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constituents blast Lance for supporting budget hostage deal

[Update #2 – 8/12/11 – Is Lance all in with the Tea Party? Read abut 8/10/11 Morris County event

Update #1: 8/3/11 – The Hunterdon County Democrat is soliciting reader comments – suggest you hit this link and comment. Here’s the comment I sent over:

Unfortunately, I am unable to comment on your site. Feel free to use anything from my blog post or email and attribute it to me.

FYI, during the meeting, one constituent said she called Lance to oppose his vote for the radical Ryan budget plan. In a 20 minute conversation, she said Lance told her he opposed it but voted for it because he knew it would not pass the Senate. Hearing this, some others said Lance was simply currying favor with Speaker Boehner – this is not the strong principled man I know and like.

I am very concerned that Lance is joining – or silently not opposing –  a right wing republcan attack on the environment – please see this NY Times story for a host of bills they just passed or are pushing in House.  Bill Wolfe – end update] 

I just got back from a meeting of about 25 deeply unhappy constituents of Congressman Leonard Lance (R) NJ-7. The protest cum meeting was held at Lance’s Flemington District office. 

The event, part of a nation-wide initiative sponsored by Moveon.org, was billed as a protest:

Republicans are about to push our nation off an economic cliff. Over the next 48 hours we need to mobilize as many of our neighbors, family, and friends as possible to demand the Republicans stop playing dangerous political games and do what’s right for America.

At noon on Tuesday—whether there’s a deal in place or if we’re about to default on our nation’s bills—we’re protesting at hundreds of GOP offices around the country. We’ll show our outrage that they’ve held our whole economy hostage to force cuts to vital programs and to protect tax breaks for corporations and millionaires.

We’ll gather in front of our Republican senators’ and representatives’ offices to speak out against their attack on our economy.

I guess Lance’s office was smart enough to avoid the bad protest sign visuals and invite the group inside for a cordial, respectful meeting.

It was a diverse group (age, gender, issues of concern),who were unified in their disgust with the TeaParty driven Republican hostage taking tactics (and Democratic dives:”I know I’ve said this before, but they [Democrats] are not a progressive political party, not even secretly, deep inside. They just play one on television.”) , attacks on government, and radical efforts to dismantle government and destroy the middle class.

All who spoke strongly criticized Lance for not standing up against that.

Several folks said they were republicans and/or Lance supporters. They too were shocked by how Lance had reversed his principled stances as a moderate, good government, intelligent republican while serving in the NJ legislature.

At the outset of the meeting, Lance’s aid distributed a press statement. Recognizing that a Right wing vote is out of step with his longstanding NJ record, Lance attempted to link his vote with his NJ reputation as a fiscal conservative:

I intend to vote for the bipartisan, bicameral compromise agreement that avoids default, adds certainty to our economy, and puts our Nation on a sustainable path towards fiscal responsibility.

… This support is consistent with my long-standing efforts to bring fiscal sanity to New Jersey…

But it didn’t wash. No way.

The meeting then was opened so each person could talk personally about why they were there.

Whether defending social security and safety net programs, gay rights, public health, education, urban revitalization, racial justice, jobs, tax fairnesss/shared sacrifice, and protecting the environment – or criticizing the corporate dominance of our politics – participants uniformly were civil, respectful, passionate, informed, and articulate in voicing their concerns.

One woman, a middle aged European immigrant, recalled that when she came to the US, the American dream of hard work and a middle classs lifestyle deeply attracted her. She contrasted that with the rigid class system of her European home. But now, she lamented that the dream is being destroyed and replaced by an ugly pattern of attacks on immigrants and the middle class. Sadly, American is becoming a polarized nation of rich and poor, she said. 

In response, Lance’s aid attempted to defend him from the withering criticisms and rebut some of the statements made in opposition to Lance’s recent actions. But he got criticized for that – folks wanted him to listen to them, not mouth Lance’s spin.

People wanted to know why they could not speak directly with Lance via conference call, and questioned why their concerns were not being listened to and documented.

I spoke twice briefly.

In addition to noting the contrast betwee Lance’s DC Congressional actions and his NJ record and reputation in the NJ legislature, I noted that Lance had been a strong supporter of environmental issues. (see: The curious transformation of Leonard Lance). 

I warned his aide that that the 7th district was far more moderate than Washington TeaParty politics, and thus re-election was not a lock for him. I backed that up by illustration of how Holt had knocked out an incumbent in the Republican leaning adjacent 12th District.