New Jersey GOP calls for Gov. James McGreevey to resign now

[funkybutt]

McGreevey had offered to quit in November. Details soon.


www.cnn.com

[underpants]

1. Tough!

ESAD

[Catherine Vincent]

2. The NJ GOP should take a look at what the Dem did in Louisiana!

[funkybutt]

9. i don't understand the connection

btw democratic candidate Tisa Blakes has launched her website today

blakesforcongress.com

they are still working on the donation link :(

[bushisanidiot]

3. NJ GOP, you lost and McGreevey won. Get over it!

you don't get to make the rules or decide when the Governor should resign. So, just get used to sitting in the loser's bracket because that's where you'll be for a long, long time to come.

[Frodo]

5. Actually, they very well might. We don't know the whole story yet.

All we know is he DIDN'T resign because he was gay.


They could have quite a bit of leverage against him. If they didn't why didn't he just hold his announcement until next month when the election wouldn't be an issue?

[bushisanidiot]

8. He announced it to take the bat out of the repukes hands.

they wanted to blackmail him and he just pee'd all over their juvenile argument.

[Frodo]

22. Sorry, it wasn't the republicans blackmailing him.It was his former lover.

And in that you know more about why this hasn't come close to being the whole story. A Democratic party strategist IN NJ said this morning (paraphrase) "yesterday was a good day for McGreevy, but it's all downhill from here".


All the republicans can do now is offer him a deal. They might be able to swing a "no prosecution" deal for an early resignation.

[bushisanidiot]

25. He took the bat out of their hands and they are PISSED

heh..

[Frodo]

30. "Took the bat out of their hands"???

It's been a whole day, but near as I can figure he doesn't have a job any more.

You really think the republicans are the ones crying in their beer?


You just saw Act I of a four act play. You have no idea how it's going to turn out.

[bushisanidiot]

33. Yes, the repukes are crying in their beer because he's waiting until

after Sept. 12th to resign, so no chance to steal the position in a "special election".

the repuke blackmailing scam didn't work. The governor (very effectively) took the bat out of their hands by choosing to remain governor until mid Nov.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

[Frodo]

34. Right. A Democratic Gov resigns in disgrace and scandal and we cheer

with a "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" ???


This falls into the "making the best of a bad situation" category, not grounds for celebration.

[bushisanidiot]

36. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Pres. AWOL's party does not get to capitalize on this "scandal" because the Governor will be replaced by another democratic governor.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Frodo]

38. Fine. I hope it helps you sleep at night.

As I said "best of a BAD situation".

It doesn't change how much this hurts the party in NJ (they PAID to bring this guy in from Israel) on top of two clear corruption cases going on right now.

So anything short of losing the seat is a "win"?

lol you have low standards.

And a very short-term focus. You think the problem goes away if we can get through November?

[LARED]

49. I am sure you are right

McGregor didn't resign because he's gay. In fact I am pretty sure his coming out of the closet now is designed to help soften the blow from this scandal and lessen the forthcoming blows from bigger and better (from a criminality perspective) future scandals.

I have followed McGreevey since his Mayoral day. Frankly I think the guy is a criminal and an embarrassment. The NJ Democratic party should quickly pretend they never heard of him and can't figure out how they were fooled into backing him for so many years.

I also think he will be forced to resign before 11/15 as his ability to stay until 11/5 will diminish quickly once the press feels free to pummel him. He will go downhill quickly . We better be prepared for a special election.

[Frodo]

4. They want an election NOW while the scandals are hot.

They'd have a fair chance of winning and putting NJ in play for Bush.

Hold the election next year and NJ goes for Kerry and we have time to put a decent candidate up for Gov.

It has litte to do with "the people have a right to decide".

[lancdem]

12. NJ is not in play for Bush

It's solid Kerry and McGreevey's problems don't change that.

[Frodo]

21. Of course it isn't, TODAY.

But yes, "McGreevy's problems" WOULD change that if there were a NJ election in November. The republicans have a ready-made candidate with his own money to throw in and we have little we can put up there that wouldn't be tainted by the recent scandals.

Add how ticked off NJ voters are on the tax situation and you could have a Republican winning the gubernatorial race. NJ has consistently polled closer (not close, just closer) than it did in 2000. I very well could be in play if Republicans succeed in getting an election this year. It will all be a "turnout thing".

[brentspeak]

29. It's only the millionaires who are upset with the tax situation

McGreevey only raised state income tax on the super rich. Which is why Monica Crowley (man, I can't stand her) has a particular animus against McGreevey - her family is among NJ's tony elite.

Me? I began to sour on McGreevey a couple of years ago when he was forced to admit that he was using taxpayer money to fly to-and-back Ireland. Something about him "wanting to visit his heritage".

[Frodo]

31. Right. Only the rich buy houses?

That extra tax on home purchases is more than the average middle-class voter probably pays in a year!

And didn't I hear someone talking about an extra tax on braces? Those are for rich people?

And car registration fees in the hundreds of dolars?

Paying four years up front when you're leasing a car for two years?

[gasperc]

19. I don't know if it would put NJ in play, but a huge distraction

just like the CA recall was when the yellow cake scandal was crushing the Bush camp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Puglover]

39. So Frodo you

think the Repukes should decide this rather then the people? What are you trying to say anyway. I don't give a shit what the guy did. Fuck what the Republicans "want"

[Frodo]

50. Can't agree with you there.

I do agree that it matters little what the republicans want.


But "I don't give a shit what the guy did" is precisely the reputation we DON'T need.

I happen to think it matters a great deal what the guy did. We don't know yet what that really is, and I don't see the direct need to step down before the deadline unless something serious becomes clear.

[CO Liberal]

6. CO Liberal Calls on NJ GOP To Go F**k Themselves

:-)

[wickerwoman]

7. They can go whistle. Dems control the courts in NJ.

n/t

[Window]

32. I'm from New Jersey, and the Democrats run

everything.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. Of course they do...

The leaks on this yesterday, were coming hot and heavy off of the floor of the State Senate. Guess which side of the aisle. Cell phones akimbo.

But, next election, the NJ repukes may well have to deal with their own "Gay Eruption", if they allow this crass hypocrisy to continue. One of their candidates...well, you get the idea.

McGreevey was getting blackmailed. He resigned because of the fact that in the light of that and being outed, resigning was the right thing to do.

THAT was something I could not report, yesterday, because I had no solid confirmations on it, although it was being said.

So, let's kick him some more, huh?

[2Design]

11. He doesn't have to resign at all....those pigs.....eom

[Frodo]

37. Yes he does. He could be going to jail.

[Walt Starr]

13. Oh yea, well try to impeach him!

Oops, not enough time before the election?

TOO BAD!

[malachi]

14. Hey, come on now,

we all know that if the situation was reversed and a gop gov resigned the repukes would not hesitate to call for an election now. Yeah right, they can all cheny themselves.

[Frances]

15. As I understand it (and I could have misunderstood)

McGreevey had already notified the FBI that a man had demanded that he pay $5 million. I don't know if the blackmailer is the same man who had threatened or perhaps already initiated a lawsuit against McGreevey for sexual harassment.

I think McGreevey went public yesterday because of the lawsuit and blackmail threats.

There is an Israeli citizen involved in the whole mess and I don't know what the implications are.

As far as resigning, the Connecticut governor hung on to his office for months, so Nov. 15 does not seem unreasonable to me if all McGreevey is guilty of is an affair with another consenting adult. I live in California and we elected a governor who groped women against their will.

[stevedeshazer]

16. Woop woop, there it is

Republican family values.

Have an affair with a consenting adult of the same sex, be forced to resign.

Grope unwilling women, and have members of your party advocate for amending the Constitution for you.

[Frodo]

23. Don't pretend that's what it is. It isn't.

Have an affair with a consenting adult of the opposite sex and give that person a high paying government job they aren't even remotely qualified for (that has the public safety as it's mission) then arrange for a different position when the FBI denies clearance?

You're out of a job.


The fact the lover is a man has nothing to do with it. That's his spin hoping to gain the support of those of us who would be sympathetic to what society already does to gay men. But you don't need to resign high office for being gay. There's more than one openly gay politician.

[stevedeshazer]

41. I'm not pretending anything

I've read your post four times. I have no idea what you are talking about.

Your sentence : "Have an affair with a consenting adult of the opposite sex and give that person a high paying government job they aren't even remotely qualified for (that has the public safety as it's mission) then arrange for a different position when the FBI denies clearance?"

I'm not an idiot. Would you please drop the antagnostic tone and explain in plain language what you are talking about?

Thank you very much.

[Frodo]

43. Ok. Sorry for the "tone".

That wasn't what I had intended.

What I meant was that what he appears to be guilty of is easily enough to cost him his job completely apart from whether the partner is a man or a woman. Had he done the same thing with a woman he would just as easily been out of a job. You rpost implied that he's losing his job because he's gay. Far from it, he's using his "coming out" as an attempted shield to deflect attention from what he IS guilty of. Who cares if he's gay?? Certainly not most of the people who voted for him.

Trading government jobs for sexual favors does not become MORE corrupt because it is with a man. It just seems more salacious.

[Seeking Serenity]

44. True. Remember Congressman Wayne Hays

and Elizabeth Ray? He put his lover in a government job and it cost him his.

[Frodo]

46. lol "I can’t type. I can’t file. I can’t even answer the phone.”

Yeah, I remember. She tried to go in to comedy. The reviews said she was probably "better at typing".

[stevedeshazer]

47. Thanks

And point taken. I don't care if he's gay either. Separate issue, as far as I am concerned.

Trading jobs for sexual favors happens often, no? But when you trade jobs for GAY sexual favors, you've got a big freakin' headline nationwide. It's all over the newspapers, the cable shows, talk radio, and the internet. That's not right, but it's reality. That's what I'm trying to get at.

The press sure seems to make a big deal out of his being gay. There's no denying that the fact that he has declared he is gay is the salacious part of the story and what drives a lot of the press coverage.

When the governor of New Jersey resigns because of a sexual scandal, it's big news. When it is a gay sexual scandal, the stakes are higher.

Trading jobs for sexual favors happens often, no? But when you trade jobs for GAY sexual favors, you've got a big freakin' headline nationwide. It's all over the newspapers, the cable shows, talk radio, and the internet. That's all I'm saying.

[Frodo]

48. Well, there's an additional problem

Frankly, I think "trading jobs for sex" is bad enough to get you fired in any situation (though I support the idea of some attempt to keep the seat in party hands - though I don't know it will work).

But the specific job involved here (essentially the NJ homeland security guru) is viewed as pretty important by a lot of voters. He wasn't qualified for the job - couldn't even get a security clearance so he couldn't do the job if he WAS qualified. This is the Governor placing the safety of his citizens second to his hormonal urges. How many hundreds of thousand of NJ citizens could SEE 9/11??? And the governor is going to go and give the job to his lover as a present? The more I think about it the more disgusted I get (and no, the "gay thing" isn't it for me either. I'm plenty ticked off at just what he did to his wife - whether with a man or woman).

And yeah, the press made a big deal of his being gay. That was his intent and played in to his plan. The whole press conference was "I'm gay, so I'm going to have to quit". What did we expect them to run with. It won't take long (it's already happening) for the real reason to be what the press cares about.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

17. Tin Foil Hat says, dammit...

Mossad?

[realFedUp]

20. good points

and actually if the grounds for resigning are
just that a politician is in the closet, there
are a few Republicans who are candidates.

[wicket]

18. Link here:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/13/mcgreevey.resigns/index.html

[yellowcanine]

24. He would have to resign before Sept 3 to trigger a special election.

That is obviously what the GOP is after here so why not "accomodate" them and resign Sept 4? That would fix their wagon.

[brentspeak]

26. The GOP is spinning this in two ways:

1) That McGreevey won't be able to effectively govern for the next three months; and 2) That the people of NJ are being "denied their right to vote" because McGreevey's designated date to leave office will not allow for a special election.

I'm from NJ, and right now I'm pretty disgusted with McGreevey; but I know that he should be able to manage the house for another three months, though it's going to be the Repubs TRYING to make things difficult for him. As for us being "denied" a chance to vote - I didn't know there was a NJ gubernatorial election previously scheduled
for this year. <sarcasm>

[Hobarticus]

27. Careful, Senator, try not to gnash your teeth into the microphone...

Classy, real classy. The man takes the moral high road, knowing what the GOP attack machine will do to his family once this broke, and they come after him anyway.

[Frodo]

35. "Moral high ground"???

I can't imagine how much spin it takes to call this the "moral high ground".

[dolstein]

28. Does anybody know what the normal transition period is?

How many days are there between the general election date and the date a New Jersey governor is sworn into office? I'm almost certain that it's at least two months. While I don't know why McGreevey has to wait until November 15 to step down from office, I do think it's reasonable to have him remain in office past the September deadline for triggering a special election.

[BadGimp]

40. he's Gay he must resign

resign because someone accuses you of making a sexual advance?

too funny

[Frodo]

45. Since the accuser IS the lover he confessed to...

... it's unlikely were talking about a "sexual advance".


His accuser can make a claim of exchange of sexual favors (or demand of sexual favors) in exchange for high paying jobs he was unqualified for and he'd have plenty of evidence backing him up. "With McGreevey's help, Cipel landed a series of cushy jobs at firms controlled by Democratic fund-raisers."

[NJGeek]

42. Note to repugs: You lost to McGreevy, sorry you are SOL <eom>