In the aftermath of what will go down in history as The Great Budget Battle of 2017, the Green Party of New Jersey believes in the importance of evaluating the political reality demonstrated over the course of this stalemate. In this time of widespread political disengagement among the general public, we must demand an end to the demoralizing pattern of elites playing political games with the people of New Jersey. History is written by the victors, and only time will tell who the real winners were after this past week. One thing is clear though: the losers were the people of New Jersey who bore the brunt of the consequences of the government shutdown. That is why the Green Party of New Jersey is committed to standing up and standing out as the voice of the people against the corrupt Trenton establishment.
“We know what the Republicans under Chris Christie have been about, but the lack of a viable principled and unified opposition from the New Jersey Democrats is an appalling failure of leadership on their part as well,” said Heather Warburton, Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey. “The social media silence on the budget issue from Phil Murphy was deafening.”
The lack of engagement from the Democrat nominee for governor was glaring, with the majority of public posts oriented toward his dealmaking trip in Israel. All the while, back home in New Jersey, state parks and local Motor Vehicle Commission offices were made inaccessible for residents.
Meanwhile, the Green Party gubernatorial candidate, Seth Kaper-Dale, has been active in demanding that the Trenton politicians put the best interests of the people first in the midst of the crisis. Likewise, Green Party legislative candidates such as Aaron Hyndman, Mico Lucide, and Troy Knight-Napper have been actively speaking truth to power in the north and south on behalf of those being hurt in this budget battle.
The state Democratic Committee, under the leadership of John Currie, has also been surprisingly silent during the budget battle. “The gusto they had in leveraging the 2016 presidential primary and DNC delegation against the Bernie Sanders supporters seems to have been replaced by inaction, ineptitude, and complacency,” said Warburton. “With the Democratic Chair and state committee members safe and snug in the pocket of Phil Murphy, it seems they’ve lost any inclination to fight for anything anymore,” she added.
The Green Party of New Jersey is here to let the people of our state know that no matter how out of touch the Republicans and Democrats of the Trenton political machine are, the Green Party will always be proud to stand for the people, and not the interests of the corporations that fund career politicians. This year, the Green Party of New Jersey is running serious electoral campaigns at every level from Governor to School Board, demonstrating our resolve to take the torch from the two-party duopoly and represent, in word and action, the people’s voice in Trenton.