New Jersey Politics

As a resident of the Garden State for the first 25 years of my life, I am happy (?) to review the events of yesterday surrounding NJ Governor McGreevey:

Revelation that he is gay: Who cares?

Revelation that he fooled aroung on his wife: Who cares?

Revelation, as evidenced by his resignation, that McGreevey considers himself so politically compromised that he is unable to govern: Fair enough. Certainly McGreevey is better equipped to make that call than I.

Revelation that he put his boyfriend in a no-show job paying $100 K: Not yet confirmed but worthy of further investigation, as it is evidence of corruption with taxpayer money

Decision to make his resignation effective, not immediately, but after the November election, thereby avoiding an election to name his successor: SAY WHAT?!

If McGreevey feels so compromised that he must leave office, there is no justification for hanging around for three months, simply to assure party control of the office.The same Democratic party that promotes continually the "will of the people" and "count every vote" is effectively maintaining a compromised Governor in office for the sole purpose of averting an election..

At least McGreevey goes out with the standard Democrat legacy: enormous tax increases:

New Jersey has increased taxes more than any state other than New York since Gov. James E. McGreevey took office in 2002, a Star-Ledger analysis of state budget data shows. [...]

New Jersey has raised taxes by $3.6 billion since McGreevey took office. The $1.7 billion increase in his third budget is the largest by any state this year.

McGreevey has endured numerous scandals to date, so I speculate there is more to be uncovered before we know why this particular one toppled the cards.

Update: Since I wrote this, Democrat Chris Matthews has taken up the torch (pun unintended), and he is farther into conspiracy theories than I. It will be interesting to see how this thing plays out, and what effect it might have on the Presidential election in New Jersey, a state that swings wildly from moderate Republican to far left Democrat in the space of weeks.