New Jersey takes a lot of abuse from late night comedians and others who haven't a clue. Where I live in South Jersey, you could drive for miles and see nothing but pine trees and corn fields. Granted, Northeastern Jersey is a sewer that we'd like to cede to New York but they won't take them, but I digress. We don't need anymore bad press than we already get so the arrests of 11 politicians in a bribery scandal is not helping our case.

Corruption in the Garden State is nothing new, hell, this is the state that the Soprano's was filmed in and it wasn''t too long ago that organized crime was flourishing from Bayonne to Atlantic City and over to Camden. Unions now rule and the politicians will do anything to secure their votes. Our long, proud history of corruption also includes the Abscam scandal--one of Representative John Murtha's shining moments. In the last five years, over 100 politicians in the state have been convicted of some crime.

As we speak, former Senator and now Governor Jon Corzine is fighting serious charges related to his ex-girlfriend who he showered money upon and leads one of the most powerful unions in the entire state. Add that to the resignation (for corruption of course) of U.S. Senator Bob Torricelli and the scandalous way the Democrats cheated state law to get Robert Menendez on the ballot (Menendez stayed true to N.J. Democrat form and got himself into an ethics scandal) and you have an idea of just how strong the Democratic machine is in this state. I haven't even mentioned Jim McGreevey and his secret trysts with anonymous men at truckstops throughout the state.

Update (9/7/07 1606): Another Dem scandal and guess whose name arises again? Rep. John Murtha and this one is $9-million+ in lost funds.

The libs are in full rapture today with the disclosure that another Republican was caught in a compromising position. Wasn't the mantra during the Clinton impeachment hearings that he was being impeached for "sex" (although he said it was not sex) and we should leave his private business to him?

Now that we have an Idaho senator who did...well, I'm not exactly sure what he did but make overtures to a cop that could've been construed as asking for sex in the gay world, I guess. Even a hooker can't be arrested unless she discusses money.

If Jim McGreevey admitted to having anonymous sex at truck stops throughout New Jersey and never faced arrest, how can this case lead to an arrest? Craig "lingered," played footsie and made some questionable hand gestures. That is not a crime and he never should have copped to one. Note that the TPM folks are in agreement.

That's not the point of this post, however. The point I wish to make is that it becomes all the rage to slam GOP politicians every time sex scandals are discovered and the crescendo is double if it's a gay scandal because of the so called "hypocrisy."

So you're already in a tough fight for an election, and the the Supreme Court of your state wants to legalize same-sex marriage, this does not help:

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's campaign manager is said by state Democrat operatives to have hit the roof when disgraced former governor Jim McGreevey, went public on Wednesday with his desire to marry his Australian boyfriend.

McGreevey's comments came on the same day the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature must give homosexual couples the same rights as married people. "Marriage would offer the ability to bless our relationship in a committed way," McGreevey, who has been very public about his dalliances with a male former staffer and other male trysts while in the closet and married, told the New York Times.

"'Get someone over to where ever he lives and shut him up,' is basically what was said," a state Democrat Party operative said. "McGreevey's comments and the gay marriage ruling are complicating Menendez's campaign, and giving Kean some juice."

Not cool. I continue to believe that New Jersey will go Democratic. New Jersey always goes Democratic. Maybe if I see Kean public polling above 5% consistently, but it's been even so far and Kean has not impressed me as a candidate.

Nothing would make me happier than a win for the GOP in NJ, but I just don't see it.