The experience of the last few weeks has been enough to convince me - North Jersey and South Jersey just can't get along. North Jerseyans are a bunch of wannabe New Yorkers who sip lattes and cheer the Giants and Yankees and can't even find Salem County on the map. South Jersey is full of redneck wannabe Pennsyl-tuckians who cheer the Eagles and Phillies and think Hoboken is a neighborhood in Manhattan. It's time we call the whole thing off before people get hurt.
Fortunately, Florida is showing us how to deal with this in a mature fashion - secession.
Furious at what they call no respect from state leaders when it comes to collecting and spending their own money, the North Lauderdale City Commission passed a resolution requesting that Florida be divided into two states: North Florida and South Florida with the boundary line from Palm Beach County down through Monroe County.
I'm convinced. All we need to do is figure out what to do with the Brunswicks and we can split. Oh, and we need names. North Jersey and South Jersey are just so...common.
On the other hand, the Orlando Sentinel does a great job of highlighting the drawbacks in their video (linked above): "I think they would use most of the money to put an extra star on the flag."
Yet another Jersey politician is going to the slammer. At least Samuel Rivera had the decency to admit he was caught:
"We made a careful evaluation of the evidence and the climate for a jury trial and the government made a fair proposal to resolve the case," attorney Henry Klingeman said after the proceeding.
Rivera was one of the local officials swept up in the sting that netted Mims Hackett and Alfred Steele. At that time, he was defiant:
Mr. Rivera, 60, who has been mayor since 2001, after spending six years as a councilman, is accused of accepting $5,000 from a cooperating witness who represented the insurance brokerage in question.
During exchanges in a parked car and at a local diner, Mr. Rivera assured the witness he could make the Passaic City Council and the Passaic Valley Water Commission direct business his way.
"We can get you that easy, easy," Mr. Rivera is reported to have bragged, according to court papers.
In the days that followed the parade of handcuffed defendants with bowed heads, some of the officials, including the assemblymen, have resigned or been forced out of their jobs. Those still collecting paychecks have at least stayed out of public view.
Not Mr. Rivera, who came to work last week filled with defiance. "I'm not going down," he said from his City Hall desk, suggesting that the F.B.I.'s recorded evidence had been doctored. "I'm going to beat this."
Way to beat the rap, Mr. Bribery-is-cool Rivera. Way to beat it.
Democracy for America, the country's largest progressive political action organization, endorsed Frank Lautenberg for Senate today. DFA chair Jim Dean:
"Frank Lautenberg has shown time and again that he is a champion of progressive values and Democracy for America is proud to endorse his campaign. Sen. Lautenberg's commitment to the grassroots is well established and New Jersey is fortunate to have his expertise and representation in the Senate."
DFA executive director Arshad Hasan:
"Frank Lautenberg has been a leader on the issues that matter: ending the War in Iraq, expanding access to health care, and standing up for working men and women. Sen. Lautenberg's long-record make him the only real choice for progressives on June 3rd in New Jersey."
Frank Lautenberg:
"I am proud to accept Democracy for America's endorsement. DFA and I are both committed to changing direction in Washington after the failures of eight years of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Together we will work to end the War in Iraq, boost our economy, protect the environment, and make health care and higher education more affordable and accessible. DFA members know that they will always have an ally in the United States Senate as long as I am there."
On Wednesday, Hopeful made the case for election day registration (henceforth EDR) in New Jersey. I have been a staunch supporter of EDR ever since the practice helped spur record turnout in the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primaries. That's why I support a bill introduced by Senator Ray Lesniak at the start of the 2008 legislative session to permit election day registration in New Jersey. Earlier this year, I asked another Democratic state senator to cosponsor Senator Lesniak's EDR bill. The senator replied that she didn't support EDR, because it increased the possibility for voter fraud.
This senator's concern about voter fraud is utterly unfounded. "Voter fraud" is largely a manufactured talking point concocted by the Bush administration and other Republicans who want to make it more difficult for low-income citizens to vote against them. A Brennan Center report found that allegations of voter fraud are often "grossly inflated", and that these claims are often used to justify further restrictions on voting.
Suggestions that EDR increase fraud are also unfounded. A study by the voting rights group Demos found that EDR laws do not facilitate voter fraud. If anything, EDR makes voter fraud more difficult, because it requires voters to be physically present when they register.
There is no evidence that Lesniak's bill would make voter fraud any less difficult or any more common than it is now. Lesniak's bill requires election-day registrants to vote by provisional ballot rather than on machines. A voter registering on election day must present identification, just as any other first time voter must, and his or her registration must be approved by the county clerk before his vote may count. On the other hand, there is also no doubt that the practice would stimulate eligible voter participation in New Jersey.
"Hillary Clinton is a good friend, and I continue to hold her in high regard. She has made important contributions to our nation through her outstanding work as First Lady and in the United States Senate.
"After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs. Senator Obama has lived the American dream. He embodies the American ideals of hope, optimism, and the ability to take on tough challenges in order to solve difficult problems. In addition, I believe that he will work to restore America's image around the globe."
Frank Lautenberg and Rob Andrews are both superdelegates, the former uncommitted and the latter declared for Hillary Clinton. They could both go a long way toward ending this thing by declaring for Obama, marking a switch of three delegates in one fell swoop.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain will hold a press conference at Liberty Science Center with Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and former Governor Tom Kean today. McCain will talk about prolonging the Iraq war and appointing strict constructionist judges the environment.
Florida Congressman and Amtrak opponent John Mica is pushing an alternative to Senator Lautenberg's Amtrak funding bill that would privatize the Northeast Corridor.
School vouchers
The Senate Economic Growth Committee passed a school voucher plan which NJEA president Joyce Powell called a "radical step" toward privatization.
New Jersey, used to be considered a bellwether state in presidential elections. From 1884 through 1972, we voted for the popular vote winner in every election except 1916, when we rejected our own Woodrow Wilson in a very close election. Now, we're considered safely Democratic—a state a Democratic candidate could lose, but only in a GOP landslide.
But underneath, I don't think much has changed. The Republican's used to nominate moderates for President. From 1928 through 1976, the second most conservative GOP nominee (behind Goldwater) was Gerald Ford. And in that 1976 convention, Ford was fighting the tide of a movement much more conservative than even he was. As the Republican Party has become more extreme nationally, New Jersey has maintained its orientation by voting more consistently Democratic in national elections.
