Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we prove it every week. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends. Here, they discuss the week’s events with editorial page editor Tom Moran.
Q. A federal judge on Friday banned the infamous “line” on New Jersey ballots, deeming it unconstitutional. That’s going to change our politics by radically diminishing the power of the county machines in New Jersey, assuming it holds up on appeal. Is that a welcome change, or not?
Mike: This is a mistake. It is a gift to the big self-funders, or those who can raise the most dark money. This is another example of well-intentioned reform that will have negative impacts by making money more important than anything else in an election.
Julie: Come on. Candidates with the most money tend to get support of county organizations. That’s how Jon Corzine and Phil Murphy became governors. That’s how Tammy Murphy got so many county lines. That’s how Doug Forrester became the Republican nominee for senate. If this decision is not overturned on appeal, it will create a seismic shift in how campaigns are run.
Julie: The most important thing for county chairs now is to ensure that their county commissioners are in place because that, aside from the line, has been the source of their power. If county commissioners, who typically do not have immense name recognition and benefit more than most from line placement, start to fall to well-funded challengers who are not aligned with the county organization, it will have massive implications for the power structure in the state. We will not see the effects of this now or even next year, but it is something to watch for over the next several years.
Q. After the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the Biden administration’s decision not to veto it, said it would strengthen Hamas, and postponed plans for an Israeli delegation to visit Washington for talks on the war. Is this an argument between friends or a marriage headed for divorce?
Mike: This is an argument among friends. Though the relationship is strained, it will endure. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and the US will stand by our ally. But Israel must consider our advice more if they continue to want our financial and military support.
Julie: I cannot envision that the United States and Israel will ever get divorced, but this is a rocky patch in the marriage, due largely to Netanyahu’s constant efforts to play partisan politics here in the United States. Netanyahu cannot go it alone without American help. For domestic consumption, he can try to play tough against the US, but the truth of the matter is that his days are numbered – not because of anything that the United States is doing but because of the deep and abiding dislike he engenders among Israelis. I will be surprised if he hangs on until the next scheduled Israeli elections.
Q. After a staff revolt at NBC News, executives reversed their decision to hire Ronna McDaniel, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, who had supported Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Rachel Maddow likened it to hiring “a mobster to work at the DA’s office.” Was it mistake to hire McDaniel -- or to fire her?
Mike: Did NBC News not know she was an election denier when they hired her, and also completely in the tank for Trump for eight years? NBC’s mistake was to hire her thinking she would have some objective credibility. They were wrong to have hired her and showed complete weakness in firing her. Two wrongs didn’t make a right here.
Julie: It was a mistake to hire her and not because she is a Republican. MSNBC has plenty of Republicans on air, from former Rep. Joe Scarborough to former RNC Chair Michael Steele to former Bush Administration official Nicolle Wallace. The difference is that Ronna McDaniel is a serial liar who engaged in a fake elector scheme in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. With a record like that, who knows what she would have peddled on air, exposing the network to liability?
Q. First Lady Tammy Murphy said she has no regrets about running for Senate and that she may run for office again. Noting that Cook Political Report responded to her withdrawal by upgrading the chances that Democrats will hold the seat in November, she said, “That is what I was after.” Thoughts?
Mike: Tammy Murphy could have won, but it would have been expensive and divisive. She clearly felt the cost, political and economic, was not worth it, especially as the divisive primary would have left the Democratic nominee wounded and broke post-primary. But let’s pretend all the wounds from the abbreviated primary have magically healed. They have not.
Julie: First, let me say that I commend Tammy Murphy for putting herself out there as a candidate. It’s not easy to put your name on the ballot and most people do not have the guts to do that. But if she is serious about running for office again, she will need to create a raison d’etre for a future candidacy, which is something that was missing this time.
Julie: She may be upset that too much was written about what she ruefully called “process” stories, but she needs to understand that they were actually stories about open and participatory democracy – something that means a great deal to Democrats in the era of Donald Trump. In fact, it was her campaign that never articulated a good reason for her candidacy or why she was more qualified to serve in the Senate than a sitting congressman or two community activists who have been in the fight for decades. I don’t know what she is planning on running for, but if she does want to serve in elected office, she now has the time to establish a record of accomplishment that is not dependent on being the wife of a powerful man.
Q. Rep. Andy Kim, who is all but certain to win the Democratic Senate primary in June, said he will not run on the line in Camden and Cumberland counties, both within the fiefdom of Democratic boss George Norcross. How do you read those tea leaves?
Mike: Let’s not pretend it’s noble to run on 19 of 21 lines. This is purely theatre. If and when the general election gets close, he will go begging for George’s help just like every other Democrat has for the last three or four decades.
Julie: Assuming there is still a county line structure this June, it will be interesting to see what Kim’s share of the vote is in Camden and Cumberland, versus his share of the vote in counties where he is running on the line. Julia Sass Rubin will have some interesting data to consider.
Q. Former Gov. Chris Christie announced that he will not run for president on the “No Labels” ticket, saying he didn’t want to risk helping Donald Trump “in any way shape or form.” If his top priority is stopping Trump, who he warns could wreck our democracy, shouldn’t he hold his nose and vote for Biden?
Mike: Christie is not alone in being unwilling to vote for Trump or Biden. One of them has the opportunity to earn the votes of disenchanted Republicans. Biden won many of these votes last time simply by not being Trump, but that’s not enough this time. As Biden continues to lurch further and further to the left on key economic and energy policies, he is alienating many moderates who would otherwise vote for him. Biden has spent the last seven months appeasing the far left, which is alienating moderates, maybe even forcing some back to Trump.
Julie: Come on, Mike. It’s a binary choice and you know it. If you don’t vote for Biden, Trump benefits and vice versa. Christie and other Never Trumpers have a choice to make. If they really don’t want to see Trump in the White House, they have to hold their nose and vote for Biden this year.
Q. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka didn’t report roughly $1.5 million in donations to his 2022 mayoral campaign, according to the Election Law Enforcement Commission, this after he was forced to pay big fines last year over similar violations during his previous campaign. What does this do to his campaign for governor?
Mike: This will be a distracting question to answer, and his gubernatorial campaign reports will come under greater scrutiny as a result. But the Democrats in Trenton have worked hard to gut ELEC’s enforcement authority, so maybe there will be no real repercussions.
Julie: Mayor Baraka is under a much bigger microscope now that he is running for governor. He should get some competent people to manage his finances (he already has wonderful political advisors in Jay Redd and James Gee). Otherwise, he risks having questions about his finances distract from the issues he wants to discuss.
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A note to readers: Mike and Julie are deeply engaged in politics and commercial advocacy in New Jersey, so both have connections to many players discussed in this column. DuHaime, the founder of MAD Global, has worked for Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and President George W. Bush. Roginsky, a principal of Comprehensive Communications Group, has served as senior advisor to campaigns of Cory Booker, Frank Lautenberg, and Phil Murphy. We will disclose specific connections only when readers might otherwise be misled.