Politics
Trucker Who Spent $153 On Campaign Beats Dem Who Spent Millions
NJ senate president REFUSES to concede to trucker: Claims new ballots have suddenly appeared in race with Raymour and Flanagan driver who spent $153 on his campaign
- Edward Durr is a 58-year-old truck driver for furniture store Raymour & Flanigan
- Durr won the race by 52 percent to 48 percent on Thursday, AP reported
- He defeated NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney, who is the longest-serving legislative leader in New Jersey’s history and has been in senate since 2002
- Sweeney said on Thursday that he’s not conceding until all the votes are in
- According to AP, 100% of the precincts in Sweeney’s district have reported
- The last time Sweeney had to defend his seat in 2017, nearly $20 million was spent in what is known as one of the most expensive legislative races in US
- Democrats have struggled statewide in the blue stronghold, with incumbent Democratic Governor Murphy just barely crawling to victory
- Out of the $153, Durr spent $66.64 at Dunkin Donuts to buy food and drinks for his ‘staff’ and $86.67 for flyers and business cards
A Republican truck driver who spent just $153 on his campaign and ran for office after he was denied a gun permit secured a stunning victory against the longest-serving legislative leader in New Jersey history in the state’s elections – but the loser is disputing the results and claims more ballots were ‘found’ on Thursday.
The election was held on Tuesday but Associated Press only called the race today after 100 percent of precincts had reported.
Underdog GOP candidate Ed Durr delivered a humiliating defeat to Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney in South New Jersey’s 3rd Legislative District by a razor thin margin of 52 percent of the vote to 48.
It’s another embarrassing upset for the Democrats after they lost the Virginia gubernatorial election, struggled in the race for New Jersey governor and were swept by a red wave in Long Island, New York.
But two days after voters cast their ballots, Sweeney said the race still isn’t over and he’s not conceding. That’s despite the Associated Press indicating that every precinct in the legislative district has already finished reporting.
‘The results from Tuesday’s election continue to come in, for instance there were 12,000 ballots recently found in one county,’ the veteran lawmaker told Politico.
‘While I am currently trailing in the race, we want to make sure every vote is counted. Our voters deserve that, and we will wait for the final results.’
Nationwide, Americans are indicating that they’re unhappy with rising inflation and the state of the economy – and how Democrats are handling them.
On Fox News last night Durr said he didn’t even have any plans for when he gets to the state capital of Trenton.
‘I really don’t know,’ he said when asked about what he’ll do his first day.
‘That’s the key factor. I don’t know what I don’t know, but I will learn what I need to know, and I’m going to guarantee one thing – I will be the voice and people will hear me because if there is one thing people will learn about me, I got a big mouth and I don’t shut up when I want to be heard. I’m going to be heard.’
Durr, 58, is employed as a truck driver for furniture store Raymour & Flanigan. He grew up in South Jersey and has three children and six grandchildren.
Out of the $153, he spent $66.64 at Dunkin Donuts to buy food and drinks for his ‘staff’ and $86.67 for flyers and business cards.
He’s never held elected office but said in a past interview that he was spurred to run in his blue collar and predominantly white area by being unable to get a concealed carry permit.
The trucker launched a failed bid for New Jersey’s lower house in 2019.
But now for the first time since 2002, his legislative district will be represented by a pro-Second Amendment conservative Republican, rather than a Democrat who once reportedly called New Jersey’s former GOP Governor Chris Christie a ‘rotten bastard.’
Durr’s campaign video, which he appears to have shot himself, paints Sweeney as complacent to Governor Murphy’s actions leading the state through the COVID-19 pandemic and its high property taxes.
‘In 2020, my opponent sat by and watched as Governor Murphy forced nursing homes to take in COVID-19 patients, resulting in the death of over 8,000 of our seniors,’ Durr says while walking through a cemetery in broad daylight.
‘He remained silent as Governor Murphy, with his lockdown and mandates, forced the closing of over one third of our small businesses costing New Jersey families thousands of jobs.’
‘He has done nothing, as seven out of every ten moves are leaving the state, placing a heavier burden on those of us who remain. The Senate president has spent 20 years in Trenton – higher taxes, increasing debt and a rising cost of living. We deserve better. New Jersey, it’s time for a change.’
Politics
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Politics
Salvation Army’s Internal Survey Suggests Only Whites Are Racist
“I Took The Salvation Army’s Internal Survey On ‘Racism’ Within The Organization. Here’s What I Discovered.”
The Salvation Army has recently come under significant fire for asking white donors to “offer a sincere apology” for racism. The nearly 150-year old organization created a curriculum entitled “Let’s Talk About Racism” and shared it with its members, along with associated DEI Trainings that cite and draw from Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi’s work. The packet argues that Christians should “stop trying to be ‘colorblind’” and that they should apologize for being “antagonistic.. to black people or the culture, values and interests of the black community.” In response, donors by the thousands have vowed not to donate until the organization reverses their stance.
The Salvation Army has denied any wrongdoing, defiantly calling the allegations that they have gone woke “false.” While they admit that the topic of race in America can be fraught with controversy, they have denied they have “gone woke.” Much of their denial centers around their claim that use of the guide was completely voluntary, and that they are not peddling critical race narratives in their organization.
I obtained a copy of The Salvation Army’s internal survey on “racism within the Salvation Army” and tested that claim.
One Salvation Army officer reached out on condition of anonymity to Color Us United, the raceblind advocacy organization which I run, to reveal an internal survey he was asked to take. It was not a voluntary survey, and was sent by the Territorial Diversity and Inclusion Secretary to every Salvation Army Officer in the US Central Territory. The purpose of the survey, according to an email from the “Territorial Racial Diversity and Inclusion Secretary,” was “to better understand perception of institutional racial bias within The Salvation Army.” The accompanying email stated that there was no “preconceived idea” with regard to whether or not racism existed in The Salvation Army, and told recipients that there were no wrong answers.
I sat down and went through the questions.
First, Questions #1, #2, and #3 asked me for my race, age, and gender. I could not skip these questions. Already, I felt uncomfortable being required to list my personal attributes. If I was an officer, I would be wondering: how could this information be used against me in the future? (They did promise anonymity in this survey.)
The survey then asks Salvationists if they agree with the following definition of racism: “Institutional racism refers to organizational or system processes, behaviors, policies, or procedures, which produce negative outcomes for nonwhites relative to those for whites.” The remaining questions in the survey are dependent upon agreeing to this definition of racism. For any Officer or Soldier who disagrees with this framing, there is no way to express any disagreement or nuance apart from plainly saying that racism does not exist.
Question #6 goes on to ask the survey taker whether they believe there is any institutional bias or racism in The Salvation Army. Question #7 says: “If you answered no to question #6, do you think others in The Salvation Army think there are racial tensions or institutional racism?” The purpose of these questions, I started to feel, was to force the survey taker to admit that The Salvation Army is institutionally racist according to their definition of racism. There is no room for any Officer to elaborate on how they disagree with the definitions, framing, or worldview informing the questions.
The final question asks: “What is the best way to address Racism in The Salvation Army?” The answer options are: “individual reconciliation,” “group reconciliation,” “addressing structures and practices that cause racism,” “all of the above,” or “other.” Note that there is no option for the survey taker to simply say that racism is not a problem in The Salvation Army. The survey (which according to the email, was “intended to go to all the officers within your division, employees, and soldiers” for the Central Territory) simply assumes that racism is present in the organization.
Going through the survey, it became apparent that the survey was attempting to lead me to making only one conclusion about The Salvation Army – that it harbored problematic racism.
This belief is one of the core tenets of critical race theory. Critical race theorists teach that racism is ubiquitous in all aspects of American life. They also teach that it works systemically; that is, by being ingrained in the systems and institutions that operate in society. Their primary evidence of the system being racist is the reality that individuals from different demographics have different life outcomes on average, without taking into account any variables that might impact said life outcomes apart from the color of their skin. All of these concepts are reflected in The Salvation Army’s survey.
Any officer who believes in individualism, colorblindness, and meritocracy will be unable to answer any of the survey questions in good faith. Any officer who believes that The Salvation Army is not a racist organization would not be able to answer these questions in good faith either. Many (if not most) Americans believe that racism is primarily an issue of individuals who harbor feelings of hate against those of other races, not a society-wide conspiracy as alleged by antiracist activists. This survey totally excludes the colorblind perspective from the conversation and forces Officers and other Salvationists into a critical race theory-informed box.
