Get The Hell Out From Behind Your Keyboards!

Since the primary ended I see many Republicans complaining on social media. On one county party Facebook page I saw a guy wrote in response to an event the local GOP had, “Can I go to the poll…to vote in November. What are you doing about it. Don’t all answer at once.”

Of course, no one ever saw the commenter at a party event, not phone banks, not door knocking, nothing – not even any of the organization’s free events. Yet this person had the nerve to ask what the organization is doing about it.

If that isn’t bad enough there are still people complaining and whining and crying about the party bosses and the results of the GOP Senate primary. Many of these people are rarely, if ever, seen at party events or volunteering for even their municipal candidates. But they have plenty to complain about.

Let’s first address the “party bosses” crap. If you don’t like the way your county party is being run then get up off your ass and do something about it. The first step is to become a committee person. Get the signatures, get on the ballot and win the election for committee person during the primary. You better recruit others who think like you to do the same. It is the committee people who elect the county chairs. Committee people are the frontlines in protecting our representative form of government. Committee people are representatives of their respective political parties.

Until such a time comes as you get your crap together and become a committee person while getting others elected with you – work with what you have. Volunteer and help get Republican voters to vote! I get it, you wanted a different Senate candidate. It didn’t happen. Get over it. I wasn’t a Hirsh Singh supporter but if he won I would be supporting him now. Why? Because all the candidates in the GOP primary are better than Cory Booker. Stop being butt hurt and get to work!

If that’s not good enough then consider this: In 2018 Bob and I both preferred former Assemblyman Sam Fiocchi in the Republican CD2 primary, I even worked for Fiocchi. Did Bob and I whine about losing the primary? No! We supported the winner of that primary, Seth Grossman. Grossman was the guest on our first radio show and many other shows during the general election campaign. We did the right thing!

Now, let’s address moronic questions like, “Can I go to the poll…to vote in November. What are you doing about it. Don’t all answer at once.”

Yes, you can go to the poll in November, but you have to vote by provisional ballot. Republicans didn’t make it that way, Governor Phil Murphy did. Maybe if certain Republicans weren’t so busy not voting for Kim Guadagno things would be different today.

What is being done about it is the state party and the national party have joined the re-election campaign of President Donald Trump in suing to top Governor Phil Murphy from sending over 6 million vote-by-mail ballots out for the general election.

I don’t know if they will win their lawsuit, but if we are smart, as a party, we will work under the assumption the suit will not be won. We will get to work figuring out how to get our voters to vote. It doesn’t matter how they vote, so long as they vote.

So rather than asking stupid questions, why don’t you get up from behind your keyboard and do something?

We have three congressional districts in South Jersey. I guarantee every one of our Republican candidates, Claire Gustafson (CD1). Congressman Jeff Van Drew (CD2) and David Richter (CD3) will be running phone banks and likely literature drops too.

Get out from behind your keyboards and volunteer at their phone banks.

The county parties will be running phone banks. Join them.

Every county has freeholder candidates. Volunteer to help your freeholder candidates. If your town has a race volunteer to help your municipal candidates.

Trust me, sitting behind your keyboards and posting things is not going to help win this election for anyone. Stupid questions and accusations that the Republican party, or Republican candidates, aren’t doing anything helps no one.

Never Trumper Republicans who don’t vote hurt the entire GOP column. Whining about the Senate primary hurts the entire column. Not voting for a candidate because you disagree on a single issue hurts the entire column.

This election is too important to let your hurt feelings ruin the entire ticket. The thing to remember is any candidate in the Republican column is better than every candidate in the Democratic column. Vote the column, by mail, dropping your ballot in a box or by provisional ballot, but vote the column.

As for me, I’ll find the time to walk my neighborhood because that’s what committee people are supposed to do. I’ll help my mayoral candidate. I’ll do some phone banking even though I hate it.

All I ask is that you get up off your ass and do something. Maybe I’ll see you at a phone bank.

Your Candidate Might Not Win, But…

It’s Primary Election Eve! Thank you to every candidate who put their name on the ballot, even those we criticized.

It’s not always easy putting your name out there. You know you’re going to be attacked. Internet trolls make up lies about you. Some people even believe those lies. They repeat those lies over and over until other people believe those lies to be true. Sometimes we try to set the record straight.

It all comes with the territory.

Volunteers line up behind a candidate. Some become emotionally attached to the campaign they aggressively represent on social media (some are honest, others simply repeat the lies).

Folks argue about what candidate is best. Sometimes it gets personal.

This year is certainly different than past years. A couple of races got really ugly.

Because this election is mostly a mail-in election it could take at least a week – maybe more – to declare a winner.

After the votes are all counted your candidate might not win, but remember you chose to get involved in partisan politics. Candidates especially, please remember you chose to get involved in partisan politics. No one forced you to compete in a primary election.

Primary elections are family fights. As with any family fight, we all kiss and make up after the fight for the greater good.

In other words – if you are a candidate and you lose, it is your duty to support the candidate that just beat you – it’s the price you pay for picking a team to play on.

If you are the supporter of a candidate and your candidate loses the same rule applies.

And, yes, here at the Bob & Steve Show we practice what I am preaching in this post.

In 2018’s CD2 primary I was with former Cumberland County Freeholder and former 1st Legislative District Assemblyman Sam Fiocchi. Bob was with Fiocchi. Seth Grossman won the primary, Bob and I got behind him. Fiocchi got behind Grossman. Bob and I launched the radio show about a month after that primary and Grossman was our first ever guest on the show.

The Republican candidate running in CD1, Claire Gustafson, competed in the primary in that district in 2014. The Republican organization’s in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester all lined up behind Garry Cobb. Gustafson didn’t complain the system was rigged, she ran her race. She didn’t win. She got behind Cobb and even went to one of his fundraiser to contribute financially to his campaign. She did what a partisan should do and supported the team!

As recently as this year Bob and I did the right thing. In CD2 when there was a crowded field we got behind candidates. Bob was behind Brian Fitzherbert. I favored David Richter. Then Congressman Jeff Van Drew became a Republican and earned President Donald Trump’s endorsement. The President is the head of the party and, as partisans, we did as partisans are supposed to do, followed the president’s lead and threw our support to Van Drew.

Considering two guys as opinionated as Bob and I have shown that we can get behind someone we did not support in a primary – you can do it too.

I don’t want to hear any garbage like “I could never vote for someone who believe such and such.” Get behind the winner of the primary because you chose to take part in partisan politics and that’s what partisans do.

Never forget, you chose to play on the Republican team. It was your choice. If you don’t like it then you shouldn’t have decided to engage in partisan politics. Go change your registration to unaffiliated!

Besides, ANY Republican is better than any of the Democrats who will be on November’s ballot.

ICYMI: Kate Gibbs Smacks David Richter Over The Head With Hirsh Singh

Kate Gibbs

Late yesterday, as I was watching people argue on my Facebook page over former beauty pageant winner and Republican US Senate candidate Hirsh Singh’s “vote early and if you change your mind, vote again” strategy I received a press release from Republican candidate in CD3 Kate Gibbs’ campaign.

I didn’t post the Gibbs release because, like I said, it was late and I didn’t get around to reading it until this morning. If you haven’t seen the release on InsiderNJ or New Jersey Globe’s take on it, the text of the release follows:

Republican Kate Gibbs’ campaign released the following statement today in response to U.S. Senate candidate Hirsh Singh’s recent mailer advocating for voter fraud:

“Hirsh Singh’s recent mailer openly advocating for voter fraud is one of the more outrageous and ridiculous things I’ve ever seen a candidate put in a piece of literature — and that’s saying something” stated Gibbs’ Campaign Manager Angelo Lamberto. “Given that David Richter has so closely tied himself to Singh and are running as a united ticket in Burlington and Ocean County, I am concerned about the potential impact this misinformation campaign may have on voters already confused by this chaotic election cycle. David Richter has an obligation to denounce Singh and distance himself from Singh’s campaign publicly over this mess. David should refuse to participate in any GOP club meetings or events, including the upcoming Berkeley Township Republican Club Meeting, unless Singh is disinvited.”

I’ve made it no secret that I have been doing my best to stay out of the steel cage match that is the Republican primary in CD3 because I have friends on both sides of this one.

Unfortunately, for me, I’m going to piss off some of my friends because Gibbs is right to call on David Richter to denounce Singh. Richter chose to bracket with Singh in the Burlington County portion of CD3. Richter could have just as easily bracketed with Tricia Flanagan, Natalie Rivera or that other guy nobody ever heard of who suddenly appeared on filing day.

Because Richter chose to bracket with Singh it is his responsibility to denounce him for advocating voter fraud.

To put Richter’s choice of bracketing with Singh in perspective: Even the condom-hating Bob Patterson in CD2 was smart enough not to bracket with Singh.

Now it’s time for David Richter to take his “money shot” and denounce Singh.