A ‘Cheeky’ Request by Wilson in Madison

MADISON – It worked in East Hanover, why not here?

Still reveling in the East Hanover council’s switch en-masse to the Republican Party, a local GOP leader just asked the all-Democratic council in Madison to do the same. The Morris County Republican Committee was so excited by this it sent out a release and video trumpeting the event.

The acclaimed star of the show was Mary Wilson, who came to last week’s council meeting to introduce herself as the new chair of the borough’s Republican committee.

That was a nice gesture, but it soon surfaced that Wilson had an agenda.

Referencing the recent party switch by the council in nearby East Hanover, Wilson said:

“It struck me. I understand the temptation to switch parties because we really are a welcoming and fun group. So, standing in front of a (painting of a) great Republican president, President Lincoln, I’d like to attempt to ask you all to flip your seats to the Republican party.”

Wilson ticked off a series of Republican platform planks, including smaller government, lower taxes, less federal intervention in the economy and a strong national defense.

She added, “In other words, we want more power and money in the hands of citizens to make smart choices – and I think if you switched parties, that would free up a lot of your time.”

Wilson acknowledged this was a “cheeky request” and that she doesn’t really expect council members to instantly become Republicans.

“But I had to ask,” she explained.

None of the council members responded to Wilson during the meeting and the mayor, Robert Conley, has not yet been reached for comment.

There was a time when Madison frequently had Republicans on the governing body, but that has changed as the county has gotten much more politically competitive.

The upshot for Wilson’s rather audacious request was what happened in East Hanover earlier this month.

That’s when all five council members switched allegiance from Democratic to Republican just like that.

This was big news on the political front, not just in New Jersey, but across the nation.

What some of the national observers may have missed, however, was that the Democratic presence in East Hanover was very much an anomaly.

Party affiliation aside, the township has been decidedly conservative. Donald Trump won there in 2020 by about 2-1, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill lost handily in East Hanover last fall despite winning overall in CD-11 by 19 points.
Madison is quite a different story.

Joe Biden beat Trump here in 2020 by about 5,800 to 3,300. And last fall, Sherrill carried Madison by about 1,900 votes.

Perhaps mindful of the raw data, Wilson also made a much more modest request of the council.

Saying she’s always up for a cordial conversation,  Wilson said she’d be happy to “buy any of you a cup of tea” and talk about local issues from a different perspective.

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5 responses to “A ‘Cheeky’ Request by Wilson in Madison”

  1. Better to join the party of Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene , et al. than the party of Buttigieg, Biden and Harris which put America Last. All one has to do is look at East Palestine, Ohio as evidence of the Democrats’ policy of America last. What would happen if Madison had an East Palestine incident? Would you rather have Republicans or Democrats handling that type of situation? Democrats ignore problems, while Republicans handle the problems. Madison has major arteries passing through it where gasoline, chemical and even nuclear material pass through it by truck or train on a daily basis.

  2. 2. I’m guessing you missed the part about how the trump regime advocated for a safety compromise that flagrantly skirted rail safety rules that resulted in a like kind train derailment days later due to overheated antiquated braking systems that while president heir drumpf never showed up but parachuted in yesterday in search of a photo op?
    Oh Puhleeeezzzz?

  3. “The guy is so gross, he really is, talking about Trump water, branded Trump water,” Scarborough said. “By the way, he’s such a hypocrite, too, talking about attacking Joe Biden while Joe Biden is going, you know, risking his life fighting for western democracy, something he (trump) doesn’t give a damn about. The guy (trump) who talks about suspending the Constitution. It’s just absolutely insane. By the way, where was that guy (trump) when there were disasters, when there were train disasters when he (trump) was president of the United States? I never saw him (trump) out, I never saw him (trump) out. Where was he (trump)? Why did he (trump) decide to go here?”

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