Carnival Twenty-Four is Up ...

... at DynamoBuzz. Thanks, Roberto!

Corzine Tripping

Enlighten NJ asks, "Will Corzine Trip?" in response to an article by Steve Kornacki at PoliticsNJ.com. I think he's already on his way down, based on a couple of subtle indicators. Here's what we're seeing:
1. My wife had a conversation with a neighbor who we know to be a solid, dedicated Democrat. Although he didn't make an emphatic statement, he let on that he would probably support Forrester in the election.
2. Another neighbor, who we did not realize was a Democrat until a "Corzine for Governor" sign went up in the front yard, appears to have removed said signage. Signs for other Democrat candidates remain in place.
Yes, I know it's scant evidence, but I'm willing to accept it as a working theory for now.

The Carnival Is In Town!

KateSpot hosts this week's Carnival of the New Jersey Bloggers with a nice, traditional look. Go forth and read, you'll enjoy it!

Local Politics Revisited

A while back, I noted that I had not yet made up my mind about the Delanco township committee race. Well, I made up my mind when the Republican candidate called me and asked for my support. I even agreed to put up a sign in the yard, a first for the four years we've lived here.

Today, as my wife was picking up the kids from school, she was confronted by one of my occasional readers over our choice of candidates. This woman loudly questioned our choice and asked why my wife wouldn't vote for an honest Democrat. She responded that all politics is essentially local, and if she started voting Democrat at this level, she might find herself repeating that mistake at the state and national level.

You go, girl!

Jersey Perspective: Corzine Predictions

Jack at Jersey Perspective asks, "What issue could sway New Jersey moderates to the conservative side?"

I don't think they can be swayed toward the conservatives so much as they can be swayed away from the liberals (or "progressives" as some of the liberals seem to prefer). There are a few issues that can help Forrester increase the Corzine repulsion factor felt by moderates / independents in New Jersey:

1. Taxes, Taxes, Taxes. Drop the slogans and point out the facts.
Under this year's FAIR rebate program, the best you can do if under 65 and not disabled is $350. Corzine would increase this rebate by 10% a year for four years, providing a whopping $35 dollars in tax "relief" to the average homeowner in the first year, followed by $38.50, $42.35, and $46.59. That $162.44 will do absolutely nothing for the average homeowner, who bears most of the property tax burden.
I'm pretty close to average when it comes to property taxes here in Delanco, paying about $4,500 a year. Forrester's plan would reduce my property tax burden by 10% in each of the next three years. The $450 savings in the first year alone is triple what Corzine offers. Forrester's campaign needs to hammer this fact home.
2. Corruption. Corzine's close associations with convicted criminals, censured senators, unfaithful husbands, disgraced governors, corporate raiders, county bosses, etc. The latest ad at PoliticsNJ and a new web site, Corzine's Connections, hit this issue pretty nicely. (H/T Enlighten NJ)
3. Weakness. Corzine's complete lack of substance over the 5 years he's been in the Senate. Enlighten NJ brought up this issue back in July, but I haven't seen much from the Forrester campaign on it.
4. Insanity. Corzine's ludicrous health care proposal, which would break the state's financial back. This was discussed in depth by both Enlighten NJ and your humble host.

Up until the last week or so, I was beginning to despair. But now I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and there's a possibility it might not be a train coming down the tracks.

Comments

For some reason, comments (and trackbacks) got themselves broken in my template. It appears that Blogger has implemented a rudimentary trackback feature, so I'll blame them. In the meantime, this post is a test to see if my template changes have turned Haloscan trackbacks and comments back on or not.

Score 21 and win a prize!

The 21st Carnival of the New Jersey Bloggers makes its appearance this week at The Opinion Mill. Steven Hart offers a unique patter to introduce a wide variety of Jersey voices. Overall, an interesting effort, although I think it could have done without three "George Bush is a monkey" references.

Scouting

For the first time since 5th grade (31 years ago), I attended a Cub Scout pack meeting tonight. All I can say is, "Wow!" The capacity of 20 boys to create sound is absolutely incredible.

Local Politics

Here in the little town of Delanco we have, for the first time in recent memory, a contested election for two seats on the township committee. One of the incumbents, Kathleen Quinn, was appointed to her seat on September 21st to replace John Browne after his resignation. She is running for a full 3-year term against Fernand C. Ouellette. The other incumbent, Phil Brackett, was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Victor Vittorino's resignation, and is running to complete the remaining 13 months of the term against Ed Devinney.
My first instinct is to back my party's candidates. Unfortunately, I've seen no communication from them to help me understand their positions. I don't know them personally, and they don't appear to have a web site. Also unfortunately, Delanco has operated under one-party rule for quite some time, and my party's candidates are the incumbents.
The challengers, on the other hand, have been visibly active over the last year. They have opposed a redevelopment plan that would have abused eminent domain, dug into the background of the whole Columns fiasco, and they even have a web site.
So this election comes down to a question of direction. Do the resignations of two township committee members signal enough of a change, or is it necessary to split the township committee 4-1 or 3-2 between parties? One of my readers approached me during the town-wide yard sale over the weekend, and asked if I would be supporting the Democrats because of my position on the Columns issue. I haven't decided yet, and am not sure that I will decide before election day.

COTNJB 20

Sharon from The Center of New Jersey Life hosts this week's extra-special 20th Anniversary of the Carnival of the New Jersey Bloggers. As usual since my own hosting experience in week eleven, I had nothing to contribute. I really need to work on getting excited about blogging again, especially with the election coming up in only a month.