O_O-Don't look now but Jon Corzine is surging in New Jersey/Obama visits planned

[Politics_Guy25]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/27877.html

With a month to go until Election Day, national Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their chances to win the New Jersey governor’s race while cautious, or downright skeptical, about their prospects in the Virginia gubernatorial contest.


It’s a striking reversal from the conventional wisdom as recently as this summer, when Democratic-trending Virginia was seen as the better bet and top party officials were so worried about New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s prospects that there was talk of replacing him on the ballot.

Yay!

A split would be great-the media wouldn't be able to create a negative narrative from it.

[Jennicut]

1. 3rd party candidate in NJ actually might help Corzine.

[karynnj]

2. That's true

I watched the debate - where Christie's obnoxious personality showed and it was clear he had no plans. Corzine was quite competent and he did a good job describing the tough choices made in the budget - where in spite of some substantial cuts - he kept education whole. The third party candidate has some radical proposals - like cutting property taxes by 25% and making it up on sales taxes on services not now taxed. This has to be more attractive to Republicans than Democrats.

[Kdillard]

3. Thanks. Corzine had tough choices to make and i am glad that he was able to get

that point through.

[karynnj]

5. He did a nice job on making the point that he kept every school district

at the level they had the year before. This was FAR better than what the school districts braced themselves for. I went to a county Democratic meeting where Corzine spoke when the budget had just been finalized. A school board member from my town sitting with us before the talk mentioned how shocked they were and how they were going to be able to restore some positions that they had already listed as cuts they likely had to make.

To me the clearest indication that Corzine did a pretty thorough and good job cutting the budget is that Christie has yet to give ANY examples of where he would cut. Now, I am not naive enough to think that there is no waste anywhere, but it seems that there are no glaring examples or Christie would have highlighted them.

[rvablue]

4. If the 3rd party candidate is advocating that, I suggest the residents of NJ take a hard look at CA

at this point in time.

That's what they did 30 years ago and they are in a heap of trouble now because of it.

[tabbycat31]

8. that's why Corzine needs all hands on deck

I think we're going to pull it off. Besides aren't property taxes supposed to be a local issue not a state issue. I live in NJ but am not from here (NY)

[karynnj]

14. It's a state issue too

When the state added an income tax, one reason was to give some property tax relief and to meet the requirements of the NJ SC on what "thorough and efficient" education means. Before that the towns bore the expense of public schools and paid for it through property tax. The SC decision meant a way was needed to get more money to the poorest districts that could never raise anywhere near the cost per student in wealthy suburbs. So, the income tax was originally designed to give a rebate for part of the property tax bill and to give money directly to all the school districts, with more going to poorer neighborhoods.

The fact is NJ has very high taxes, but it also is a high cost of living state. Teachers, police, firemen etc do have higher salaries here than in lower cost states. They need it to live here. Conservative analyses - like a big front page one in my paper ignore this and compare our property taxes to states like MO and others with lower taxes - supposedly seeking answers to how we can bring taxes down. http://php.dailyrecord.com/taxcrush/view_article_details.php?id=11 Ignored is that NJ outperforms most of these states - some by a considerable amount - on standard education tests. I think comparitive studies are great, but you need to look at services as well.

Then there is another day's article:
Tell me if there is any logic to this?

{div class = "excerpt"]

New Jersey now rivals California, the nation's most populous state, for highest-paid police officers, teachers and all government employees.
The average police officer was paid $84,000 a year in New Jersey, according to a 2007 U.S. census survey, second to California's $93,000.

[msanthrope]

6. A few months ago I predicted Christie would win this for Corzine.

Christie is doing all he can for John.........

[Hippo_Tron]

7. Same here

New Jersey is the annual GOP bastion of false hope. Once New Jersey gets to know the Republican on the ballot they quickly go back to the Democrats.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8421643#8422290

[Jennicut]

13. The GOP always puts up such awful candidates too, not that I am complaining.

[karynnj]

10. I live in Christie's county - and many here were pretty sure that would happen

He even managed to annoy the Republicans during his freeholder career. The Republicans in the rest of the state likely wonder how they "bought" him in the primary - when the party pushed him as moderate and as a proven anti-corruption fighter. But, in the primary he moved to the right to counter Lonegan and his anti-corruption image has been shaken by petty acts of ...things that look like corruption.

At this point, the fact that no one has yet brought up that he opened a case charging Menendez with corruption shortly before his 2006 election when Gonzoles was pushing things exactly like this across the state is telling. They clearly have so much that can be held in reserve.

[jenmito]

9. Of course the "liberal" media is putting a spin on a potential Corzine win...

that if Corzine wins in NJ and Deeds loses in VA, it'll prove that the supposed "change of political landscape" due to Obama is a myth, that it's going back to "normal." I think it was Joe Scarborough who said that.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. Joe who????

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[BrklynLiberal]

12. Strange..but I never believed that Corzine would lose....

Every time I heard Christi speak, I became more assured that he would NEVER be governor of NJ,

[rufus dog]

15. The media will spin it, Tweety started today.

The NJ race is based upon Christie issues and the Virginia race is a referendum on Obama - That is how Tweety put it!