Politics Is A Mother, Raising Hell Is Part Of The Job

The well-fought fights of the unofficial Jewish grandmother of the state of New Jersey, Loretta Weinberg, are on display in the high-energy political documentary Politics Is A Mother, Raising Hell Is Part Of The Job. Written and directed by Weinberg’s daughter, Francine Weinberg Graff, it tells the story of the trailblazing New Jersey state senator and her pursuit of the truth in the famous Bridgegate scandal. This is the little old lady that NJ Governor Chris Christie once asked why he couldn’t take a bat to at a press conference.

Bridgegate, for the newly whelped who may not know or remember, was a situation in Fort Lee where the three lanes to get onto the George Washington Bridge to New York City were taken down to one. This caused horrible traffic gridlock, and there was no explanation as to why the lanes were closed. State Senator Weinberg, who was almost 80, started going to the transit authority meetings to ask questions and kept digging into why the sudden, senseless turmoil. It was revelations due to her persistence that uncovered the real reason for the lane closures: political punishment for Fort Lee’s mayor for not endorsing Governor Christie in his re-election campaign.

“…her pursuit of the truth in the famous Bridgegate scandal.”

We also follow Weinberg’s lifelong passion for fighting for causes like equal rights for all taxpayers and standing up against forced birth policies. There are also peeks behind the curtain as to how dedicated this woman was to her family and them to her.

Weinberg’s husband, Irwin, who seems like a wonderful man, mentions in the film that people forget that what matters is your standing in your family. This notion is crucially important to understanding why Politics Is A Mother, Raising Hell Is Part Of The Job works so well. Filmmaker Graff immediately introduces us to Weinberg, the mother and grandmother, before we are introduced to Weinberg, the New Jersey Iron Granny. As dedicated as Weinberg is, she always put her family first, even in the face of her political ambitions.