The political landscape in Ocean and Monmouth Counties has been ugly of late, but it looks like it’s about to get uglier as deflated progressives at the shore are backed further into a corner of irrelevance. But one man this week said he intends to bottle up that frustration and unleash it before the 2018 congressional elections.
James Keady a political disruptor, known most for being told to “sit down and shut up” by Governor Chris Christie said this week that shore Democrats and progressives need to begin to organize grassroots efforts and step up political activism if they want to start winning elections in the predominantly conservative region of New Jersey.
“We have momentum. We are on the right side of the issues. We are ready to stand up and be counted,” Keady said. “Now, let’s get down to business.”
What?
Democrats in Ocean and Monmouth Counties hold no higher office outside of a couple of mayors and council seats. It’s unsure what momentum he is referring to.
Keady lost the Democratic nomination for Congressman last November to perhaps one of the worst run campaigns and failed candidates at the Jersey Shore in decades, that of Frederick John LaVergne. Despite LaVergne’s personal bankruptcy and home foreclosure proceedings, Democrats chose him to go to battle against Tom MacArthur last year…and lost miserably. On top of that, Republican Tom MacArthur cleaned LaVergne’s clock in the election booth.
In Monmouth County and Northern Ocean, Congressman Chris Smith won his 18th consecutive election, this year flattening his Democratic opponent Lorna Phillipson by a more than 2-1 margin.
With conventional campaigning ineffective for Democrats, Keady says it’s time to take to the streets to protest, march and disrupt. Keady now hopes to tap into the young leftist activist moving sweeping across urban America in the wake of the Trump presidency.
“In response to our current political reality, many people are finding themselves adopting the role of being a political activist for the first time,” Keady said. “People who have never protested before are marching in the streets. People who didn’t know the names of their elected officials are now calling their offices every day.”
Keady recommended young aspiring leftists should start reading ‘Rules for Radicals’ by Saul Alinsky. He also suggested young liberals connect online with the radical disruptive ‘Our Revolution’ movement.
He also encouraged liberals to get off of Facebook and Twitter and to get out into the streets of the Jersey Shore.
“Realize that we are not going to Tweet or Facebook post our way out of this,” Keady added. “It’s going to take our time, effort, and sacrifice in real life. Make the time and put in the effort to actively be a part of organizing meetings, demonstrations, call-ins, etc.”
Keady offered would-be organizers a script designed to discredit Congressman Chris Smith, a Republican.
Here is a sample script.
YOU: Do you think our Congressperson should live in our district?
NEIGHBOR: Of course.
YOU: Did you know that Chris Smith hasn’t lived in our district since the early 80s? He’s been living in Virginia for so long that his kids get in-state tuition at Virginia schools.
NEIGHBOR: What?! That’s crazy.
YOU: Yeah, he keeps a small apartment in Mercer County so he can have a NJ address. A news outlet did a story about it years ago and the neighbors there didn’t even know that a Congressman lived in the complex, they were shocked.
NEIGHBOR: That’s just wrong.
YOU: Along with him not living here, did you know that he never comes back to the district to hold open, public town hall meetings?
NEIGHBOR: Really?
YOU: Yeah, some friends and I have looked into it and we cannot find any reference of any town hall meetings on record since he’s been in office. Some people think there may have been one in 1991 or 1992, but we can’t find anything about it. We keep calling and emailing his office to get an answer and they won’t tell us when the last one happened and he refuses to commit to a town hall meeting in 2017.
NEIGHBOR: What?! That’s crazy.
YOU: Yeah, isn’t it? Our tax dollars pay this guy’s salary, the least he can do is meet us face to face a few times a year, right?!
NEIGHBOR: Yeah, that’s the least he can do.
YOU: Do you think that there are way too many people in Washington who have been there far too long? Don’t we need some new blood?
NEIGHBOR: Absolutely. That’s why I agreed with Trump that we should “drain the swamp.”
YOU: I hear you. Did you know that our Congressman has been in the same office for 37 years.
NEIGHBOR: What?! That’s crazy.
YOU: Yeah, 37 years. My friends and I think that’s long enough and it’s time we get someone new in there to shake things up. Someone who’s an independent thinker from outside of Washington.
NEIGHBOR: I am down with that.
YOU: I am involved with a group that is working on bringing people together who agree with us that we need new blood in Congress and that at a minimum, our Congressperson should live in our district and should hold regular town halls to listen to the concerns of taxpayers. Would you like to join us one night?
NEIGHBOR: Sure.
YOU: Cool. Why don’t you give me your email address and cell number and I will shoot you a message about the next meeting. If you need a ride maybe we can go over together.
NEIGHBOR: That sounds great.
This last part of the engagement is REALLY important. If we are going to be effective political organizers, we need to be able to get in touch with people. Getting someone’s contact info is as important as it gets. So never, ever, ever skip this step. Even if they aren’t yet interested in coming to a meeting, ask for their info and tell them you would like to reach out to them in the future. Getting email addresses and cell numbers is gold in political organizing.
Keady’s message is inline with the Ocean and Monmouth Democrat’s scheduled meetings to begin enticing local radicals at the Jersey Shore how to become political activists and disruptors, following the model being used at the national level.