Opening Statement in the Hall Institutes "Virtual Debates"
Opening statement: Gary Stein
Wednesday, 09 September 2009 17:03
Hello to the curious. And to all of us in NJ disgusted with the
current state of affairs; hello to you as well. Could things look much
worse? Is it a stretch to say that even during the great depression,
the problems may not have been as complex as what we’re facing now?
The debt structure and debt obligations back then, weren’t as gruesome
as what we have now, but most importantly there was a manufacturing
infrastructure lying dormant and poised- here and everywhere else in
our country- for a recovery. Folks I’m not running for governor as an
economics guru, soothsayer or grim reaper. The wonderful Ramapo
professor and perennial candidate for Senator, Murray Sabrin, has done
that for years- better then I ever could- and has gotten nowhere. The
process is rigged, money opens doors, and even if they weren’t closed,
I’m not executive material….however? In several different ways, I may
be the most unusual independent running this year, in both our state or
anywhere in the country.
Seven
years ago an “illegal alien,” an “undocumented person.” or whatever we
call these folks, took up residence in our house- at our invite; yes,
you just read that correctly. I’ve blogged endlessly on the internet
about it, it’s no secret- and it’s really quite interesting. Here’s a
thumbnail sketch…… if you’re interested. We started out as mere
acquaintances. One day about 7 years ago, he got short shrifted after
he’d heard, through his church, that an old Puerto Rican man needed a
roommate. He gave up the nice place he was staying at, but the act of
generosity on his end was not reciprocated on the other side-(to say
the least; there’s endless stories with this candidate) Two days
later, he showed up at our house, driving an ancient 4 door Buick Regal
with every procession he had in the world packed in the trunk of that
car. What where we suppose to do, send him scurrying?
Five
years later there was an illness in his family and now he’s been back
in Mexico- two years already, and stuck there. I’ve visited several
times and I’ve gotten to know his entire family, but more importantly-
for purposes of this discussion, I’ve become intimately familiar with
Mexico and their problems as well. It’s incredibly beautiful down
there; the majority of us don’t know that; I didn’t. I think about
Mexico all the time when I see fires laying waste every year to
California, and blizzards paralyzing half our country each winter.
Their problem is really quite simple to understand. If it wasn’t for
petty corruption wrecking the economy, very few of the 12 million here
illegally would have come over in the first place. They have
everything they need down there, and then some. It’s no exaggeration
to say, at least from my weary family’s perspective, that if not for
the petty corruption in Mexico; I wouldn’t be running for Governor.
Isn’t that a riot? Petty corruption in Mexico, not New Jersey- and we
have a former prosecutor heading the Republican ticket for Governor in
our state. Forgetting for a second another tiny problem we have in
this state, holding two elected government positions at the same time,
if Christie could simultaneously be Governor here and Governor in the
state of Morelos, Mexico, where my friend lives- I’d vote for him.
I’ve been trying for 2 years to get one reporter- the New York Times
fits the bill to a T- to listen to my (our) incredible story. You have
no idea how hard I’ve tried!!!! To those of you who write your
representatives or your local or the national news outlets, stop
wasting your time, vote for me instead. Trust me, they hardly read
what you say- and use it when it suites their purpose, not yours. Like
I said above, you have no idea how hard I’ve tried, I could be the
Guinness book world record holder. I’d invite one reporter to comb
through my old e-mails, but you see, I just fell into my own trap- they
don’t care!
Anyway back to the topic at hand (my opening
statement), and the reason I’m in this- Mexico, drivers licenses and
homeland security. The solution to this immigration nightmare is really
quite simple. A boycott by us of Cancun for starters,
the illegals
not sending home one dime for several months, and us issuing drivers
licenses now and amnesty soon after, might jolt, might embarrass, might
do something- anything; to get that cockamamie government into focusing
a little less on the drug cartels, and a little more on petty
corruption by their local law enforcement. A boycott here might be the
kick in the butt they need! The 12 to 20 million here illegally are
not going home anytime soon, so lets us and the illegals, give each
other something in return- and stop arguing about immigration reform
and doing nothing.. Amnesty, border security, and fix Mexico (the
boycott).
Just a pipedream on my end, or a solution to this mess-
after which we’d watch
trade with Mexico double (in our favor,
that’s
one “shovel ready” fiasco down there…just waiting to be delivered!)
The other nationalities here illegally, would be in on my general
amnesty, and they’d forever be grateful to us- and to the Mexicans who
would be holding back remittances, in my version of immigration reform.
Try
e-mailing this idea to the elite media, or- think of me crisscrossing
mid-town Manhattan on bicycle, “knocking on doors” like I did after
coming home from my first eye opening trip to Mexico; from a location
by the way, where I haven’t seen an American so far in 4 trips.
So does the word kook come to mind as you read this? Hopefully not,
and I now have a soap box of sorts, I’m a candidate, and we’ll see what
happens with the elite media. Think about me the next time there’s a
traffic accident and “one” party doesn’t have insurance.
Not to
be cute, but I think at this point you might be getting the picture why
I’m here. These poor other candidates might not like the injection of
immigration reform into the debate- (LOL, that’s “laugh out loud” for
any non bloggers out there), and that might be the biggest
understatement of the year. Maybe I’ve peeked your curiosity enough
that you visit my web site, because I’ve just given too brief an
explanation of my mission and there’s lot of other goodies on Stein for
Governor.com. With that said I’ll try and stay on topic the rest of
the way in our virtual debate, courtesy of the Hall Institute. Thank
god for them!
I’ve been following politics since I was 12 years old,
I’m 53 years old- getting grayer by the day, and I’m looking forward to
answering the questions in the next several weeks about the economy
health care, higher education, the environment, etc.
_________________________________________
The League of Women Voters
of New Jersey
2009 Gubernatorial Candidates Voters' Guide
Select a question to view the responses.
(click on question to go to answers) 14 questions in all
1. With the global recession continuing, what specific measures would you enact to create jobs and foster economic development in New Jersey? 