Alex Law-- Fighting Back Against Corruption In South Jersey... On A Bernie Platform

If Bernie Sanders wasn't running for president this year, Alex Law would still be a compelling candidate for Congress in the badlands of South Jersey where politics are under the control of the state's most corrupt family, the Norcross Machine, something that harkens back to past darker decades. When the grotesquely corrupt retainer who had been serving as the Machine's Member of Congress, Rob Andrews, was given the option of leaving Congress or going to prison for improper use of campaign funds, he resigned and Boss Norcross stuck his right-wing younger brother into the seat. Andrews is now chief a lobbyist and Norcross is one of the House Democrats most frequently crossing the aisle to vote against President Obama and against progressive governance. His first vote after being handed his new job was in favor of the Keystone Pipeline and he is widely considered the most anti-environmental Democrat in the House-- as he was in the New Jersey legislature.

Last week the Political People Blog interviewed Alex for their podcast about his June 7 primary campaign. You can listen to it above and, if you want to, contribute to his campaign on the Blue America ActBlue page.

Alex Law is 24 years old, seriously progressive and has launched a primary challenge against Representative Donald Norcross, who he says is "the most conservative Democrat in New Jersey," His unique campaign and intellectual approach has sparked quite an interest in the Bernie Sanders supporter, particularly among progressive young people who view him as nothing less than a political idol. In a recent interview on the Political People Podcast, however, Alex contended that there is no magic recipe behind the success of his campaign, "really, all that is unique about our campaign here in South Jersey, is that we are putting people first."

Alex with Marianne Williamson in NJ-01

Alex isn’t kidding when he says that his primary opponent, Donald Norcross, has "voted with the Republicans on every controversial issue since he has been in office." Some of the whole spectrum of issues which Norcross has aligned himself with the GOP on include; the Keystone Pipeline, USA Freedom Act, GMO Dark Act, the Iran Deal, and various Defense spending votes.

Law also makes no secret of his support for Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. "My values, simply put, are progressive," he told the Political People Podcast, "I am the only only person running for federal office in New Jersey to have endorsed Bernie Sanders for President. I did so (endorsed Bernie Sanders) because I believe in similar progressive values such as campaign finance reform, sustainable energy student loan reform and criminal justice reform."

Law’s campaign was inherently different before he even began due to the fact that, similar to Bernie Sanders, he has decided to run a campaign that is 100% SuperPAC free. In a country, where money has systematically corrupted the political system to such an extent that elections now revolve around campaign donations, this is an extremely brave and risky move. Alex, however, doesn’t believe this principled stance will have any implications when it comes to his primary in New Jersey, "[What impact will the decision not to establish SuperPACs have on the election]. Very little.  Without the support of SuperPACs, millionaires and billionaires and instead, with real money from real people-- we can win this thing."

Alex doesn’t deny he faces a huge challenge. The latest Monmouth University poll has Hillary Clinton, who is a fundamentally different candidate to Law, beating Bernie Sanders, who Law is backing and ideologically similar to, in New Jersey by a large margin of 17 points. If he is to win, Law needs to dismantle a ruthlessly efficient political machine created by the Norcross family which has lucrative donations and big name backers behind it. Law, however, is not discouraged, "The only reason he (Donald Norcross) is currently in office right now is because of his brother George. He is someone who is only a Democrat because if he was a Republican he wouldn’t be able to win in NJ. And I firmly believe that if we can get passionate supporters to turn up, he can be beaten."

Where does he stand on topical issues? Alex has said he supports the Black Lives Matter movement and that the phrase “All Lives Matter” is nonsense. He believes firmly in campaign finance reform and has said that, eventually, he wants a constitutional amendment to deal with the issue of campaign donations and the resulting implications. He is for legalizing marijuana as he says it is “used to bring young, black males into the [prison] system."

If you would like to contribute to Alex Law’s campaign you can do so at his website’s donations page.

You can follow his campaign on his Facebook, Twitter or on his email list.

You can also contribute to Alex's campaign on the ActBlue page that is dedicated to congressional candidates who have endorsed Bernie Sanders and who are running on the same issues he is by tapping in the thermometer below: