Posted on 09/07/2007 5:08:16 AM PDT by Calpernia
News of U-S Attorney Chris Christie's latest round of corruption arrests early yesterday morning sent a shockwave through New Jersey politics. The epicenter is, without question, the State House in Trenton. The tension is palpable, the mood is somber and it comes just as the fall campaign season kicks into high gear.
Democratic Assemblymen Mims Hackett and Al Steele are among 11 public officials who are being charged with demanding and accepting cash bribes to steer public contracts.
Democratic Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts says, "I was absolutely sickened by today's news involving the arrests of two Assembly members. While this case does not directly involve legislative business, the charges are nonetheless extremely serious and cannot be ignored. I am going to reserve further comment until I first have an opportunity to discuss this situation with the two members individually."
One long-time democratic operative who wishes to remain anonymous says, "New Jersey voters have always been callous about politicians from both parties, but Democrats realize a few bad apples could spoil the party." He adds, "And yes, there is an atmosphere of, 'who's next?'"
Evidently agreeing that a few bad apples could spoil the bunch, Democratic candidates in two of the state's most hotly contested races are reacting to the arrests. 14th district Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein says, "It is in the best interest of the public for indicted officials to resign from holding office while they focus on their legal battles."
2nd district State Senate candidate Assemblyman Jim Whelan and his Assembly running mates Joe Wilkins and Blondell Spellman, all Democrats, are also calling for immediate resignations. Whelan says, "The elected officials named in today's indictment should resign immediately….this type of deplorable behavior cannot be tolerated. We need to send a clear message that these actions will not be accepted."
Democratic State Senate President Dick Codey says, "These are serious, serious allegations. Corruption at any level should not be tolerated. There is a legal process in place to handle these charges and that process should be pursued to the fullest."
Republican Assemblyman Rick Merkt isn't sure the voters really care about the arrests but says there is tension in Trenton, "There's definitely a feeling that there are still a couple of shoes to fall."
Sure not hearing about this Democrat culture of corruption on any of the nightly news programs.
And, you probably will not. The media is very controlled here. There are not many sources of news media that even keep archives past 2 weeks. The reprints are very controlled with copyright rules also.
The rats are running for cover.
Did you hear that Madam Hillary will be in A.C. today?
Corzine will be there. Wonder if they have stories to share about Norman Hsu. They do have him in common:
http://blog.barofintegrity.us/2007/09/01/norman-hsu-and-dnc-fundraisers.aspx
Norman Hsu And DNC Fundraisers
Nah. They maybe will go to a halfway house and then get good behavior and reduced time.
Rats do tend to scurry when light shines upon them.
Mr. Christie’s timing was impeccable!
After that byte was played, the announcement of Hillary coming to A.C. came on. I found that ominous.
Wonder if this is why Hillary is gracing us with her presence:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1892513/posts
Hillary campaign honcho among 11 busted in N.J. sting
Not bad damage for the second day in the news cycle. This is the obligatory second day piece. Nobody will ask Hillary about it, so it won’t get national attention. She will not need to respond. No national Republican will comment about this. After tomorrow, this story will be out of the MSM.
Is that your sit Calpernia?
What an incredible list. Thanks for the link.
Yes, that is a site I recently launched.
Very good, I will link it to mine.
A lot of my posts come from here but FR has been labeled a hate site so I am careful not to refer to FR.
I am running for county legislature and don’t need to get caught up in childish antics like I did 2 years ago. People were trying to make a big deal of my membership here.
Remember how liberal NY is....
Speaking of liberal NY, I have a blog posted there on Schumer.
This is BIG!! One reporter yesterday said that she was told this was only the Tip of the Iceberg and that many more arrests are to follow!
The radio played clips of Chris Christie saying that all day today too.
Thank you, I missed hearing it from him, that is even bigger than big. Titanic come to mind!
I think so too. I even got an invite from Lonegan today. He is gearing up his team in anticipation. I’m actually getting excited! 2008 may be the year of clean up!
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