Meet the combat veteran who wants to be the GOP leader in NJ

It's always a pleasure to highlight strong people who are not afraid to fight.

One of those new voices of common sense and critical thinking is Assemblyman Brian Bergen. He's a West Point graduate and combat veteran who served our nation faithfully for eight years as an officer Apache pilot in the U.S. Army. HERE's his bio from the NJ Assembly site.

He was elected to the Assembly in 2019 and is running for a second term. The current leader, Jon Bramnick, is running for the state Senate, leaving a vacancy.

Brian stepped up to run and is being challenged by the insider elites who don't want a tough-minded, tough-talking man of action to be at the helm. Might make them look bad for the decades of ineffective leadership allowing the Democratic majority to grow and damage this state nearly beyond repair.

Brian Bergen gives hope to those of us who know that the current path of the GOP opposition is weak and ineffective. New Jersey is sliding fast down the path of Massachusetts and Vermont, both states with GOP governors but with such a weak state party and legislative presence, the governors are essentially "Democrat lite."

Not sure where this race is going to fall, but the front runner is Bramnick's running mate Nancy Munoz who actively opposed the medical-freedom parents supporting the removal of the religious exemptions to mandatory vaccines.

'Most said nothing as the governor crushed businesses, hurt families, and took away liberty'

Should anyone currently in the Assembly leadership keep their job? How is it possible that the GOP spent the past year complaining about the process of legislation, whining that the speaker never posted their bills, but rarely stepping out to attack the governor and the majority?

Other state legislative groups joined lawsuits, attacked on the airwaves, and did everything possible to stop the destruction of civil, economic, religious, and medical liberties.

Even the GOP nominee for governor, now desperate to win and take advantage of the growing anger with Murphy, was silent throughout most of the lockdowns.

Our so-called opposition leaders sat back and criticized other states and the incumbent president as states like Florida, Georgia, and Texas opened up. Most were scared to death of a virus with a 99% survival rate for most people. Most said nothing as the governor crushed businesses, hurt families, and took away liberty through the force of executive and police power.

While Florida now surges in economic growth and civil liberties, New Jersey is watching debt and taxes rise, the quality of education fall, and the exodus continuing.

As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. In New Jersey, it seems the only way the state will change is if new leaders are given a chance to lead.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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