Belgard’s Battle Plan: Dumb Down CD3 Race

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

BelgardThere are definitely worse tactical choices for a Democrat running in New Jersey’s lean-GOP Third Congressional District this cycle, Save Jerseyans.

But is it the most inspiring choice? One worthy of your vote? Not in my opinion or, I’d hope, anyone other free-thinking individual invested our country’s future.

To put it as kindly as possible, South Jersey Machine Democrat Aimee Belgard had an inauspicious start to her candidacy, announcing before the ink on Jon Runyan’s retirement statement was cooled yet unbelievably, from all outward appearances, having given precious little forethought to the major challenges facing our nation.

I still can’t get over her November 2013 radio interview with WPHT ‘Big Talker’ host Dom Giordano when she couldn’t engage in an intelligent conversation on the topic of fixing Obamacare, leading an exasperated Giordano (who’s conservative but known for his fairness in interviews) to tell Belgard that “[m]aybe you shouldn’t be running for Congress until you know what you’re talking about.”

All in the first few days of her campaign!

It’s not at all surprising when a green, first-time federal candidate needs to brush up on a few archaic topics at the beginning of a campaign. Running for Congress isn’t competing on Jeopardy. That being said, we’re not exactly talking about maritime law, USDA regulations or a random geopolitical backwater in a strategically low-grade area of the glob, are we? This is Obamacare, arguably the single largest public policy issue since the Iraq War debates of the mid-2000s. The health care law is negatively impacting thousands of the citizens she wants to represent.

Like Dom said: how can you run until you’ve given it some serious thought?

Worse still, how sad is it that the notorious pot legalization activist Ed “Weedman” Forchion, who’s launched his own 3rd party candidacy in CD3, actually boasts a clearer platform than Belgard? It’s no wonder that N.J. Dems are trying to get him off the ballot! They’re not just worried about him siphoning votes from their base (which is quite an indictment of the Democrat Party in of itself, don’t ya think?) but he’s also making their candidate look clueless by comparison.

Tom MacArthur (right) receiving the endorsement of Jon Runyan (left)
Tom MacArthur (right) receiving the endorsement of Jon Runyan (left)

A better use of party time and energy would’ve been bringing Aimee up-to-speed on the national discourse. Note my use of the past tense. Seven months later and there’s still no discernible progress. The day after Tom MacArthur’s GOP primary victory, Belgard issued a two-pronged “challenge” to her opponent in a transparent attempt to dumb down the race:

  1. Actually move to the district and reside here. If he wants to represent South Jersey, he should start living here so he can get to know us and understand the issues we face.

  2. Disclose the size of the bonuses he received while President of York Insurance, which has deep ties to AIG, the company that received a $182 billion taxpayer bailout following the financial crisis. I value and appreciate success, but voters in the 3rd Congressional District – most especially those in Ocean County – deserve to know how much he made as his company was repeatedly accused of denying insurance claims to hurricane victims.

Okay… if you’re willing to vote against MacArthur solely because he hasn’t lived in CD3 for as long as Belgard, or due to the fact he’s a self-made guy who made a good living in the insurance industry, then that’s certainly your right!

Just know that his Democrat opponent, Freeholder Belgard, began her run for Congress unable to discuss anything important on a substantive level and now, with less than five months to go before Election Day, she wants to talk about anything but issues of substance.

We already have PLENTY of people like that on Capitol Hill. Do we really one more?

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8390 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

7 Comments

  1. Tom MacArthur isn’t doing anything to make this race smarter. Thus far he’s proving to be as much of an empty suit as Jon Runyan. For all his money, he offered no specifics in his platform; instead, he relentlessly attacked Steve Lonegan and made him out to be the spawn of Satan. I’m not just saying this because I’m a support of Lonegan – I’m saying it because it’s true. MacArthur has made the cardinal mistake of not giving us reason(s) to vote for him, only against his opponent(s). This campaign strategy is backfiring, and has made what should have been a slam dunk for Republicans a very competitive race. I feel that MacArthur is far too much of a big government guy for my liking, and since he got real cozy with the George Gilmores of the world, there’s no way I could ever vote for him. But I’m just one vote. If he’s going to have any chance at getting elected, he needs to put out a clear and specific platform, and convince skeptical voters of what makes him different from his opponent. If he fails to do this, this district may just have its first female Representative, which will unfortunately come in the form of a Nancy Pelosi acolyte.

  2. What is Boehner’s specific plan for fixing Obamacare? For all his experience and great hair… what’s he got to offer? gimme a break!

  3. Both are weak. There are four candidates in the race – (or will be, when the court overturns Forchion’s “out of time” exclusion by the Belgard camp – according to her counsel, without her knowledge, by the way. Believe it?

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