The Wonderful Wizarding World of LD12

Those Save Jerseyans dutifully following us on Twitter may have already encountered an aggressive, pleasantly plump yet perversely lovable character named Robert C. “Bob” Brown.

On the 2011 ballot, Bob Brown is a Democrat candidate for State Senate in New Jersey’s 12th Legislative District. Behind a computer keyboard, he is an obsessive tweeter who probably spends more time sparring with Save Jersey via the popular social media tool than engaging in traditional candidate activities like knocking doors or kissing babies. His seemingly-playful antagonism towards your Blogger-in-Chief & Co. should, however, come as absolutely no surprise given the identity of his sole media booster; he’s been endorsed by the Star-Ledger’s resident “conservative” Christie-basher, Paul Mulshine Moonshine. Not exactly something to brag about to be sure.

And a fun little aside? Bob (left) is also a bona fide CLONE of Harry Potter’s evil uncle, Vernon (right) pictured below…

Positively enchanting, I know.

Bob’s regular complaint about Save Jersey is that “we” won’t condemn his general election opponent, Asm. Sam Thompson (R-Old Bridge), for being a “double-dipper.” A double dipper is defined as someone who worked in a state job, “retired” or obtained another job(s), and thereafter collects a state pension AND a state paycheck OR some combination of the two simultaneously. As of 2008, New Jersey had approximately 6,271 individuals holding more than one state pension-eligible position. Not an enviable statistic.

Is it any wonder why we’re broke???

But aside #2: If our pal Bob is “Vernon,” then Sam Thompson is really “Dumblethompson” thanks to a little innocent photoshop magic…

Moving right along…

The truth is Bob Brown will lose on November 8th, Save Jerseyans. It is what it is despite his objectively compelling biography (a retired police officer shot in the line of duty who went on to earn a Seton Hall law degree) and a promise to surrender his disability pension should he win the LD12 senate seat. Unfortunately for him, Bob would probably need a serious, Hogwarts-style magical event to beat Asm. Thompson, let alone come close. The reconstituted LD12 is solidly Republican, and Brown’s ELEC filings reflect a mere pittance of cash on hand. (See General D-1 & General R-1 for details). A few thousand just isn’t going to end the career of an entrenched incumbent with high name recognition.

At the same time, we here at Save Jersey wholeheartedly agree that double-dipping is a dirty deal for New Jersey’s taxpayers. We’re willing to assume Bob is serious about this issue, too. I’m an open-minded guy who has interviewed Democrats in the past when they espouse conservative ideas.

So here is what I’m willing to do: if Bob Brown is willing to issue a genuine press release condemning Jim Whelan, Paul Sarlo, Loretta Weinberg, and all of the other double-dipping luminaries (a term I apply very loosely here) in his state party, then I will gladly open up my blog to him for an open-ended web interview. Right now, Bob’s only major donors are Trenton Democrat organizations and campaigns plus the notoriously wasteful New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). That’s why Bob is going to have to show me he is serious about change in his own party before we here at Save Jersey take him seriously as a reform-oriented figure.

I already tweeted the offer to him but without any on-point reply as of this writing.

The quidditch ball is in your court, Bob. Shoot me a tweet – or an owl – at your leisure.

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8404 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.