Deconstructing Jerry deconstructing the Fiesta

Asm Green's political signs didn't fare well in foot traffic's path.

Carly Simon never did a concert in Plainfield to my knowledge, but after reading Jerry Green's blog post on the Central American Independence Day Fiesta this past weekend (see here), maybe she should have.

Assemblyman Green is in his finest campaign fettle here, but perhaps he should have written the piece and put it in a drawer for a day or two before publishing it.

Why?

First, Jerry takes credit for long and deep involvement in the Fiesta. Which may come as a surprise to those who followed the progress of the request and the Council's approval of same, where the Assemblyman -- and his name -- were far from even mentioned.

Secondly, about that voter registration and volunteer solicitation table. I saw it on Sunday before I went to the Corzine event. Now, wouldn't you think with all the advance participation and planning Assemblyman Green touts the table would have been there SATURDAY also? Twasn't. Also, Jerry doesn't mention the jerry-rigged tent signs made out of his and Sharon's re-election signs stuck together along the top with duct tape and strewn in the walkway, creating a hazard for attendees to stumble over. These also were not present on Saturday. (When I came back after the Corzine event, the tent signs were gone, with effects you can see at the top of the page.)

Thirdly, Jerry, who lives in the 2nd Ward, can never resist an opportunity to use coded language as a put-down. In his blog he says --

Sorry to say, I was hoping the Governor could have stopped by to show his appreciation, since he was in Plainfield, however he had a prior commitment to a group of supporters in the 2nd ward.

The 'prior commitment' was to Corzine's only pre-announced campaign visit to Plainfield, at which Jerry himself was present.

Now, ask yourself this: If Jerry was so involved in the Fiesta's planning, and also in the plans for the Corzine event (after all, he mailed invitations to it to the Dem City Committee members well in advance), and in touch with Corzine's campaign team, how come he didn't ensure either that the events did not conflict or that Corzine made sure to drop by the Fiesta?

Maybe, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein's famous line about Oakland, there is 'no advance advance' there.

As for Jerry's comment about Christian Estevez, who has been granted a leave by the AFL-CIO to work on the statewide Democratic election effort (but NOT in Plainfield, per Jerry's direct intervention), why wouldn't Democrats pull together, just as they did in Bob Menendez' Senate race? (Jerry doesn't mention the truly nasty attacks he made on Chris and his wife Rosa during the primary campaign, for which he should make a public apology.)

Lastly, if Jerry had put all this effort into the Fiesta IN ADVANCE, I am mystified that he did not see to it that the Census 2010 crew was out with a table.

After all, Plainfield -- and Jerry -- stands to benefit from an accurate Census count next spring, and Hispanics are among the most overlooked, least-well-counted portion of the population.

Oh yes, Carly Simon?

Reading Jerry's post, I couldn't get her first big hit -- 'You're so vain' -- out of my mind,

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte

And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you, don't you?

You had me several years ago
When I was still quite naive.
Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me.

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you, don't you?

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you, don't you?

Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga
And your horse, Naturally, won.
Then you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun.
Well, you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not you're with some underworld spy
Or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you, don't you?

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
(Fades out...)

---

• Jerry Green's Page: "Central American Independence Day Fiesta"

-- Dan Damon

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