By Matt Rooney
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The first-ever Save Jersey blog post went up ten years ago today, Save Jerseyans.
A lot’s changed. More hasn’t.
Thousands of posts, hundreds of story lines, and twenty election cycles later, we sadly can’t claim “Mission Accomplished” on the “saving Jersey” front. Christie crashed, Murphy’s driving us towards the proverbial cliff, and taxpayers are running for the exists in record numbers.
I had hoped for better. You did, too. We all did.
Of course it’s not all doom and gloom. Hardly. We’re celebrating today! After all, we do have something today that we didn’t have ten years ago: a REAL, viable, expanding network of dedicated New Jerseyans who refuse to accept the status quo and what it represents for our state’s future. Think the “Resistance” at the end of Last Jedi. Scrappy and depleted and down but not out and undeniably on the verge of new, great things as the wheel in the sky keeps on turning. SaveJersey.com continues to serve as the online organizing force for this movement of people who pay the bills so yeah, in a very real and tangible sense, we’ve made more than good on the “saving” part while also acknowledging it’s a work in progress.
For now? Let’s enjoy a slice of cake, wash it down with a full glass of satisfaction, and reflect on some of what we’ve learned from the first ten years with the hopes of finding something useful for the next ten.
There’s no particular order to any of this:
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10. The key to happiness is independence.
One of the most common questions I get when Save Jersey comes up in casual conversation, usually unprompted: “How can you stand hyper-involvement in New Jersey politics?”
My most common answer: I’m “involved,” but I’m also not tethered to anything, or anyone, other than my own conscience.
Self-righteous? Whatever. You’re entitled to your own opinion. That’s the beautiful thing: I’m also entitled to my opinion, too, and unlike so many others in this ugly business called politics, we answer to no one other than (1) our own consciences and, of course, (2) you the readers. For a full decade, Save Jersey has proudly never relied on a patron, angel investor, machine, party organization, super pac or special interest group to stay online and keep punching. Yes, we had a few opportunities, but I always said “no” at the end of the day because I value being able to sleep at night far more than money, traffic, and invites to booze-drenched events hosted by self-aggrandizing types.
Not saying I’m a saint. Not fishing for applause. Simply pointing out that the Founding Fathers were on to something: fiercely-guarded independence is the primary reason why we’ve been able to survive for ten years without going crazy and quitting.
9. Sure, Trenton is cowardly and corrupt. But it’s also stupid, and that might be its biggest problem.
When I first started covering state politics in 2008? I assumed that there were plenty of smart people with titles in Trenton; the problem for taxpayers, I surmised, is that there weren’t enough smart people with the right ideas and/or independence from corrupt influences.
That was an uninformed assessment. The sad truth? One that’s going to sound harsh to your ears? A majority of your legislators aren’t the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree. They’re career politicians, labor organizers, non-profit scrubs, under-performing professionals in their previous, private lives… not “stupid” people, sure, but not exactly the cream of the crop.
Why would they be? We can’t blame it all on the 17th Amendment. This is a machine state, and a machine, by definition, cannot function if the individual cogs are all thinking for themselves. As a result, the most capable people in our state are happily over in the private sector, making money, or they pull the strings from a safe distance. What’s left — devoid of common sense, real business experience and high-level critical thinking skills — can hardly be expected to tackle major challenges (like reforming America’s most screwed up pension system) or understand simple concepts (like why having the worst tax burden in America is a shit way to raise cash for a welfare state). It’s beyond them. Trust me: I’ve had plenty of convos over 10 years, and I’ve seen 10 year’s worth of blank stares.
8. No, supporting Chris Christie in 2009 wasn’t a mistake.
This is another common question. A totally fair one.
At the end of the day? Newsflash: Chris Christie is a politician. Flawed, yes, but that hardly makes him unique among politicians (or humans generally for that matter). He’s also one of the most uniquely talented politicians since at least Bill Clinton in terms of his ability to feign candor, sincerity and empathy. Listeners REALLY believed he got them, and was shooting straight with them, even when they didn’t like what he was saying. In the post-2008 New Jersey political environment? A guy like that was our only hope against a gazillionaire who ultimately outspent him on the air waves several times over. I still believe that. The fact that he subsequently checked out and sold out is extremely unfortunate, but it’d be a logical fallacy to pretend there was another viable option and, like any gamble, the upside had he NOT crapped the bed was as amazing as it’s now terrible given how things turned out.
With all of that being said? There’s a damn good reason why I usually stay out of primaries notwithstanding plenty of requests for endorsements/intervention…
7. We best serve the people by refusing to serve people.
This one’s a combination of #10 and #8: we’re in the business of causes, not candidates. Vetting the men and women who claim to want to champion the taxpayers’ causes, and holding their feet to the fire before AND in between the elections, is a far better use of any politically-oriented writer’s time than making the mistake of thinking a candidate IS the cause.
6. New Jersey CAN be saved.
We’re not as blue as we seem! I know what you’re going to counter. New Jersey hasn’t elected a Republican U.S. Senator since Watergate or voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988. Its citizens recently installed a governor who has ideas that would make Karl Marx blush. How, you couldn’t be blamed for asking, can anyone suggest New Jersey is anything other than a “deep” blue state?
But this is also the state that hasn’t reelected a Democrat governor since Brendan Byrne. Our legislative districts are badly gerrymandered in the Democrats’ favor. As evidenced by the fact that Phil Murphy was elected with record low turnout? And Kim Guadagno would’ve won, believe it or not, if the Republicans who supporter Chris Christie had shown up? This state is LOOKING for an alternative to the Democrat Party; it just doesn’t seen one at the moment. Some days? Neither do I.
5. You can’t save everyone (or even make everyone happy). Don’t try.
The fairer I try to be with certain articles? Particularly ones where there are two competing factions battling it out for a primary nomination or control of a local party? The more frequently I’m accused of (some) combatants of evidencing bias. You can’t win! Don’t try. I cover ONLY stories that are interesting to me, and I don’t lose any sleep worrying about someone else’s subjective definition of equity.
It’s also amazing to me how poor most politicians and operatives STILL are at managing the new media reality. “Why aren’t you covering me?” Did you reach out? It’s social media; have you been social? The days of crowded news rooms packed with armies of worker bees is over. If you want to get seen/heard? No one is stopping you but you, yet the people who complain the loudest are invariably those who put the least amount of work in. Figures, right?
4. There are some terrible people out there but plenty of good people, too.
I’m still not sure whether our civic dialogue is truly degrading as is often claimed or if, thanks to social media, the ignorant and ill-intentioned are simply amplified. In either event? Yeah, there are a lot of nasty and awful people out there. I interact with them on a daily basis. But there are also awesome people who reach out and pitch great stories we may’ve missed, offer background, encouragement, and even unsolicited editing help/advice (!); they’ll also share what the site means to them and even relate how Save Jersey might’ve encouraged them to get more engaged, start their own local site, or run for local office (school board or council).
3. Unless you’re raising $$$? Most political events are useless and not worth your time.
Another frequent inquiry: “Why don’t you go to more events?”
The #1 and most honest answer? This isn’t my “day” job. I’m a full-time attorney blessed a full load of clients. Driving 3 hours round trip on a Thursday night, at rush hour no less, is very often not in the cards.
Maybe I should go anyway but, in truth, I also don’t enjoy most political events. It’s the same people who go to everything!
I should probably make a distinction at this point between local club events and big party events. I love sharing ideas with local conservative groups in intimate settings. #KindredSpirits! I don’t enjoy watching the same people who haven’t won anything since I’ve been out of college get bombed, trade boorish war stories, and gossiping about this, that, and the other. I get enough B.S. 9-5! Would much rather go home to my family; we’ve got plenty of sources at almost everything to get the information we need for coverage.
One more thing: Republicans also need to spend a LOT more time talking to people who aren’t in the room…
2. The New Jersey Republican Party can’t win until it develops confidence in conservatism.
Michael Patrick Carroll (R-25) is retiring from the legislature. So if Jay Webber (R-26) makes it to Congress this year? There won’t be a single Republican left in the General Assembly who was willing to vote against a business-killing, deceptively mislabeled “equal pay” bill. Many establishment Republicans like to say that only “moderate” Republicans who cede ground to liberal premises can win in modern New Jersey. I usually respond “how do you know?” since we so rarely try to run a principled, articulate conservative campaign and when we do (see: Christie 2009) amazing things have happened.
The NJGOP’s elected leaders are running out of room to retreat. At some point? They’re going to need to challenge, forcefully, the worldview embodied by Democrats, and saying the other side is “fiscally irresponsible” won’t cut the mustard since, as I’ve written about before, a healthy percentage of the voters we’ve lost PRIDE themselves on paying a lot of taxes if it means they get to live in a state with gender neutral bathrooms and sanctuaries for criminal aliens.
Nope; the attack needs to cut deeper, and if conservatism isn’t embraced with confidence, persuadable voters will continue to sense that and gravitate towards the stronger pole.
1. Yes, New Jersey is still a state worth saving.
Compartmentalize Trenton’s nonsense for a second. Close your eyes, take a deep breath… and you’re looking at picturesque tree-lined suburbs. Verdant farm land. Prime (urban) waterfront real estate. Hundreds of miles of shoreline. The Water Gap/Skylands region is something else, too. And then there’s the not-so-insignificant issue of enjoying pizza that does NOT taste like ketchup and cheese wiz applied to a stale cracker! Alongside some of the toughest but also most colorful and earnest people on the planet.
This is a great state, one of the most unique in the county, one which most of us have called home since birth, and one that, in my humble opinion, we shouldn’t have to give it up because Trenton can’t get its shit together. It’s not like running works anyway; liberals ruin states (like California) and then move to new states but fail to self-reflect and change how they vote. The ultimate example is in our own backyard: Philadelphia Democrats who moved to South Jersey over the past few decades to fly Philly mismanagement but never learned their lesson.
We need to make our stand somewhere, so the fight will continue. It’s us or them, Save Jerseyans, and we’re not going anywhere. Forghedaboudit!
Saving Jersey isn’t about one election or even one party. The goal is to disrupt the narrative. We’re well on our way.
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