[Culturechat] Rick Steves Op-Ed

Sat, 30 Oct 2004 18:27:51 -0400

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I can relate to that.

On the state level here we're having even more fun. We publish the NJ 
Legislative Journal and following scandal after scandal here in NJ (and 
after our Gov's infamous resignation declaring, "I am a gay American." -- 
not the reason for the resignation, BTW), the Dems here, who control both 
houses, have announced their intention to introduce an 18-pt. package to 
revise election procedures here (Rep. bills to do this went nowhere). It 
deals mostly with procedural things like registration, date consolidation, 
etc., but one key element is to move the NJ presidential primary to the 
last Tuesday in February from the current June in order to make NJ a 
player. We have never counted when it comes to selecting presidential 
candidate, as the game is long over by the time of our primary.

In one good and altruistic move that Gov. McGreevey did make, hoping for 
some positive legacy, was to sign an executive order outlawing 
"pay-to-play" deals at the state level (but not, by obvious admission, at 
the county and local levels). Pay-to-play is the exchange, typically, of 
sole-source, lucrative contracts with the state for campaign contributions. 
It is the root of all corruption and rampant here. The Legislature has been 
loathe to do this in spite of repeated attempts by the GOP here (who have 
there own problems here). The chief counsel for the Legislature just 
declared the executive order probably unconstitutional, and it may well be, 
so now the legislators on both sides of the aisle, recognizing that his 
could well be a litmus test next year when they're all up for re-election, 
are falling all over each other in a rush to codify it in law, without, 
BTW, addressing the county and local levels either.

The latter represent giant loopholes due to something called "wheeling". 
Barred from giving more than a few hundred bucks to any candidate, would-be 
influential folks and businesses give [allowed] thousands to county parties 
with often the unwritten understanding that it will be given to candidate 
X's campaign by the county organization, thereby circumventing the rules. 
Frequently, the contributions are made to another county party, which then 
transfers and independent and often identical amount to the candidate's 
county party ("wheeling"). It's just plain money laundering.

Hopefully, this legislation will pass, likely since the soon-to-be 
Governor, Senate President Dick Codey, is sponsoring identical legislation 
in the Senate. In one of the quirkiest constitutions in the U.S., here in 
NJ the Senate President fills a gubernatorial vacancy while still retaining 
the Senate presidency. This makes him one very powerful animal. 
Fortunately, while (from my viewpoint) a Democrat, Dick Codey is probably 
one of the most decent folks in the Legislature, a really good guy with 
nary a taint of scandal in over 30 years in the game and a good, low-key 
leader. I'm hopeful of better days to come.

At 04:29 PM 10/30/2004, Robert W. Miller wrote:
>I almost wish there was a spot on the ballot that read, "None of the above"!.
>
>Bob Miller

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I can relate to that. 
On the state level here we're having even more fun. We publish the NJ
Legislative Journal and following scandal after scandal here in NJ (and
after our Gov's infamous resignation declaring, &quot;I am a gay
American.&quot; -- not the reason for the resignation, BTW), the Dems
here, who control both houses, have announced their intention to
introduce an 18-pt. package to revise election procedures here (Rep.
bills to do this went nowhere). It deals mostly with procedural things
like registration, date consolidation, etc., but one key element is to
move the NJ presidential primary to the last Tuesday in February from the
current June in order to make NJ a player. We have never counted when it
comes to selecting presidential candidate, as the game is long over by
the time of our primary. 
In one good and altruistic move that Gov. McGreevey did make, hoping for
some positive legacy, was to sign an executive order outlawing
&quot;pay-to-play&quot; deals at the state level (but not, by obvious
admission, at the county and local levels). Pay-to-play is the exchange,
typically, of sole-source, lucrative contracts with the state for
campaign contributions. It is the root of all corruption and rampant
here. The Legislature has been loathe to do this in spite of repeated
attempts by the GOP here (who have there own problems here). The chief
counsel for the Legislature just declared the executive order probably
unconstitutional, and it may well be, so now the legislators on both
sides of the aisle, recognizing that his could well be a litmus test next
year when they're all up for re-election, are falling all over each other
in a rush to codify it in law, without, BTW, addressing the county and
local levels either. 
The latter represent giant loopholes due to something called
&quot;wheeling&quot;. Barred from giving more than a few hundred bucks to
any candidate, would-be influential folks and businesses give [allowed]
thousands to county parties with often the unwritten understanding that
it will be given to candidate X's campaign by the county organization,
thereby circumventing the rules. Frequently, the contributions are made
to another county party, which then transfers and independent and often
identical amount to the candidate's county party (&quot;wheeling&quot;).
It's just plain money laundering. 
Hopefully, this legislation will pass, likely since the soon-to-be
Governor, Senate President Dick Codey, is sponsoring identical
legislation in the Senate. In one of the quirkiest constitutions in the
U.S., here in NJ the Senate President fills a gubernatorial vacancy while
still retaining the Senate presidency. This makes him one very powerful
animal. Fortunately, while (from my viewpoint) a Democrat, Dick Codey is
probably one of the most decent folks in the Legislature, a really good
guy with nary a taint of scandal in over 30 years in the game and a good,
low-key leader. I'm hopeful of better days to come. 
 
At 04:29 PM 10/30/2004, Robert W. Miller wrote: 
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">I
almost wish there was a spot on the ballot that read, &quot;None of the
above&quot;!. 
&nbsp; 
Bob Miller</blockquote></body>
 
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