June 2, 2005 In Case You Missed It ... Here's what the NJGOP inadvertently left out when this morning ...
Here's what the NJGOP inadvertently left out when this morning they issued an "ICYMI" of this piece:
The Swamps Of Jersey From The Wall Street Journal
By John Fund
Op-Ed
June 2, 2005
. . .But that begs the question of how New Jersey can clean up its politics so that the state itself isn't constantly held up to derision. The two leading GOP candidates, former Jersey City mayor Bret Schundler and businessman Doug Forrester, both claim they will use an industrial-strength broom to clean out the stables of state government. Mr. Forrester scored early with an ad featuring a row of greedy politicians with hands full of cash in what he termed the "Conga line of corruption." Mr. Schundler has focused his campaign on a plan to cap state spending with a constitutional amendment. "The alternative is to trust politicians," he says "and I don't think we should trust politicians."
Seeing Mr. Schundler make points with his focus on property taxes, Mr. Forrester has proposed that state government cover 30% of a homeowner's local taxes. But Newark Star-Ledger columnist Tom Moran ran the numbers and concluded that "Forrester has no clue how he would cover the cost" to state government and "his plan gives local governments and schools no incentive to reduce spending."
That may explain why Mr. Forrester, who has a narrow lead in polls, has changed the subject by pouring money into ads accusing Mr. Schundler of raising taxes and tolerating corruption during his nine years as mayor of Jersey City. Mr. Forrester is expected to spend some $8 million on his primary campaign, as much as all the other candidates combined. His tactics could backfire with some voters. "He's a mini-Corzine by trying to buy his race," says Leonard Steinberg, a tax accountant from Mr. Forrester's home town of West Windsor. Mr. Schundler plans to counter the Forrester bankroll with an e-mail list of 35,000 names he is mobilizing using new "grass-roots software" that enables every activist to operate a mini-campaign headquarters from home. . .
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Paid for by Schundler for Governor
www.bret2005.com
