Garrett-Shulman Debate Tonight; 5 Questions to Look For

October 19th, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 19th, 2008
CONTACT: Jeff Hauser, jeff@shulmanforcongress.com, 201-338-4072

or TJ Helmstetter, tj@shulmanforcongress.com, 201-338-4072

Will Garrett address the many so-far unanswered questions concerning his integrity and ideology?

Haworth, NJ — The Congressional campaign of community leader Dennis Shulman has seen a surge in support recently, with over 2000 new donors and a larger take than Garrett in the last reporting period; an upgrade from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC); and reports of increases in Democratic voter registrations across the district.

Scott Garrett’s campaign has become unhinged in recent weeks. Garrett raised less money than to be expected from an incumbent who sits on the powerful Financial Services committee, despite being funded by the corporate interests he is supposed to regulate. Garrett’s campaign attacked Shulman in a press release as lacking “a commitment to the United States Constitution,” and Garrett’s allies have blocked access to public records about Garrett’s “tree and shrub farm” which enables Garrett to take a massive tax break of up to $41,000.

After turning down opportunities with the AARP and Leauge of Women Voters of Bergen County, Scott Garrett has accepted a debate Dennis Shulman at the Temple Emanuel in Woodcliff Lake tonight at 7:00 PM.

Observers of the debate should expect Garrett to answer the following questions concerning his integrity and ideology:

1. Has Scott Garrett learned his lesson from the financial crisis? Garrett seems confused about his role in the crisis as one of the fiercest advocates for deregulation of mortgage originators. Garrett says he warned about the crisis months before it happened, yet his plan at the time would have expanded the roles of failed banks like Countrywide and Lehman Bros.

2. How will Garrett prove that he’s on the taxpayers’ side, despite filling his campaign coffers with special interest money and handing over his taxpayer-funded office to a lobbyist from Countrywide Financial? Garrett has now taken over $1 million in his career from the corporate interests he is supposed to be regulating, including commercial banks, securities, insurance, and business services. While Dennis Shulman’s campaign gained over 2,000 new donors in the past three months alone, Garrett’s was funded by Washington Mutual, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

3. Will Scott Garrett answer the questions remaining about his farmland assessment, or will he keep stonewalling? How will Garrett prove that he is in fact eligible for the massive tax break despite no evidence that he farms the requisite 5.20 acres? Why have Garrett and his hometown cronies blocked all access to public records about the farm? Why hasn’t Garrett disclosed the property on his federal ethics disclosure forms, as required by law? If Garrett does farm enough
land to qualify, why hasn’t he filed the required environmental impact statement for the “tree and shrub farm”?

4. How will Garrett try to fit in with the mainstream voters of Bergen County in tonight’s debate, despite his dedication to extremist ideology? Garrett, one of the staunchest opponents of a woman’s right to choose in Congress, represents a district that is overwhelmingly pro-choice. Garrett represents a mainstream North Jersey district which strongly favors civil rights for all people, yet Garrett was the only member of Congress outside the old Confederacy to have opposed the Voting Rights Act reauthorization. Garrett has voted against stem cell research, against aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and in favor of allowing dog fights. How does this extremist record fit in with New Jersey?

5. Will career politician Scott Garrett continue his Bachmann-esque inappropriate attacks on community leader Dennis Shulman? After attacking Dennis Shulman as an “empty suit” and “pawn for Washington elites,” Garrett turned to his ideological soulmate Rep. Michelle Bachmann in taking his attacks several steps further. On the same day Bachmann called Barack Obama and many members of Congress “anti-American” in a widely reported-on television interview, Garrett’s campaign said “Dennis Shulman lacks a commitment to the United States Constitution and our political heritage as a nation.”

Tonight’s debate between Scott Garrett and Dennis Shulman will take place at Temple Emanuel of Pascack Valley, located at 87 Overlook Drive in Woodcliff Lake.

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