By Seth Grossman, Political Columnist
“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5
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The recent election campaigns here in the two most southern legislative districts of New Jersey were very bitter and expensive.?? I guess that Democrats spent about four million dollars,? while Republicans spent close to $2 million.
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Republicans controlled county government and held the state senate and two assembly seats for the district surrounding Atlantic City since 1982.???? Republicans ran the neighboring Cape May County since the Civil War.
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But as casinos attracted low wage workers to Atlantic City and as blue collar Democrats retired and moved near Cape May,?? union officials and Democrats around the state saw a chance to control the politics of both casino-rich counties.
During the past five years, Democrats knocked out more than a half dozen of the highest Republican officials in both districts.??? By this November, Democrats could win control of? both districts.? Republicans fought back.? Both parties saturated radio, TV, and most mailboxes with attacks that got more vicious every week.
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Republicans attacked “tax and spend Democrats”.??? Democrats
countered that local Republicans voted for more spending, borrowing, and tax hikes than Democrats.
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Democrats attacked Republicans as political insiders who milked the taxpayers for government jobs, pensions, and benefits.??? The Republicans claimed that the Democrats milked the system even more.?
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Both Republicans nor Democrats complained of too much government debt and spending.? Yet neither party campaigned against two state ballot questions which sought to borrow a total of $650 million over 30 years!
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Most of the top Republican and Democrat candidates had high paying government jobs, with generous pensions and health benefits.?? Most voters don’t.
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Both the Republican and Democrat candidates got millions of dollars in campaign donations from people who expected? millions in profits from government jobs, contracts, or permits.??? Few voters today give money to any candidate.
Three of the six Republican candidates for state office had close ties to the highly political construction workers unions.? Those unions supported and benefited from “project labor agreements” that kept non-union companies from bidding on most government jobs.??? Three of the six Democrat candidates for state office had close ties to those same unions.??? Most voters pay higher taxes than they should because everything built by union contractors for the government costs a lot more than most stuff built by non-union companies working on private projects.? Which party is pro-union??? Which is pro-taxpayer?
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Both Republicans and Democrats accused each other of “wasting taxpayer money”.?? But what does that mean?? Not one candidate suggested a single program that was not needed, or a single building that should not have been built.??
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Not a single Democrat or Republican even suggested that any group of public employees was paid too much in salary, pensions, or benefits.
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None of the leading Republicans or Democrats promised any decisive action to enforce immigration laws.??
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If Republicans won the election, I doubt that they will do anything to hurt the people who gave them the campaign money and union support they needed to win.??? They are almost certain to support 12 weeks of paid family leave for all employees in the state, since that is what the unions want.
I doubt that Republicans today would cut any spending or reduce any taxes.
I doubt they would do anything to enforce immigration laws.
??? If the Democrats won, would they do anything different??? I don’t think so-except each party would have a different list of who would get the sweetheart jobs, contracts, and permits after the election.
For more information, visit www.libertyandprosperity.org or contact Somers Point attorney Seth Grossman at?grossman@snip.net, or 609-927-7333.