eCache

Corzine Breaks Gas Tax Pledge

We just had a gubernatorial election. Jon Corzine ran for this position and the citizens elected him.

eCache has pointed out in several posts the problems with New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF). The gist of it is that state government has borrowed so much from this fund that the $800+ million that is budgeted for this fund is going to be used to pay off debt, not build roads. And that may cost us another billion dollars in matching federal funds.

During the campaign, Corzine stated,

There will be no gas tax hike in a Corzine administration, particularly after we’ve seen a $1.50 rise in the price of gasoline. I’m proposing we have a tax holiday.

Yesterday, he stated,

I vowed not to do it at $3 a gallon, that’s for sure. When it was down at the levels we’re in right now, I said I hadn’ taken it off the table.

This is Bill Clinton all over again. Corzine cannot be taken at his word. Perhaps John Kerry is a better analogy, I said I would raise the gas tax before I said I wouldn’t.

It is obvious that Corzine will say anything to get elected.

With a daunting task ahead of him with a $ 5 billion budget gap, Corzine was quick to scrap the idea of finding other remedies for the TTF. What is illogical, however, is how Corzine had a solution for the issue when gas prices were high, but now that they are lower, he has no solution. When gas was $3.30/gallon, how could Corzine confidently state there would be no gas tax increase? Obviously, with nearly a billion dollars at stake, a fiscally-suave man of Corzine’s stature would not be so casual. What was the plan in October when he debated Mr. Forrester to allow him to declare a tax holiday?

If there was such a plan, the citizens of New Jersey deserve to hear it. How about it Mr. Corzine, would you care to share with us how you could have saved us from the tax when we were pinched at the pump?

Corzine is politics as usual. He appointed a political boss to the seat he abandoned. He is raising taxes. He has not taken off the table his ill-advised spending on rebates. He has not stepped up to the plate to denounce the spending proposed in the legislature’s lame duck session. Mr. Corzine will be our governor, but he is absolutely no leader.

(hat tip to Roberto for highlighting this article.)

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Interesting

Not that it matters, but I happened to check in on Corzine’s campaign blog tonight. Nothing has been updated in more tha a month. That is not terribly surprising. I did note, however, that eCache was removed from the blogroll. That is interesting. So much for touting all New Jersey bloggers. And no, not all conservative blogs were removed.

Congratulations, Mr. Stoller. You further defined your character.

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Corzine Does Not Show Up for Work, Gets Elected

Mr. Corzine spent yesterday getting himself elected as the next governor of New Jersey. Congratulations, Mr. Corzine. I do wish you well and expect great things from you.

But I am still displeased with my representation. Yesterday you voted for yourself (presumably), you partied, you spoke, and had a good time. But there were eight more votes in the US Senate yesterday in which New Jersey was only represented once because you were not present . . . again.

I understand that you have effectively quit that job and now have your sights on your next job. But tell me, how does this serve New Jersey? The votes yesterday were important. We have thousands of men and women overseas defending our country . . . our freedom. The votes yesterday were to fund those soldiers. What is more important: sitting around all day looking at the television screen that was void of exit poll data or participating in the creation of the legislation to defend our country? The polls were open 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. What better picture of leadership than to have had your photograph taken on the floor of the Senate on Election Day?

Mr. Corzine, you have an obligation to the state you were elected to represent nationally to show up for work. If you cannot do so, resign today.

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Election Day

At 7:00 PM, Beetle and I were #671 at our polling place. That is a good number. She has not missed an election yet.

We, like most of Cumberland County, had new electronic voting booths. They were very easy to use. Admittedly, we had no issues with the old style voting booth, but if the new ones help with efficiency, we support their use.

My sister e-mailed me from the midwest today and asked who I was going to vote for. As I explained to her, the case for Forrester is not great, but the case against Corzine is magnificent. Beetle helped push the button for Mr. Forrester.

Now, time to watch the returns . . .

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9.5%

There have 84 votes in Congress this session. New Jersey’s senior senator, Jon Corzine, has voted on eight of them. Eight out of 84. That is 9.5%. More than 90% of the time, New Jersey has not been represented by the man she has elected to represent her.

It is interesting that the man who claims he has the

skills that have allowed him to succeed in the U.S. Senate.

has not done his job recently.

It is not acceptable that because one is seeking election that he is absolved from his responsibilities to represent us. He was elected to New Jersey’s work, not Jon Corzine’s work.

Tomorrow, Mr. Corzine will surely cast a vote for himself to be the Garden State’s next governor. Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence has two closed business meetings (10:00 AM and 2:00 PM). Senator Corzine is a member of the Intelligence Committee. I suspect Mr. Corzine will not show up for work again.

Is this leadership, Mr. Corzine?

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