New Jerseyans aren’t always civil, but it’s still possible for a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican to have a rational and pleasant conversation about politics in the state. Dan Bryan is a former senior advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy and is now the owner of his own public affairs firm, and Alex Wilkes is an attorney and former executive director of America Rising PAC who advises Republican candidates in New Jersey and across the nation, including the New Jersey GOP. Dan and Alex are both experienced strategists who are currently in the room where high-level decisions are made. They will get together weekly with New Jersey Globe editor David Wildstein to discuss politics and issues.
Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running mate this week. Did she get it right?
Alex Wilkes: As we often joke on our side of the aisle, the easiest job in America has to be that of a Democratic communications professional. We never expect the press to be fair, but the Pravda levels of protection and fawning are particularly gag-worthy this time. No interest in Joe Biden’s senility (except when it became politically inconvenient). No interest in Kamala’s record and undemocratic means of seizing power. No interest in Walz doing more to protect the CCP than his own citizens from rioters burning their cities down. We’ve heard lots about ice cream, coconuts, and coaching, as reporters stealth edit 3 year old stories in real time to erase mentions of Kamala Harris as “border czar.”
Why is this relevant? The conventional wisdom goes that the VP pick doesn’t really help, but it can hurt. It only hurts, however, to the extent that people know about some of those things that could cause someone to take a second look at this entire con job.
Tim Walz’s stolen valor is showing signs of possibly having the ability to turn heads (as it should). Now, it’s not 2006 when Swift Boat Veterans for Truth hit especially hard, and none of this matters for the race if the media sanitize it or ignore it. If they feel pressure to cover it beyond the campaign’s vague, Friday night news dump apology, the risk for the campaign is that more people start to scrutinize the ticket as a whole. If they look hard enough, it’s a house of horrors, way outside the mainstream thinking of voters in swing states.
But that’s a lot of “ifs,” and “ifs” can’t vote in an election 3 months out. The Trump campaign needs to stay laser focused on defining the Harris-Walz ticket through paid media since no one is going to go out of their way to do it for them.
Dan Bryan: Governor Walz could not be a better fit for Vice President Harris in this cycle.
Much like Governor Murphy, Governor Walz implemented a progressive policy agenda in his state centered on the middle class. And the results are in, for both New Jersey and Minnesota – not only are those policies effective in protecting and growing the middle class, they ignite the economy from the bottom-up and the middle-out. What Governor Walz has accomplished in Minnesota is a testament to his leadership and his values.
Throw in his time as a high school football coach, as a teacher, and 24 years in the military, and his resume is beyond a political consultant’s wildest dreams.
I remain a big fan of Governor Shapiro, who also would have been a stellar pick. I have no doubt that he has a serious future in Democratic politics.
Shiva Ayyadurai, who was born in India and grew up in Livingston, was tossed from the New Jersey presidential ballot this week because he is not a natural-born American, as required by the U.S. Constitution. Is it time to begin a conversation about whether legal, naturalized Americans should be able to run for president — or is this something the founding fathers decided that should never be changed?
Dan: It will never be changed. And I don’t think you’d ever see a real effort to change it, nor do I think it would be a productive use of political capital.
I know American immigrants, citizens and otherwise, that have grown to love this country as deeply and passionately as those of us lucky enough to be born here. America was built on the backs of immigrants for hundreds of years, and we’re lucky to live in a country whose very identity is defined by diversity.
Alex: No, but I do agree with Dan: immigrants are among some of the most knowledgeable, civic, and grateful people you will ever know. They have a profound appreciation for America as the most exceptional and generous country to ever exist. I’m proud that they can be involved in other parts of our political system as some of the greatest champions for our treasured liberties and freedoms!
Bob Menendez will leave the U.S. Senate on August 20, but he has yet to say whether he plans to continue his independent candidacy. Is there any chance he stays in? If not, what is he waiting for?
Alex: It’s possible that he’s waiting for his metaphorical gold bar in the form of a pardon or some other favor. You can’t say he’s not capable of demanding it or that in this bonkers political environment it’s all that unreasonable for him to expect one. Who knows if Joe Biden will make it to November? And for an elderly man who is sentimental to a fault (see: inappropriate eulogies for segregationists and ex-Klan members), do we really think he’s incapable of extending some old senatorial courtesy to his pal Bob? Never say never these days!
Dan: I can’t imagine him staying on the ballot, so I imagine he’ll rescind his candidacy at some point in the near future (maybe coinciding with his resignation on August 20?).
Ultimately, I’m not sure it matters. Andy Kim is on track to win New Jersey by a typical mid-teens spread. Even if Senator Menendez stays on the ballot and takes 5-7 points away directly from Andy Kim, he still wins by close to ten points. It will be a talking point if he stays on, but nothing more. This will not be a competitive general election for New Jersey’s Senate seat.
It’s been 50 years since Richard Nixon resigned the presidency (I can’t say I’m not just a little envious that it was before your time, but I watched it on television). As we look at the state of politics in America today, what are the important lessons learned of Watergate? Could this happen again?
Dan: Could it happen today? Sure, but I’m not sure it would dominate the news cycle for months at a time the way it did 50 years ago. Today’s news cycle moves so fast, The assassination attempt against former President Trump felt like a massive moment in history when it happened, and now one month later it feels like it happened years ago.
It’s funny – Watergate seems so quaint now compared to the blatant corruption of the Trump administration. Nixon never tried to overturn an election, coerce a foreign leader to hurt his political opponents, or profit off of the White House. Wiretapping a DNC office seems almost cute in comparison!
AW: Where to begin with the brilliant, deeply complex, inimitable Richard Milhous Nixon?
I’ll start with somewhere unexpected: an intriguing subplot on the hit series Mad Men. Nixon’s impact on our understanding of geopolitical affairs and post-war American politics was so profound that the creators stepped out of the boozy, smoke-filled world of advertising to give us a peek into how the characters felt about the 37th President. In 1960, the fictional Don Draper is surprisingly unimpressed with the young, handsome, slick, womanizing Kennedy and his sophisticated wife. All of those things may have also been true of Draper, yet in the self-made Nixon, he “sees [him]self.”
Nixon didn’t have the advantages of some of his contemporary bookends, like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, but what he lacked in pedigree and presentation, he made up for as a workhorse behind big ideas and winning coalitions. As someone who was once steeped in political activism, I have framed a “Young Voters for the President” pamphlet from the 1972 campaign that unfolds into a poster detailing the achievements of the Administration. Why? He “dared” to reach out even amid the countercultural struggles that would define the era. Maybe it’s not pamphlets today, but we could use more outreach and hard work in places where it’s not popular to be.
Flawed, to be sure, but a political genius all the same. I hope the ghost of the Sage of Saddle River has a strong one poured out at the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn tonight.