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Corzine Looks Good, But…

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6/07/00 6:25 p.m.
Corzine Looks Good, But…
New Jersey voters know that big government comes at a price.

By Stephen Hayes

hat didn't take long. Republicans are already grousing about their lost opportunity to pick up the New Jersey U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Frank Lautenberg, who is retiring. But even though there are certainly reasons for the GOP despair, there is one major reason why Garden State Republicans can still hold on to some of their optimism: Jon Corzine.

Not long ago, the race looked promising. Political analyst Charlie Cook said the open seat "leans Republican," back when tax-cutting Governor Christine Whitman was expected to be the Republican nominee and former governor Jim Florio — whom Whitman upset in the 1993 race for governor — looked to be the strongest Democrat. Florio, who raised taxes by $2.8 billion in his first year as governor, was the Republicans' dream opponent. Even his own party, in tatters after a decade of getting beaten up by the GOP, didn't want him to run, and they began scurrying around the state in search of another candidate. But Whitman surprised nearly everyone by taking a pass on the race, and the Democrats found an opponent for Florio in ex-Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine, who seemed willing to spend some of his $400 million fortune on winning the seat.

Corzine, a newcomer to politics, crushed Florio in Tuesday's primary, winning 58 percent of the vote to Florio's 42 percent. He spent $35 million to do it, turning the world of political fundraising upside-down in the process. (Normally, voters contribute to candidates to help finance campaigns. In this case, Corzine contributed to citizen groups across the state — local Democratic party operations, ethnic groups, religious organizations, nonprofits, the Million Mom March — and the votes followed.)

Corzine makes no apologies for his spending, and signaled in his victory speech that he's willing to do more: "Let me make very clear we have only just begun." The Republican candidate, though, may not be able to begin for almost another week. Rep. Bob Franks declared victory shortly after midnight, but with a margin of only about 3000 votes — and his opponent, state senator William Gormley hasn't yet conceded. Gormley spokesman David Murray, in an interview this morning, said Gormley would not concede until all of the votes have been certified, a process that could take until Monday.

Regardless of who wins, the Republican candidate will have only regional name recognition in a state where geography matters; Franks is known in the north and Gormley in the south. Corzine's willingness to spend his money, along with the GOP's disarray, might be enough to discourage national Republicans from sending significant resources to New Jersey. Several incumbent Republican senators, after all, are in tough races, and in need of extra help from national GOP groups with limited resources.

But Corzine is vulnerable in one very important area: his issues. As David Halbfinger wrote in the New York Times, Corzine won on "a platform of big-spending government programs and unabashedly liberal positions on social issues." (Remember, that's from the New York Times.)

Corzine, indeed, won running to the left of legendary tax-raiser Jim Florio, and in his victory speech, Corzine summarized the race in language that could've been written by a GOP strategist trying to sabotage his campaign: "Make no mistake," Corzine declared. "I want to invest in America. That is what this campaign will be about."

If Corzine was talking about "investing" his own money in America, of course, he could have done that from the comfort of his La-Z-Boy. But he's not. He's talking about government spending, and lots of it. That's why he's running for Senate. Among Corzine's proposals are "a living wage of at least $8 per hour," a "rewriting [of] our labor laws to help American workers," "universal health care," "universal long-term care," "universal pre-school," and "universal after-school programs."

Although it's not shocking to hear a proud liberal talk about "investing" taxpayer money, it is breathtakingly bold for a candidate to declare at the outset of the general election that increased government spending "is what this campaign will be about." Although New Jersey voters lean Democratic, they understand, perhaps better than residents of any other state, that such "investment" comes at a cost.

Ten years ago, another now-infamous New Jersey politician made a similar plea on behalf of a $2.8 billion "investment" in New Jersey. In an editorial written to boost support of his 1990 tax hike, then-governor Jim Florio wrote, "We can invest in our future, and have a better New Jersey."

With lingering memories of Florio's investment, New Jersey voters might just prefer to keep some of their money for themselves. That should have Republicans smiling.

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