It's hard to say Wiz is the most progressive candidate. He's the most transparent process wise. He's the most Bernie friendly. But he's one of the few who hasn't come out in favor of marijuana legalization, for example. That said, there are things happening that should concern progressives.

Right now I think progressives should be up in arms about the nomination process. Why has Murphy sought the early endorsement from county party bosses and NJ power brokers? Why was he afraid to take his case to the actual voters first? Why does our system allow county parties to make endorsements the way it does? Why should they broker power the way they do? Why not just a standard primary?

I'm on my county committee. In bergen co, we had our vote for the nomination last month. These are typically done in March. Murphy won by a landslide, but honestly few committee members knew anything about the candidates! We weren't given enough time, and enough opportunities, to become informed and to hear from all of the candidates.

County committee members are elected and represent, theoretically, the grassroots of the party. But the conventions aren't even limited to those members. Each municipal chair is awarded a certain number of "bonus delegates." Typically they simply ask their members to approve the bonus delegates, and no one puts up a fuss. Think of them like superdelegates. But since they are appointed by power brokers themselves, you can imagine how they vote. They may even be selected because of their intended vote. That's a bit speculative, but the lack of transparency is a problem nonetheless.

If Murphy is the nominee he deserves our full support. He has a progressive platform, and we need a democrat as governor to pass a progressive agenda. But we shouldn't let the corrupt process go unaddressed, even if it leads to a progressive result.