Will Democrats Heed the Lesson

Tom Moran from the Star Ledger wrote and excellent opinion piece today. The article entitled "A Sobering Lesson for Democrats" brings up some interesting points that we have made here earlier this week. He mentions the 71% to 19% poll that said NJ residents supported spending state money on stem cell research. Said Mr Moran:

So the fact that those same voters soundly rejected the stem cell initiative on Tuesday's ballot was a shock, maybe even a turning point.

The meaning was unmistakable. Voters no longer trust Democrats to handle their money.

They're not ready yet to switch partners and hand power to Republicans. But they want their Democrats to sober up.

These are serious words that anyone in the leadership of this state should internalize. Of course, no one is talking about shrinking government yet despite a 3 million dollar deficit looming. Most telling is the quote in the article by Governor Corzine earlier this year:

"I didn't run for public office to be a number cruncher or to play Scrooge," he said during a revealing moment of his budget address earlier this year.

An interesting point. My answer to the Governor is that no one elected you to run the state like a immature 16 year old either. Leadership means making hard decisions. If the state is living beyond its means, it is incumbent on the Governor to fix the fiscal problems before he decides to go on a spending spree like a drunken sailor on shore leave. If Mr Corzine is not up to the job, perhaps he would be willing to step down and allow some other politician who is capable of making hard decisions take over. Better to be Scrooge than Donald Duck!

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