Democrats Rule!

You have to admire the sheer chutzpah and brazenness of the Democratic Party, both here in NJ and nationally.  As a former political operative and current armchair junkie, I admire and bow-down to the inventiveness and creativity with which this political organization and the people who lead it seek, obtain, and hold onto governmental power.  They literally change the rules of the game.  It takes your breath away.  Democrats rule !!

When Republican Mitt Romney was Governor of Massachusetts, the Democratic Legislature changed state law to deny the Governor the right under then-current law to appoint a replacement to a vacant US Senate seat, in the event then-Senator Kerry got elected President in 2004.   The rationale was that a special election should be held, not a gubernatorial appointment.  Now that the Governor is a Democrat, the same Legislature will be reversing itself to eliminate the special election and allow for a gubernatorial appointment, to replace the deceased Sen Ted Kennedy.

All with a straight face.

Of course, we've seen that in New Jersey.  NJ's well-prepared Democratic members of NJ's Legislative Reapportionment Commission argued successfully that NJ's cities should be "un-packed" into mulitiple legislative districts, in complete contradiction to very specific language in NJ's Constitution specifically prohibiting the practice.

Who can forget United States Senator Doug Forrester's surprise when he learned that NJ's Democrats would ignore specific statutory language prohibiting a replacement for US Senator Bob Torricelli.

More important however, than creative lawyering, is the sheer ability of the Democratic Party to literally tilt the campaign playing field, to make it "un-level" to their advantage.

I speak, of course, of the financing advantage of the last Presidential election, where Barak Obama shattered every spending record with $740 million in his campaign, more than BOTH candidates spent COMBINED in 2004.  In contrast, McCain spent only $227 million.  Indeed, in the final 60 days, Obama out-spent McCain by more than 4:1.Out spending your opponent by 4:1 yet winning with only 53% of the vote suggests a much closer election on a level, fair, playing field.

NJ voters are no strangers to tilted playing fields.  Jon Corzine's tilted playing field in 2000 was necessary to beat Bob Franks for US Senate by a whisker, and his upheaval of the field in 2009 against Chris Christie is the only factor keeping him "in the game."  Corzine has already out-spent Christie by 7:1 or 8:1 in the general election, and that gap will likely increase, as the Governor empties his bank account to try to hold onto his current job.

Many top-level Democrats have said privately that Corzine would not have even been their Party's candidate for Governor this year without his personal warchest, due to his unpopularity.

On a level playing field, Corzine would most likely be toast.

This is not whining from a Chris Christie supporter.  I acknowledge and respect political leaders who take governing and power so seriously that they are willing to re-write the rules of the game in order to obtain and keep both.

Of course, this can be taken to an extreme.  We learned this week that the federal government Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), the agency which regulates the vast Medicaid and Medicare systems, has actually directed private insurers who oppose ObamaCare to discontinue advertising aimed at communicating their position to their own customers.

This brazen attempt to shut-down these companies' First Amendment rights may be a symptom of a political party or Administration abusing its power by shutting down legitimate debate about its controversial initiatives.  That's a scary thought indeed.

And it comes on the heels of the Obama Administration essentially extorting the pharmaceutical industry to provide it with $150 million in pharma advertising SUPPORTING ObamaCare.

Losing on a level playing field?  Drown out your opponent with an excessive differential in advertising.  Losing a debate on national health care?  Shut off your opponents' ability to communicate the opposing arguments.

In our own state, examples abound of the business trade associations cowed into submission by a Governor and Legislature who get accolades from these groups for the slightest pro-business crumb that deigns to get dropped into their cage.  These groups act like prisoners of war, afraid to adequately represent the interests of their own members, for fear of  . . .what?  Could it get any worse for them?

But the Democrats' co-opting of the business groups has enabled them to pursue policies without any opposition from the very groups that in other states and in Washington DC would be speaking out against them.

One has to admire how the Democrats operate.  It sure explains a lot of their political success.