Commentary: Morris Township official reflects on ‘vitriol of the left’

This portrait of all liberals as violent hate-mongers pouting because they didn’t get their way, would be insulting if it wasn’t so absurd. To suggest the negativity is all on the left, especially considering the documented increase in hate speech and harrassment of minorities, mostly from Trump supporters, during the campaign and immediately after the election, suggests the author has biases much more pronounced than the ones he’s criticizing in the liberals (or “snowflakes” as he hypocritically calls them after complaining about name-calling on the left). Some Conservatives don’t seem to realize for most people this was not a normal election. I disagreed strongly with much of what President Bush did in office, but I never protested because even though I disagreed with him politically, I did not believe he was a bad person, nor did I believe he was intentionally undermining our democracy. That is not the case with Trump, who discredits the free press and the judicial branch, who hires known rascists for his cabinet and who is himself a sexual predator. Trump and many of the people who he surrounds himself with have made a point of showing disdain for the rights of Muslims, women, people of color and homosexuals, as well as endangering our environment and undermining our education system. Many of these issues should be non-partisian, but by accepting the many attacks on our civil liberties and disdainful statements by this administration, Republicans who simply tow the party line are not doing themselves or our country any favors. I will not standby and accept the prejudices I have witnessed, so I marched on Washington on the 21st with 3 million others around the world ALL of whom were non-violent. Since then I have been much more active in contacting my representatives as well, but like most of the people who are doing so I have always been polite and respectful, unlike many Tea Party members, who the author seems to have forgotten did much protesting after President Obama was elected . They are actually the ones who started the Hitler comparisons, and it wasn’t just the protestors lynching Obama figures and carrying signs with him with a Hitler mustache, or the annonymous people that posted hundreds of nazi memes, but politicians like AZ Rep. Brenda Barton, TX Rep. Randy Weber, Rick Santorum and media personalities like Glenn Beck making the Nazi comparisons. The difference being when the far-right made those comparisons it was because Obama was a “Socialist” for wanting everyone to have healthcare and to do background checks on gun-owners. Whether you agreed with those positions or not, the Hitler label based on his attempts to keep people safe and healthy was absurd. The current Nazi comparisons started based on Trump wanting to register people based on their religion, and have not lessened since he’s been endorsed by the KKK, put a white supremacist on the National Security Council and attempted to discredit the media while putting gag orders on agencies like the FDA, USDA and EPA. Whether you see the correlations between the Trump administration and the Nazi party or not, you should be concerned about these things as an American. Republicans such as John McCain and Lindsey Graham have even expressed concerns over some of these actions yet the author, and unfortunately many others on the far-right, thinks anyone who disagrees should just suck it up for 4 years. That is not going to happen! And if the author is so concerned with recent vitriol name-calling in Morris County, perhaps he should use his platform to speak out against the recent rascist taunts by Jefferson students at a basketball game against Dover. These minors are actual victims of hate speech, not grown men who had their feelings hurt by one woman calling him dastardly.

People. Get Real. Snowflakes should be reprimanded for their behavior. They certainly should not get credit for being in class the day(s) they pouted and cried. Maybe their grade should be reduced. Better yet, fire the “teachers” and “professors” who excuse the children from class.

Sir, I suggest you check the origin of the term “snowflake.” The ashes of Jews, incinerated in German ovens. You disgust me.

Mr. Caffrey, I am a lifelong Democrat and have lived in the Township since 1977. Quite frankly I had no idea who you were until I read this despicable letter! You are now on my radar screen as a person whom I hope loses their next election. I am not a snowflake ( how arrogant!) but a concerned citizen that is smart enough to know that our current President is incompetent and that those who support him ,like Congressman Frelinghuysen, should listen to their constituent’s concerns.

I wholeheartedly support your request for “professional conversation” over the political issues of our day, which is why I am disappointed at the unprofessional tone you used in this letter. Referring to people on the left as “snowflakes” who just want “trophies” is condescending, and has no place in a productive political discourse.

Likewise, broadly describing opposition to Trump and his policies as “violent” is misleading (the large majority of protests have been peaceful) and ignores the serious concerns of a large percentage of our nation. Your claim that there was “no name calling…no protests” after Obama’s election also ignores the years of anger and attacks directed towards him.

While I understand you had a disagreement with one person, I would ask that you do not disparage the intentions and concerns of half our our community based on that one interaction.

This is absolutely terrible. Are you simply blind to the awful things that were said during President Obama’s tenure? “There was no name calling…no protests…no violence…no starting of fires or smashing storefront windows.” Are you living in an alternative reality? Sad. I hope your fellow Morristown residents are hearing what you have to say and thinking very carefully about who will truly represent them well.

I don’t know who this Ms. Wilson is, and, candidly, most people do not care about these types of petty conflicts between local party officials. She is not the representative leader of the people who are concerned about Trump, and the things she does have nothing to do with the validity of public concerns about government policy. Conversation will be more productive if we actually focus on issues.

This letter is either willfully dishonest or woefully uninformed.

No, Obama wasn’t compared to Nazis; he and his family were compared to apes, he was burned in effigy, and Congress plotted to obstruct his every action. And this was just at the start of his first term.

There were also protests, some of which are preserved on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dWraJi6ALI&feature=youtu.be

The author refers to “generations of millennials, and adults, who feel everyone should win…you know the “everyone gets a trophy” mentality.” I’m no millennial. Instead, I’m 50+ and have worked – and employed others – in my own business in NJ since 1990.

But by making such false and derogatory claims, the author hopes through ad hominem attacks to discount the opinions of those that disagree with him. The use of this fallacy is especially disingenuous in a note which claims to decry “name calling”.

The author claims to have an interest in “being a hawk on keeping taxes low”, yet this is no longer a part of the Republican agenda for any but the most wealthy and influential. For example, HR7 will eliminate tax credits for some small businesses that offer employees health insurance. This was introduced by a Republican Representative from NJ, and received affirming votes from numerous Republicans including our own Representative Frelinghuysen.

Mr. Caffrey’s time might be better spent on the beam in his own eye. This just might free his vision to see the world as it is today.

This article seems like a smoke screen to carry out a personal vendetta against Cathy Wilson as well as a misplaced tirade. #notmycommitteeman.

How hypocritical! Snowflake is name calling… so that’s ironic at best. Ignorant at worst. The hypocrisy of the right is staggering. Obama was vilified and protestors became the Tea Party. So much for being gracious losers who have any right to tell the left to move on and get over it. You need to be voted out of office. You are an ignorant hypocrite with a memory problem. Nice work

Just a few observations.

Dastardly or snowflake? Which is more severe? And let’s not forget – xenophobe, Islamophobic, Nazi, misogynist, racist, etc. … . Seems like words from a playbook. When they are used too often, these words lose their impact.

And, who threw the first punch?

Ms. Wilson is not just a constituent, she is The Chairwoman of the Morris Township Democratic Committee who has run for a Morris Township Council seat and lost.

In the playground, name calling begins when you have lost the battle.

Give trump a chance and stop moaning

Dan: This letter was not necessary and certainly has brought doubt as to your ability to represent all of the citizens of Morris Township. Attacking a constituent is never a good thing. (Sadly, a few people who wrote great comments don’t know that Dan represents Morris Township, not Morristown or they don’t know where they pay taxes.) As a life long conservative Republican, I voted against trump. I can’t understand anyone who would support him, any of his cohorts, or his agenda.

Here’s some visual aids:

https://likeawhisper.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/zooobama.jpg
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1eD4kh2qyR8/T0zr_dAbMlI/AAAAAAAAAKI/waZbCdi7cEw/s1600/deportobama.jpg
https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4d1b4c0049e2ae8c2c030000-506-253/here-are-10-of-the-most-offensive-protest-signs-of-2010.jpg
https://andelino.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/obama-can-you-hear-us-now.jpg
https://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/09/17/obama.witchdoctor.teaparty/art.obama.protest.sign.cnn.jpg
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dEGcfzLdfeg/T16P1Fle5uI/AAAAAAAAAPg/sAe3pZ9saJo/s1600/arrogantmuslimalien.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8448759980_b30a21eb12.jpg
https://likeawhisper.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/birther3mtc.jpg?w=640
https://likeawhisper.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/nazi3.jpg?w=640
https://www.hillarynme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/obama-undocumented-worker-protest-sign.jpg

And that’s really just a select few… So we have racism, disrespect, birtherism, comparing him to Hitler. Yet Mr. Caffrey says:

“There was no name calling…no protests…no violence…no starting of fires or smashing storefront windows. No likening our next President to the evils of Nazism.”

editor: consider approving the direct image links so we can all see the vitriol from the right that the people’s “representative” claims did not happen.

What disturbing commentary from a local politician. Your points are as fact free as the current administration’s. I can only hope the members of your community can see through these lies and vote you out in 2017 for someone more committed to the truth, and therefore the highest good of their community.

There are so many falsehoods in this piece that I hardly know where to start. So I will start there. MR. Caffrey, like Donald Trump, seems to believe that he is entitled to his own set of facts, not just his own opinion.
First, Obama was indeed vilified and attacked by conservatives, as well as by Donald Trump, repeatedly and viciously.
Second, millions of people have protested Trump and his policies, PEACEFULLY. The right is seeking to tarnish the entire resistance movement with a few very isolated incidents, most of which were not related to Trump at all.

While elections are part of democracy, so is dissent and that dissent is needed not more than ever as he president seeks to undermine what makes a democracy function – a free press, an independent judiciary, and a civil society.

I would bet $100.00 that Dan, the “victim” of name calling and mean people’s comments (AKA BULLYING) , voted for REPUBLICAN, Donald TRUMP – the man who brought bullying back to the national stage and coined such phrases as .. “Lyin’ Ted”, “Low Energy Jeb”, “Little Marco”, “Crooked Hillary”, “Fake News CNN”, “Loser John McCain” ,. who BTW is not a war hero to our new Commander-in-chief… I could go on but I think our “victim” gets the point…

You conveniently forget how much racist vitriol was directed at Obama. Nooses, effigies, plenty of use of the “N-word”, dog whistle racism, etc. And the fliers that the Morris County Republicans sent out just before one of the council elections for Morris Township was just disgusting (and for a town council seat no less!).

But let’s get back to the core of this. Your letter to the editor here is a prime example of this childish republican tactic of creating some crazy left-wing strawman and then hypocritically attacking it with 10 times the zeal and tastelessness as the attack you claim against yourself. Way to go… when they go low, you go lower. I now know that if I show up at a council meeting, at least one member there is such a partisan hack that it’s not even worth addressing him. It’s also nice to know you openly dislike myself and other residents.

Nonsense like this shows that you detest half of your constituents. Watch how much better our turnout is next time you’re up for election!

I just returned to my home in Morris Township from Congressman Frelinghuysen’s office, where I, along with a couple hundred of my 11th Congressional District neighbors, waited patiently and politely for our turns to present letters, speak with the congressman’s staff, and ask that he hold a town hall meeting where we can voice our concerns about what’s going on in Washington. Then I sat down at my computer and read this from Mr. Caffrey, who sees fit to turn his tiny-scale local conflict into an offensive screed against everyone he disagrees with everywhere. To make matters worse, he seems as unhinged as the leader of his party, having forgotten the actual events of the past eight years and replaced them in his mind with a fairy tale about a polite, well-behaved, intelligent opposition to our previous president. I’m going to make sure to save this piece and share it widely come election time. Many Morris Township residents will be appalled.

Thank you for representing me by referring to me as a “snowflake” and a “they”. Way to keep it professional.

Hey Dan, why is political diss not so scary to you? Just do you know, snowflakes are beautiful and unique, and when they come together they can cause quite a headache. I can only hope we pile up outside your door and vote your self serving butt off the committee. Winter is coming my friend!

I came to the US from Canada in 2000, right in time to catch the Bush II election. This kind of acrimony has been in the air since at least then. Bush was Hitler, then Obama was Hitler, now Trump is Hitler, and so on. I’m not native to this country, but it seems like this is the norm in US politics. The politics are very bitter here

We do not have to have this kind of partisan acrimony in our area. A good place to start might be to start focusing on policy or societal concerns, and stop with these broad generalizations and character attacks. This kind of argument demonizes someone else who demonized them, because they were demonized before, etc. etc. It’s gotten to the point where everyone associates the other side with the worst of their ranks, while remaining completely oblivious to similar elements on our own sides. If you’re going to complain about protesters in Morris country, complain about their behavior, not what one dumbass in a big protest did somewhere in California.

In a country of 300 million people, you can find people who think or behave in disgusting ways that we can pin to virtually any ideology, political leaning, or ethnicity. The main question is, when we talk to people with different views, are we going to assume that they are malevolent or stupid, or are we going to assume that they are reasonable people with different viewpoints, priorities, beliefs, or information? We should focus on political concerns, and not demonize each other.

I know a lot of Republicans and Trump supporters in this area, and they are all good, decent and thoughtful people. I myself am very unhappy about several things that the President is doing, so it is clear to me why people are angry with him and I am sympathetic to their demands that their Congressman listen to their concerns. If we can just talk about what we want the government to do, we might be a lot more productive.

Woman may and do have rights over their own body. It the right of the unborn child that woman have no right to kill. As for religion, it’s a shame people and the government take away religious freedom from those who worship according to the Bible.
These arguments are “no win” for anyone. I wonder if Americans will ever live in freedom. Our internal fighting is not Freedom.

Thank you, Mr. Caffrey for eloquently demonstrating that you are no longer fit for office.

Mr. Caffrey, while your contretemps with Ms. Wilson may be very frustrating and her actions in posting her video may have been wrong–especially if you received assurances that she would not editorialize your encounters, and she shouldn’t be calling you names–this entire piece comes across as a temper tantrum because you and Ms Wilson crossed swords.

You may be happy to have this current administration and there are certainly a fair number of other people in Morris County and beyond who feel the same way, but your piece dismissing the concerns of the other side as ‘whining’ about ‘not getting a trophy’ and calling liberals ‘snowflakes’ is appalling condescension. Even if people don’t vote for you or agree with you, YOU represent this town. And that means that you need to have some respect for the opinions of the other side even if you don’t agree. However, annoyed Ms. Wilson made you, however annoyed you might be at the comments of liberals or people who were very upset by the recent election results, you have a job, which is to represent us to the best of your ability whether you agree with us or not. You don’t have to agree. Your policies don’t even have to agree. After all, if I don’t like what you’re doing I’m free to vote against you, just as I would vote with you if I felt you were doing a good job. But you writing this opinion piece that denigrates people with a different outlook on recent events in this dismissive, arrogant manner is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Cry me a river, you ASKED to do this job. If you don’t like hearing people complain about the current state of politics, either get out of it, or try to do something to assure people that however they feel about Washington or Trenton that you will do your job here in Morristown to help as many people as you can. I don’t give a damn about whatever you argued about with Ms. Wilson, but you taking your position and using your voice as a Committeeman to berate people who disagree with you politically, even if they speak in ways you don’t like is a misuse of your position. (And asking constituents to come to a Planning Board meeting to voice their concerns is not ‘obstructionism’ it’s called civics and politics. Citizens have a right to voice concerns even if you don’t like them. The Planning Board may not be bound to what audience members ask for, but they have a duty to listen, just as you do)

And lest you forget completely about how sweet Tea Party activists were when Obama was elected, there was a Tea Party rally right here in this town, on the Green less than six months after Obama was elected. https://www.cc.com/video-clips/9iw1qo/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-tempest-in-a-tea-party—tea-bag-tyranny Let’s not also forget about the Birther controversy. Or complaints about how much Obama was costing the country for vacations. Or screaming about how Obamacare would kill us all, the death panels and FEMA Camps.

This election was contentious. It doesn’t bother me that a Republican won. I’ve lived through Nixon, Ford, Reagan and two Bushes and even voted for one of them. It bothers me greatly that a man who stoked up racist, misogynist, nationalistic tendencies and some of the worst impulses of our country is now sitting in the Oval Office. It bothers me greatly that his policies will roll back many achievements in protections for minorities, people with disabilities and people with medical problems, as well as protections for the environment. I grew up in this country in the 70s, when I would routinely be called a ‘Chink’ and told ‘go back to your own country’ or have people make slanted eyed faces at me. When my own children were young I tried every way to teach them pride in themselves to arm them against this type of attack, but they were lucky in that they never received this casual racism that was thrown at me throughout my elementary, middle school and high school years. I thought that this country had changed, that people were becoming more enlightened. Until this election when suddenly, this type of name calling and viciousness has come back. It’s not libtard snowflakes telling me that I need to go back to my own country (ummm…I’m American and this IS my country), or telling me that there are too many yellow and black people in this country, or asking me if I plan to eat my pet chinchilla for dinner, because isn’t that what all Chinks do? It’s people who have told me they were delighted that Trump won who say these things. They may be a minority, and maybe you are lucky enough not to have heard this, but I’m hearing it and I hadn’t heard this in years. I’m appalled. I’m horrified. I’m frightened. Thanks for ignoring and dismissing my point of view out of hand COMPLETELY, Mr. Caffrey. You calling me a snowflake for my views and saying my complaints count as whining over not getting a trophy really makes me feel you have my back in Morristown.

I distinctly recall photographs of Obama with a Hitler mustache, posters of dead bodies piled high and swastikas backing Tea Party rallies to protest the Affordable Care Act, with Republican leadership speaking with these vitriolic images as backdrops to rallies of people screaming about (non-existent) death panels. It was offensive. The blatant racism and criticism the Obama family endured with grace set an example of what leadership should look and sound like. Now we are confronted with a man who has gotten through life by the most dishonest means possible. This isn’t as much about ideology as it is the man himself and members of his inner circle, like Bannon. These people are racists, they are gleeful about being endorsed by hate groups like the KKK and other white supremacist groups, including people who call themselves modern day Nazis. It’s shameful our current leadership not only accepts, but promulgates this kind of hateful rhetoric in our country. I do not protest because he is Republican, I protest, peacefully, because this is repugnant to me as a decent human being.

We don’t call ourselves “libtards”. Look up hanging an effigy of president Obama, threatening the little Obama girls with rape, calling the family monkeys. Dare I go on? Check your facts, .Mr. Caffrey. You are obviously memory impaired.

“There was no name calling…no protests…no violence…no starting of fires or smashing storefront windows.”

This was a United States Congressman during the State of the Union. https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/09/joe.wilson/

Mr Caffrey, did you write an article back in 2008 or 2009 condemning the rise of the Tea Party? Did you condemn the Extreme Rights response to a Liberal Democrat being elected? Did you write that it was wrong for the Tea Party to exercise their right to free speech and to vocally disagree with Democrat’s and their elected official? I doubt you did, but if you did, you were wrong then and you are equally wrong now.

What a failure to represent the genuine concerns of the groups being energized to political action! Because, to individuals like Committeeman Dan Caffrey here, it was always about winning and losing, evidenced by the right’s continued insistence on “getting over it” as though communities won’t be impacted by the results of this election and politics is only about what happens every four years. While Caffrey talks about taxes, the families of Morristown are fretting about whether their families will be separated by immigration. Or by the executive order that explicitly includes a religious preference. We see a human rights crisis, and all the right sees is winning and losing.

This ad-hominem screed is so typical of The Rethuglican cabal and its reign in Morris Township. The entire holier than thou snooty
look down their nose lot of them need to be voted out of office if not run out of town on a rail.

Wow.

Morris Township – you have a duty next time you can – elect whomever runs against this guy. I don’t think you want someone this delusional being part of your town’s decision making process.

For someone who calls others snowflakes, he sure got his feeling hurt by literally the title of a youtube video. I.. I mean, he’s saying others want a trophy but he can’t handle *the title of a youtube video.* And I bet he doesn’t even recognize the irony or the idiocy here.

Mr. Caffrey has a valid point. Just look at history. When Clinton left office, he & his followers did everything they could to disparage the incoming President Bush. W took the criticism in stride. When Obama took office, he blamed all of his problems on Bush for 8 years. W never reacted to the press- and, I’m not a Bush fan. Obama was everyone’s President & was treated with respect. The middle & the right did not hold violent protests hoping that the President would change his views, be impeached or step down from office. They did not call for boycotts of Nordstrom’s, which is currently backfiring on the retailer. Name calling is an action of petulant children in a sandbox. Now that the extreme left is not in power, they feel that name calling (racist, misogynist, Nazi, homophobic, Islamophobic), obstructionist actions & violent protests will have the middle/right relent to their wishes. Well. it doesn’t work that way in the real world. There are attempts for many liberal Universities to control speech on campus, ie; the violent Berkeley riots incited by BAMN, stifling a Milo Yiannopoulos event – calling a gay, Catholic/Jew a white supremacist. Really? Listen to the desperate ramblings of leftest Senators who fall prey to phony tweets before they verify their validity. That’s the best that they’ve got? Grow up. Leftist politicians are looking for a lifelong job. Look at the results of communist Russia after its fall. Communism/Socialism enabled their politicians to become wealthy oligarchs. “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility”-Obama to Medvedev. Who loves Russia?
Everyone that opposes your view is not a Fascist. I am a moderate leaning fiscally right, and a social libertarian. Live & let live, but don’t ask taxpayers to blindly foot the bill for illegals or lazy citizens looking to work the system. Everyone in the world would love to live here. We must take care of our own citizens & Vets first. Follow the rules as did all of those who immigrated here before you. Assimilate and integrate. If the left isn’t happy, figure out a way to mobilize in a peaceful rational manner. Otherwise your words & actions will fall on deaf ears. Remember, family comes first. America is our family that the rest of the world would love to join. Your freedom is not in jeopardy. The fear based loss of freedom rants are only the fabricated mantra of the far left losing a grip on their power.
Give this guy a chance.

Selective memory indeed. It’s amazing the things a person forgets as long as it suits them.

Are you delusional? There was name calling, obstruction attempts to delegitimize Obama by our present POTUS for 8 years was the brother in chief, and let’s be honest here it was all because the right could not stomach having a successful African American POTUS– the racism and vitriol that was on display for 8 years was real- I still see it “we had to live through Obummer for 8 years” now it’s your turn — someone said to me yesterday “Obama is a Muslim” my answer “so what if he was? Does that make him less American?” Sir you can try to rewrite the very recent history and paint the liberal resistance to our mentally ill Mad King as vitriol but in the end it will be us that save you from yourselves.

Well I hope the arrogance of the Republican party leads to their downfall. No Dan, it’s not just left wing liberals who are upset with the outcome of the election. All the registered Republicans in my household voted for Hillary Clinton, because we realized the danger our current president would mean to our country. I personally just a few weeks ago switched my party affiliation from Republican to Unaffiliated. I could no longer be associated with a party who has such disregard for our planet, for immigrants, is only concerned with helping big business get richer, etc. You folks need to wake up and realize there is opposition to your policies from thoughtful people on both sides of the aisle. I just hope we can elect principled leadership in future elections before our entire planet and its people are destroyed.

It is not vitriol- it is a pure reaction to a feeling of dread and real danger to what this administration is doing: dismantling the institutions of our government, nominating unqualified nominees to head agencies, undermining civil liberties, attacking our judicial system, questioning the freedom of the press, destroying laws that protect our environment & water safety, attacking women’s rights, making health care unaffordable and unattainable to those in need, writing unconstitutional presidential mandates, dismantling Dodd Frank… i could go on and on. people are going to continue to react to what this administration does as we teeter on the edge of a full blown authoritarian state.

The rules changed when you and your ilk chose party over country in November. You had the opportunity to do the right thing and you didn’t. Now you are stuck dealing with us. Get used to it Danny. We aren’t going anywhere. The notion that liberals are soft and a pushover because they won’t stoop to your level is dead. If a democrat behaved like Trump and his cabinet are you would be calling to use the 25th amendment.

Lambasting those on the left for name calling… and then… wait for it… oh, here it comes… he refers to liberals as “snowflakes”. Oh come on… the irony is thick.

Oh, Mr. Caffrey. What a shame, what an embarrassment to New Jersey governance. But you’re one of a long line of….privileged Republicans who like to bully, insult, and ridicule your way out of actually showing up for the town and doing your job. Thankfully, New Jerseyans in record numbers are turning out against this kind of behavior. Peacefully, and with baked goods and letters to their constituents. (“Vitriol”? “Violence”? Really? Let’s not get hysterical, Mr. Caffrey. If you are at all aware of math, consider the percentage of “violent” protests to those that follow in the long tradition of American civic participation and public demonstration. How irresponsible of a public official to participate in perpetrating this nonsense news.)

What does this “editorial” show us? Limited understanding of government and the constitution. Limited understanding of American history. The enormous and fragile ego of a town representative. What a shame, what disgraceful behavior of an official, who in the same breath calls for the “vitriolic left” to “stop name calling”, yet uses the term “snowflakes” and likens those offering critique to whining children. Does Mr. Caffrey see the hypocrisy? Certainly not. His own confirmation bias will not let him do so. This is a man who represents Morristown? Laughable. He represents himself. This “editorial” offers nothing but a window into Mr. Caffrey’s indignation over well-deserved critiques. I am, however, amused Mr. Caffrey. Time to shape up your game, sir.

The author has a very insulated and inaccurate report of reality, easily rectified with facts.

The completely disingenuous nature of this opinion shows this writer either lives in an alternative universe with alternative facts or he is an out and out liar. The vitriol that was directed at President Obama by the Tea Party and their ilk was disgusting and based solely on his skin color. Hoeever, the renewed activism from the left is not simply a tit for tat reaction to the shabby treatment President Obama received. It is a reaction to disgusting commentary by Mr Trump, dangerous policy initiatives by Mr Trump, and terrifying associations between Mr Trump and white supremacists and Vladimir Putin. Add to that the complete disregard of constituents by Republican lawmakers as we fight to have our representatives speak for us and not their corporate and big money donors. Your commentary that we are spoiled millennials looking for a participation trophy clearly shows you do no research for this piece. I myself am a Gen-Xer and not only am I not being paid, I have chosen to give up lunch hours or days off to make my voice heard. Additionally, the MAJORITY of those attending Fridays with Freelinghuysen events are either of my generation or Boomers. Kindly open your eyes and see the con Mr Trump is trying to perpetuate on this Country.

What’s with all the mentions of “they” and various unhelpful labels, Mr. Caffrey? Come down to Congressman Frelinghuysen’s office on Schuyler St. this afternoon to see for yourself how diverse is that gathering of citizens. People are coming together, crossing old boundaries to uphold common values of liberty and freedom. Please pay attention.

I’m surprised that Mr. Caffrey does not recall the hundreds of effigy burnings and mock lynchings of President Obama. I’m also surprised he doesn’t mention the numerous times that his birth certificate, educational qualifications, wife and even children were ridiculed, called gorillas. On a more professional level, the House majority leader said so many times that whatever it took, Mr. Obama would be opposed in every effort that he made, and prevented his rightfully nominated Supreme Court justice from ever receiving a hearing. Please don’t pretend that all was Roses and valentines from the Right for eight years. It was not.

Mr. Caffrey,

Your words do not represent a large portion of your township and they certainly do not represent me. First of all, I see our democracy at work. The protests are not violent. The protests have been more than peaceful and a wonderful example of citizens coming forward to express concerns en mass. They’re not sore losers or in need of trophies. They are deeply concerned for the well being of fellow citizens. Something your “all about me” party has forgotten.

No, I’m sorry when fellow citizens are attacked for their religion, hard working immigrants are living in fear of deportation, people may once again live without health care, women will lose the right to have control of their own bodies and our values and civility are being trampled on by your party and it’s disgraceful leader, we the concerned citizens of our country will speak up. We care less about putting a few more bucks back into our own pocket and more about standing up for the values we care about. I would watch out because if you fall in line with this new status quo, you will be voted out and I will happily be organizing our citizens against you.

Excellent! It is because of the left’s immature behavior that the Tea Party is again taking action. No doubt that the action will be peaceful and professionally executed. I will soon be with Freedom Works and the Tea Party in Washington marching and voicing my opinion as I have previously done. I hope others will join “the movement” to support democracy.
Pray for those who display immature behaviors when they don’t “get a trophy.” Pray for them to act like adults, and not like children whose parents lacked discipline in their upbringing.

Mr. Caffrey has quite the selective memory, “there was no name calling”, really? For years the current occupant of the White House denied the legitimacy of President Obama. Does Mr. Caffrey recall ” death panels” or “FEMA camps”?

Caffrey’s condescending attitude may be the root cause of the vitriol he’s so very upset about. Calling his opponents ” snowflakes ” hardly constitutes a PROFESSIONAL conversation.

After many years, I have yet to find any evidence of Township republicans ever attempting to consider the viewpoints of their opponents, especially during their campaigns..Keeping their heads in the sand while ignoring genuine concerns is not doing their constituents any favors.

“There was no name calling…no protests…no violence…no starting of fires or smashing storefront windows. No likening our next President to the evils of Nazism.” Are. You. Kidding. We saw 8 years of racist protests, Obama effigies, and nonstop whining and obstructionism from the right. Stop painting yourselves as victims and grow up. Also, no name calling? You literally called liberals snowflakes in this very essay.
The difference today is that it isn’t disagreements over economic policies and benign issues. One side won the election based on racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and targeting many minority groups. They won the election based on policies designed to hurt people in those groups. They have proceeded to attack first amendment rights like freedom of the press and have waged a war on intelligence and factual reporting. We’re not whining about losing. We are terrified for our lives and terrified for the future of this country.
I’m sorry that your feelings are hurt, Committeeman. But maybe as someone who should be representing your constituents, you should think about the lived experiences of ALL of your constituents and actually listen to their concerns. Just because they did not vote for you does not mean their voices matter less.

Well said. “When they go low, we go high” appears to only apply when they thought their horse was winning the race.