Nice Work, If You Can Get It.
I would like all of you who make a living by working for an employer to consider the following:
Suppose you decided that you would run as the candidate of one of the major political parties for a significant elective office, such as, for example, the job of governor of the state of New Jersey. Let’s further suppose that your run for governor might well entail a primary campaign and that the two campaigns could well occupy virtually all of your time for the next eleven months.
Let’s also suppose that you asked a co-worker to head up your campaign, or campaigns, as the case may be, which role might well occupy virtually all of your co-worker’s time for the next eleven months, and that your co-worker agreed to do so.
OK, so the two of you go to your boss and explain that neither of you will be showing up for work very often over the next eleven months, because you will both be busy with the campaign(s).
There can be absolutely no doubt that your employer would explain that you are being paid by your employer to do your job, and that, while public service may be a laudable goal, he has no intention of paying you to be absent for the next eleven months.
Both of you would be shown the door.
Of course, that won’t happen if you and your co-worker work as the two US Senators from New Jersey. Senator Corzine will do little else between now and November other than campaign for the governorship. Our other Senator, Frank Lautenberg, will do little else between now and November other than run Senator Corzine’s campaign. And, neither of them will lose his job.
The only losers are the citizens of New Jersey who will effectively be without representation in the US Senate for the next eleven months.
On second thought, maybe it’s a good thing that these two birds won’t be showing up much for their regular “jobs,†because nothing they do in the Senate is worth a damn anyway.
Enough to turn the stomach, isn’t it?
Comment by Christina — January 20, 2005 @ 7:13 pm
Your last paragraph captures it, I think. Best result: Scrooge McDork and the Mummy don’t go anywhere near Washington for the next year and he loses.
Comment by Mike Hill — January 20, 2005 @ 7:20 pm
Wow. While reading that piece, I was hoping you said what you said in the last paragraph because the whole time I was thinking “What the HELL do these guys do anyway?” Unfortunately, I think Corzine’s gonna stand a good chance come election time.
Comment by Shamrock — January 20, 2005 @ 11:09 pm
Sounds a lot like Kerry and Edwards…
Comment by Evilwhiteguy — January 21, 2005 @ 1:30 am
The reason that property taxes are out of control in N.J. is that our state is DEAD LAST (50th) on the return of our tax dollars from Washington. This complete failure of our two useless, millionaire Senators forces us to pony up more N.J. tax dollars for services that should be paid for by our Federal tax dollars. Corzine and Lautenberg can’t remember the last time they drove in to a gas station and paid for gas or went to a supermarket and bought a loaf of bread.The issue of our property taxes means nothing to these rich,out-of-it money men who can’t even remember the names of their household domestics.
Their failure to secure the return of our tax dollars should be the number one, up-front issue for any Republican candidate in the Garden State. If you went to a restaurant, and the food was constantly bad, you would stop going there. Why do we continue to vote for these two horseheads who continue to prove that they can’t bring home the bacon ? The thought of Corzine being Governor is like giving the keys to the library to Courtney Love.
Comment by cousin gary — January 21, 2005 @ 7:59 am
The fact that any Senator or Representative can take six months or more to run for another office demonstrates the lack of respect these elected officials have for their constituents.
Comment by aelfheld — January 22, 2005 @ 6:00 pm