Guest Contributor: RINO-Spotting at the NJ GOP Statewide Leadership Summit

"Trust Vote by Mail, Loser!"

Back in 2020, when I was naive, I actually believed donating to the RNC’s election integrity efforts would accomplish something. You see, I had never donated to a politician before President Trump came along. Why would I? One “middle-class” citizen never has the sway that powerful corporations and the voting bloc of special interest groups do. President Trump reignited the hope average people could impact the trajectory of our Nation so I donated to all types of organizations I thought may actually be trying to help solve the mystery of why the counting stopped on November 4, 2020 or how votes got switched to Biden through numerous “glitches”. Disenfranchised voters everywhere await the deep dive vindicating us, proving widespread cheating occurred. I won’t hold my breath.

Since making these ill-fated donations, I get TONS of mail every day from the RNC, Republican politicians and PACs asking me for money. They have succeeded separating me from my hard-earned cash exactly ZERO times since they unceremoniously turned their back on Trump and his voters. It was an invitation to the NJ GOP Leadership Summit, however, that finally got me to open my wallet once more.

The Leadership Summit typically attracts all types of political insiders - politicians, strategists, campaign volunteers and board of elections officials among them. Average citizens like me don’t part with 200 bucks to go sit through lengthy talks about data analysis and grassroots strategies. People like me, however, DO sit through 2 days of talking to see if the Republicans’ proposed actions would align with their words leading up to the June primary in NJ. Did the NJ GOP care about election integrity in NJ as they claimed? I wanted to find out the answer to this question and more as our State heads into the 2022 election season.

Key Takeaways from the NJ GOP Leadership Summit:

Voters must be convinced to trust vote by mail and early voting or we will never win an election again

I almost fell off the chair when this was the messaging from one of the election integrity sessions on day 1. Monmouth County Clerk, Christine Hanlon, seemed annoyed when I questioned how Republicans expected to win if this was their election messaging strategy. Were we really NOT going to address the gigantic elephant in the room? I shared that as an average voter, I couldn’t trust anyone that didn’t address my valid concerns after 2020. I advised that if they tell people to trust new voting tactics without explaining the GOP’s position on the legislative actions that expanded Election Day to effectively weeks, or without the Party acknowledging 2020 election fraud was probable meant they would not be trusted by a Trump supporter. And let’s face it, we comprise most of the party.

Ciattarelli lost the NJ gubernatorial race because of “jackass Republicans”

Yes, this is a real quote. Assemblywoman Piperno called you a jackass and it’s your fault Jack lost. You went out and voted on Election Day rather than turn in the mail-in ballot you never requested, therefore, you’re the problem.

While we’re at it, there was no election shenanigans in 2020 OR 2021 and despite Ciattarelli “winning” on Election Day, apparently beloved Phil Murphy captured the vast majority of post-election drop box returns and mail-in votes to come back and beat ol’ Jack a week later. Deja vu, anyone? This is the NJ GOP’s story and they’re sticking to it - complete with a standing ovation after Jack gave a speech that left me wondering where I was when they passed out the Kool-Aid.

The most important skill for politicians to have is fundraising

What? Did you think it would be leadership or assertiveness? Perhaps, something that helps elected officials represent their constituents effectively? NOPE! They better be able to pick up that phone and beg for cash. The Ed Durr narrative was to give you hope that things had changed and commoners were welcome. Spoiler alert - things haven’t changed and you aren’t.

Expanding the “big tent” means pandering to the Left for votes

The session description provides subtle clues. “As Republicans in a state that leans left, it is imperative that we implement both effective messaging and organizational strategies to broaden the appeal of the Republican Party and win over voters across a broad spectrum of geographies, interests and backgrounds.”

So much for a Party standing for something. As far as I can tell from the statements of most on the panel, the GOP believes its future in NJ consists of RINOs who think wind energy and the NJEA are good things. You should know that Party labels are a front to make you think you share beliefs with candidates. Think again and research accordingly before Election month. HA!

Wanna run for office? That’s cute. How about your local school board first?

The NJ GOP leaders want you to know you can dream big and be anything you want in life…… but not a NJ politician unless you know your role and climb that ladder from the bottom. Of course, they didn’t say it like that but how else to interpret the idea that you shouldn’t run for NJ statewide office without cutting your teeth on a smaller role in a way the Party deems acceptable?

Party leadership considers “non-partisan” roles like member of a school board a great place to recruit fresh new GOP talent they can fast-track to better positions. You can bet your bottom dollar these political noobs will be naturally skilled at the power of persuasion with a dash of “average Joe” appeal so you will be drawn to them too. The sucker likely won’t know what hit them when the Party kingmakers come calling.

If you read nothing else in this article, read this:

Answers to what ail us will not be found in the platforms of Democrats or Republicans. While we may live inside their construct now, it is up to us to do our research on every candidate they prop up.

Resist the allure of endorsements, the manipulation of campaign marketing and the sweet but hollow scripts of lifetime politicians. “Due diligence” only works if you do it. Who said escaping tyranny would be easy?