The bullies in Camden, and the rot in the Democratic Party | Moran

March 24, 2024

First Lady Tammy Murphy says she is “proud of the overwhelming support” she received from Camden County Democrats at last weekend’s convention.

And that, in a nutshell, tells you why she is unfit to a U.S. Senator. Because the bullies in Camden set up a fake election to hand her the win, one that only Vladimir Putin could love.

And this time, there’s video. It shows five burly white men standing shoulder to shoulder to physically block a determined Latina woman running against Murphy, Patricia Campos-Medina, who wanted only a chance to speak for a few moments, to make her case to the delegates before they voted.

I bounced this off Julia Sass Rubin, the Rutgers professor who is a leader in the drive to kill the line and has done the definitive research showing that it’s usually decisive in primary campaigns. Is the real problem the line, or the rot in the party that we saw in Camden?

“It’s all of the above, not just the line,” she says.

But the line is at the root of it, she argues. It gives party bosses the power to be dictatorial, should they choose. It puts that temptation within reach.

“As long as the county line exists, it’s not realistic to expect reform,” she says. “It gives them the ability to control outcomes. So, there’s a huge incentive for a few people to take that power.”

Besides, she says, the notion that a small cabal of party elites gets to make this decision is offensive, even if they make good choices. “I don’t want a benevolent dictator telling me who the right candidates are for me,” Sass Rubin says.

This attempt to force Tammy Murphy down voters’ throats reminds us that the leaders of the Democratic Party have lost their way, that their dominance of state politics has corrupted them. And that goes beyond this race. We saw it when they tried to gut the state’s public records law earlier this month, bringing huge crowds to the Statehouse in protest, from lefty activists to the state Chamber of Commerce.

I keep thinking about the Roman dictator, Caligula. He lasted only four years before he was assassinated. This story is in dispute, but some historians say that came soon after he appointed his horse to the Roman Senate.

His arrogance hastened his downfall. Perhaps the bosses of the Democratic Party in New Jersey should give that history a fresh read.

NJ.com, March 24, 2024

Recent Posts

NJSPL Report: Analyzing the Use and Equity of ARPA Funds

Report Release: Analyzing the Use and Equity of ARPA Funds in NJ Local Governments and Beyond New Jersey State Policy Lab The American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF) represent a historic $350 billion investment to...

Dr. Grafova Presented Posters from the VSR Research

Dr. Irina Grafova recently returned from the AcademyHealth Research Meeting in Minneapolis, where she had the opportunity to present two posters from the Virtual Schwartz Rounds emotional support program for nurses, run by the New Jersey Nursing Emotional Well-being...

Heldrich Report: Analysis of NJ Life Sciences, Tech Sectors

The Heldrich Center, in conjunction with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), is pleased to share a new workforce analysis of the life sciences and technology sectors in New Jersey, with a particular emphasis on the sectors’ intersection with...

Restrepo-Mieth Researches Tree Inventories in Galápagos, Ecuador

Who wants a tree inventory and why? The politics of inventorying urban forestry in Galápagos, Ecuador Abstract Trees make significant contributions to the urban experience by providing ecosystem services and aesthetic value. Considering these contributions, cities are...

NJSPL: Georeferencing Historical Maps for Geospatial Analysis

New Jersey State Policy Lab, Jonathan DeLura Our project to create a dataset of historical water bodies in New Jersey began by finding maps of historical water bodies. Two atlases were used to locate historical water bodies in New Jersey. The first was Atlas of the...