Fred Got It Right!

No, not my identity. And no, this is not an April Fool's Joke.

In is Op Ed piece in today's Asbury Park Press, Fred got it right. Well, he got some of it right.

Fred said:

"Make no mistake about it. New Jersey's Democrats are a cash/fund-raising machine. Republicans have two choices. Raise money legally or unilaterally disarm and surrender 50 years of Republican values and leadership to our opponents. We cannot do this."

My friend Abe's opinion to the contrary not with standing, I say Fred is right. We cannot unilaterally disarm. And we can't count on the Democrats to "do the right thing" and limit their fundraising and spending anymore than the law requires.

While I applaud Freeholder Anna Little for turning down the donation she did because it violates "the Spirit of the Law", I don't agree that it violates the spirit of the pay to play law that was constructed by our Democratic Legislature in Trenton. The spirit of that law is: Let's tell the suckers (voters) that we reformed the system, make it more difficult for candidates to raise money directly, but let the vendors and special interests keep funding our campaigns in a way that is more difficult to track. What Anna Little did was uphold the Spirit of the People, who are fed up with the system that we have,not the spirit of the pay to pay law which was never designed to limit pay to play anyway.

Anna Little and two of her potential running mates, Terence Wall and Robert Kleinberg, have pledged to run grass root funded campaigns and not accept PAC money. I applaud them and will be donating. You should donate too. However, I consider this very risky in the face of the money the Democrats will very likely be spending. But I digress.

Back to Fred. My problem with Fred is not his funding raising. Indeed, I believe that until the system changes for real, the Chairperson, whoever he or she may be, needs to raise as much money as he or she can within the framework of the law and the existing system. At the same time, the Chair should be calling for meaningful reform, as Fred has done and continues to do.

My problem with Fred is his ineptitude at leadership, team building and public relations. He has failed to build relationships with the rank and file and he burned the bridges that brought him into office. He squandered a great opportunity to bring a new culture to our county party and he alienated many a committed and talented team player. He failed to sell his agenda and educate the party as to why we need to raise funds through PACS, and his efforts to sell that agenda now, through his speech at the Affilated dinner last week and in his OP ED piece today, are too little to late. His Al-Qaeda remarks to the press were "beyond the pale" as Terence Wall would say. The fact that he has used his position to enhance his income, despite promising to do just the opposite, as reported in today's Courier is another example of Fred's ineptitude at leadership, team building and public relations. His agenda is not to lead our party, but to gather as much money and power as he can.

We need a new Chairperson. One that can bring everyone, even Fred, together. Someone who can be a credible voice for reform while at the same time raising the large sums of money we need to fund our county, legislative and municipal campaigns. Someone who can develop and empower future candidates and party leaders. I don't think Mel Hood or Ed Staminksi are the answer.

Jennifer Beck comes to mind. Anyone got any other suggestions?