Dennis Shulman for U.S. Congress: Sensible Leadership for New Jersey’s 5th District

October 31st, 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008
BY RICHARD COWEN
STAFF WRITER

The 5th Congressional District is usually solidly Republican, but Barack Obama’s expected strong showing at the top of the ticket in New Jersey has Democrats believing they have a shot at grabbing the seat from incumbent Scott Garrett.

A recent poll conducted for the liberal Web site Daily Kos showed Garrett leading his Democratic opponent, Dennis Shulman, 47 percent to 40 percent. But that gap could disappear on Election Day if Democrats can turn out big numbers of independents and swing voters in the more liberal areas of Bergen County to offset Garrett’s base among rural conservatives in Sussex County.

“We’re not looking to win 100 percent of the vote,” said Jeff Hauser, Shulman’s campaign manager. “Two-thirds of the votes are in Bergen County. We think we can win if we take Bergen, Passaic and Warren.”

The 5th District is where the suburban clusters of Bergen and Passaic counties give way to the farms and fields of Sussex and Warren. Garrett, 49, is a “God and guns” conservative who does well in the rural areas, but many 5th District voters appear to be swinging toward the Democrats.

“It’s a generational thing,” said Necia Fusco, a longtime Republican who owns the Valley View farm on Route 206 in Newton. “The younger people are for Obama, and the older people tend to be for McCain.”

Sure enough, Fusco’s niece, Mia Gnecco, says she’s voting Democratic this year after supporting George Bush in the previous two elections. She comes from a military family — her father was in the Navy — and she supported the Iraq war at first. But mounting casualties and a sagging economy at home have changed her mind.

“I feel that everything has gotten out of control under Bush,” said Gnecco, 26, who is about to deliver her first child. “The economy. The war. I think Obama is fresh and offers something different.”

Bush’s unpopularity seems to have rankled older Republicans as well. Robert Pellet, a 76-year-old retired public relations executive from Vernon, always voted Republican until the Iraq war. “How about 4,300 soldiers dead?” said Pellet. “How about the economy? We’re heavily in debt.”

Another older Republican, John Miller, 57, of Lafayette said he’s “leaning Democrat.” Miller, a retired ground crew worker at Teterboro Airport, describes himself as a Christian who finds Republican tax policy immoral.

“I don’t like the idea of giving tax breaks to the corporations,” Miller said. “I would like to see more money go to people who need it, not the big corporations.”

But some Republicans are sticking to their guns — literally. In recent days, the NRA has mailed orange postcards to registered gun-owners in the 5th District, urging them to vote for McCain and Garrett.

Gas station owner Bob Guidone of Wantage received his postcard in the mail on Monday, but didn’t need any convincing. He’s a big Garrett supporter, and says the incumbent understands his constituents.

“Up here, we like our freedom and we do like to hunt,” Guidone said. The biggest issue for Guidone is his right to bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment, and he’s suspicious of what Obama’s recent pledge to “redistribute the wealth” would mean for a small business owner like himself.

“We work hard and we don’t rely on government handouts,” he said. “And don’t forget that Hitler took all the guns away. That’s how he took over Germany.”

Garrett has also positioned himself as running against Bush. He was one of a handful of House Republicans who voted against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout that Congress adopted last month.

“If you know Scott Garrett’s record, you know he’s taken positions contrary to President Bush on many issues, including federal spending,” said Amanda Gasperino, his campaign manager. “The $700 billion bailout is on the most recent example of an area in which they disagree.”

The prevailing sentiment among hunters in Sussex County is that Obama — or for that matter, Shulman — would seek to limit the sale of guns. It’s a notion that Obama himself has repeatedly sought to dispel when campaigning in rural areas, but the words “gun control” to a hunter are blasphemy.

The hunters who gathered at Simon Peter Sporting Co. in Andover Township last Friday did not mince words. “I don’t like him because of his stance on guns,” said Tom Frupaul, the co-owner of the store. “He’s going to take them away.”

How much race will be a factor is anyone’s guess. While most voters interviewed said they weren’t racist, almost everyone thought that prejudice could play a role in the outcome.

“I’m really nervous about this whole election,” said Andrew Longcor, 27, of Wantage. “This country is not really for Obama. I feel a lot of people don’t want a black president.”

Garrett rode Bush’s coattails in 2000 and 2004 and carried Bergen County both times. This year, Democrats are looking for swing voters and independents from Bergen County to deliver the district to them.

One of those swing voters is Howard Woodbury, a 52-year-old home inspector from Wyckoff. Woodbury says he’s a Republican who this year is voting Democratic because he believes the GOP is drifting too far right on social issues.

“I’m not a religious conservative,” he said. “I don’t like how Republicans bring the Bible into everything.”

http://www.northjersey.com/news/njpolitics/33622264.html

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