What Are The Trenton Democrats Up To?

By Art Gallagher

Our friends at InTheLobby are questioning Trenton Democrats political sanity. Daily Muse says the Democrats seem to be poised to blame Governor Christie for NJ’s average 4% property tax increases, yet they are giving Christie very strong ammunition with which to run against them in the coming legislative election by failing to pass the “tool kit,” pension and benefit reform and expanded veto power over the shadow government of the authorities and commissions.

Daily Muse says:

But a lot of what is taking place in Trenton these days confuses us.

We get that Democrats are looking to blame Christie for the 4% rise in property taxes.  Higher property taxes are always a good campaign issue, especially in a year when all 120 seats in the Legislature are up for re-election.

What we don’t get is why the Democrats are giving Christie so many talking points to counter that with on the campaign trail.  They won’t pass the bulk of the tool kit; they haven’t passed the pension or benefit reforms; and they won’t give Christie the expanded veto power over authorities that he wants.

We know that the unions are opposed to the pension and benefit reforms.  And we know that the Assembly is balking at any health benefit reforms, saying that the reforms should be made in collective bargaining.  Which, by the way, doesn’t sound like it’s a point that will sell well with the rest of New Jersey’s voters, but we’ll see how firm the Assembly’s resolve is after Senate President Steve Sweeney posts his health benefit bill for a vote.

But that still leaves the question: why don’t Democrats call Christie’s bluff, and pass the rest of the tool kit, the epanded veto power, and the pension and benefit reforms? They’ll still have the 4% increase in property taxes, and they’ll take away one of his campaign speeches.  Otherwise, he will barnstorm the state, accusing Democrats of being beholden to the special interests, and choosing them over the taxpayers.

Frankly, as it stands now, it’s almost as if Democrats instead are giving Christie a tool kit of campaign rhetoric he can them against them this fall. 

I don’t think the Democrats behavior is confusing at all.  They are doing what they always do; protecting the status quo and hoping to find ways to preserve the troughs from which they and their friends are swilling.

There are two things the Democrats are waiting for before they will do anything about Christie’s reform agenda. 1) The new legislative map and 2) certainty that Christie will complete or not complete his term.

The Democrats don’t want Christie’s reforms to happen ever.  They want the economy to improve so that the public’s mood improves and cash starts flowing into the Trenton coffers.  They want to bide their time waiting for an angry electorate to become complacent again in order that Trenton can resume its spending rampage.

If the Democrats think the new legislative map favors their retaining control of the legislature they won’t give Christie the reforms he is proposing.  If the new map is one they think favors Republicans picking up at least one house of the legislature, the Dems are likely to be more cooperative with the governor.

Likewise, so long as there is a Christie for President buzz, the Democrats are motivated to stall on his agenda.  Their stalling weakens Christie’s resume of accomplishment if he does run for president.  If he runs, they won’t have to deal with him.  They don’t know how tough Kim Guadagno is, but they don’t think she is as tough as, or as talented a politician as Christie is.

There is not likely to be any movement on Christie’s reform agenda before the November election, unless we get a new legislative map that is a clear Republican gerrymander.  That is not going to happen.

Regardless of the map, Christie will make this election a statewide race.  Every district will be a race between Christie and his legislative running mates vs. the Democratic legislative candidates.  The governor will spend the summer and fall on the campaign trail throughout New Jersey with the power of incumbency.  The election will be a referendum on Christie’s reform agenda.

If Christie pulls off another improbable statewide victory by winning both the Senate and the Assembly, turning blue jersey red, his presidential prospects will soar.  The clamour for him to run for president will become a national demand. If he can turn the governor’s office over to Kim Guadagno with a Republican legislature to enact the reform agenda he can declare that he has succeeded in turning Trenton upside down and that he is accepting the call to save our country from another four years of Obama.

Should the Democrats retain control of both houses of the legislature and retain or expand their margin of majority, Christie’s national prospects become more complicated.  On one hand a statewide defeat would hurt Christie’s national prospects on the top of the national ticket.  On the other hand he might personally conclude that with the legislature safely in the hands of the Democrats for another 10 years that he has turned Trenton as upside down as it is going to get.  In that case, the Vice Presidency might not look so bad if the thinks the eventual GOP nominee in 2012 has a chance to beat Obama.

I don’t see anything happening with Christie’s reform agenda until after the November election, nor do I see the Christie for President buzz going away or getting louder before the November election.

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Gifts For Trenton Dems, Rivera-Soto and The NJEA

By Art Gallagher

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce simultaneously played the roles of Scrooge and Santa Claus this week.

With his inartful comments about people receiving unemployment benefits, and his equally ignoble apology wherein he tried to deflect the attention to the dual office holding of the Legislature’s Democratic leadership and accused Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver of playing the race card in her criticism of his remarks, DeCroce appeared as Scrooge to “these people” on the unemployment dole and Santa to the Trenton Democrats, Supreme Court Justice Rivera-Soto and the NJEA.

While the Legislature should be focused on reforming civil service and COAH before the 2 % property tax increase cap takes effect on January 1, the leadership was engaged in what Governor Christie called a “food fight” over DeCroce’s gaffes.

Rather than drawing attention to dual office holding and Oliver’s willingness to play the race card, DeCroce deflected media attention away from the controversy over Rivera-Soto’s unwillingness to participate in State Supreme Court decisions so long as a temporary justice is sitting on the court.  The NJEA was really let off the hook by DeCroce’s remarks as the main stream media apparently completely missed the explosive videosreleased by citizen journalist James O’Keefe that expose union leaders promising to protect teachers who engage in sexual behavior with students.

The gift that DeCroce gave the Democrats may well keep giving throughout 2011 when the entire legislature will be on the November ballot.  

If the Legislative Redistricting Commission draws an equitable map New Jersey should have the first competitive legislative elections in 12 years. For most of the last decade New Jersey cast more Republican votes than Democratic votes for legislators, yet Democrats have dominated the Senate and the Assembly due to gerrymandering of the districts.  A new district map is due this coming winter.

If the coming election appears to be competitive and if DeCroce is effectively running for Assembly Speaker, count on the New Jersey Democratic machine running against DeCroce in much the same way the GOP ran against Nancy Pelosi in the recent national election.

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Democrats need to move on appointments

More than 50 nominations awaiting action in state Senate

By Senator Joe Kyrillos

The failure of the Democratic majority in the state Senate to even consider, much less vote on, many of Gov. Chris Christie’s nominees started as ridiculous and is now verging on a constitutionally dangerous level of dysfunction. The state constitution states clearly that the governor is to make appointments to the courts and various agencies, and the Senate is to consider them and render its approval or disapproval.There are about 53 nominations ready to be heard by the Senate, including the director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, who regulates doctors, nurses and pharmacists; four members of the state Board of Education; and most importantly, a nominee for the state Supreme Court.

In addition, millions of dollars are being appropriated by important bodies such as the Turnpike Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Sports and Exposition Authority by members whose terms have expired despite new appointments to these posts having been submitted long ago.

When I brought this subject up on the floor of the Senate, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee responded that the current situation with regard to gubernatorial appointments pending before the Senate is completely normal. With all due respect to my colleague, that is not true.

The Democrats’ inaction on appointments is unprecedented. Roughly 68 percent of the nominations submitted to the Senate this year have been stalled. In 2009, just 18 percent of Gov. Jon Corzine’s nominations were held up. In 2002, under Gov. James McGreevey, only 8 percent were delayed.

The blatant partisanship on display by Senate Democrats is more than irresponsible, especially with regard to the appointment of Anne Patterson to the state Supreme Court. That nomination has languished in the Senate since May, all because the Democratic Senate president wanted someone else for the job.

Refusing to even consider an extremely well-qualified nominee is a reprehensible dereliction of duty that will allow the chief justice of the Supreme Court to appoint an interim justice himself.

Allowing the court to choose its own members sets a dangerous precedent. Doing so circumvents the separation of powers between the branches of government and weakens checks and balances on an unelected judiciary. The chief justice will be able to appoint a member who is accountable to nobody but himself, with no check on his or her power by the public or the Legislature.

Unfortunately, should the Senate not act on these nominations before the middle of January, the nominations will expire. This will cause an additional delay in filling these vital offices. The clock is ticking on nominations to courts, boards, commissions and agencies that affect the daily lives of New Jersey residents.

Playing politics with the appointment process is more than a blemish on the institution of the Senate; it is a finger in the eye of the public that elected us to go to Trenton and get to work.

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