You have to meet Dennis Shulman. And, you have to help send him to Congress.
Shulman is the blind rabbi running for Congress in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. This is one of those sleeper race. With enough resources, Shulman can upset the incumbent, Scott Garrett. The New York Times profiled the race in an article titled "Rabbi With the Compelling Back Story Is Not to Be Ruled Out."
Shulman is a true progressive across the board from the Iraq War to the environment to FISA to LGBT equality. He'll bring a much needed thoughtful voice to our issues in Congress. Dennis Shulman will be a better Democrat. This is a wise, decent smart man (and he has a very good campaign staff.)
There are many, many reasons Garrett should lose: He's one of the most conservative members of Congress, which is wrong since he's from New Jersey. He's one of the best friends of the oil industry. But, if you need one reason to help Shulman defeat Garrett, know this: Garrett is anti-dog (and anti-animal). I'm not kidding. My fellow dog lover, Jane Hamsher, reported the shocking facts:
That should be enough...but there's more. Like many of his GOP brethren, Garrett talks a good game on taxes, then scams the system himself. Shulman is on the air with an ad busting Garrett:* Garrett was one of 23 Representatives (and basically the only one in the northeast) to vote against this post-Katrina act that Bush signed into law. The act required municipalities to also include plans for household pets and service animals in disaster planning. It wasn't even a funding act, so Garrett's vote was strictly on principle.As Blue Jersey notes, Garrett has received a 17 out of 100 on the Humane Society Legislative Fund’s most recent scorecard, up from 14 for the last one.
* He also voted against a bill that upgraded penalties to felony-level for illegal transportation of fighting dogs (the crime Michael Vick was charged with); it also banned interstate and foreign commerce in cockfighting. The bill passed 368 to 39 in the House and unanimously in the Senate.
* He voted against the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which passed 263 to 146.
* He voted against HR 3824, which including the deauthorization of “critical habitats” for endangered species.
* He voted against HR 249, which restored the prohibition on commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros.
* He voted against HR 2643, the Polar Bear Protection Act, which would have banned federal funding that enables imports of sport-hunted polar bear trophies from Canada. The bill failed.
If you love dogs or despise the oil companies or just want to beat the right wing, show Dennis Shulman some support. Help keep the ad on the air. We've set up an ActBlue page to make it easy.
Scott Garrett has to go. It's going to take the blind rabbi candidate to beat him.
