There will be a lot to say about this group in the upcoming weeks. But I want to pause a moment and look for implications in the gubernatorial race. The basic take-away is this: There is no way to spin this as good news for Corzine, and no way to take it as bad news for Christie. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that the only way Christie loses at this point is if he lives up to Edwin Edwards’ prophecy – for those who aren’t familiar with Louisianna politics, Edwards boasted that he would win unless he were caught in bed with a live boy or dead woman.
As Dandy Don used to tell us Monday Night Football fans…Turn out the lights, the party’s over.
Thurman Hart, Star-Ledger
For Corzine, already trailing in every poll taken so far, the path to re-election just got considerably steeper. He’ll be blamed, fairly or not, for the astonishing level of corruption revealed by yesterday’s arrests. While he had no responsibility for or authority over the people arrested, the backlash will impact him and his candidacy simply because he’s the person in charge.
It will be a struggle for him to re-direct attention toward the state’s other problems – largely economic and tax issues – and even more difficult for him to make a case that he’s the person to lead the state out of its current funk.
It will only be a matter of time – if it hasn’t begun already – before speculation is fired up concerning Corzine’s immediate future. If, for instance, polls continue to show him running a double digit second or if the results reveal a widening gap, there will be murmurings about a potential withdrawal from the race.
Carl Golden, New Jersey Newsroom
Thursday’s events nonetheless seriously wound Democrat Corzine’s re-election chances. Though some of those arrested are Republicans, (Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt of Ocean County, for one) more are pols from North Jersey Democrat machines often viewed as corrupt.
Gloucester County Times Editorial Board
At a press conference Thursday, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra Jr. spoke of his disgust at “the pervasive nature of corruption in the state.” He called corruption “a way of life” for public officials, who “existed in an ethics-free zone.” He noted that “giant loopholes” remain in campaign donation rules that contribute to the problem — rules Gov. Jon Corzine, Senate President Richard Codey and the Democratic leadership have refused to tighten.
Asbury Park Press Editorial Board
Corzine wanted to be known as a reformer. But the moniker hasn’t stuck because while he has pushed through reforms, the reforms fall short…Advisers to the governor should be telling him, you can’t have too many reformers on your ticket. Instead, critics of Weinberg are telling him you can’t have too many reforms. The headlines today show the consequences of that logic.
Alfred Dobin, The Record
