[The following was submitted by Howard Kleinhendler in response to a comment by Bill Hobday] Bill: Saw your comment on my article in the Lakewood Scoop yesterday. First, congratulations for actually putting your name next to your comment. It’s easy for the cowards to spew negative comments anonymously.
I am as moderate a Democrat as you will find. I believe in fiscal responsibility; spending what you earn and living within your means. That’s how I have lived my life, and what I teach to my five kids. I support the Defense of Marriage Act and other socially conservative causes with regard to right to life. However, since 2008, we have experienced the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. You can’t simply cut your way out of that mess while at the same time reduce revenues by cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans (whose rates are at their lowest in the past 80- years). The math does not work. As any non-partisan, reputable economist will tell you, in a time of declining revenues, record unemployment and fixed obligations (like two wars overseas, and ballooning Medicare and social security budgets with longer-living Americans), you need government initiatives to spur economic development. That’s the way it’s been done in every down cycle since WWII. This is not Democratic dogma. This is classic economic policy that has been imposed by Presidents of both parties. Sure a $14 trillion deficit sounds terrible, but how did we get there. Not because of Obama. And, the only way out is through increased GDP, intelligent trade policies that don’t incentivize the Fortune 100 to go overseas to avoid US taxation, eliminating billions in tax credits to oil companies who are already earning record profits, and through a sensible foreign policy that does not embroil us in foreign wars that cost $1 billion a day.
Enter the TEA Party. What started as a legitimate grass-roots movement to hold government accountable for waste and inefficiencies, has lost its way, and is willing to destroy the country to prove a point. You simply cannot drastically cut deficits and leave the elderly and the poor out to dry. As some of the commentary to the article reported, the debt ceiling has been raised by every modern sitting president, regardless of party; yet, the Republicans have decided that the good faith and credit of the United States is expendable. This, to me, is not shrewd politics; it’s not fiscal conservatism; it’s nothing short of insanity. You can’t assume the majority in the House and pursue the single agenda of installing a Republican President. What happens to the rest of us. What happens to the seniors who can’t afford basic medical care and instead end up, because of neglect, with far-worse conditions which are more expensive to treat. What happens when the poor are denied Medicaid and Jersey Care and flood to our already over-crowded emergency rooms. It produces inefficiency and greater cost; the exact opposite of what I thought the TEA Party stood for.
With regard to Governor Christie, I have to be blunt. I don’t like him. While he may have inherited a bad economy, to which he refers to as the aftermath of a drunken beer party, he has humiliated our teachers, police and fireman gratuitously, not for the sake of a better New Jersey, but for his self-promotion to national politics. The man loses a $400 million education grant and blames Schundler. Then he goes on vacation during the worst snowstorm in recent memory. Then he cuts programs for our school kids and our elderly and heads off to Iowa. Who are we kidding. What other governor in memory had 500 You Tube videos of himself after a year in office. And, as I said in my article, what are his results so far. Unemployment above the national average, deteriorated schools, humiliated and unmotivated teachers and police, lowered credit rating which means higher borrowing costs, 20% vacancies in commercial office space. How long are we going to bury our heads in the sand. Sure, Corzine was a drunken liberal, but Christie has not been productive economically, and has been extremely divisive to the detriment of any meaningful progress.
To conclude, let me be perfectly clear; I say it like it is. I am not a career politician. I have a day job, and, it’s in New York, far from Jersey politics and cronyism. I have stepped forward, as a 24 year-year Lakewood resident, to help improve the lives of my fellow citizens. I will not tow anybody’s party line. My creed is common sense, practicality and a deeply held belief that man’s role in life is to help others. As the Bible teaches, “Love thy Neighbor, as Thy Would Love Thyself.” If this means I never sit in elected office, so be it.
Regards,
Howard Kleinhendler
You support obama on Israel I can’t support you
Shtieg Howard Shtieg
You got my vote next election.
Herschel and howard 2012.
when obama was a senator he actually voted against raising the debt ceiling.
you don’t like Christie becuse he’s an R. Its that simple. Get real, the guy cut taxes. End of dtory.
please post my previous comment. there was nothing offensive about it.
Christie left before the snowstorm. I know you don’t like him. Well, I don’t like Obama. He threw Israel under the bus. He’s run roughshod over the Constitution. He took his wife out to dinner and a show at our expense. He dithers and dawdles and can’t even say “good morning, Michelle” without a teleprompter. He dissed the Supreme Court during the State Of The Union address on national television. His wife and kids took an extremely unnecessary luxury trip to Europe at our expense and at a time when people were losing their jobs left and right. When the going gets tough, he goes golfing. He’s bombing Libya without Congressional approval, but letting Iran build a nuclear arsenal with impunity. He supported the release of the Locherbie bomber (because he’s Muslim?) on humanitarian grounds, but he won’t release Yehonasan ben Malka (because he’s a Jew?) on those same grounds. He sat in a church and heard his pastor spew anti-American and anti-Israel vitriole for twenty years before he reluctantly parted from him. He’s the first Commander-In-Chief not to attend the Army-Navy game in over a century. He swears he’s a Christian and not a Muslim, yet he’s never once attended Xmas services. He signed the guest book at Westminster Abbey “May 24, 2008”. Doesn’t he know what year it is? And, to top it all off, he perpetrated the most flagrant insult to America and all she stands for in the history of this country when he practically prostrated himself before the King of Saudi Arabia. This egregious act is proof that Barack Hussein Obama is NOT a real American (real Americans bow only to G-d) and is, therefore, not fit to be president of this great country.
1 question Mr. Kleinhandler,
Would you have voted for ObamaCare if you were in Congress? (not a better bill like it, but the exact bill that was voted on). Answer that, and we will know where you stand.
Howie:
you are a breath of fresh air. The emperor (Christie) has no clothes, but few people have the courage to say so. His bluster, which is so attractive to many in this town and across the country, hides the fact that he has delivered little meaningful change, rather a simple cost-shifting strategy laying off the burdens of the state on the counties and municipalities. Show me some growth and I will change my mind, Governor. While I applaud your courage, I find your follow through lacking.
Keep up the good fight, Howie. The reasonable and clear thinking people stand with you.
Thank you momma at #8
Kleinhendler said on TLS that he would have supported ObamaCare.
Why should we even want to get ourselves into such a situation? His liberal policies are what got us into this mess, and the liberal policies will contionue to bankrupt our beloved country.
Remember, the Nazi party spewed the same policies as the Democratic party today. The only thing different between the Democratic party of yesteryear and the Nazi party, was that the Nazis hated Jews, and the Democratic party didn’t. And Obama has changed that too. (anti-Israel is the new anti-Jew)
There is a reason why historically the worst dictators and anti-semites were socialists and communists and leftists. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Hugo Chavez, Castro, Mao. Even in Israel, the anti-religious are all leftists.
Leftists are haters. They hate those who are happy, those who are successful, those that have stable families. If a leftist sees someone who is successful and worked hard and made money, the leftist calls him a “greedy thief, getting rich on the back of the poor”, when nothing can be further from the truth.
Conservatives, on the other hand, want to enable people who work hard and are responsible, to be successful and enjoy the fruit of their labor. Conservatives want everyone to have a chance at the American dream, we want every poor person to be able to get off their government handouts and be able to work and get ahead in life, without the shacles of high taxes and govt regulation.
One more thing:
There is no such thing as a moderate Democrat. A liberal is a liberal. The liberal policies over the past 80 years have slowly destroyed the great country that was America, the greatest country to ever exist on the face of this planet.
Americans were sleeping for the past 80 years as liberals slowly and secretly brought socialism to America. But now Americans have awakened and created the Tea Party to stop the liberals from absolutely bankrupting us. We see through all the rhetoric of the liberals, because Obama has been so open and obvious in his desire to destroy this great country.
Remember, there is no such thing as a moderate Democrat.
In reply to Howard Kleinhendler.
Howard,
Obviously we will not agree on some issues. That does not mean that I believe that you you would not be a good Assemblyman, but you need to temper your words.
If you concentrate your efforts on the 30th Legislative District with an emphasis on improving Lakewood Township, you may do well.
Like him or hate him, Chris Christie is the Governor that commands widespread support. Tell the people what you would do, and care less what others would do.
Be your own man, but be sensitive to the point that the majority of Ocean County residents do not support your beliefs.
I wish you luck, because I believe that you are a good and decent man that has said things that he could have avoided saying. If you stay away from national politics, you will do better. If you support the National Democratic Party’s position, you will loose.
Try to moderate your thinking and your beliefs by laying out your plan or remedy for the 30th Legislative District.
I will vote for the generic Republican against Mr. Kleinhendler.
#8 well said!
There is no such thing as a moderate Democrat.
Beware.
I left out a few things: Leading from behind (say what?); forcing citizens to buy health insurance; associating with, and not prosecuting, radical groups like The New Black Panthers; Acorn; and, suing the State of Arizona over its anti-immigration legislation in federal court when the Constitution clearly states that the Federal Gov’t can only sue a state in the Supreme Court. (The pastor, whom Obama chose, who said, “…where white is not right” when he spoke at the innauguration didn’t exactly get things off to a good start.)
On to NJ, the teachers union wants more money and benefits. They bully their way to having their demands met by threatening to boycott the governor in the next election. They get their raise, but the money has to come from somewhere. Property taxes, already the highest in the nation, are raised to pay the teachers’ salaries. The teachers live in NJ. They pay property taxes. Therefore, they caused themselves to pay higher property taxes in order to give themselves a raise. Also, some of the teachers who just extorted more money of our financially strapped state have been burned out for years and haven’t been giving 100% to their students. They’re dead wood, but you can’t fire them because they have tenure. If the governor and legislature want to change this status quo the high and mihhty union threatens to boycott them in the next elections and the vicious cycle starts again.
Everyone knows that he/she has to live within his/her means. Just about every household has a budget. Sometimes, in order to stick to that budget, sacrificies have to be made. The sacrifices may hurt, but they’re essential. That’s what’s happening in NJ and other states right now.
(As a friend, I want to caution you. Putting yourself out there like this and opening yourself up to criticism, may cause some people to form a negative opinion about you. The “parsha” is hard enough as it is without narrow minded people jumping to wrong conclusions. Perhaps this isn’t the ideal forum in which to voice your opinions.)
#14. thats is a uniformed statement. Most people , dems included are moderate. Republicans that are obliged to the tea party and dems obliged to geo. soroes are bad for the country. Stop watching sean hannity and lawrence o’donnell and come back to earth. there is alot of work to do.
Momma – You got my vote! Well said; straight and to the point!