Cross-Posted From DanCirucci.com
We took a short ride down the road to attend a big Jack Ciattarelli rally in Washington Township (Gloucester County) last night.
It was a beautiful early September evening and a classic setting — a suburban parking lot alongside a shopping center and a sports museum in a sprawling “Eagles crazy” Philly bedroom community. Does it get any more South Jersey than that?
Anyway, a big crowd was waiting, munching on hot dog wraps, Philly soft pretzels, donuts and other goodies. And after the obligatory intros and warmups from local GOP aspirants, Jack took center stage and wowed the troops with a stump speech peppered with spot-on references to his Jersey roots and local environs. Tossed into the mix were charming, self-deprecating one-liners along with up-to-the-minute zingers targeting his Democrat opponent and decades of entrenched one-party rule.
The crowd got what they came for. And, as usual, this Jersey Guy stayed around afterwards glad handing with everyone because no one does retail politics quite like Jack, and he obviously enjoys every minute of it.
Jack Ciattarelli is, indisputably a happy warrior. But, make no mistake about it, he is a warrior and he knows how to fight back. Still, Joizee’s Dastardly Dems are already playing dirty and we’ve still got 56 days to go until election day. They know they’re in trouble, they’re ruthless, they don’t care about the truth and they’ll try anything to take this guy down.
So last night, just before he spoke, I left Jack with five words, and he assured me he’d take heed. And those five words make up the first of my five suggestions for the Ciattarelli campaign right now. Here they are:
1) Fight back twice as hard. Take a page from POTUS. Don’t just answer the attacks, attack back — faster, harder, more effectively, pivoting quickly to that counter attack.
2) She’s linking you to Trump? OK. Link her to Murphy. Make PhonyPhil her ball ‘n chain. Phil’s been governor for eight years, not Trump — and Phil’s at the center of every major problem Jersey faces right now.
3) Keep pounding away at her congressional record. She’s got a voting record in Congress and it ain’t good. Don’t let her run away from it. She’s a Washington lib who’s out-of-touch with everyday New Jersey taxpayers. Just like Phil’s bad policies, her votes have impacted New Jerseyans in all the wrong ways every single day.
4) Peel the mask away. Almost everything about Mikie is fraudulent. Mikie isn’t even her name. Her name is Rebecca. And, she’s not from Jersey and she’s not a moderate. She’s from Virginia and she’s a radical progressive. It’s all a sham — a masquerade. Rip the mask off and make her own who she is.
5) Don’t play it safe. Too many New Jersey GOP candidates have played it too safe for too long and they’ve lost. Don’t wait to go on the offensive; don’t listen too closely to the “experts”; don’t discard bold or audacious strategies; don’t be too cautious; don’t hold back. Instead, follow your gut and always keep your opponents off guard.
