By The Staff | The Save Jersey Blog
Facing an increasing flurry of attacks from Democrats and their allies over his gay marriage position, Congressman Scott Garrett (NJ-05) hit back on Friday in his first direct condemnation of the narrative peddled by his opponents.
“I’ve tried to stay above the fray by ignoring these salacious hit pieces, but it’s obvious that the Washington establishment is trying to distract from my work to revive the economy and hold the government accountable by portraying me as something I’m not. My colleagues and my constituents know that I am a devout man of faith, and therefore I support traditional marriage,” explained Garrett, a conservative Republican who is defending what may ultimately prove to be the state’s only competitive House seat in November. “But calling me names or implying that I have malice in my heart for any person or group of people is false and completely disingenuous. Was President Obama a bigot before he changed his view on traditional marriage in 2012 when it was politically convenient? Or Hillary Clinton? Or President Bill Clinton?”
“Like all Americans who exercise their right of free speech and religion, I make contributions to people and organizations who share my beliefs on important issues, in this case traditional marriage,” Garrett continued in his statement obtained by Save Jersey. “Since then, I’ve continued my support of the Republican Party and the ideals we represent on behalf of our country and every American.”
All of this began with a report of Garrett allegedly refusing to kick-in customary NRCC membership contributions over the GOP congressional campaign organization “actively recruited gay candidates and supported homosexuals in primaries” (quoting the story, not Garrett).
Democrat challenger Josh Gottheimer is a former Clinton speech writer who’s raising cash and working overtime to leverage the issue. Last year, Garrett’s seat slid from “Safe” Republican to “favored” Republican in The Rothenberg Report‘s rankings due to Bergen-centric demographic changes and the recent NRCC controversy.
“It’s no surprise that some are trying to create a distraction because they have no response to the failed policies that are hurting real people across the country. The fact is we are facing one of the worst economic recoveries in history; people have lost their personal choices when it comes to health care; and this administration’s jumbled foreign policy has made the world a more dangerous place,” concluded Garrett. “In the meantime, Washington continues to prosper while hardworking New Jersey families suffer—and that’s not fair. While I don’t expect these attacks to stop, I’m going to keep doing my job and fighting for my constituents who can’t fight for themselves against Washington’s destructive top-down policies.”
______
It took way too long for him to respond.
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain
People need to wakeup and vote this reich wing eichmann out of office already.
But first we need to start hanging the proglodytes who destroyed this republic. Better start looking for that spider-hole, Justine.
Even then he fell over himself trying to sound reasonable and open-minded when, in fact, it is the deviants who are anything but reasonable and open-minded. His entire response should have been: *shrug* “I make contributions to people and organizations who share my beliefs on important issues, in this case traditional marriage. Period. End of story. Next question.”