It wasn’t just Republicans. Plenty of New Jersey Democrats engaged in furious head-scratching following Mikie Sherrill’s decision to tap Dan Caldwell, a president at a relatively obscure New Jersey college, to serve as her lieutenant governor running mate.
He’s got some bureaucratic and academic experience. Caldwell has never been elected to anything, run a private company, or served in a legislative body at any level. Meanwhile, both running mates continue to maintain a less-than-inspiring schedule on the trail as the final three-month sprint begins.
“It’s almost like [Sherrill] is playing four corners,” said John E. Harmon, Sr., president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey. “It’s like they got some data somewhere that says they have a big lead in this race. I’m not feeling that on the street… [a]nd our Democratic candidate is coming up short on specifics.”
Well, we do know some specifics.
Sherrill is pro-Sanctuary Statehood. Pro-wasting more money on offshore wind farms.
Caldwell, for his part, is a big fan of “Diversity Equity and Inclusion” ideology or DEI for short. He’s a verified DEI crusader despite the nationwide shift in opinion on the decidedly racist practice of injecting race and ethnicity into every aspect of life. In fact, in February 2024, he penned an op-ed for NorthJersey.com arguing for a way to rescue DEI from rightwing attacks.
“Today, many people believe we live in a colorblind society and racism no longer exists. That’s simply not true,” wrote Caldwell. “How do I know? As an educated and experienced Black professional, I have lived it myself. Unfortunately, I can say with certainty that ignorance and racism are driving the anti-Civil Rights Movement threatening diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs across our nation.”
DEI is “ignorance” and “racism,” bud!
The possible future lieutenant governor went on to advocate for rebranding DEI as “Intercultural Skills Education” which he believes will “silence the DEI critics and move on with the important work of advancing our diverse society.”
“There is a great deal of unfounded criticism of DEI training — often labeled ‘wokeism’ — because many believe it focuses exclusively on racial differences. The very strong lobby against DEI strengthens the case for Intercultural Skills Education, which applies to people of all races, ethnicities, genders and backgrounds. Instead of sowing divisiveness, developing true intercultural competence helps us to transcend barriers,” Caldwell continued. “It moves beyond differences like age, race, ethnicity, gender, political beliefs and language spoken to demonstrate that we have much more in common than we think.”
Sherrill could’ve easily selected someone who understands the economy, law enforcement, public infrastructure, energy policy or K-12 education.
Instead? The Democrat nominee is once again kissing the increasingly-crazy ass of her party’s base with an elitist pick who writes and speaks like a Leftist ideal but ultimately represents a set of priorities which are completely detached from the realities facing struggling middle and working class New Jerseyans.
