No Laughing Matter

Back in the early 1990's, it was tough to find a late night TV show that
didn't have at least one New Jersey joke as a staple. Then, for a time,
things changed - we were no longer the butt of the jokes. We were doing well as an economy, there weren't a host of scandals to report and people liked living in and visiting our state.

Unfortunately, all that has changed of late. The recent revelations of the
McGreevey threesome has raised our profile in the worst possible way. It's small comfort that New York is proving as adept at providing fodder to
the comics as we are. All this wouldn't mean much in the face of the
overriding issues of a a weakening economy and continuing war except that it serves to undermine people's respect for their elected officials and
their government. It challenges their faith in government's ability to
address the pressing challenges we face. Not to mention exposing the very
real and personal pain of the families involved.

We can, and should, expect better from our elected officials. It isn't okay
to let down family and constituents just because "everyone does it".
Personal standards are often a reflection of public standards. In New
Jersey, we have an important opportunity to show elected officials that we
are watching and we are engaged. Our first chance to show our elected
officials we are serious will be the June primary. I hope voters will
remember that the choices we have to make in June are just as important, if not more so, than the presidential primary we held in February. These
are the offices we will read about every day in our local papers and the
ones that will have a very real impact on our lives

Let's show those we elect to represent us that we are not going to ignore
their behavior and that we do care how they represent us. New Jersey is a great state. It doesn't deserve to make the life of the comic writers
easier.