Jon Corzine – Predisposed To Spending

We can’t imagine the Democrats putting up a worse candidate than Jon Corzine for Governor of New Jersey. Corzine’s political philosophy is really a throw-back to the period of the 60’ through the 80’s. – universal health care, universal preschool, universal college and a whole litany of other social programs – all paid by taxpayers. The country is moving into the era of the “ownership society” and Corzine is stuck in a “great society” time warp.

Given the State’s financial situation and the property tax rebellion brewing, Corzine is really not a good fit for Governor, especially under present circumstances. Corzine wants to cast himself as the champion of the little guy – with his mind set, do you think he could bring himself to actually cut spending? His inclination is to expand and create new social programs – it makes him feel good, we suppose. Whether it’s his personal philosophy, guilt over his financial success or a need to buy people’s approval – he is predisposed to spending.

Just think of the money Corzine has spent to win a Senate seat and to capture his party’s nomination for Governor. A person that just wanted to “give back” to the country (state, community), that “gave him so much”, could have spent the +$75 million actually helping people. Think how many homes he could have built, children he could have sent to school, the medical research he could have funded – you get the idea. He didn’t do that – why?

That’s our beef with Corzine and the money he has spent on his political ambition. He didn’t spend the money to help people; he spent the money so that he could take credit for helping the little guy with other people’s money. Quietly helping folks with his own money, getting an occasional mention in the news about his good works, was not enough.

Corzine was stung when he was fired by Goldman Sachs and he needed a way to heal his bruised ego – to regain recognition and status. As luck would have it, Frank Lautenberg had decided to retire from the Senate and opportunity knocked. Corzine needed a job with status and the Democrats needed a candidate with bucks - the stars were aligned. The rest is history.

So how can you judge Corzine’s potential actions as Governor? He can’t tell you or you wouldn’t vote for him. So he’ll continue to hide in the Senate, playing the demagogue and doing nothing for the people of New Jersey. And why not - he’s gotten by with it so far.