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In the new memoir Bad Republican, Meghan McCain talks about the last four years of her life as the conservative co-host on The View, as well as dealing with the death of her father Arizona Sen. John McCain. In the exclusive excerpt below, McCain writes about the turning point with Joy Behar last January that convinced her it was time to leave The View. Bad Republican is available on Audible on Oct. 21. Read Varietys interview with McCain about the new book.

On July 1, 2021, I announced live on air that I was leaving The View after four years. My co-hosts learned about my decision that morning, and the shock registered on their faces. Id been talking to ABCs higher-ups for weeks about wanting to leave. Up until the week before, they were trying to convince me to stay and finish out the two years left on my contract. I told them it was too late I had to get out.

I didnt get much sleep the night before the announcement. I kept going over the things Id be saying on the show the next morning and also, the things I would not be saying. I would be talking about what an incredible opportunity being on the show was, how much respect I had for my co-hosts, and how much Id learned from being there. But I would not mention that the way Id been treated on the show as the resident conservative, particularly upon my return from maternity leave, had made it impossible for me to stay.

This is the part you all want to know about, right? You want all the details about what happens when the cameras arent on at The View. Im not going to dish on every piece of drama that I witnessed. I had a lot of good memories on the show, and it was a privilege to be part of such an iconic piece of TV history. And yes, I know that most jobs in TV are stressful, being in a pressure-cooker environment, and thats to be expected.

But theres stuff that happens on The View that shouldnt be allowed. For whatever reason, theres a deep level of misogyny about the way The View is covered and written about in the media, where tabloids are always writing about the co-hosts hating each other backstage. Its a self-fulfilling prophecy because the atmosphere of The View breeds drama: producers cant control hosts, manage conflict or control leaking. My take on the show is that working at The View brings out the worst in people. I believe that all the women and the staff are working under conditions where the culture is so fucked up, it feels like quicksand.

I dont know why that is. Maybe its because theres no high-level oversight of the show from the network. ABC wont lay down the law when it comes to conduct at The View. Were like the networks crazy cousin. HR reports seem to fall on deaf ears, starting from years before I worked there. And as a result, people both on camera and off feel empowered to act however they like, and do whatever they want. In my four years there, I was the target of plenty of shade too much to even begin to recount and then I also experienced more toxic, direct and purposeful hostility.

When I first joined The View in 2017, I felt a connection to Whoopi. She had made a promise to my father that she would look after me, and she kept her word for the first two years that I was on the show. The thing about Whoopi, though, is that she yields so much power in culture and television, and once she turns on you, it can create unfathomable tension at the table. I found her open disdain for me more and more difficult to manage as the years went on and it became more frequent. Occasionally, if the shows political discourse veered into territory that she found disagreeable, Whoopi would cut me off, sometimes harshly. Once, in the middle of a heated debate on live TV, Whoopi singled me out and said, Girl, please stop talking right now. It instantly trended on Twitter. And it really hurt. Another time she answered something I said by blurting out O.K. in a tone that declared she was both baffled and disgusted by what I had just said. This reaction also went viral and left a scar on our relationship. Day after day, week after week, these things take a toll.

You cant imagine how it messes with your self-esteem working in an environment where the worst thing you can be in the world is a Republican during the Trump years. As the country got worse under Trump, the treatment from Whoopi, Joy and some of the staff grew meaner and less forgiving. It was as if I had become an avatar for everything they hated about the president. It felt like the co-hosts and staff only knew one Republican me and took out all their anger on me, even though I didnt even vote for Trump.

It was hard for me to understand. And I couldnt explain it, because Whoopi and Joy saw front and center the emotional trauma that I experienced from President Trumps attacks on my family. There was more than one occasion when I had to go on live TV and address the next disgusting thing Trump was saying about my father, as my dad was sick.

After my dad died, I heard Joy had told others at The View that she couldnt understand how I could still defend Republicans after everything Trump had done to me. Why was that something she had to worry about? I could separate the two. I could separate Trump from being a Republican. And by the way, that was my job on the show. Its also how the great political analysts survive the ups and downs of each administration. The View wouldnt have had the ratings that it did during my four years if I was like the conservative co-hosts who succeeded Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Those women agreed with everyone and nodded politely. The women who once voted Republican and came to find nothing except the ability to trash the party and its members at every possible opportunity.

In the exclusive excerpt below, Meghan McCain writes about the turning point with Joy Behar last January that convinced her it was time to leave The View.Courtesy of Audible

During my time on The View, I felt like I was being often being punished and singled out for being a conservative. Id hear a lot of complaints that the staff, including the other co-hosts and producers, had problems with my personality. Until I got pregnant, I could handle it and manage it. No matter how hard the days were, I accepted the tradeoff. I was on the most watched TV show on daytime TV with a platform to speak to and for millions of women in this country. This was the deal with the devil I knowingly made.

What changed was how I was treated after I had a baby. After I gave birth to Liberty, I suffered from severe postpartum anxiety. For those of you who dont know what that is, postpartum anxiety is a cousin to postpartum depression that affects about 10 percent of new moms, according to the American Pregnancy Association. The telltale signs are excessive worrying, racing thoughts and feelings of dread. Where it turns from being different from normal new mom worries is the point at which it becomes irrational. I sadly had this in spades. I was paranoid that someone was going to kidnap Liberty to the point that I considered hiring armed bodyguards outside our house. I was afraid people wanted to kill her, or steal her or hurt her in some way. Every night, when she went to sleep, I would go in and check on her to make sure she was still breathing and still in her crib. As I was dealing with my own emotions, I couldnt also navigate the idea that I was hated and felt hated at a toxic work environment. The second that feeling set in, it started to snowball into me thinking that everyone hated me. And because of that, I was worried even more that someone would steal or kidnap my child as a way of hurting me. It wasnt rational; I know that. But it was the medical diagnosis I was going through.

When I was getting ready to return to work, I told my producers that it was going to be rough for me. I didnt ask for special treatment, but I didnt expect the attacks to start either. When other women come back from maternity leave on The View, they are welcomed with confetti and baby presents. Also I had been gone for three months and I had assumed they had missed seeing me. I was wrong.

On my second day back, as I was still getting my sea legs back and adjusting to my new schedule and life between breast-pumping and researching for my hot topics, Joy and I began squabbling a bit about the state of the Democratic Party on air. To make light of things and to ease the tension, I said, Joy, you missed me so much when I was on maternity leave! You missed fighting with me!

I did not, Joy said. I did not miss you. Zero.

Nothing anyone has ever said to me on camera since I have been giving interviews since I was 22 years old ever hit this hard. I felt like Id been slapped. She yelled out at me sharp and intensely and I believed her. Now, I know Im not always a perfect angel, but I would never speak to any woman that way who had just returned after giving birth. There are some things in life and some moments of time in life which are sacred. There are also times in life where you arent as strong as you usually are.

Thats so nasty, I said, unable to hide my shock. Thats so rude.

Until that moment, it hadnt even occurred to me that Joy hadnt missed me. Shed texted me to ask to see a baby picture of Liberty, and shed seemed happy for me. Wed chatted in a friendly way. I believed that, despite all our differences, deep down, we had a mutual understanding of respect for each other.

When we broke for commercial, I burst into tears. Not just like tearing up, uncontrollable sobbing. I was super hormonal and deeply hurt.

If you guys didnt want me to come back, I wouldnt have come back! I said to the producer in my earpiece. I told him he might need to pull my camera away for a minute because I wasnt sure if I could get myself together in time to go back to interviewing people. I felt my boobs begin to leak from lactation. I was embarrassed and shaking. I felt like I wasnt in control of my body. I didnt want millions of viewers to see that.

After sobbing for what felt like an eternity, I wiped my face, took deep breaths, and double-checked that my nipples were not in camera range. I tried to smile and focus as the show resumed.

That experience of crying and leaking and trying to pull it together in seconds so I could go back on-air with women who appeared to hate me was an intensely heartbreaking experience. I cant explain it further other than I felt like in that moment I took a look at my life outside of myself and I thought clearly this shit isnt worth this. Nothing in life is worth this. I made it through the rest of the show and, afterward, I went into my office. Because of COVID, I taped the show in an almost empty ABC bureau office where it was just me and my makeup artist and our sound lady. They are lovely people, and we got along well, but I rushed down stairs, closed my door, threw up in the garbage can and I finished the crying session Id had to interrupt before. Shed triggered my postpartum anxiety and now I was on a roller coaster that I couldnt stop. While I wept, I no longer felt safe working at The View. It is one of the most singular feelings of loneliness and anguish I have felt in my entire life. It was a perfect storm of hormones, postpartum anxiety and a lot of demons on The View coming out to bite me.

Later, I asked my executive producer for an apology from Joy. She had humiliated me live on air and an apology from her didnt seem like a lot to ask. I was told I would not be getting one and we all just needed to move on. I never talked to Joy one on one again after that day.

Call me nave, but when I came back to work after having a baby, I expected to be treated with respect. It had taken me so long to get healthy again. Id had postpartum preeclampsia in the hospital, which is when you have scarily high blood pressure after giving birth. I couldnt breathe, I could barely stand up. I needed my husband and my sister-in-law to help me eat and walk. It was mortifying. When I took Liberty to her first pediatrician appointment, the doctor gave me a form to fill out about how I was coping. I failed it. I was shocked. The pediatrician pulled me aside and told me I needed to talk to my OBGYN right away. My OBGYN prescribed me Zoloft for my anxiety and I started going to therapy.

The View is billed as being honest and open. Its billed as an arena for women to share and discuss their views on politics and the most important topics of the day an arena historically occupied by men. A space where women support and respectfully challenge each other. But the truth is that the environment of the show is toxic. Here I was, thinking that I had been through so much with these women. Together, we had helped bring the show back from the dead. We won an Emmy. We became Americas most watched daytime talk show. We were on the covers of magazines. After giving birth, I didnt feel like myself. I felt extremely vulnerable. Joy seemed to smell that vulnerability like a shark smells blood in the water, and she took after it. Why was this worth it to her? I will never know. But, so much for working moms looking out for each other.

I realize The View is a TV show. I know what I signed up for. Im not some delicate flower. The View has a long, storied history that has been well documented. But up until the day I returned to work, Id been in quarantine and completely isolated with a new baby. Covid pregnancy and my covid fourth trimester was challenging, isolating, scary, intense and liberating. When it was time to go back to work, I understood why women might not have children if they want to focus on their career. I was made to feel that my having a baby had inconvenienced everyone and that becoming a mother had made me weak. This beautiful thing that had happened in my life had turned into a shitty tabloid drama. And it was a shitty tabloid drama that moment blasted across the internet and television media like a comet. Ultimately it proved too difficult for me to forgive or move on from. Especially because I was told I wouldnt be getting an apology. I didnt have the emotional bandwidth anymore to try with any of them anymore. I thought I was part of a show where women can have the kinds of conversations that society doesnt generally make space for women to have. But, for me, The View didnt feel like a pro-women show. Soon after I returned, it hit me: I didnt want to be a part of that, for myself, for my daughter and for women everywhere.

In the days after my return on The View, my postpartum anxiety got worse.

I became even more worried someone would try to hurt Liberty to punish me.

I had a hard time letting anyone else hold her but me.

I would have panic attacks taking her in a stroller because I was afraid someone would push me down and run off with her.

My husband Ben was very honest with my doctor and said, Shes having a hard time, and its more than depression. Two of my closest friends, Clay and Josh, told me Id never seemed sadder or more anxious in all the years theyd known me. I know that many of you noticed it too. I would hear from viewers saying that I looked so sad on The View in the winter of 2021.

I had been unhappy at The View for a long time. My unhappiness was like this giant wave that had been building and building and finally crashed after I returned from leave. I dont think most people understand how all-consuming the show is. Its not like being a news host or a talking head. Youre expected to share every detail of your life, and live in this quasi-reality TV existence, where you are constantly reacting to your TV family that may or may not hate you. Sometimes I would go home and start relaxing and unwinding and just catching my breath and the shows publicist would call me and say, Theres an article about you on Page Six or TMZ saying youre Axl Rose and you set the studio on fire and everybody hates you, and youre a monster and nobody wants you here.

You can shrug it off for a while and I did but at a certain point it starts to cause harm. It got to the point where I would arrive at the studio, get in the elevator alone, walk as fast as I could to my dressing room, and shut the door. I was so paranoid that any interaction I had could be sold to the press or become fodder on Twitter. Conversations could be taken out of context and used against me. I remember when I got there, one of the first stories was that Id had a psychotic break down and was yelling about being the only Republican on the show. A version of that did happen, but not the way it was reported. Something serious happened I cant remember what and I did yell that I was the only Republican on the show. But there was no psychotic break down. One of the oldest tricks in the book is calling women crazy. If you have an emotional reaction to something mean theyve done, they turn around and say, Shes so crazy. Look at her. What an unhinged lunatic! Theres no way to win because youre made to feel crazy and then you start going crazy. And then when you go crazy, they say, Shes always been a basket case. Look at her! What a maniac. It wasnt like that for other co-hosts. They could have their emotions. They could get fired up about what they believed in. But I couldnt. I have endless stories about my colleagues behavior on set and off. Its an emotional show and sometimes what happens backstage isnt pretty. But for some reason, it was always my stuff that leaked.

It started to feel very isolating.

Look, its not all bad. Ill be attached to it for the rest of my life, for better or worse. Im not mad about what happened to me. Other hosts whove left are like, Fuck The View. I dont feel that way. Im not bitter or angry. I want change. The idea of show dedicated to women having conversations that society reserves for men is important and necessary in our culture. But there are some things about the show that feel stuck in 1997 when The View first went on air. In this era of dismantling toxic work environments and refusing to accept the poor treatment of employees, how is The View still immune?

My experiences at The View made me think about how women are treated in the workplace, period. I want ABC to change. But I want change in America too, starting with giving pregnant women paid maternity leave. Corporations should not be allowed to say, We support women, blah blah blah, but if you have a baby, were not going to support you. These companies spend millions of dollars a year trying to convince consumers of their high moral values, but how many of them actually walk the talk? It needs to change.

I believe that ABC News should offer paid family leave to all employees.

I realize, too, that not all conservatives believe in paid family leave. This is a problem. Conservatives are supposed to be so pro-family, but too often their policies stop short of protecting and supporting women. I was always for paid family leave, but now I see it as my issue. This is a call to arms. Im hopeful that being open and vulnerable with my story will help. Of course, I cant imagine what its like for women who are less privileged than I am, women who work minimum wage jobs, and single mothers struggling to make ends meet. But I do know how hard it was for me. And Im sure its much, much more difficult for them. I cant imagine how I would have gotten through that period of time in my life without the support from my friends and family and the resources with the amazing doctors and specialists who helped me come out the other side. Every woman should have the same access and resources I did in one of the most vulnerable and difficult times in a womans life. I feel like we are collectively failing new moms and women in general in this country.

The morning I announced that I was quitting The View, I was exhausted because I didnt sleep at all the night before. I was so distracted leaving the house that I forgot my on-air clothes and my coffee. When I realized I didnt have my coffee, I asked my Uber driver to stop so I could run into a coffee shop to get some. The place we pulled up to was wasnt a place I had gone before.

I had been thinking about how my father had told me to take the job at The View. I dont think he was wrong, but I think he would have wanted me to go now. I helped the show win an Emmy. I buried him and showed up to work right after. I interviewed Donald Trump, Jr., even though hed attacked my family. I did everything that was asked and put my mental and emotional wellbeing aside for it.

When my dad died, it was a wake-up call about how little time we have. I felt like I didnt listen to that wake up call, and then COVID happened, and now I feel like I am listening to it. Since COVID, a lot of people, but especially people my age, are reassessing what they want and what they consider worthwhile. My generation would rather make less money and create quality work, or do something they love, or work with people they respect. I never thought I was that person. But when I went back to the show, I felt like I was being disingenuous. I thought of the press I would have to do next season, the junkets. Its all about women supporting women. I didnt want to lie anymore. I couldnt. I couldnt put on the happy face after what I went through. Unlike a lot of women my age with little kids, I can afford to leave a toxic workplace. This is the great luxury of my life being able to get up and leave when I have had enough. I know that makes me extremely privileged. I feel heartsick for all women who feel trapped in places they cant afford to leave.

I was really mad and upset at myself for not being stronger when I got back to work. I felt as if I had failed. I thought to myself, This is why people dont have children. Now when I see any woman whos pregnant or postpartum, all I want to say is, What do you need? How can I help you? I never want to work for anyone again who doesnt look out for new mothers.

As I walked into the unfamiliar coffee shop on Capitol Hill, I heard the ABBA song Take a Chance on Me playing really loud. The people behind the counter were dancing to the song, smiling and laughing. ABBA was one of my dads favorite bands. It was a sign: I was making the right decision.

Originally posted here:
Meghan McCain Reveals Why She Quit The View (EXCLUSIVE BOOK EXCERPT) - Variety

Major corporations that have publicly touted their support for voting rights amid thenationwide Republican crackdown on ballot access are still funding many Republican state attorneys general who are working to scuttlefederal voting rights legislation.

Leaders of companies like General Motors, Coca-Colaand Home Depot denouncedthe Republican onslaught of voting restrictions in states like Georgia earlier this year. But those companies and others have kept on fundingRepublican attorneys general who urged congressional leaders to block the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a proposed law thatwould restore a section of the Voting Rights Act recently gutted by the Supreme Court requiring states with a history of racial discrimination to pre-clear new voting changes with the Justice Department.

That also came after an arm of the Republican Attorneys General Associationsentrobocallson Jan. 5 of this year,urging supporters to come to Washington to "fight" Congress in support offormer President Donald Trump's election lies. The following day, of course, pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.The group also received $150,000from a major Republican donor who helped fundthe "Stop the Steal" rally that precededthe riot.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokitaled 22 other Republican attorneys general last month in condemning the John Lewis Voting Rights bill, claiming it "would allow the United States Department of Justice to usurp the authority states rightly possess over their own elections, essentially federalizing the election system."

"This legislation is a misguided, clumsy, and heavy-handed effort to circumvent Supreme Court decisions, state sovereignty, and the will of the people," the group said in a letterto congressional leaders, claiming that states responding to Republican concerns about election integrity would "inevitably be targeted by the Department of Justice leading to more confusion, litigation, and concerns over the validity of elections going forward."

Two of Rokita's top corporate sponsors have been adamant publicly about supporting voting rights. Brewinggiant Anheuser-Busch, which donated $5,000to Rokita and $75,000to Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, another signatory, last year launched a "Brew Democracy"initiative aimed to promote voting participation, claiming it was "committed to uniting our communities, strengthening our democracy and encouraging even greater participation in the political process." General Motors, which also gave $5,000to Rokita, signed a statementearlier this year criticizing Georgia Republicans for passing a law that would "reduce participation in elections particularly among historically disenfranchised communities."

Georgia is just one of 19 Republican-led states that have already enacted at least 33 new laws that will "make it harder for Americans to vote," according to the Brennan Center for Justice, including laws "making mail voting and early voting more difficult, imposing harsher voter ID requirements, and making faulty voter purges more likely."

Other Republican attorneys general who signed the letter have also received big donations from companies touting their voting rights support, according to data compiled in a new report by the progressive government watchdog group Accountable.US, shared with Salon this week.

"With the freedom to vote under attack across the country and targeted at communities of color and people with disabilities, corporations especially those claiming to value democracy need to put their money where their mouths are," Kyle Herrig, the group's president, said in a statement. "Instead, many big companies with household names are trying to have it both ways, telling their customers, shareholdersand employees that they embrace voting rights while they fund the campaigns of politicians trying to block this fundamental right from vulnerable Americans."

To make matters even more confusing, some of the big corporate donors involved have explicitly backed the John Lewis bill. Facebook, which gave nearly $13,000to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and $4,000to South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, was among more than 240 companies to sign a statementcalling on Congress to "restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act, removing barriers to voting and building the truly representative 21st century democracy our country deserves."

"The undersigned group of U.S. employers urges Congress to address these problems through legislation amending the Voting Rights Act of 1965," the statement says. "Last Congress, the House of Representatives passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We support the ongoing work of both the House and the Senate to enact legislation amending the Voting Rights Act this Congress."

The law firm Cozen O'Connor, which gave $10,100to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, previously toutedits work alongside the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in a court case that found that Louisiana violated the Voting Rights Act.

Coca-Cola, which is headquartered in Atlanta and was one of the top companies criticizing Georgia's voting law as "unacceptable"and vowing to advocate for voting protections, also donated more than$13,000to Carr. Home Depot, which issued a statement opposing the Georgia law, also gave Carr more than $13,000. The retail giant also donated more than $16,000to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, another signatory.

AT&T responded to the backlash over the Georgia law by issuing a statement in support of voting rights. "We believe the right to vote is sacred and we support voting laws that make it easier for more Americans to vote in free, fair and secure elections," saidCEO John Stankey. But the company has been a top funderof right-wing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, donating more than $108,000to his campaigns. Paxton was one of the signatories of the letter and led a doomed lawsuitlast winter asking the Supreme Court to throw out the election results in four states Trump lost despite no evidence of significant or widespread fraud.

"Corporations that pay lip service and play both sides during this critical fight are giving a free pass to politicians hellbent on disenfranchising voters and that says everything about a company's true values," Herrig said.

The House in August voted 219-212 alongparty lines to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Senate Democrats formally introduced the bill earlier this month but the bill is expected to face a Republican filibuster. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is the only Republican who has expressed supportfor the bill, and at least nine more GOP votes would be required to break the filibuster.

"Voting rights should never be a partisan issue, and for decades it wasn't," Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the nonpartisan good-government group Common Cause, said in a statement. "Many current GOP senators have backed strong voting rights protections in the past. In fact, 10current Republican senators voted for the Voting Rights Act reauthorization when it passed the Senate 98-0 in 2006, only one week after it was passed by the House. If 10 Senate Republicans will not support this bill, then Senate Democrats must reform the filibuster."

Republicans earlier this year filibustered the For the People Act, a sweeping Democratic proposal aimed at countering the slew of new voting restrictions in GOP-led states. The two doomed bills have ramped up pressure on "centrist" Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginiato agree to reform the filibuster rule.

Manchin, who has so far ruled out any changes to the filibuster, negotiated a compromise bill, the Freedom to Vote Act, in hopes of winning over enough Republicans to at least make a floor vote possible. The Senate this week is expected to vote on the bill, which includes provisionsto codify voter protections, ban the improper removal of local election officials, set stricter election administration standards, expand automatic voter registration and mail votingand ban partisan gerrymandering. To appease Republicans, it would also createa national voter ID requirement and scaleback proposals in theFor the People Act requiring states to provide mail-in ballot applications to all voters, banning voter list purges,creating independent redistricting commissionsand overhauling the Federal Election Commission.

Yet despite Manchin's attempt at compromise, not a single Senate Republican has agreed to back his legislation either.

"The Freedom to Vote Act went through endless debate and compromises, but even a compromise bill won't win 60 votes in our broken Senate,"said Stephany Spaulding, a spokesperson for Justice Democracy, a coalition of racial and social justice groups,in a statement.

"Republicans are committed to using every tool to prevent Black and brown voters from accessing the ballot box, and the Jim Crow filibuster is the ultimate weapon to block progress," Spaulding continued."Sen.Manchin searched for 10Republicans to support voting rights legislation, but Republican senators willing to break with Sen. [Mitch] McConnell and stand on the right side of history simply don't exist. Senate Democrats can no longer divorce the filibuster from the promises and issues they ran on they must act with urgency to get rid of the filibuster."

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Big corporations that claim to support voting rights are still funding right-wing state AGs - Salon

Election Day 2021 will be another day of continuing misery for the New Jersey Republican Party. It will mark another GOP event of self-destruction due to the pernicious political cancer of Trumpism.

The prime victim will be the GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. He was a bright shining light for the NJGOP four years ago when he courageously waved the anti-Trump banner, but since then he literally sold his soul to Trumpism. He went so far as to appear as a featured speaker at a Stop the Steal rally last November, and if you believe his denials of lack of knowledge of the rally purpose, I have a bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn that I can sell you.

Most shamefully, after the despicable and traitorous Trump- inspired and fomented Day of Insurrection on January 6, 2021, Jack tried initially to blame Democrats and Republicans equally, only first publicly ascribing the primary blame and responsibility to Donald Trump eight months later at the first debate on September 28, 2021.

Ciattarelli would have been a substantial underdog in this campaign to begin with, given the fact that Phil Murphy has been New Jerseys most successful governor since Tom Kean. The polls show that the electorate rightly gives him favorable ratings, on balance, for his handling of the Covid crisis and overall job performance. From an historical point of view, Murphy has created a magnificent legacy as Americas leading social justice governor, with towering accomplishments in the areas of environmental justice and voting rights protection for New Jerseyans of color.

Ciattarelli totally failed to change any of the pre-existing election dynamics in the two debates. Murphy will win reelection by at least a high single digit margin and at best an overwhelming landslide if urban turnout is high.

Yet Ciattarelli is not the only election day catastrophe facing the New Jersey Republican Party. The Republicans are a virtual certainty to lose two state Senate seats they currently hold, in the 2nd and 16th Districts. In both districts, the incumbent Republican Senators are not seeking reelection.

In the 2nd District, comprised solely of municipalities from Atlantic County, inthe battle of the Vinces, incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo is well positioned to defeat former Republican Assemblyman Vince Polistina. People who have heard or seen Mazzeo do not as a rule confuse him with the genius Albert Einstein or the suave and urbane Jack Kennedy. He is a person, however, of genuine decency and character, especially in his business affairs, a quality most valued in the era of Trumpian excess.

In the 16th District, consisting mostly of Somerset and Hunterdon County municipalities, Democrat Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker is an overwhelming favorite to defeat former Republican Congressman Mike Pappas, who is well on his way to earning a reputation as the Harold Stassen of Somerset County a one time winner, but now a perennial losing candidate.

Nor is the overwhelming advantage of 52-28 that the Democrats currently enjoy in the State Assembly likely to change. Republicans profess hopes of picking up Assembly seats in the 2nd and 16th Districts and also the 11th District, solely comprised of Monmouth County municipalities. GOP 2nd District Assembly Candidate and former Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, while an underdog, does have an outside chance of scoring an upset.

As for the 11th and 16th Districts, the GOP Assembly hopes are pipe-dreams. In the 11th District, the Democratic Senate reelection candidate is Vin Gopal, a figure of outstanding political and governmental accomplishment, giving the Democratic Assembly incumbents Joann Downey andEric Houghtaling an extra level of electoral protection.

If the New Jersey Republican Party were a synagogue, Election Day 2021 would be a most appropriate day for Republicans to recite the Mourners Kaddish for the deceased, praying for consolation from the Almighty. On Election Day 2021, however, New Jersey Republicans will be able to take supreme solace in a magnificent source of consolation, Assemblywoman Jean Stanfield, who will defeat incumbent Democratic Senator Dawn Addiego in New Jerseys 8th Legislative District, consisting largely of Burlington County with four Camden County and one Atlantic County municipalities.

In a nutshell, Jean Stanfield is a state legislator with a compelling biography, flawless character and decency, superb demonstrated competence, a magnificently warmly attractive personality without offensive flamboyance, and a significant departure from the current image New Jersey voters have of Republican candidates.

New Jersey voters will always deservedly hold former Governor Tom Kean in the highest esteem. Since the days of Tom Kean, however, the image of the Republican candidate has changed, largely due to the less than stellar legacies of other statewide GOP office holders and candidates. And the contrast between Jean Stanfield and these other GOP so-called luminaries is vivid.

Jean Stanfield is NOT a Republican woman from the country club wine and brie set, pontificating to other Republicans from an outdated playbook as to how GOP recovery in New Jersey and nationally can be effectuated.

Jean Stanfield is NOT a bully, an object of ridicule sitting bovinely on a beach chair, giving the appearance of being Nero while Rome burns.

And on the personal level, there is another aspect of Jean Stanfield that is most endearing. At the tender age of 64, she is already a GREAT -grandmother of two great-grandchildren! That is an accomplishment I most admire, as I did not become a grandfather until the age of 65!

Jean Stanfield is indeed the paradigm of what New Jersey Republicans should be seeking in future candidates for governor and US Senator.

In an era where Republican toxicity among African-American voters is at an all- time high, due to the Trumpian racism and bigotry now institutionalized in the GOP, Jean Stanfield is a remarkable exception, a mother of an interracial family. Her InsiderNJ column, Our Black Community Has Withstood Trauma for too Long was a powerful message that should not just have been adopted as required reading for the New Jersey Republican State Committee. It deserves to be must reading for all Americans.

Indeed, Jean Stanfield is the personification of the American dream. The daughter of working-class educators, she worked her way through college and law school and entered politics by being elected sheriff of Burlington County in 2001 and serving in that capacity until 2019. Her record as sheriff was distinguished by excellent grassroots outreach regarding all Burlington County community service programs.

In 2019, Jean was elected to the Assembly from Burlington Countys 8th District. She has served on the Assembly Human Services, Education, and Law and Public Safety Committees.

In nearly a quarter of a century of public service, including her tenure as assistant prosecutor in the Burlington County Prosecutors Office.Jean Stanfield has been untouched by scandal. Her trademark is competent honest service. The word you hear most often in connection with Jean Stanfield in Burlington County is beloved.

The incumbent Democrat Senator Dawn Addiego was elected to the Senate as a Republican in 2011, but switched to the Democratic Party in January, 2019. Retention of her seat is a major priority for the South Jersey George Norcross led Democrats, due to the power of Senatorial Courtesy. With Burlington County residents Troy Singleton representing the 7th Legislative District and Addiego representing the 8th, the Democrats have two Senators with Burlington County residency, and accordingly, each having senatorial courtesy plenary power to block all appointments of Burlington County residents that require State Senate approval. The election of a Republican Burlington resident Senator, Jean Stanfield would substantially reduce the leverage of the Democratic Party over such State appointments.

Accordingly, the Norcross- led South Jersey Democrat leadership cabal has arranged for a torrent of funds in support of the Addiego campaign and a plethora of negative anti-Jean Stanfield commercials. These commercials have failed to lay a glove on her.

For the Republican Party of South Jersey, a victory in the 8th District Senate Race will be the 2021 political version of the1942 Britishvictory at El Alamein, a decisive turning point in the Second World War. And Jean Stanfield makes a most compelling and commanding version of British General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery.

My next column will focus on the ramifications of a Stanfield victory, both statewide and in South Jersey. As the late Tonight show host Jack Paar used to say, more to come!

Alan J. Steinberg served as regional administrator of Region 2 EPA during the administration of former President George W. Bush and as executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.

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On Election Day 2021, the NJ Republican Consolation will be Jean Stanfield - InsiderNJ

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America" rally in Perry, Ga., on September 25, 2021. AP Photo/Ben Gray

Trump loyalists have become the dominant voice in many GOP chapters across Georgia, per the AJC.

The sea change threatens GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, who is loathed by the former president.

The wave of new leadership is set to shift the party's agenda on the local and state levels.

For decades, Cobb County, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, boasted one of the most influential Republican Party chapters in the state, propelling the careers of well-known lawmakers like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Johnny Isakson.

However, in recent years, what was once a solidly Republican suburban bastion has morphed into a politically-competitive jurisdiction where Democrats have been ascendant over the last decade - which culminated in President Joe Biden's countywide victory in the 2020 election, along with the locality backing Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in their respective races earlier this year.

In the wake of Georgia supporting Biden in 2020, local Republican chapters - including the Cobb County GOP - have become increasingly dominated by loyalists of former President Donald Trump, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who was endorsed by Trump in 2018, is now on the outs with the former president after refusing to overturn Biden's victory in Georgia last fall, rejecting calls to initiate a legislative session to install pro-Trump electors.

Now, animosity against the sitting GOP governor has spread from the party's kingmaker to the grassroots level.

Four years ago, Kemp was welcomed with open arms by the Cobb County GOP when he kicked off his nascent gubernatorial bid. However, in late September, he was censured by the organization for failing to meet campaign promises on immigration, party chairperson Salleigh Grubbs told the Marietta Daily Journal.

"[Kemp] has consistently said, 'I've got a big truck in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take them home myself,'" she told the publication, alluding to a widely-viewed advertisement from the governor's first campaign. "So the resolution portion of it says that Gov. Brian Kemp be censured for his failure to keep his campaign promises and meet his obligations to end illegal immigration in the state of Georgia."

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Rep. Jody Hice is running in a GOP primary to oust Brad Raffensperger as Georgia's secretary of state. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Hice in the race. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Trump boosters are now driving the agenda within local GOP chapters, even more so now that the former president continues to repeat debunked claims about the 2020 election and tease a potential 2024 campaign.

According to the AJC, Trump loyalists have wrestled control of the local GOP machinery "in at least a dozen counties" in Georgia; while the loyalists have brought new energy to the local organizations, they have also "contributed to the ongoing friction" that the party must overcome to win in 2022.

Trump has so far refused to endorse Kemp in 2022, and he's eagerly seeking to replace Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger with conservative Rep. Jody Hice next year. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who has been highly critical of the former president's election claims, declined to run for reelection in 2022. And former NFL star Herschel Walker is the leading 2022 Republican Senate candidate to contest Democrat Raphael Warnock in what will likely shape up as one of the most competitive races in the country.

DeAnna Harris, who leads the Cobb County Young Republicans and opposed the censure of Kemp, told the AJC that it was essential for the GOP to present a united front to voters.

"All families have disagreements, but we've got to learn how to disagree in private and move forward in public together," she said. "Because it's going to set the stage for next year - and the next presidential election."

Harris also said that the "Trump takeover" is not just about optics, but is indicative of allies having a say in the party agenda, along with their ability to recruit candidates and spread their message to voters.

Trump for years has rebuked party members who were not firmly in his camp, and his loyalists are now waging an "internal war on mainstream Republicans who long controlled the gears of power," according to the AJC.

In recent months, the changes within local parties have been swift.

Kerry Luedke, who chaired the Cherokee County GOP for much of 2020 and focused on turnout efforts, told the AJC that she was ousted from her post after a wave of activists arrived, inspired by former Trump strategist Steve Bannon's call for loyalists to seize control of the party.

"While I was out there knocking on doors for the runoff candidates, they were Christmas shopping. But in their view, we had to go," she said. "It didn't really matter to some of these activists what we had done. They just wanted a clean sweep."

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Trump loyalists are leading a 'takeover' of local Republican parties across Georgia - Yahoo News

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York state GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy kicked off his Just Say No tour on Staten Island Monday in opposition of five ballot proposals that will be on the ballot on Nov. 2.

Langworthy was joined by the boroughs Republican delegation - North Shore City Council candidate Patricia Rodinelli, Assemblyman Michael Reilly (South Shore), Sen. Andrew Lanza (South Shore), Councilman Joe Borelli (South Shore), Borough President candidate Vito Fossella, Mid-Island City Council candidate David Carr, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (Staten Island/South Brooklyn), Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (Mid-Island) and Staten Island GOP Chairman Anthony Reinhart -- who are also in opposition to the ballot proposals.

The main opposition is to three of the five proposals:

The other two proposals would add a new amendment guaranteeing clean air and water to the state constitution and allow residents to sue in certain circumstances. It would also raise the limit on claims in the citys Civil Court from $25,000 to $50,000.

(Staten Island Advance/Kristin F. Dalton)

Langworthy said its his belief, and that of the Republican party, that the ballot proposals defy common sense and threaten democracy.

Its almost as if Democrats are working to legalize rigged elections, Langworthy said.

Fossella referenced the 2020 presidential election and how many Americans and lawmakers alike are still questioning the validity of the results. Youd think people would want to make sure the election is fair, Fossella continued.

Regarding same-day voter registration, there is a consensus among the GOP members that removing the process where city Board of Election (BOE) workers verify a persons identity, district, and eligibility prior to election day would undoubtedly increase fraudulent votes.

Mallotakis said its completely inappropriate.

These proposals are nothing more than an attempt by Democrats to increase their strangle hold on the state of New York. They undermine the integrity of the election; thats exactly what [Democrats] want, Lanza said.

Easy to vote, hard to cheat its the American way, Lanza said.

Borelli, who spoke briefly, said hes confident the people of Staten Island will vote against the proposals and vote Republican because they are frustrated with the one-party rule.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.

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Borough Republicans oppose 5 ballot proposals days before early voting in NYC - SILive.com