Category Archives: Democrats

Caldwell voted to go Full Commie, here’s what to expect

Yesterday Comrade Lace and his sanctimonious sycophants succeeded in scrapping 9 years of successful local government by convincing a majority of our citizens to embrace higher taxes, less freedom, and a return to iron fisted Democratic Party rule. Republicans Dassing, Hauser, and Fiore are out; three more Democratic Socialists Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt are in.

So what can we expect come January 1st? Well, in the immortal words of the late Ed Koch, “The people have spoken and now they must be punished.”

Borough Administrator Paul Carelli is out, to be replaced by a Maureen Ruane clone. That is they’ll appoint someone who’s willing to overlook the niceties of Council resolutions when disbursing taxpayer funds to Party apparatchiks. CFO/Borough Clerk Lisa O’Neill is out too. In her place they’ll dig up a half-dead retired CPA who’ll pretend to provide “oversight” from his vacation home while “misplacing” $120,000, or more. And of course Borough Attorney Greg Mascera’s services will be terminated and a reliable Democrat installed in his place.

In fact no one’s job at Borough Hall or the Community Center is safe. Dick Codey needs to plant his pension-padding party loyalists in positions of power so anyone in his way is gonna get kicked to the curb. Think of it this way, Mayor Dassing’s philosophy of government run like a business will transform overnight into new Mayor Kelley’s vision of government run like the DMV, only worse.

And then the Real Fun can begin. Because Comrade Zampolit Lace needs us to Get Woke. So no more curbside leaf collection. And I’ll wager that he’ll make us compost our Christmas trees in our yards too. Because the econuts have oodles of time on their hands to shove yard waste into those silly paper bags and they figure the rest of us do too. And if you’ve got bum knees like me and can’t handle all that bending and fetching, tough. They’re on a Mission and we’re just collateral damage.

Speaking of bags, your new Politburo will ban them. Plastic, paper, it doesn’t matter. You will cart around those germ-infested cloth bags while you shop and you’ll like it. Everybody has to pitch in to Save The Planet. And if you forgot to bring one, or just stopped off at Jacks for a few things on your way home from the bus, you’ll have to purchase another “reusable” bag. Think of it as the first of the many new taxes they’ll impose while curtailing our freedom.

After they ban plastic grocery bags they’ll ban plastic straws, plastic cutlery, plastic takeout containers, and styrofoam too. Your convenience is no match for their activism. Remember, it’s time to Get Woke, peasant!

Next on the Progressive Socialist hit parade? Making Caldwell a Sanctuary City, and setting up “needle exchange” for our opioid addicts. Plus a mandatory $15 minimum wage for all businesses in town and quotas for minority hiring. All of which will, of course, ensure that Bloomfield Avenue soon resembles the wastelands of formerly prosperous towns like East Orange and Irvington as merchants move away to preserve what little profits Democrat Governor Phil Murphy allows them to keep.

Ah but then they can declare the Avenue “blighted” and impose a Redevelopment Plan featuring the urban socialists’ dream of “mixed use” architecture. Imagine high-density high-rises in the East German style lining Bloomfield Avenue, concrete monstrosities with street level retail spaces featuring the usual urban hipster blend of overpriced coffee shops, marijuana dispensaries, used clothing boutiques, and vegan juice bars. Above that they’ll put unibox apartments designed by brutalists according to UN approved “green building” specs. Does that mean every flat gets exactly one composting toilet? Of course it does. It means the whole ugly thing will be wrapped in solar panels too.

And what’s a $15 minimum wage if they can’t enact it for public employees as well? You might have heard them promise to keep our taxes in check but deep down in your hearts you know they were lying. (The first clue being their enthusiastic support for the Full Day Babysitting Boondoggle tax hike.) They’re gonna raise taxes on everything that’s not standing still. And then they’re gonna pass out the goodies to their favored constituencies — public employees, welfare queens, and illegal aliens. You think our taxes are high now? Just wait until their need to virtue-signal “compassion” intersects with your wallet.

Then they’ll administer the coup de grâce. A local income tax. It’s the only way to get around the 2% property tax cap. Governor Murphy set up the framework for Jersey City but left the door open for any town to impose one for “good cause.” And what’s a better cause than Progressive Socialism? BOHICA!

Do I have to go on? Because I’m getting depressed. This is what you geniuses voted for Caldwell. So don’t come crying to me when you get it, good and hard.

Civility? Don’t count on it if Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt take over Borough Hall

The Caldwell Democrats are riding their sanctimonious high horses this election season, preaching “civility” while snobbishly refusing to engage in dialog with anyone who disagrees with them. So what can we expect if they succeed in ousting Mayor Ann Dassing and Council President Rich Hauser?

Well for starters we can envision a Loyalty Test for citizens petitioning their government for a redress of grievances.

Citizen stands up to speak at a council meeting: “John Doe, 123 Main Street, I’d like to discuss…”

Mayor Kelley: “Just a sec there peasant, let me check your Facebook and Twitter first.”

The Democrats consult their phones, and whisper to each other.

Mayor Kelley: “We’re not going to listen to you Mr. Doe, your political positions do not seem receptive to our progressive munificence. Next!”

Only Democrats in good standing get an audience with the Politburo.

Then there’s this little gem in John Kelley’s fluff interview with TAPinto West Essex.

Another cost reduction will occur with a reorganization of the community center, which I intend on doing the first day in office.

Uh oh. “Reorganization of the community center.” You know what that means. Fire Gordon Lawshe! And everyone else whose dedicated service to our town stands in the way of Comrade Kelley giving those jobs to Loyal Party Members. The Democrats need to repay their political patron and Dick Codey has a long list of party hacks who need jobs to pad their pensions. Too bad if good people get kicked to the curb.

That’s “civility” all right. Civility, the Nancy Pelosi way. And if there’s any, uh, collateral damage, hey, it’s not like they’re going to make us build our own camps. Yet.

Remember the last time Democrats were in charge in Caldwell?

I do.

So here’s a little history lesson for the newbies.

When Democrats ran the town, those monstrous townhouses on Lane Avenue by 7-11 suddenly appeared, although no one wanted to admit how they got approved. I guess it helped that the builder was best friends with the then-current Mayor, Democrat Paul Jemas. Vote Democrat if you want more townhouses like that. Goodbye butterfly garden, hello high-density housing!

It’s interesting that the current Democratic candidates for mayor and council are making such a big deal about the parking situation at the Community Center. Do you know who was mayor when that parking structure was designed and built? Democrat Susan Gartland. Maybe they should complain to her instead of wandering around town whining about it.

By the way, did you know that Paul Jemas and Susan Gartland are both key advisers to the Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt campaign? ‘Tis true. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

But wait, there’s more.

The last time the Democrats had a majority in Borough Hall their hand-picked Borough Administrator specialized in writing checks without council authorization. And the accountant they hired to supposedly get the town’s finances in order “lost” $120,000 of our money. The professional team that’s in place now thanks to Mayor Dassing has created controls to prevent those sort of shenanigans. Vote Democrat and those controls go away.

Remember last year when the Democrats made a big deal about the Sewer Commission stipends? What they didn’t tell you is that when they ran the Sewer Authority it was more than $1,000,000 dollars in the red, because they didn’t bother to collect years of arrears owed to Caldwell by neighboring towns. Who got those arrears cleaned up and ensured that going forward sewer bills are remitted to us on time? Ann Dassing and Rich Hauser.

Did you happen to read one of John Kelley’s fluff interviews where he casually mentioned he wants to “reorganize” the staff at the Community Center “day one?” The thing is, there’s an ordinance which says he can’t do that. Not unilaterally, anyway. And he ought to know better, since he was on the council when it was enacted. But alas, this is the same old song the Caldwell Democrats have been singing since they got voted out of power. They hide behind this fake civility persona when in reality they’re on a quest for raw power, the power to sack our town’s professional civil servants and hire their political cronies instead. Mayor Dassing has our town running like a business; John Kelley will have it operating like the DMV.

In that same puff piece John Kelley said he wants to keep municipal taxes “low.” Here’s the sad truth. When Democrats last held a council majority our municipal taxes regularly increased by 2, 3, even 5 percent a year. And during the infamous first reval they larded up the budget with so much cruft the actual increase was close to ten percent, which they then pretended was caused by the reval and not by their duplicity. In the 8 years that Ann Dassing has been our mayor the municipal tax hit has gone up by one percent, in total. One percent over 8 years is vastly different from ten percent in one year.

It’s said that those who do not study the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them. Don’t doom Caldwell. Reject the empty promises of the Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt campaign. Re-elect Mayor Ann Dassing and Council President Rich Hauser. Elect Jason Fiore. Caldwell’s future depends on it.

Wherein Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt respond! With “Go away, peasant”

Well they did promise to “return” phone calls. They didn’t promise a substantive response. And as it turns out, they’re not interested in answering my questions.

Here’s their email to me:

Dear Mr. Wysocki,

Thank you for your inquiry. We prefer to work directly with the press to get our message across. You are welcome to access our information on our website: kelleyrodgersschmidt.com which is available to all. There are also links to recent press coverage of our campaign which will be continually updated.

We have made a pledge to run a civil campaign and intend to keep it that way. We feel strongly that political discourse, as with any conversation, should be one grounded on respect and facts. Upon looking at your blog, it is clear that it is not the kind of impartial platform that would be receptive to our messaging.

That being said, we are having a meet the candidates event at Rock ’n Joes this Sunday from 9:30 – 11:00 AM and we would be more than happy to have a conversation with you in person.

Yours sincerely,

Kelley, Rodgers, Schmidt

Got that? Go read our website you peon. You’re not our kind of guy so we don’t feel like talking to you. Unless you do it on our terms, then maybe we’ll deign to share our munificence, if you kiss the ring and kneel before Zod first.

So beware Caldwell. These guys aren’t even elected yet and they’re already way too sanctimonious. Can you imagine how they’ll be if they win?

Constituent: Hi, I have some questions.

Kelley, Rodgers, Schmidt: Take a number, stand in line when it’s convenient for us, and if we decide you’re worthy enough we’ll pretend to care about your issue. Maybe.

But then, that’s the M-O of their zampolit, Councilman Jonathan Lace, who only lowers himself to interact with the common folk during “virtual office hours,” usually every Wednesday between 8:30 and 9:30 PM, which is when he says he’s available to answer email. Except he too blows me off because he’s got thinner skin than an onion and he’s apparently never been exposed to sarcasm before. Also he doesn’t like tough questions.

I’m not sure sure where that lies on the “civility” and “respect” scale, but hey, there you go. Or as the great Kurt Schlichter put it:

Civility, once properly understood as a means to an end rather than an end in and of itself, has morphed from an aspiration into a political/cultural gimp suit designed to prevent you from effectively asserting your interests and your point of view.

For liberals, civility is a grift – they think it’s a punchline and they’re waiting to laugh at you for embracing it. It’s a way to keep you from interrupting their non-stop attacks on your rights, your faith, and your dignity by convincing you that it’s somehow wrong to get upset when, say, some Astroturf Tot backed up by a bunch of leftist Red Guard orgs like Planned Parenthood and Move On starts shrieking that you have blood on your hands.

These guys lecture me about civility and then turn around and embrace Cory Booker who flat out stated that Republicans are evil incarnate, not long after he furiously browbeat Kirstjen Neilson on national television and then bragged about it on Twitter in what obviously passes for “civility” over at Caldwell Democrat HQ.

Bottom line. When Caldwell’s Democrats say “civility,” they mean “obfuscate.” They don’t want to answer my questions because then they’ll expose just how radically left-wing they really are. So I’ll answer for them. Questions 1, 2, and 4 are about taxes. Here’s the scoop, they’re gonna raise our taxes faster than you can say “I told you so.” Comrade Lace dreams of imposing a local income tax in Caldwell, and with a Democrat council majority he’ll get it. As for question 3 (making Caldwell a “sanctuary city”), of course that’s the plan. Illegal aliens before taxpayers, it’s what every Democrat everywhere wants. And on question 5 (legalized marijuana sales), they’re chomping at the bit for that one too. It’s why they were so happy to trumpet their endorsement by Stephen Modica, the former Democratic party council candidate who got busted for possession.

I guess they figure if we’re all stoned we won’t notice how they’re running our town into the ground.

Asking again, 5 questions for the Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt campaign

Back in June when they first announced their candidacies I optimistically posted 5 questions for the Democratic Party’s challengers to Caldwell’s incumbent mayor and council. Alas, like their 2 cohorts Messrs. Lace and Cole they maintained radio silence rather than engage in a dialog with a constituent.

But I recently noticed on their Facebook page how they’re promising to return phone calls and emails “immediately.” Hmm, said I, shall I try again? Yes! Yes I will.

So here goes.

  1. How will you meaningfully reduce the crushing property tax burden here in Caldwell? And how does your solution jive with Councilman Lace’s philosophical thought experiment espousing a local income tax for Caldwell? Is that something we should be looking forward to?
  2. Upon taking office Governor Murphy immediately raised the sales tax, the income tax, corporate taxes, and the gas tax. And then he said he’s “not done raising taxes yet.” Do you support all these new taxes? How much taxation is enough?
  3. Do you support Governor Murphy’s initiative to make New Jersey a so-called “sanctuary state,” and if elected will you introduce an ordinance to make Caldwell a “sanctuary city?”
  4. Do you approve of the CWCBOE’s proposal to spend $600,000 or more every year to implement Full Day Kindergarten? Do you approve of Governor Murphy’s proposed $500 million dollar school bond issue?
  5. Our town currently has two “vape” shops, conveniently located across the street from each of our Catholic schools (Trinity and The Mount). If Governor Murphy legalizes recreational marijuana these shops will undoubtedly start selling dope almost immediately, well within the perimeters of our “drug free school zones.” Will you commit to banning the sale of marijuana in Caldwell as well as toward encouraging these existing shops to relocate elsewhere?

And there you go folks. Please respond. Thanks.

5 questions for the Kelley, Rodgers, and Schmidt campaign for Caldwell Council

The Caldwell Democrats are plastering social media with their press releases, touting their various endorsements from county and congressional candidates running on the same ticket. So it’s rah-rah when they endorse Montclair Mikie and she endorses them in return, and please don’t mention Bob Menendez.

Not to ruin their little love-fest, but I for one need more substance than that. So I posed five questions to the 3 folks running in Caldwell — John Kelley for mayor, and Frank Rodgers and Christine Schmidt for council.

If a few of these questions look familiar, well, they are. They’re essentially the same questions I posed to Jonathan Lace and Henderson Cole last year. They’re the questions those two fellows refused to answer. But hey, I’m an eternal optimist, so let’s see if the second time’s a charm, right?

1. How will you meaningfully reduce the crushing property tax burden here in Caldwell?

2. Do you support Governor Murphy’s new tax and spend initiatives, including increasing the sales tax, the corporate income tax, and the individual income tax?

3. Do you support Governor Murphy’s initiative to make New Jersey a so-called “sanctuary state,” and if elected will you introduce an ordinance to make Caldwell a “sanctuary city?”

4. Given your pledge to run a positive campaign, what is your position on the recent statements by Congresswoman Maxine Waters encouraging Democrats to harass and intimidate Republicans? Do you agree with Senator Cory Booker that this is a reasonable course of action? What, if anything, will you say if a Caldwell merchant banishes someone for his political beliefs, like the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia?

5. Do you approve of the CWCBOE spending (at last count) in excess of $20 million dollars to implement full day kindergarten?

The ball’s in your court lady and gentlemen. I await your responses, which I will, of course, publish here in their entirety.

NJ Democrats, another day, another tax, this time on plastic grocery bags

These guys never run out of things to tax.

In the battle against litter in the Garden State, plastic bags have been public enemy number one.

Several municipalities, mostly along the Shore, have acted on their own to limit plastic bag use either through fees or bans. But for years, efforts for statewide regulation of the bags has failed to gain traction.

Now, state lawmakers have decided that it is time to move forward.

A new fee on plastic and paper shopping bags is being pushed through the state legislature: The bill cleared budget committees in both the Assembly and Senate on Tuesday and could be passed as early as this Thursday. Legislative leaders expect the proposal to generate $23.4 million, and according to the bill that money will go toward getting lead out of schools and homes.

Why ban ’em if you can tax ’em! It’s for the children!

Lead paint hasn’t been used in going on 60 years now. But gosh-darn-it we need a new funding stream to “eradicate” it once and for all. Or maybe somebody’s brother-in-law needs a new side gig and … spins the wheel … lead paint, that’s the ticket!

The econuts are actually opposed to this tax, not because they’re sane, but because they want an outright ban statewide. And the grocery stores aren’t too keen on socking their customers with a new fee either. Oh, and here’s the best part, the tax won’t apply to anyone on welfare or food stamps. How’s that gonna work? Do they get little “my bags are free” cards? Who thinks of this shit?

Break out the popcorn, Phil Murphy and NJ Democrats are already planning for a government shutdown on June 30th

Phil Murphy’s budget proposals are too left-wing for Steve Sweeney? Apparently so! They held a budget meeting today, and by golly it didn’t end well.

The meeting was hostile, according to three sources with knowledge of the event who would only speak on the condition of anonymity. It ended with an exchange of expletives.

Oh to be a fly on that wall!

“Shortly thereafter” Murphy’s chief counsel sent out a memo ordering state departments to make contingency plans for a government shutdown starting June 30th. Ayup, we’re a month away from the budget deadline and he’s so far afield from his fellow Democrats he’s already preparing for the worst.

Normally NJ budget negotiations are the stuff of inside baseball, arcane, and conducted in literal smoke-filled back rooms. But not this year. This year Murphy’s minions have launched an ad blitz touting his ultra-progressive policies and urging his loyal followers to pressure Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin into bending to his will. The new sheriff in town wants things his way, and compromise isn’t a word in his vocabulary.

On the one hand, it’s gonna be fun to watch this play out.

On the other hand, no matter who wins the taxpayers lose. They’re not arguing about how to cut spending or shrink the budget. They’re arguing about how much they can raise taxes and what pet projects they’ll waste the money on. Murphy wants to fund a laundry list of progressive causes — “free” community college, benefits for illegal aliens, offshore windmills, mass transit, and affordable housing. Sweeney would rather throw even more money at urban schools and toss a few crumbs to senior citizens by reviving the homestead rebate program.

Either way we’ll get hosed by higher sales and income taxes, along with the usual collection of new fees and surcharges.

But hey, this is what you voted for Jersey. And if you can’t go to the beach over the Fourth of July weekend because the government is shut down, don’t come crying to me.

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) is the gift that keeps on giving

As we wend our way to the 2018 midterm election, one thing is clear. A significant subset of the Democratic Party is batshit insane.

A Democratic lawmaker who has tirelessly campaigned for President Trump’s impeachment blasted House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Monday for undermining his effort.

Pelosi, in an interview with The Dallas Morning News, had said she wishes Democrats like Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, would not make impeaching Trump a rallying cry.

“We have elections,” she said. “Go vote if it’s a policy thing and a behavior thing. I don’t know if you can get impeached for being a jerk, but if we did, this guy would be long gone. But that’s not unifying.”

But Green, who has spearheaded the push to impeach Trump, criticized Pelosi, saying that reducing Trump to a jerk “trivializes the impact of his bigoted policies on Jews, Latinos, African-Americans, women and the LGBTQ community.”

Oh please Democrats. Please run on a platform of impeaching President Trump. Please!

I mean, it’s not like his “bigoted policies” on Jews hasn’t fostered the opening of our US Embassy in Jerusalem, and a strengthening of the US – Israel alliance, right?

Or, his “bigoted policies” on Latinos and African-Americans haven’t created more jobs for both groups than any president ever. In fact the economy is booming, except perhaps in places reflexively ruled by Democrats (yeah, I’m looking at you Seattle, and sadly, New Jersey).

And he’s so bigoted against women that he’s got more of them in high-level White House positions than any previous administration. Oh, right, he whooped Felonia Milhous von Pantsuit’s ass. Oops. Sorry, not sorry.

As for “the LGBTQ community” Congressman, Ric Grenell is on line 1, and Peter Thiel would like a word too.

Sheesh. It’s like this guy doesn’t inhabit the Real World.

Then again, in the fever swamps of NJ Democrats (alas, I don’t know much about Texas Democrats) he’s mainstream. I hear people talking impeachment All The Time. It’s their Holy Grail. The NJ.com and Baristanet comment boards are full of keyboard warriors eager to opine on how Robert Mueller’s latest fizzled “bombshell” is guaranteed to bring Trump frog-marched into the dock. They hate Donald Trump with a visceral passion, and they’re not afraid to tell us, repeatedly.

Earlier this month, Pelosi told Politico that impeachment was popular in her district.

See, what did I say?

Mikie Sherrill’s minions are gung-ho for impeachment too. They see Russians under every bed Trump sleeps in. Of course they failed see the actual Russian spies who lived for decades in her Montclair neighborhood so I’m skeptical about their newfound Rooskie Radar, but hey, whatever keeps them warm at night. And when they’re not beating the impeachment drum they’re marching for gun confiscation so you can be sure the crazy runs deep around her campaign.

Which of course is Good News for Jay Webber, and Steve Lonegan too. That Blue Wave is looking more and more like a ripple, if that, meaning that as long as the Al Green Wing keeps talking Nancy Pelosi’s chances of grabbing the gavel keep diminishing. God Bless America.