Christie's Scandals Expose NJ Democrats' Weakness

With each passing day come new revelation in L'Affaire Christie.  I must admit, they make me positively giddy, because I deeply dislike a man who has attacked my family's livelihood (in the form of his attacks on teachers) and has gutted state aid to Newark, my old town and a place still close to my heart.  However, each new revelation also makes me equally mad at the Democratic party.

Now that the governor is in hot water, all kinds of Democrats are popping up their heads to call him a bully, but these same people did the bare minimum, if anything, support Barbara Buono in her attempt to unseat Christie last year.  Some of the most prominent state Democrats, like Cory Booker, wanted to keep cozy with Christie by staying out of it, while others actually went so far to endorse him, the representative of another part.  They did this despite the fact that the Christie administration has taken a giant dump on Democratic constituencies like teachers, urbanites (who are mostly people of color), and union members.  When the state legislature approved a gay marriage bill, he rejected it.

The fact is, the state Democratic party is completely useless.  Booker is a glamour boy who used Newark to advance his political career, period.  He's more interested in hanging out with his friends on Wall Street that fighting a man who has slashed social spending to the state's poorest residents.  Others, like bosses Joe DiVincenzo in north Jersey and George Norcross in south Jersey are worse, since they do not give a shit about people in this state, only maintaining power.  They were the first to sign a deal with Christie, since it meant being at the table when the patronage pie was divided.  These two men are machine bosses of the old school, and "represent" disadvantaged communities in the state who have suffered the most under Christie.  That fact has not deterred them from cutting deals with him for their benefit, or from defending him from scandal.

Now that I have lived in New Jersey for a few years, I've been amazed at how the state's politics are basically run by a group of self-appointed players, and Christie has succeeded as a Republican in a blue state because he has the business players in his pocket, and the Democratic bosses happy with giveaways.  He ran for governor, however, as a tough-minded prosecutor who would be incorruptible.  Now it looks like he used his former position as US Attorney to eliminate his future competition, proving his ruthless political street smarts.  Christie's paranoia may well prove to be his undoing, but Democrats in the state have done little to nothing to bring about his downfall.

If Christie were to leave office, I honestly doubt that things would be that much better.  The same power brokers who don't really care about the people who vote for them will still hold the fulcrum of power.  Perhaps that's why grassroots Democrats from around the country don't seem all that motivated in this key midterm election.