New Jersey Politics

Posted by: pgrzelak

New Jersey Politics - 12/08/2004 20:12

New Jersey Politics has always been both corrupt and anarchistic. But it has just taken a turn into the Twilight Zone with Gov. McGreevey outing himself. Now, I have nothing against him being gay, but I think it was a shock to his wife and daughter. And someone must have had "home movies" and was blackmailing him because his other scandals (hiring prostitutes to discredit witnesses and extortion) didn't cause him to resign...
Posted by: tanstaafl.

Re: New Jersey Politics - 13/08/2004 00:18

...didn't cause him to resign...


It's puzzling to me that he would resign over this.

Why not just say, "Yeah, I'm gay. Deal with it. If you can't deal with it, that just means you're a narrow minded bigot, and to hell with you."

What's the big deal? Maybe he would have lost the next election because the narrow minded bigots would have voted for someone else... but why would his sexuality affect his ability to govern the state?

On the same track, what if Bill Clinton had just said right from the beginning, "Yes, I got a blow job in the oval office. Don't you wish you'd been as lucky?"

That would have taken the wind out of a lot of sails, I think...

tanstaafl.
Posted by: tonyc

Re: New Jersey Politics - 13/08/2004 00:58

Quote:
but why would his sexuality affect his ability to govern the state?


It wouldn't. It's a smokescreen. And if your response is any indication, it's working.

His sexuality has nothing to do with anything, and, in fact, word had been leaking out for quite some time that he was gay.

But he didn't just announce he was gay. He announced that he had a gay extramarital affair.

But even still, the affair is not what he's REALLY resigning over. Reports are that his "mister" (is that the equivalent of mistress?) is going to file suit for sexual harassment.

But wait! There's more! "McGreedy" and many of his staff are the subjects of corruption investigations, including the prostitute situation Paul alluded to above.

So I'd say the guy has plenty of reasons to resign. And why is he doing it now, instead of holding on until the bitter end? Well, it seems to me there's a rather important election coming up in November, and since "McGreedy" is a Democrat, it's better to have it explode now than closer to the election when it could send some votes over to the right.

Yeah, he's done. If I were his loved ones, I'd keep him away from belts, ties, and shoelaces for awhile.
Posted by: pgrzelak

Re: New Jersey Politics - 13/08/2004 10:07

Agreed. It is not his preference or even the affair that is the issue. It is linked to the fact that there are a lot of other criminal investigations going on around him right now. After all, how many times can you use the name Machiavelli in polite dinner conversation...

I would also note that his partner was on the government payroll in a job that appeared to be selected for him. If it is proven that his partner was hired to keep him either paid off by the governor or to keep him close by, it would be another criminal case. And also would break the unwritten rule: in NJ there are a lot of people in political office drawing salary based on political favors, but it is considered "bad form" to be caught.

So it is not a matter of him being gay or being caught in an affair. There are a lot of other issues surrounding the governor. This announcement is just another episode in the surreal story of NJ politics. The closest thing I can compare it to is Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, where the role of Galactic President is to be so outrageous that you distract everyone from the people who really hold power.

Edit: As for the timing, I do not think that his admitting the affair or being gay had anything to do with it. I suspect that there was a lot more that was not said - a blackmail attempt, links to and payoffs from contributers, perhaps people in his own party telling him to step down, whatever.
Posted by: FireFox31

Re: New Jersey Politics - 14/08/2004 21:42

Quote:
It wouldn't. It's a smokescreen.

Amen Tony. Just like Bill Clinton, McGreedy is ducking out of office using a smokescreen topic that will easily distract the simpleminded citizens; sex. A few people have been screaming for years about how he hires his friends and gives them tons of money that we don't have. But the citizens don't care about that. But he's gay? Oh man, half my office stopped working to tune into the press conference.

Now, we just need to throw his pork-barrel butt out of office before November. And toss all his friends out of their positions as well. Isn't this democracy? Don't I get to have a say in the government? I guess not. This is why I throw up my hands and quit when it comes to democracy and politics. That and I have no reliable source for information in order to make informed decisions.

</rant> (totally wasn't supposed to be one)
Posted by: msaeger

Re: New Jersey Politics - 14/08/2004 22:27

Uh Oh you said something bad about clinton look out.
Posted by: genixia

Re: New Jersey Politics - 14/08/2004 22:57

Quote:
Just like Bill Clinton, McGreedy is ducking out of office using a smokescreen topic that will easily distract the simpleminded citizens; sex.

What am I missing? I thought that Clinton 'ducked' out of office simply because he wasn't eligible to run for a third term.
Posted by: SE_Sport_Driver

Re: New Jersey Politics - 15/08/2004 10:09

He meant Hillary.