6.09.00
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire — Senator?

6.07.00
Men Behaving Badly — On The Field And In the Court

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Lazio Stumbles — And Soars

6.02.00
David Fights The Racial Goliath

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Lies, Damned Lies and the Washington Post

5.26.00
GWB, Meet JFK

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In Defense of Sleaze

5.22.00
Living La Vida Lazio

5.19.00
A Rudy Awakening

5.17.00
A Hard Day's Knight

5.15.00
Reflections of A Non-Marching Mom

6/09/00 5:30 p.m.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire — Senator?
In “praise” of Jon Corzine.

Robert A. George is an editorial page writer
for the New York Post------------------------------------RAGGEDmail@aol.com

olitics has become way too judgmental. The various sides attack the tactics and integrity of their opponents. There is just way too little attempt to “walk in another person’s shoes.”

This columnist, therefore, right-of-center registered Republican that he is, would like to congratulate liberal Democrat Jon Corzine on his landslide win in the New Jersey U.S. Senate primary. Corzine swamped former governor Jim Florio by 18 points. This is an impressive win by any measure — but especially so for a candidate who had never previously run for office.

Now, to be fair, much of my high regard for this ex-Goldman Sachs chairman is selfish. Let me explain: I once worked for former California congressman Michael Huffington. Aside from a certain statuesque multi-media Greek ex-wife, Huffington’s lingering legacy has been his spot in the record books for having spent the most personal funds in one statewide campaign. He doled out more than $28 million for his ultimately unsuccessful (don’t want to say “failed”) ’94 Senate run against Dianne Feinstein.

I was working in his congressional office in Washington. Though I didn’t work on the campaign itself, eyes would invariably roll when people learned that I was involved in some way. People conveniently ignored that this one-term congressman came within less than two percentage points of defeating an entrenched incumbent who was running statewide for the third time in four years. All anyone remembered was that he spent nearly $30 million and fell short (can’t say “was defeated”). Such is the fate of the non-victorious candidate (can’t say “loser”): to be the punchline of a joke. Worse, whenever the next millionaire candidate pops up, the memories return. Admittedly, some derision against Huffington that had nothing to do with how much money he spent might have been reasonable (his not really wanting the seat, for instance), but that’s beside the point. Having worked for the guy, I still felt his pain.

Jon Corzine, however, has now erased Huffington from the books. His $35 million spent in the primary alone makes my old boss look like a piker. It suggests that before all is said and done, Corzine may spend well above $50 million. True, that’s just a drop in the bucket for his near-$400 million fortune. As former colleague and independent “Mullings” columnist Rich Galen has pointed out, prorate Corzine’s expenditures to all fifty states for a presidential run and his spending would come up to $1.65 billion. Ooh, baby.

But, frankly, Republicans and conservatives should be applauding the rise of Corzine (sounds like a medical condition, eh? “I’m sorry, ma’am, you have a Corzine rise in your pancreas...”).

Corzine used his money to pretty good advantage. He continually reminded voters that, as governor, Florio had passed the largest tax increase in New Jersey’s history. That tax hike was the reason Florio was turned out of the governor’s mansion in 1993 by Christie Todd Whitman. Corzine asked the key question, “How can we ever trust him again?” Now, when an otherwise straight-up liberal Democrat attacks another liberal Democrat that way — and wins! — it sends the signal that despite what the media might say to the contrary, taxes remain a potent issue. And no, voters don’t forget when you ask them.

Furthermore, when Jim Florio started protesting about the money his opponent was spending in the race, Corzine simply responded by saying that that much was needed to counter the huge name recognition that Florio enjoyed, having run three times for statewide office.

Well, of course.

That’s the exact point conservatives make in opposing so-called campaign-finance reform. It is challengers that need unfettered access to the media the most. Of course, the flip side is that the Republican nominee — Rep. Bob Franks — is now at a serious disadvantage in the general election. The Democratic primary war completely overwhelmed the Republican race. The media focused on two stories — Jim Florio’s attempted comeback and the amount of money Jon Corzine was spending. The four GOPers running were something of an afterthought.

That’s the second reason why there should be few limits on campaign spending. Going up against a self-financed opponent with a nearly inexhaustible bank account, a Bob Franks needs all the resources he can get. The latest poll put Corzine’s name ID at 89 percent to Franks’s 64 percent. Thus, fresh out of a multi-candidate field, Franks has to start all over again just to get his name up to parity with Corzine. Add the costs of campaigning in a state that has New York media to the north and Philadelphia media to the south, and the obstacles to Franks getting out any sort of message, let alone a winning one, become clear.

And that is why money equals free speech. Jon Corzine is practically a poster child against “campaign-finance reform.”

Since this columnist is being nice to the Democrat nominee, he will refrain from pointing out that a winning Franks message would undoubtedly remind voters that this is someone who could end up becoming a senator further left than Ted Kennedy or Paul Wellstone. He advocates “universal” education and health care (does even Hillary Clinton do that anymore?) and even same-sex marriage (which Bill Clinton opposes). This might be too much for even GOP-senator-averse New Jersey to accept.

But, hey, that’s for another day. For now, Ragged Thots compliments Mr. Corzine on his history-making win.

Michael who?

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