New Brunswick Home News Tribune
For those of you that don’t know, Sen. Jon Corzine is running for Governor of New Jersey. This is both good and bad. It’s bad because I had high hopes for Corzine as a long-serving popular Senator. Keeping his Senate seat in Democratic hands is not assured.
New Jersey is a blue state, but it can swing. Bush Sr. beat Dukakis in 1988, and Christie Whitman served two terms as Governor.
It’s good because Corzine is in position to win. The last elected governor, James McGreevey had to resign when it was disclosed that he was gay, and had had an adulterous affair with a man. McGreevey’s term in office was mired in scandal from the beginning. And it didn’t help that “two Democratic fund-raisers were indicted on federal charges… — one of them accused of lining up prostitutes to discredit a witness in a tax fraud investigation, the other accused of extortion.”
No one should be shocked. New Jersey state politics have always been among the most corrupt in the nation. Between Atlantic City and the Newark Docks, there is enough mob influence to make Tony Soprano blush. But Corzine doesn’t come from the Democratic ranks of the state party. He comes from his Manhattan job at Goldman Sachs, and he has enough money to finance his own campaign. Corzine in beholden to no one.
Doug Forrester, on the other hand, is a kind of combination of Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh. You can read about what a schmuck he is here and here.
For Garden Staters, the biggest issue is property taxes. I moved to Philadelphia and saved $6,000 a year over what I was paying in Hightstown, NJ. The polls back me up:
People in Jersey are being taxed to death. Corzine understands this:
This fall, there are only really two big political races: the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. If you want to get involved in Jon Corzine’s race, you can sign up to volunteer here and you can donate money here. I encourage you to help Jon Corzine in his campaign to keep the Jersey state house blue. He offers a rare opportunity for the state party to clean up its act and begin doing its job of representing the people the way the people deserve to be represented.
We need to think about who will replace Corzine in the senate.
I’d like to see Paul Krugman appointed as an interim replacement, though he probably doesn’t want the job.
Perhaps we could have some influence in this regard.
I’d ask Bill Bradley to step up.
For a replacement, Tom Byrne works for me. I used to play with his younger brother at Morven, the old governor’s mansion, when I was a little kid. Call it blind loyalty.
I’ve always liked Bradley. Is Tom Byrne the son of the late Brendan Byrne?
Did Brendan Byrne die?
Tom Byrne is the son of the former governer, yes.
Whoops. I thought I had read of his passing a couple of years ago. My bad.
VA has a much tighter race than NJ. Kaine and his main opponent Jerry Kilgore are running neck and neck. Please visit Tim Kaine’s site to learn more about him and to contribute. VA is an important state to keep blue. It is a southern state and is the first step in taking back the south.
I do not work for the Kaine campaign. I am just an involved VA resident. I saw Tim Kaine speak a couple of weeks ago and he was fantastic. Not a plastic politician full of talking points. He spoke off the cuff and intelligently and passionately. He’s the kind of man we need in the State House. Please help if you can.
People in Jersey are being taxed to death
My NJ taxes, already preposterously high, have just gone up another 12%. No one is really serious about this. I am beginning to think there are rare situations where it might be preferable to have Republicans holding power, particularly ones who are not heavily into the culture war issues.
for this New Jersey resident, yellow dog democrat, there’s much disappointment that Corzine decided to leave the senate – and also that he elbowed out Acting Gov Codey who is highly regarded in the short time he’s been in office. Codey could get appointed to Corzine’s seat if Corzine wins, and Codey will take it, but there’s also talk that Menendez is in line for Corzine’s senate seat. to the extent that Corzine seems to have gone over to the dark side of democratic politics,-backroom deals, no public stands on controversial local issues – he is presently very disappointing. i hope that changes
i shouldn’t say backroom deals because that’s pure speculation on my part – it’s a matter of appearances. Corzine is giving an appearance of having lost/ losing his independent voice. hope it’s a false impression.
Codey could get appointed … if Corzine wins and IF Codey will take it – it’s not clear whether or not Codey would accept, i’ve read both no and maybe in newspapers.