Despite the fact that I’m a hardcore progressive—and like many others here, would be your natural ally—this retweet makes me not like you. I’m not saying this is fair, since I don’t know you, but first impressions matter.

Whether you like it or not, now you’re in a position of having to change my mind about you based on further actions and words. And it’s clear this is a widely shared sentiment. However, given your defensive (and at times reactionary) responses in this thread, my first impression of you stands.

If you can’t recognize the difficult position you’ve put yourself in with many Jersey City progressives because of your unnecessarily charged rhetoric and the seeming inability to recognize legitimate reasons that your potential allies may not like what you say and how you say it, then you’re not as skilled of a politician as you think you are.