Murphy’s State Of The State Address Was Just A Campaign Speech

Phil Murphy

I watched (and listened) to Governor Phil Murphy’s first State of the State address and I didn’t like it. I suspect no Republicans liked it and a lot of Democrats did, so no surprise there.

Murphy opened up talking about tax incentive programs, basically he blamed the previous administration for the problems. Frankly, after a year in office blaming the last guy is getting old.

To me, Murphy’s State of the State address was a campaign speech. It was all stuff we’ve heard before. I heard “stronger and fairer” about as many times as I heard it during his campaign for governor.

I’m not sure where the Governor lives, but New Jersey doesn’t appear to be stronger than it was a year ago. As to being fairer, I suppose that depends on your point of view. Personally, I don’t think higher taxes are fairer to anyone.

Of course, Murphy had to bring up one of his favorite topics – a $15 an hour minimum wage. I still find it odd that Murphy talks about a $15 per hour minimum wage when he once wanted a professional, with a master’s degree, to work for free, as an unpaid intern for his soccer team. Eventually the NWSL got Murphy’s team to pay the guy $15,000 for a season that lasts 6 months, but that is less than the $15,600 a $15 per hour employee would have made. In other words, Murphy is a giant hypocrite when it comes to $15 per hour.

Because I do believe in being fair, I have to admit I did like the fact that Murphy said he wants to “enact true early, in-person voting.” True early, in person voting is much better than mail-in voting. I liked it when I lived in New Mexico. It’s a lot harder to cheat with in-person voting than with mail-in ballots.

Murphy was clear that he wants to legalize pot saying, “So, let’s start 2019 by finishing what we began in 2018 -- putting the minimum wage on a clear and responsible path to $15 an hour, and legalizing adult-use marijuana. We must remember that when we talk about policy we are talking about people, not politics.”

Frankly, smoking some pot would have made the address much easier to listen to.

Menendez Just Spent More Time In Puerto Rico Than He Has In South Jersey

Bob Menendez

By now most of you have probably seen the photo of a shirtless U.S. Senator Bob Menendez talking to a bikini clad woman in Puerto Rico. I’ve decided against posting the photo because I have no desire to look at his topless photo again.

There are two things that have me mad about this junket. First, Menendez in just one weekend has spent more time in Puerto Rico than he did in South Jersey during his entire re-election campaign. Second, is that, at least according to his Twitter feed, Menendez is trying to make it appear he is there working on Hurricane Maria relief. Perhaps he forgot there are still folks in South Jersey who still haven’t fully recovered from Superstorm Sandy.

The fact that Menendez complains about “his wall” in the above Tweet really makes me angry. I’m sick and tired of people complaining about the wall who have no idea what they are talking about. I have friends who live and work along the border, places with very little security. I know one woman living in southeastern Arizona who leaves jugs of water on her property for illegal border crossers, not because she wants to, but because she fears what might happen to her if she doesn’t.

Has Menendez ever talked to her? No! Has he talked to any of the members of law enforcement I know who work along the border? Nope! Has he talked to any of the ranchers I know who make their living along the border? Again, no.

These are people who have had negative experiences with illegal border crossers. Talking to them doesn’t fit the narrative he and other Democrats are pushing. The truth is not every person illegally crossing the border is doing it for “good” reasons. Obviously, Menendez doesn’t want to take the time to lear about all the bad reasons people cross the border illegally.

For Menendez to try and make it appear that he is in Puerto Rico for any reason other than fun is a joke. This is a junket that was scheduled long before the partial government shutdown. He went there with at least 100 lobbyists and corporate executives and some members of Congress have family members with them.

Menendez may be a U.S. senator from New Jersey, but it is obvious he still doesn’t know where South Jersey is.

Governor Murphy Should Look In The Mirror Before Accusing Anyone Of Misguided Rhetoric That Is Hurting Our People.

Governor Phil Murphy

I didn’t get the chance to see President Donald Trump’s address to the nation last night. Instead I went to Salem County’s reorganization meeting. It could have been exciting because failed Salem County sheriff candidate Bob Gant and I were in the same room, but we never got close enough to each other for any fireworks. Maybe I’ll see him in court some day soon.

Anyway, enough of that. Because I didn’t get to see the President’s speech I decided to read about it and the responses to it this morning. Naturally, I stumbled across Governor Phil Murphy’s response. From Murphy’s website:

“President Trump continues to mislead to justify his nonsensical and damaging shutdown. There is a much better and smarter way for us to invest $5 billion than an impractical non-starter of a wall. The Gateway Project would do more to create jobs, promote economic and national security, and build critically needed 21st century infrastructure. Enough of the misguided rhetoric that is hurting our economy and our people, and making us less safe. Let’s get the government open and get to work to get Gateway done.”

After reading that the first thing I thought was who the hell is he to lecture anyone on the ‘smarter way’ to invest any money?

This is the guy who decided it was a good idea to set aside $2.1 million to help illegal immigrants fight deportation while taking at least $1.2 million, and possibly as much as $2 million, from our veterans. Personally, I think money for our veterans is more important than money to help people who enter the country illegally get a lawyer.

It’s rather odd that Murphy would make the statement, “Enough of the misguided rhetoric that is hurting our economy and our people,” when he hurt our people, our veterans, by cutting money from the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs in the budget.

Make no mistake, the cuts to our veterans in the state budget hurt people. We had Bob Garguilo on the radio show and he talked about how two bus loads of veterans were, for lack of better words, left stranded thanks to Murphy’s budget cut to our veterans.

Phil Murphy obviously didn’t care about hurting New Jersey’s veterans so maybe he should look in the mirror next time he wants to accuse anyone else about misguided rhetoric that is hurting our people.

Hopefully someone else will call out Governor Murphy on his BS rhetoric.