Anna C. Little, the Republican candidate in highly diverse New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District, has an energy and intelligence that is infectious.
by Deal Hudson
Anna C. Little, the Republican candidate in highly diverse New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District, has an energy and intelligence that is infectious.
On issues from the defense of life and immigration to Obamacare, she speaks with incisive authority.
Her view of immigration, for example, is based upon her twenty years of experience as an immigration attorney.
“I know this law like the back of my hand; the facts are being manipulated by the media. Amnesty is being held up as a carrot, and people assume that the only way to get into the country is by crossing the border illegally, where they are at the mercy of the coyotes who charge them $10,000 apiece.”
Little calls the liberal position “abusive,” and the present law, the Immigration and Nationality Act, needs to be given a chance to work – “I understand how this law can work.”
As the mayor of Highlands, New Jersey and a former member of the Borough Council and Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Little is a veteran of local politics.
She proved her ability as a tough campaigner by defeating her GOP rival in the mayoral race when she spent only $21,000 to her opponent’s $400,000.
Little started gaining national attention in late summer when she started to narrow the polling gap with the heavily favored incumbent.
Her campaign has benefited from strong endorsements from Gov. Chris Christie; Judge Andrew Napolitano, FOX News legal analyst; Newt Gingrich; and Bill Kristol, founder of the Weekly Standard.
But, Little’s strong suite is her large and active cadre of several hundred volunteers who have already knocked on over 60,000 doors in the 6th District and plan on another 8,000 each week until the election.
Her impeccable pro-life and pro-marriage credentials have earned Little endorsements from Catholic Advocate Candidate Fund, National Right to Life, New Jersey Right to Life, and the Eagle Forum.
Along with the right to life, Little stresses traditional conservative positions — fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets — while supporting the fair tax and opposing Obamacare.
“Obamacare costs one trillion dollars up front and imposes an unconstitutional obligation to purchase a product imposed by the government.”
Little adds that the most serious problem with Obamacare is putting the government and the insurance companies between doctors and patients. “Physicians are being driven out of business by the cutting of provider reimbursements – all the talk about expanded coverage is smoke and mirrors.” [related]
Little has faced an uphill climb from the beginning in a District that voted 60% for Obama in 2008, 57% for Kerry in 2004, and 61% for Gore in 2000. But the political wind appears to be changing: Governor Christie carried the district by 8%, and his favorable rating remains at 59%.
As of October 8, Little’s internal polling showed her with a lead over Pallone, especially with those voters most likely to vote: 66% to 27% among voters who have already formed an opinion.
The incumbent Frank Pallone, a Democrat, has held the seat since 1993. Pallone, also a Catholic, has received a 100% rating from NARAL and Planned Parenthood. Pallone voted for the 2010 health care legislation containing taxpayer-funded abortion.
Pallone also receives a 100% rating from the Human Right Campaign for his support for homosexual marriage.
Little’s husband Robert is a technical architect, and they have three teenage children. The Little family is active in their local parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Highlands, where she cantors and sings in her choir.
A practicing attorney in Highlands, Little received both her B.A. and J.D. at Seton Hall University, the Catholic university of the Newark Archdiocese. She has a natural affinity for languages with fluency in Spanish and French, but she is also capable of reading Russian and Japanese.
Little credits her parents for her interest in languages. They told her in high school, “Forget home economics, — and just go take French.”
She initially worried her language study would interfere with her singing. Little sang her first solo, “Mother At Your Feet,” at St. Catherine’s Church, North Middletown, for her first communion.
“Singing is really prayer for me – the act of singing opens me, elevates me to a completely different level. Whatever is on my mind when I walk through the door is gone by the first song.”
Anna C. Little is the kind of Catholic candidate for Congress that we at Catholic Advocate can strongly endorse. Little is not only pro-life and pro-family but has the practical expertise of dealing with immigration issues that will be invaluable in the next Congress.
Click here to visit the Catholic Advocate Candidate Fund to learn more about Anna Little.
LifeNews.com Note: Deal W. Hudson is the director of InsideCatholic.com and the president of Catholic Advocate, a pro-life group. He is the author of Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States.
