Harry Hurley 4th of July Message for Atlantic, Cape May & Cumberland, NJ

July 4, 2022 is America’s 246th Birthday. Our Independence Day!

In some respects, we’re on “borrowed” time as a nation because the maximum shelf life for a Democracy in all of recorded history is about 200 years.

The United States of America is in fact, a Representative Republic and not a pure Democracy.

It was sheer brilliance on the part of our Founders. The American people are given the supreme power to directly elect our Congressional Representatives.

They, in turn, are supposed to vote in our best interest. As we know, this is not always the case.

That’s why our Founding Fathers decision to give them a relatively short “leash” to hold power was also brilliant.

And, every two, four or six years, “We The People” can replace them if the voters feel that they are not getting the job done.

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For many years, incumbents enjoyed almost certain re-election each and every time. That is no longer the case. The mood of the American people is dour at this time.

The country is also presently more divided than any time since the Civil War.

The American economy is faltering with runaway inflation, the highest gasoline prices ever, highest prices for goods and services, along with a broken supply chain.

The voters are poised to knock out at least 2-3 dozen Members of The United States House of Representatives this November 8, 2022.

One of those unlucky ones will not be United States Congressman Jeff Van Drew. Van Drew remains very popular in New Jersey’s District 2.

At least one, maybe more of New Jersey’s Congressmen will likely lose their seat(s) on November 8, 2022.

I predict that Thomas Kean, Jr. will win New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.

This is nothing against Congressman Tom Malinowski. Kean barely lost the seat in the 2020 election, which featured a once-in-a-lifetime, all-vote-by-mail election.

The current atmosphere couldn’t be more different than two years ago and all of it favors Kean.

Years ago, I wrote an article about the 56 signers of The Declaration of Independence and what happened to them afterward.

They risked literally everything, their homes, wealth and their very lives. They took the most daring and courageous risks in American history.

For many of them, it didn’t end well. Their unselfish bravery gave us the greatest nation in the history of the world.

My dear friend Tom Cantone has shared his Independence Day views with us:

We don’t teach our Founding Fathers History anymore, we don’t know anything about them and we’re embarrassed about our past, But those 56 young men who had the courage to sign their name on the declaration was a certain death warrant as the British sent 50,000 troops to hunt them down, mostly all of them had families, and businesses, suffered tragic endings and their homes and lives were destroyed. Let’s remember that first before we eat a hotdog - said Cantone.

Cantone’s are powerful and on point in every way.

Beyond the national scene, the late, great Tip O’Neil was absolutely right that in the end, “all politics is local.”

This is where we are very fortunate to have as our Tri-County New Jersey state representatives:

Senator Vince Polistina, District 2 and Senator Michael Testa, District 1, along with their Assembly team members, Don Guardian, Claire Swift, Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen.

It also really matters who your County level representatives matters are and who your local Mayor, Council, Commission Members are.

I strongly believe that before we fire-up our grills for 4th of July family barbecues … it is so important to reflect on the many supreme sacrifices that were made on our behalf, so that may enjoy all of the blessings of citizenship to The United States of America.