Is There Hope for New Jersey? NJGOP Opposes Guv Murphy's Socialism

How bad does it have to get in a blue state for it to go red?

Is it possible for any elected jurisdiction to switch over and go red, as it should? We may see some opportunities for states to get onto some better, firmer footing going forward.

The Chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party wrote this editorial to condemn Governor Phil Murphy's plans for socialism on steroids in the state legislature. The pension crises are bankrupting the state. The tax burdens have not ended. The job creation will never help the state get out of the debt that it faces.

Teachers unions have run the state into the ground. In spite of a well-timed Project Veritas video exposing the perverse enabling of teachers unions to protect the worst teachers

N.J. GOP chair: Murphy's socialist agenda won't work. Time for a revolution | Opinion

New Jersey State Flag

Einstein said, "You can't change a system using the thinking that created it." You can't change a culture that way, either. Sometimes, you need a revolution.

Chris Christie failed to deliver on a revolution, or in reality a restoration of American constitutional values to save New Jersey. The state has gone too far into public sector unionism failures.

New Jersey is teetering on the edge of a fiscal cliff. In large part, we are pushed there by Gov. Phil Murphy's extreme, liberal agenda, and middle-class families are holding on with their fingertips.



The property taxes were raised inexorable. Taxes in general went up 110 times under the Corzine regime. Christie stopped the blood-letting, but it didn't last long. He failed to change the culture. He spent more time running for President or holding onto the Governor's mansion.

For anyone who doubts the gravity of New Jersey's affordability crisis, a group of career Democrats now admits that we are at a breaking point.

A handful of Democrats have already endorsed Republic Bob Hugin, who is running against the corrupt Robert Mendacious Menendez.

Imperiled by Murphy's socialist platform, Democrat legislators are at a crossroads. Their future, and ours, depends largely on what they do next.

On the one hand, the governor's buy now, pay later, government free-for-all portends for the state's 9 million residents the same fate that befell his beleaguered soccer team. Neither Sky Blue nor New Jersey can afford to be a rich man's social experiment. 

Families, lives and jobs are at stake.

So many people are fleeing the state, it's hard to imagine that it will last much longer.

On the other hand, the Republican-laid path of common sense and fiscal accountability is the bedrock of an Aug. 9 bipartisan report that confirmed our need for systemic change. Led by Republican state Sens. Dawn Marie Addiego, Anthony Bucco and Steven Oroho, and Democrats Steve Sweeney and Paul Sarlo, the report concluded that, absent real reform on items such as pension, health care and school funding, we will fail.

Will any bipartisan work in the Garden State? It has accomplished some good in New York State and even Washington State for a period of time. Legislators from both major parties have willingly broken off and formed a different majority caucus with different goals. This kind of political balance may occur after the 2018 midterm elections.

State Sen. Steven Oroho: It's crystal clear that if we do nothing to lower the cost of government significantly, we'll be forced to accept higher taxes or reductions to important programs.

New Jersey voters, the ones who can stand to live in their home state, are not going to pay for anymore. It's just too much.

So, New Jersey's Democrats have a choice. On which side of history will they fall?

It was only two months ago that these same Democrats stood side by side and grew New Jersey government by $2 billion and raised taxes by $1.7 billion more.  No one was spared the onslaught of new taxes, which contemplated the highest corporate tax in the country to accompany our already highest in the nation property taxes.

I have friends who were born and raised in New Jersey. The property taxes are insane, and car insurance is at least double what most people pay in California. Some of the cities in the urban core are so corrupt, so gang-ridden.

Republican legislators have been singing the common-sense and fiscal-responsibility song for decades, but Democrats refused to listen. Now, in the era of single-party rule, some Democrats are waking up to the Republican platform, not because they want to, but because they have to. They know that Murphy's manifesto is unsustainable; they're just unsure how to stop it.

Let's not forget that Christie did next to nothing to get more of his fellow Republicans elected to the state legislature. Very few news agencies exposed Christie's lack of esprit de corps to save his state.

The question that should be on every voter's mind is: Why now? What changed? The short answer is, nothing.

New Jersey's culture of living beyond its means will continue so long as the people and special interests that benefit from it remain in power. If New Jersey voters want meaningful change, then they need new thinkers, not empty talk about new thinking. If they want real economic reform in the state Legislature, then they need representatives who will adopt and enforce them. History mitigates against the status quo.

There is nothing revolutionary about another economic report.

Yes, it identifies many of the state's most immediate concerns. Yes, it calls for great first steps. But, Republican legislators such Addiego, Bucco and Oroho have called for them for decades, and no one listened.

Trenton's halls are littered with well-reasoned reports that never left the caucus floor. For too long, Democratic politicians have paid lip service to common-sense reforms but lacked the courage to implement them under the weight of New Jersey's well-heeled special interests.

What has changed didn't happen within the halls of Trenton, New Jersey. The changes occurred before the United States Supreme Court, which has determined that members of the public workforce can no longer be forced to join a union or to pay agency fees. Public sector unions

Leadership is as much about having the courage to do what's right as it is about resisting the temptation to do what's easy. New Jersey residents can ill afford the easy way out. Change is needed, and your vote is the change agent.

The NJGOP will continue to work to elect Republican leaders -- and thinkers -- to bring common sense and fiscal accountability to New Jersey government.

Doug Steinhardt is chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP).

Final Reflection

Ouch. The voters of New Jersey went with their basic partisan leanings and went with Phil Murphy. Kim Guadagno wanted to make New Jersey Great Again, but they voters wanted more stuff from the government. Now the government can't pay its bills. The taxes are going up, and the Republicans couldn't make strong arguments to stay in power since Christie had pretty much kicked them in the teeth.

Republicans need to rebrand and reboot, too. Socialism sucks, but true free-market capitalism requires a commitment to do what is right, not just what is politically expedient.

New Jersey, Don't Go "Sanctuary State"--Vote Guadagno for Governor

Two major gubernatorial elections are on the Election 2017 campaign horizon. I wrote about the Virginia race one week ago. Ed Gillespie is now winning by focusing on Virginians’ day-to-day needs. More importantly, he is also doubling-down on his opposition to illegal immigration, and its deleterious consequences like the rising crime, gang activity, bad traffic, and diminishing quality of life.

Across the Chesapeake, another governor’s race is raging. New Jersey, a colonial outpost for Quakers before the American Revolution, has turned into another California-style outpost of the urban-suburban divide, where compacted cities have been out-voting the more conservative rural and suburban regions, all to the state’s detriment.

But New Jersey should be another solid GOP win, right? After all, the outgoing governor, former federal prosecutor Chris Christie, won a stunning upset in 2009 over an unpopular incumbent. The issues then were a depressed economy and corruption. Property taxes had gone up 110 times, pension liabilities were devouring city budgets, all while teacher’s unions were running amok. Voters were looking for change. Under Christie’s tenure, jobs have come back. The state’s anti-corruption ratings improved considerably. He eased the tax burden somewhat. Nevertheless, in 2017 New Jersey is still over-taxed, over-regulated, and crime-ridden.

Christie’s potential successor, Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, started campaigning by targeting the property tax burden. The costs are staggering. A property tax on $145,000 home in New Jersey costs $5000 a year. In California, a million dollar costs the owner $15,000 in property taxes. Incredible. Christie instituted a property tax cap, which the Democratic candidate Phil Murphy will remove in order to give away the store to public sector unions. Sadly, promising relief on property taxes hasn’t helped Guadagno. More government takers are moving into New Jersey, and they want taxpayer-funded largesse from Trenton. The diminishing middle class will still pay, since they can’t outvote the moochers on their own. In these respects, New Jersey has turned into California, minus the sunny weather.

However, Guadagno can still Make New Jersey Great Again, if she campaigns on the issues elected Trump: illegal immigration. During their first debate,  Murphy announced that the 22,000 illegal alien youths are “just as American” as his own kids. That didn’t go over very well.  Then he boldly promised to turn New Jersey into a sanctuary state for illegal aliens--just like the once Golden State. The audience booed the Democratic candidate—loudly. New Jersey may be a blue state, but they’re wise enough—like their Marylander counterparts—to reject open borders and open defiance with federal immigration authorities. What’s could also hurt for Democratic chances? The Green Party candidate is hiding illegals in his own church!

This storm could have initiated the perfect out for Guadagno. Her considerable public safety resume includes federal prosecutor and county sheriff. As Monmouth County Sheriff, she not only implemented programs to find missing persons, but cooperated fully with ICE to enter the jails and deport criminal illegals.

Like the governor’s race in Virginia, illegal immigration can be the winning issue for the New Jersey Republican candidate. The latest illegal alien crimes committed in New Jersey are staggering:

Illegal immigrant admits raping sleeping Princeton woman

Repeatedly deported immigrant returned to rape ex in NJ — now faces life in prison 

Illegal Alien Wanted For Murder Arrested In New Jersey

Illegal immigrants breaks into Trenton home, rapes 6-year old girl

The horrendous child rape took place three days prior to their first debate!

Granted, deportations are up in a state currently housing 500,000 illegals, but sanctuary state provisions will frustrate these efforts. A Republican in deep-blue New Jersey should find smoother sailing into election victory. Guadagno still faces challenges because of her party affiliation, not just from the 2-to-1 Democratic voter registration advantage. She and Christie have parted ways. She was one of the first to criticize him for getting some sun on state beaches during the state’s government shutdown. Once the most governor in the country, Christie’s now epic low approval ratings could harm Guadagno, too.

How else does Guadagno stand apart from Christie? She’s pro-choice, which could burn bridges with the much-needed conservative base. She also differs with Christie over President Trump. A cautious supporter until the Billy Bush Leak, Guadagno threw him overboard towards the end. She’s paying the price now, since President Trump prizes loyalty, and state officials who backed away from him over a little locker talk earned his ire.

Vote Guadagno

Then again, Alabama’s incumbent appointed US Senator Luther Strange had Trump’s endorsement and still lost, so all is not lost for Guadagno. Also to her credit, she’s got an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, compared to Christie’s tepid “C” rating). Another win for the former sheriff: she stood proudly by her high rating, then announced in the first televised debate that she would not punish law-abiding gun owners with more gun control—New Jersey Is one of the most restrictive states in the country. She refused to politicize the horrific Las Vegas massacre.

Despite initial setbacks and a slow move to the right on safety issues, Guadagno is running a more Trump-like platform. Her strong stance on illegal immigration may cement a win for the former prosecutor and first Lieutenant Governor in State History.

However, with the Christie legacy behind her and a heavily Democratic field in front of her, can she close the gap by Election Day? Michele of the New Jersey Tea Party Coalition informed me: “No conservative will support Phil Murphy due to his stance and admittance to increasing taxes, standing behind sanctuary and wanting to make NJ a sanctuary state.  He is another Goldman Sachs fellow and will be another Corzine.” Michele will support Guadagno, but won’t speak for other New Jerseyans. Will they turn out for this under-the-radar election? Perhaps her next commercial should feature Kate Steinle, her gruesome death, and then a question: “Phil Murphy wants murderers on our boardwalks. Do you?”

Let’s hope New Jersey voters reject “Going California” and elect Kim Guadagno in November.