WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN: Week of the Debate Debacle – InsiderNJ

WHOS UP

Annette Quijano

The Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee captained her own legislation the creation of a second tier of drivers licenses for residents of New Jersey who lack documented status- out of committee.

Pat Diegnan

The Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee ran a highly effective meeting on Thursday to get the Joe Vitale senate version of the drivers license bill through to the next stage of its gestation period. Appropriations committee next.

Cosecha, Lets Drive NJ and Make the Road

The drivers license for undocumented workers advocacy groups had reason to celebrate this week after Assemblywoman Quijano and Senator Diegnan successfully moved their versions of the bill out off their respective committees.

Ronald Rice

Theres no one in Trenton who better embodies the quality of citizen lawmaker than the independent-minded, hard-nosed pro from Newark, who gave his backing to the drivers license bill only after he secured a commitment from Senate President Steve Sweeney on bills changing the laws pertaining to drivers license suspension and other priorities.

Doug Steinhardt

Even though he didnt actually say nihilism, we applaud him for appreciating the concept. In any event, the Chairman of the State GOPs unsparing, razor-sharp elbowed but lawlerly take-down of the Democrats Trenton agenda was one of the best pieces of oration in recent memory.

Phil Valenziano

Steinhardt this week announced his choice of Valenziano as the new Executive Director of the GOP State Committee. The former Jay Webber for Congress campaign manager will replace Theresa Winegar who is moving on to serve as Tom Keans campaign manager for Congress in New Jerseys 7th Congressional district.

WHOS DOWN

Cory Booker

The junior Senator from New Jersey failed to qualify to make the next debate stage in his quest for the presidency. From The Associated Press: While Booker has hit the grassroots fundraising threshold to qualify for the December primary debate, his campaign acknowledged it doesnt expect him to meet the polling threshold. He would need to draw 4% support in four qualifying polls by midnight Thursday, and he currently has none. But its worse than that, really. Booker may have to hobble along as a participant in the presidential race through South Carolina (and maybe beyond) not in hopes of winning, but to keep the bottleneck of New Jerseys political establishment intact and Phil Murphy unbemirched by the prospect of having to pick another horse. Its not about the country. Its about New Jersey. The sooner Booker pulls out, the sooner the Phil Murphy-detesting forces will use the presidential contest as a way of further alienating the governor. Theyll go one way. As long as Joe Biden is still standing, theyre likely to go with him. Theyre South Jersey-centric and determinedly centrist, and Biden a Delaware and Pa. guy fits the narrative. Murphy himself might be predisposed to Biden for numerous reasons, including his own ties to Obama World as the former Ambassador to Germany. As long as Biden continues to do well with the African American community, theres also a prime fit for the NAACP-friendly New Jersey Govrnor. But he has to keep an eye on the always easily offended progressive movement, his base, in fact, which sees big banks-enabling Biden as not much better than Trump. Where will Murphys local security blanket Ras Baraka go? Will Working Families NJ follow the national organizations lead and back Elizabeth Warren? What about NJ 11th for Change? Its hard to picture that group getting excited about Biden. Lets posit for a moment a world in which John Currie the Governors choice for the job -defeats Leroy Jones for the state chairmanship. His victory would occur with the significant backing of progressives including most precisely a progressive narrative interpretation of New Jersey politics. Then they turn around, with the governor eyeballing Essex County and his own reelection potential and back Biden. It would be a hard pivot for progressives to endure. Lets say Murphy zigzags to Elizabeth Warren. Now its another battle front in a continuing full-blown war with the South Jersey-Middlesex-Joe DiVincenzo establishment. Lets say he backs Biden. Is it merely a cynical play to Bidens best general election chances and the governors optimal play for a treasury job or another ambassadorship? In short, his most obvious escape route from the merciless morass that is his adopted home state? What it comes down to is this: Booker in the race prevents the immediate wailing exorcising of these demons, these Jersey devils, if you will, which await his exit at the gate for a new round of political diversion at the Governors expense, conceived at its core on the principle of division. Of course, Booker has his own Senate race to think about this year, and will, prior to the April deadline, have to pull out and focus on his reelection to another six years in the U.S. Senate. It may finally fall to inside knowledge-possessing Booker advising the rest of the state on where to go in the prez contest. After all, it will be Booker on the ticket directly underneath the partys candidate for prez, and a potential for a testament to his powers of love and unity, derided on the national trail, to bring together the broken pieces of New Jerseys political classes behind the best shot for the party at the presdiency.

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WHO'S UP AND WHO'S DOWN: Week of the Debate Debacle - InsiderNJ