Forrester Incites Corruption
Doug Forrester, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, followed up on his frequent charges of Democratic corruption when his campaign issued a statement concerning Corzine's Chief of Operations, Susan Levin Bass, who is under federal investigation for illegal campaign contributions (more at NJpolitics).
The GOP is using the situation to emphasize that Bass would not be the only "ethically flexible" individual associated with Corzine in the past. Former senator Bob Toricelli, former governor Jim McGreevey, and a former developer and convicted felon, Charles Kushner, have all apparently been close confidants.
While the GOP's list of corrupt officials is not wrong, the charges against Corzine are easy to dismiss. Every prominent Democrat was associated with Governor McGreevey and Senator Bob Torricelli, as well as many Republicans. Believe me, if a Republican assemblyman had the chance to become friends with the powerful governor of the state, he would. It could only benefit him and his constituents...until of course the governor resigns in disgrace and future opponents point to the connections, such as the Republicans are doing now to Corzine.
On a different note, it's interesting to speculate on how the New Jersey GOP would react if the president's Chief of Staff has to resign, or, God Forbid, spend some time at Camp Fed.
For propaganda on this issue:
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posted by Jack @ 8:51 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
This is an interesting subject. All politicians are surrounded by corruption. That is because all of us are surrounded by corruption. The couple next door does web porn, your boss does not pay his taxes, etc. The question is not whether one can find corruption surrounding a political campaign, but what is the candidate's relation to it? If one of your bowling buddies has a mistress - and you are telling his wife he's out with you when he is not - you have the wrong relationship with corruption. (Even if you are not committing adultery, you are enabling it.) The picture of Corzine and corruption does not lead me to suspect he is corrupt. Rather it tells me that he has the wrong relationship with corruption. He is an enabler.
This relationship is very, very real. Loyal machine functionary Codey was quickly shoved aside for Corzine because the unassuming-looking, smiling, successful Corzine provided an absolutely perfect cover for slimy Dem Party politics. Corzine was and is seen as 'incorruptible' - an easy sell, not because he has stood firm against corruption but simply because the public knows he does not need the money. What does Corzine get in return for giving cover to men like Menendez and Norcross? Smooth passage through the turbulent waters to NJ politics.
Corzine and the NJ Dems are perfect together. But any breast-beating Dem zealot who then tells us Corzine will upon election turn on his backers and stand against corruption is a liar or a fool. Our choice in November is not whether or not we elect Corzine or Forrester. It's about whether we decide we need someone to stand as a barrier against further Dem Party aggregation of power.
If we believe the Dems can regulate themselves, we'll elect a Democrat backed by and dependent on some of Jersey's most notorious Dem Party power brokers. If we have found ourselves saying 'Thank God for Chris Christie' more than a few times in the past several years, we may go in another direction.
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