Status Quo Ante, and Beyond

Whatever prism one employs to consider the results of Tuesday’s election, one finds some good, some ill, and a whole lotta nothing going on.

Legislatively, the GOP drops one seat in the Senate and picks up two in the Assembly. But none of the matchups were especially ideological. Van Drew often seems more conservative than Asselta and the latter received significant Big Labor endorsements, hardly typical for a Republican. The ideological distinctions between Beck and Karcher were noticeable by their absence (leaving Karcher desperate enough to resort to Beck’s youthful driving record as a campaign issue) Mike Panter made a point of running away from his Party, but lost anyway. Whelan’s coat tails proved short; both Assembly seats went to Republicans. Similarly, Bill Baroni’s coat tails were non-existent; both Assembly seats went to the Democrats.

Unlike their elected representatives, the people demonstrated the ability to reject high-sounding, assertedly "popular" programs, when funded by borrowing. Deprived of the Party label – many "genetic" Democrats remain very socially conservative – the electorate felt free to vote its moral conscience and rejected an ill-advised borrowing program to fund (embryonic) stem cell research. The people understand the merits of borrowing in the service of a good cause: they supported open-space borrowing to purchase capital assets, but rejected it for operating expenses and research of dubious morality and practicality. A very mature judgment; one, alas, which the Legislature proves repeatedly incapable of making.

(The Left consistently refuses to understand that just because the people favor a particular undertaking in theory does not mean that they favor governmental subsidy thereof. The people generally favor covering all uninsured kids, for instance, but that does not mean that they favor a massive governmental program. Witness the decisive defeat of S-CHIP-lite at the hands of the voters in decidedly Blue Oregon)

Clearly, Steve Lonegan is more in touch with the electorate’s mindset than is Jon Corzine.

Cleverly, the Democrats simply kept all of the fundamental issues facing the state off the table during the campaign. Monetization? What’s that? Within about a week – maybe a month – the plan – which, of course, couldn’t possibly be finished before the election – will suddenly burst forth from Corzine’s brow, fully grown and ready for immediate legislative action. Query whether Senators Van Drew and Whelan – who opposed monetization during the campaign – will remain "independent" and stalwart? Further query how Corzine’s massive borrowing scheme will affect Linda Stender, John Adler, and perhaps Jeff Van Drew as they seek higher office. If nothing else, their squirming will make for good political theater.

But would debate on major issues make the slightest difference? Thanks to unconstitutional districts, foisted upon the electorate by a lawless reapportioning commission and a similarly lawless Supreme Court, Republicans find themselves in an essentially impossible scenario. Despite garnering more legislative votes than the Democrats, the GOP cannot prevail in the districts as presently constituted.

Given that reality, the GOP might profitably spend the next four years championing the cause of redistricting reform. It has the virtue of appealing to GooGoos – even leftist GooGoos (is there any other kind?) – and offers the GOP the only real hope (absent massive realignment) of competitiveness. (I was going to say, "absent numerous indictments", but as Democratic voters expect their representatives to be rogues, if not thieves, even that wouldn’t help the GOP. Republican misdeeds can elect Democrats – Karcher owed her job to such, and this year’s relatively close result in Somerset speaks to the issue as well – but Democratic voters simply don’t care. They don’t hold their Party responsible for harboring countless, ethically challenged pols, and don’t permit trivialities, like prison, to stand in the way of party loyalty)

It might be possible for Republicans to win a few other seats – 14 and 1 come readily to mind – but that still leaves the GOP in a perpetual minority. The only chance the GOP has to prevail rests with districts which more accurately reflect the wishes of the electorate.

Devoting itself to the cause of redistricting reform, making common cause with – say – Common Cause, enlisting the electorate in this most fundamental of ethics reforms – districts drawn without regard to party sensibilities or incumbent protection – makes sense.

Lonegan demonstrated that the reassertion of the Republican "brand" – fiscal responsibility – actually plays, that politicians need not cringe in fear when opposing "popular" – but foolish – spending programs. This in what promised to be a horrible Republican year, in which a Republican President boasts poll numbers approaching single digits and despite an Everest of special interest, Democratic cash.

Having purged itself of some of their more egregious members, notable for supporting the McGreevey/Codey/Corzine tax increases, thereby undercutting the Republican message, the GOP Legislative caucuses now stand poised to deliver a powerful message: cut taxes, cut spending, stop borrowing. Or, put another way, the Legislature -- at least, the Republicans therein -- should start acting like adults. If the people can do it, so can we.