{"id":22466,"date":"2018-11-11T13:14:58","date_gmt":"2018-11-11T20:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/?p=22466"},"modified":"2018-11-11T13:19:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-11T20:19:22","slug":"southern-new-jersey-races-dont-co-opt-white-supremacist-and-sexist-slogans-for-your-campaign-this-election-cycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/?p=22466","title":{"rendered":"Southern New Jersey races: Don\u2019t co-opt white supremacist and sexist slogans for your campaign this election cycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Kim, one of us<\/p><\/div>\n

New Jersey was one of several key races in the election this year. As a South Jersey native who lives in districts that tout all spectrums of Republicans \u2013 from Trumpsters who worship the ground he walks to moderates who don\u2019t \u201calways\u201d agree with his positions, I had some advice:\u00a0 Stop co-opting his white supremacist slogans and jargon.<\/p>\n

In the 4th<\/sup>District, Representative Tom MacArthur was in a hotly contested election battle with Democratic candidate Andy Kim<\/a>; Kim, the son of South Korean immigrants and a former national security aide to President Barack Obama, had to actively prove he is part of the South Jersey club, in the face of not so covert racism that hint that he isn\u2019t \u201cpart of the club\u201d from the New Jersey Republican Party who described him as \u201cReal Fishy\u2019 – the text printed in a typeface called Chop Suey-next to a photo of dead fish on ice<\/a>.\u201d While MacArthur dismissed the ads as race-baiting, Republican super pac ads warned voters that Kim is \u201cnot one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a state that boasts immigrant cultures, promotes Liberty State Park and Ellis Island as proudly located in New Jersey (yes, it is), Kim is as much \u201cus\u201d as Hoboken native, Frank Sinatra.<\/p>\n

In NJ\u2019s 11th<\/sup>district, Republican Candidate Jay Webber fell behind his opponent, Navy Veteran and Federal prosecutor Mikie Sherrill<\/a> who hoped to win Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen\u2019s seat after his retirement this year. In desperate form, Webber attacked Sherrill as \u201cthe dark, fire-breathing radical in this race<\/a>.\u201d Webber conveniently neglected his own open support for Trump and his legislation, even as the president\u2019s tax bill is set to actively harm New Jersey residents because it curtailed their ability to deduct state and local taxes. Meanwhile, Rep. Leonard Lance fiercely defended his seat in the 11th<\/sup>district, against Democratic candidateTom Malinowski<\/a>, who raised Lance\u2019s\u2014and really, most NJ Republicans can be applied to this\u2014relationship with the Very Unpopular President.<\/p>\n

A commonality to the Southern New Jersey races that many Republican candidates need to be wary of is the massive unpopularity of the president to New Jersey voters. Co-opting Trump\u2019s sexist, homophobic, and overtly racist dogma isn\u2019t going to be your ticket to winning this year.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example. As I was determined to vote early in my district \u2014 New Jersey\u2019s 4th<\/sup>District, where Republican incumbent Chris Smith defended his seat against Democratic Candidate Josh Welles \u2014 I had the misfortune of reading my unopposed Mayoral candidate Kenneth Palmer, and two city councilman\u2019s, campaign slogan: Manchester First<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The campaign slogan harkens back to the \u201cAmerica First\u201d<\/a>\u00a0political slogan, used by isolationists in pushing anti-Semitic programs in the 20th<\/sup>century, with Trump himself adopting the phrase. Aviator Charles Lindbergh most famously promoted \u201cAmerica First\u201d policy, and David Duke, former Klan Leader, happily endorsed Trump\u2019s use of the phrase.<\/p>\n

I hope that the mayoral candidate did not take the meaning of his campaign slogan from the Trump administration; given the politics of the small township I wouldn\u2019t be surprised. I have had to cross many a stop sign with Info Wars and Hillary for Prison 2016 bumper stickers forManchester First <\/em>to be a coincidence. Given that New Jersey<\/a> ranks third\u00a0<\/em>for most anti-Semitic incidents, a slogan promoting just the kind of anti-Semitism that has taken hold of the state would be exactly what a largely Trumptown mayor meant to convey.<\/p>\n

Mr. Mayor, being unopposed does not give you the right to pander to the hate growing in the South Jersey region, even if it was not what you meant <\/em>to convey. You may have won now, but the anti-Trump sentiment is growing, even in comfortably red districts of the Garden State, and you shouldn\u2019t stay comfortable when in four years that campaign tag comes back to haunt you.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as of Sunday, November 11, 2018, New Jerseyans elected Democratic candidates Andy Kim; Mikie Sherrill; and Tom Malinowski to the United States House of Representatives<\/a>. Feeling blue? Oh yeah.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Manchester, New Jersey, sample ballot<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Photo Credit 1: Huffington Post<\/a> \/ AP) (Photo Credit 2: Author’s photo)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Jersey was one of several key races in the election this year. As a South Jersey native who lives in districts that tout all spectrums of Republicans \u2013 from Trumpsters who worship the ground he walks to moderates who don\u2019t \u201calways\u201d agree with his positions, I had some advice:\u00a0 Stop co-opting his white supremacist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6277,890,5998,2959,5996],"class_list":["post-22466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-manchester","tag-new-jersey","tag-nichole-smith","tag-racism-2","tag-white-supremacy","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22466"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22469,"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22466\/revisions\/22469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.womeninandbeyond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}