Why Are Some New Jersey Teachers Voting Tea Party Against Booker?

Dear Democrats,

Yes, you got that right. I am voting for Lonegan. Actually, I am voting against Newark Mayor Democrat Cory Booker. How did that happen? In my 39 year voting history, I have pulled the lever for two Republicans ... I am a Newark teacher teaching this year in a renew school. My man Booker is a supporter of charter schools. He advocates for Teach for America. He was instrumental in bringing to Newark Cami Anderson, who is busy dismantling the Newark Public Schools in concert with Christie and Cerf.

Ed deform has so poisoned the well for so many educators, some of them are doing something drastic -- voting Steve Lonegan against Corey Booker. It just shows you how far Obama/Duncan ed deform policies have moved the needle when Corey Booker's neo-liberalism has made it clear that a vote for him would not be in the interests of teachers or children.

Maybe the Democratic scare tactics are working the other way and have led to a sort of "fuck-it" attitude of "If I'm going to get fucked it might as well be from the tea party instead of being dicked around by supposed "friends."

Jersey resident and NYC teacher Reality Based Educator said he was voting Lonegan.

This video link (Booker touts Newark charter schools in new web was sent to me by a teacher in Newark who is incensed enough to vote Lonegan who practically believes in no government and is a complete apologist for the Republican mayhem. I know I couldn't vote for him -- or for Booker. Sometimes no vote is a vote. But Booker seems to inspire a degree of hatred.

Dear Democrats,

Yes, you got that right. I am voting for Lonegan. Actually, I am voting against Newark Mayor Democrat Cory Booker. How did that happen? In my 39 year voting history, I have pulled the lever for two Republicans; US Senator Clifford Case and Maplewood Mayor Robert Grasmere whose daughter Louise was my classmate. Do I support the Tea Party? No, I do not. On the vast majority of issues, one might classify me as a traditional Democrat who favors "liberty and justice for all." In my youth, I marched against the Vietnam War and picketed my local supermarket for the United Farm Workers Union. I addressed envelopes for George McGovern.

My father advised me as a child to always vote Democrat by saying, "If I am not for the Democrat, I stay home." So why is the child of generations of Democrats voting for Lonegan? The answer is Cory Booker. And what is my problem with Cory Booker? I am a Newark teacher teaching this year in a renew school. My man Booker is a supporter of charter schools. He advocates for Teach for America. He was instrumental in bringing to Newark Cami Anderson, who is busy dismantling the Newark Public Schools in concert with Christie and Cerf. He convinced Mark Zuckerberg to donate $100,000,000 to the Foundation for Newark's Future that no one seems to be able to account for.

Mr. Booker has done nothing to address the crime rate in Newark. Three people were shot and killed within recent weeks in walking distance of my school. At last count 72 people had been killed thus far in Newark this year. I do not understand what Cory Booker's Wirenet company does, but maybe that is because I am a dinosaur. Cory Booker has had potential conflicts of interest with his former law firm that is doing business with the City of Newark.

All in all, Mayor Booker is strong on the rhetoric and weak on substance. He strikes me as a shill for the Wall Street billionaires and Hollywood celebrities he courts. Sorry Mom and Dad! I am voting for Lonegan. Perhaps some of my fellow Democrats will see the light and join me.

Signed,

A New Jersey Democrat