The Trenton Circus: Government Unrestrained

Among even self-professed conservatives, there exists only a faction dedicated wholly to the cause of Constitutional government. On the surface, if one chooses it to define it as such, it seems frivolous to worry about how closely the governing of the country follows the text of a 220-year old document.

Of course, those of us in the faction know there’s more to it than that. The short form is, Constitutional government is the rule of law and the rule of law is the hallmark of civilized society. But the short form is rarely sufficient. There is, naturally, more to it than that. The purpose of the Constitution is to restrain government. There is no more important aim for a people that desire their freedom and quality of life to remain intact.

The opposite result is government unrestrained. The best examples of this exist in the states, where the government is closer to the people, holds more power over them, and is still intended to be guided by a state constitution. In no state is the government more out of control and ineffectual than in my home state of New Jersey.

Welcome to New Jersey

The “Governor” of New Jersey is Acting Governor Richard Codey. He’s the person legally obligated by state succession to clean up the mess Gay-American and former Governor James McGreevey left in his wake. Had McGreevey resigned before Election Day, we in the state could have chosen a replacement, but you should know, if you don’t live here, that we don’t get much say about what happens in Trenton. Mercifully, we were spared from seeing US Senator John Corzine’s bizarre offer to “take over” come to fruition.

Well, Corzine evidently took offense to not being allowed to usurp authority in the state, as he decided he was going to become Governor, come hell or high water. No one seems to have informed him that Governor is a position of less power and prestige than US Senator, as he committed a fortune to being the Democratic candidate for Governor in the 2005 election. Every Democrat of note in the state endorsed Corzine, abandoning Codey in the dust. Of course, inexplicably, Codey has the highest approval rating for a New Jersey governor in two decades. The same principle that got us Codey as a governor is cheating him out of his chance to actually earn it; that is, New Jersey voters do not deserve to vote. The Democratic gubernatorial situation is perhaps the most glaring example favoring primary elections in the history of politics.

Conversely, the Republican situation, with seven, count ‘em, seven candidates vying for the nomination, is perhaps the most fitting argument against primary elections. The two front-runners are Bret Schundler, the reform candidate with an impressive record as Mayor of Jersey City who, as some are coming to regret, could not beat McGreevey in 2001, and Doug Forrester, who would have beaten the criminal Torricelli in 2002 for the Senate, had the Democrats not bent state law to exhume Frank Lautenberg and run him to victory. Schundler is the better candidate. Forrester has the money. The other five represent all ends of the Republican spectrum and are itching to play spoiler. The only certain outcome is a vicious and expensive primary that John Corzine can watch, laughing while reclining on a tremendous pile of money.

Schundler has integrity, a good record, and solid ideas. Why isn’t he the overwhelming favorite? The mainstream Republican Party hates him. Why? Firstly, he wants to clean up Trenton, and, as Schundler has stated as part of his campaign, and the indictments in Monmouth County prove, Republicans are just as corrupt in this state as the Democrats. Secondly, he’s a true, fiscally conservative, pro-life, right-winger. Our last Republican governor, Christine Whitman, decided to write a book about how too far right-wing the Republican party is. That pretty much sums up how welcome conservatives are here. It’s her party, too. It hasn’t been mine in a good long time.

So the election’s going to be a mess. Maybe that’s why Codey decided to avoid it, after all. He seems to be having a good time. Firstly, he's suspiciously still president of the State Senate, while governor. He then began things by getting into a fight with a talk radio host, which made for some interesting press. Nothing like bringing some dignity to the office after the McGreevy scandal, eh? He next decided to respond to the budget crisis with a joke: "The good news is, we're not bankrupt. The bad news is, we're close." But, he can be serious, too. Just look at his fool-proof plan for ending it: we’ll cut property tax rebates. Then we’ll appropriate a couple hundred million dollars for housing for the mentally ill, without the legislature voting on it or having a referendum. What? Then we’ll add a commission of eleven people to the state payroll, without the legislature voting on it or having a referendum. Then we’ll add some vaguely-defined, high-profile administrative positions to the payroll to placate the anti-corruption crowd. Then we’ll create the office of lieutenant-governor, for no reason, and give the office its own executive department. Sounds like a plan.

Now, with all this chaos, corruption, and confusion about, what exactly is the State Assembly doing to govern New Jersey? Why, they’re debating whether or not the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. Why? Because they got it in their mind to declare it “state vegetable,” even though it’s a fruit. Well, scientifically, a fruit it may be, but in the eyes of New Jersey state law, it’s a vegetable. Besides, we already have a state fruit, the blueberry, which was only named as such last year. Anytime you name anything “state” something, it involves proclamations, events, speeches, and tax money. We need a state vegetable like we need a lieutenant-governor. And as far as these state symbols are concerned, ask how many New Jerseyans what our state folk dance or state dinosaur are. That’s about how useful a state vegetable would be.

In addition, as I heard on New Jersey 101.5 this morning, some Assemblywoman proposed making gambling-awareness education a mandatory part of the school curriculum. That’s right. A state which funds its schools with lotteries, horse tracks, and Atlantic City wants to teach kids that gambling is wrong.

Government Unrestrained

You may be asking yourself, “who cares?” Apart from being worth a laugh, why should the machinations of New Jersey state politics be worth a second glance from anyone?

Because this is what happens when the people decide that government is the solution to every problem. When the government fails, it just piles more government on top of itself, creating a self-contained leviathan which can eventually shut the voter completely out and dictate how each and every person’s money is spent, lives are led, and children are educated with absolutely no say needed from the constituents. This is what the future will look like in America the more and more detached the Federal government gets from the Constitution and the influence of the American people.

Let me tell you, it’s not a pleasant state of affairs. It’s frustrating for the citizen, ruinous for the state, and does nothing to promote either efficient or virtuous government. It honestly is the closest thing to a monster that grows beyond its creator’s control that we will ever see in our reality.

Yet, all that needs to be done to roll it back, preserve our freedom, streamline government, and creative effective leadership is to follow the letter of the law. Is that really so unreasonable?

Remember, even a fruit can become a vegetable if the Leviathan says so. The more control we exercise over it, and not it exercises over us, the better.