The Webber File: Montclair Mikie Versus Mr. Potato Head
Here we are talking – once again – about Arkansas in the 11th Congressional district.
A few weeks ago, Republican Jay Webber took great umbrage when a Mikie Sherrill campaign piece said the Republican’s views were better suited for Arkansas than suburban North Jersey.
How dare she do that?
The Webber campaign responded with a statement from the mayor of Harding Township, a native of Arkansas, who said Sherrill’s views belong in San Francisco.
The apparent moral here is that talking about Arkansas in a New Jersey political campaign is really bad, but that mentioning San Francisco is fine. Get it?
This week, Webber went one step further.
He brought in Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton to campaign for him at a rally in Mountain Lakes.
The Sherrill campaign was ready. It sent out a statement criticizing Cotton’s very conservative views, noting, for instance, that he had opposed Sandy relief aid.
Webber sent out a tweet after the event, thanking Cotton for joining him in the fight to make the 11th District “better for everyone.”
Speaking of tweets, another recent Webber missive via electronic media refers to Sherrill as “Montclair Mikie.”
Sherrill lives in Montclair, but that is not what this is really about.
Many Republicans see Montclair as a liberal bastion and refer to it as the “People’s Republic of Montclair.”
But that type of thing is only going to draw laughs at very partisan GOP gatherings.
The average voter living in Wayne, Chatham or Morris Plains (where Webber lives) is unlikly to have any negative feelings toward Montclair.
This is the general election, mind you, not a Republican primary where you assume all voters are conservatives. It’s hard to see what Webber is trying to do here.
Years ago when he ran against state Sen. Robert Martin, the Webber campaign called him “Mr. Potato Head.”
That was at least a bit amusing.
Montclair Mikie just seems silly.
Webber’s entire campaign has been based on deceptions and false accusations. Now he’s gone in for histrionics by claiming that millions will go on welfare if he is not successful in his campaign.
At this rate, by the time election day gets here he will be claiming that a vote for Mikie Sherrill is a vote for ISIS. Webber’s record is abysmal. He voted to make gay marriage illegal, in favor of conversion therapy for gay teens, and against women’s reproductive rights at every opportunity.
Webber is the kind of Mike Pence Republican that puts his religious values first, not those of his constituents. His dismissive comments about Montclair are truly outrageous. He should be running to represent all of NJ-11, not just the most conservative elements of Morris and Sussex County. Mikie Sherrill gets my vote.
Fred I like your columns but I think you are wrong on two counts.
1) Jay needs to fire up base turnout. They wont come out if they think Sherill is a blue Dog from Parsippany.
2) I disagree on the views towards Montclair. I bet even most Democrats in a place like Nutley see Montclair as liberal/elitist to the extreme.