Democrats View Republicans as A Cash Cow

Nine months after 9/11, McGreevey and the Democrat controlled Legislature created the Statewide Local Domestic Preparedness Equipment Grant to help towns purchase "first-responder" equipment to respond to a terrorist attack.

The Star-Ledger reported last month that 93 percent of the homeland security funding handed out since 2002 has gone to districts controlled by Democrats. At the time, Codey spokeswoman Kelley Heck said the governor's office "didn't play a role in the awarding of those grants."

The documents obtained by the Star-Ledger under the Open Public Records Act, make it clear that decisions on which towns received homeland security funds has been determined by the Governor’s office beginning in 2002 under former Governor McGreevey. The practice continued under Acting Governor Codey.

The documents contradict repeated claims by Codey's spokespeople that the program was handled by the state Attorney General's Office without political influence. Last month, Attorney General Peter Harvey issued a statement saying "the grants were awarded based on the strength of the proposals and the homeland security needs of the municipalities."

Among hundreds of pages of other documents obtained by The Star-Ledger was a memo from a top administrator in the Attorney General's Office who describes the program as "Christmas Tree funding" -- a term long used in Trenton to describe grants given along party lines to loyal and politically connected lawmakers for use on pet projects in home districts.

The Democrats enjoy playing Santa Claus with taxpayer money – from homeland security to school construction funding. There is nothing fair, equitable or prudent in the manner Democrats spend the state’s tax revenue. New Jersey’s tax hikes over the past four years are a 546 percent increase over the national average and yet the Democrats have run the state’s finances into the ground. The waste, fraud and abuse of hard earned dollars taxpayers are forced to hand over to the state is a disgrace.

Upddate - See our other posts on Homeland Security funding:

Imagine If Facts Mattered
Democrats Play Politics With Homeland Security Funding
When It Comes To Security, Facts Matter
Federal Funds For Transit Security Go Unused