From VoteSmart's Jerry Green page.
And now for a lighter touch.
Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Plainfield) popped up in my mailbox with a notice that reads 'We won't take help from CORPORATIONS. But we will from you. Please help!'
Now, that's enough to make anyone sit up and take notice.
I have a Google alert set to forward me stories from the Internet that contain the words 'Plainfield' and 'New Jersey' (there are LOTS of other Plainfields, you should know), and periodically I get an eyepopper like this one.
Project VoteSmart is the brainchild of Richard Kimball, who tells how it began with his 1986 campaign for Senate (he was running for the seat being vacated by Barry Goldwater) --
I was making my closing remarks in a televised debate... My consultants, fearing that I was falling behind in the polls, had me practice a vicious attack against my opponent--a typical political strategy for the candidate in trouble. However, when the time came, I could not do it, and instead I turned to the camera and said these words:Project VoteSmart lists every federal and state elected official on its website, with brief autobiographical details and separate pages covering the individual's campaign finances, voting record, ratings by various interest groups and -- in what VoteSmart refers to as the 'Political Courage Test' -- issue positions.UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DO TO YOU; WE SPEND ALL OF OUR TIME RAISING MONEY, OFTEN FROM STRANGERS WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW. THEN WE SPEND IT IN THREE SPECIFIC WAYS:It wasn't a very effective argument for getting votes, nor did it make my campaign staff very happy. But a week later it would lead to the beginnings of Project Vote Smart. I was sitting alone with Barry Goldwater (he was retiring from the Senate seat I was running for) in his office and discussing the debate. As an old friend of my father's, I expected him to chastise my liberal positions, but no, his interest was in my closing argument. The Senator was saddened and angrily pointed out that the nature of campaigns had changed and a candidate could no longer spend their time and energy on matters of public concern.
AND WHICH EVER ONE OF US DOES THAT BEST WILL WIN!
- FIRST WE MEASURE YOU, WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO PURCHASE IN THE POLITICAL MARKET PLACE -- JUST LIKE CAMPBELL'S SOUP OR KELLOGG'S CEREAL.
- NEXT WE HIRE SOME CONSULTANTS WHO KNOW HOW TO TAILOR OUR IMAGE TO FIT WHAT WILL SELL.
- LASTLY, WE BOMBARD YOU WITH THE MEANINGLESS, ISSUELESS, EMOTIONAL NONSENSE THAT IS ALWAYS THE RESULT.
This is very handy.
You can check out Jerry's voting record (see here), which appears to be pretty thorough, and save miles of pointing-and-clicking on the Legislature's website. However, if you are interested in videos of Jerry in action (as in when he voted to dismantle the Abbott School funding and implied he had the support of the Plainfield Board of Ed), you will still have to go to the Legislature's web pages.
The link on the finances page simply takes you to New Jersey's ELEC page, which is neither transparent nor user-friendly and is utterly enslaved by Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
The 'Interest Group Ratings' page (see here) is interesting. For instance, the NRA gives him an 'F", while on abortion rights he scores 100%. The Federation of Independent Businesses finds him all over the map, from a low of 14% in 2002-03 to a high of 75% in 2000-2001. However, recent ratings are lacking -- is it because Jerry has fallen off the radar of interest groups? Or does the site need refreshing? (I rather doubt that as his current competition in the race for District 22 is shown as Martin Marks and 'Bo' Vastine, who in fact are running against Jerry and Linda Stender in November.)
Lastly, you will want to check the 'Political Courage Test' (Issue Positions) page (see here).
You may find the contents interesting.
Or not.
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