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Drooling on the Pillow

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Hague Rules 

David Kocieniewski wrote in the Times yesterday a surprisingly frank article about New Jersey Democrats, institutional corruption and Jon Corzine.
Political experts often point to the New Jersey Democratic
Party as an example of a highly evolved political machine.
While many of the urban Democratic political organizations
of the mid-20th century declined along with the cities
that nourished them, New Jersey's Democratic leaders
have maintained a powerful fund-raising and voter
turnout operation that has drawn strength from the
state's cities and sprawling suburbs, where local leaders
have built powerful fiefs.

What I read between the lines is that the only hope Republican's have for the the governor's race this year is to start pounding the issue of county bosses and pay-to-play and that the fate of spending cuts and budget discipline is more in the hands of the bosses than the people we elect.

This is highlighted in his article for the New Jersey Section of the Sunday Times (not on-line yet) which talks about the hosing Acting-Like-A-Governor Codey received from his fellow Dems who rolled over for the bags of money Corzine threw around for the bosses, naming Joseph Doria of Bayonne as one of the ethically challanged county bosses who threw Codey overboard on the Pay-to-Play issue.

In yesterday's article, Mr. Kocieniewski was able to keep a straight face while talking about Corzine's relationship with the issue:
Mr. Corzine has said his donations were not made to
advance his career or win public contracts for his political
allies, but to promote issues like education and health
care. He has also sought to distance himself from the
Democratic leaders by making government ethics a
centerpiece of his campaign and proposing a plan that
would limit how county bosses may use the big donations
he has lavished upon them, which have enabled them
to expand their influence.

Love it. He buys himself the nomination and now he's going to make government ethics the "centerpiece" of his campaign. The quote above illustrates just how stupid he thinks we are.

I think it's up to us to make sure that government ethics is the centerpiece of his campaign.

Today's article ends with a dire warning:
But if either Mr. Corzine or Mr. Codey try to enact any
drastic reform, they may inspire a kind of party unity
they'll regret -- inciting the power brokers to band
together to preserve their grip on state government
and taxpayer's money."
I don't think there's any danger of that, unless we demand it.
Posted by: Sluggo / 9:45 AM
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