly decide to buy an armored vehicle instead of teaching de-escalation techniques https://www.nj.com/news/2019/09/county-buys-310k-armored-vehicle-but-freeholders-question-if-cops-need-military-gear.html

Your council members? They determine everything from zoning that is inclusive and allows affordable housing versus exclusive for the rich only, to parking in your central business district (or even if you have a central business district)

Also: these jobs are a way up the chain. Van Drew was always a DINO, and he has been in high elected positions in the Democratic party for almost 20 years! How did he manage to fly under the radar?

Yup, you got it. The Line and the support of the party bosses.

So do your homework. The line infantilizes voters. It assumes you can't actually choose for yourself. Yes, you can. You don't need a party boss telling you who to vote for.

Finally: this all happens in the PRIMARY elections. Because of gerrymandering, in most districts the general elections are a foretold conclusion. Your vote REALLY MATTERS in the primary.

Don't vote for another Van Drew.

NJ belongs to US, not to the bosses.

#TakeBackNJ #TheLineDividesTheParty #GetRidOfTheLine

Want to read more? http://ggcnj.org/lineoped/ 

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