Sunday, July 22, 2007

Will the real Mike Panter please stand up.


Assemblyman Michael Panter (D-12) apparently did not receive State Treasurer Bradley Abelow's "support Corzine's monetization program or else" memo.

In an OpEd piece in today's Asbury Park Press, Panter points out what doesn't work about the Indiana and Chicago toll road deals, and paints a bleak picture of the benefits any possible monetization scenario. He accurately debunks any monetization scheme as an increase in debt, which he says he would oppose.

Panter ends his article in a curious fashion, saying:

"The public deserves answers on the governor's plan but should also be wary of candidates whose knee-jerk reactions are to spread false information for political gain."

All any candidate opposing the Corzine's scheme needs to do is point to Panter's article. No knee jerk reactions or falsehoods are necessary. Panter nailed it.

The public does deserve answers on Corzine's plans. The problem is Corzine resents the questions and doesn't have any good answers...because there aren't any. Yet the Governor keeps spending money that we don't have on his scheme and threatens those who dare to oppose it.

Democrats and Republicans don't need to worry that Panter has suddenly become fiscally conservative, or even fiscally responsible. His OpEd piece was obviously written for political gain. While he may oppose the monetization schemes, at least until after the election, he still favors borrowing $450 million for stem cell research, and the unions who are bleeding New Jersey dry are solidly in his corner.

9 comments:

Barry Goldwater said...

Well said, Art. I was working up to training my guns on this slick political operative.

Having one's cake and eating it too are his two favorite past times. Someone needs to call him on it.

Art Gallagher said...

Thank you, Senator

Anonymous said...

Why can't you just give praise for someone who has the guts to buck his own party. He's done this countless times over the course of his 4 years in Trenton. Pay to Play and Eminent Domain issues to name a couple. Maybe you should start looking at the lame Freeholders how have to kowtow to Comrade Puharic. Don't you just wish they had the guts to stand up to that petty tyrant? Probably not...I forgot to whom I was speaking.....

Art Gallagher said...

ambrosiajr,

You don't visit here often, do you?

Maybe you ought to take a stroll through the archives.

Anonymous said...

I stand corrected...as I read through some of your past postings, its evident that you don't care that much for Comrade Puharic either. But when you give praise, you always counter it with a dig on the dems...why is that? If someone does the right thing, it should stand on its own merit and not be judged as a ploy for votes. Mike Panter has done this a number of times, to the detriment of his stanidng with the Democratic leaders. That should tell you about Mike being his own man. Can anyone say the same of Barham, Clifton and Burry?
Anna Little stood up to the Littlest General and she got booted off the ticket...knowing full well that she would win her seat again.

Art Gallagher said...

ambrosiajr said...

But when you give praise, you always counter it with a dig on the dems...why is that?

I do the same to the R's.

Borrowing $450 million for stem cell research in this environment is stupid, and Panter co-sponsored the bill authorizing the referendum.

Unions are the biggest obstacle to government reform we have, and they're backing Panter.

The digs are fair digs. Panter's dig at "candidates whose knee-jerk reactions are to spread false information for political gain." was disingenous and only included in the piece to give him cover with Dem party leaders.

Anonymous said...

I see it differently...borrowing any amount of money for that kind of research will not only be good business in the long run, but to me, its the right and moral thing to do. This research could eventually lead to all kinds of help for people with ALS. Alzheimers and catastrophic spinal injuries. It certainly won't be the silver bullet that so many people think it will be, but we have to go down every avenue to make sure we did our due dilligence. Better to borrow for that than for anything else....say, like Bush's war.
As far as the Unions are concerned, its a traditional democratic stronghold, much like big business and big oil are a traditional republican stronghold. Different philosophies, yet both are trying to get as much as they can from the government. Maybe when construction companies stop giving to the local republicans, such as B. Harvey Construction and its bedmate, Freeholder Barham, then maybe we can cut off the funds from the unions. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Anonymous said...

ambrosiajr took only 15 minutes to read all of Art's posts from like 2 years and then even write a long message back to him that is funny

Tom said...

Art, I wrote a piece about the stem cell travesty a few weeks back. I know I'm late to the game as far as it goes, but I thought you mind find the arguments interesting. In short, there is really no reason to believe that the stem cell funding that the state is planning will achieve any of the things is it's designed to. From an economic standpoint it's a mistake, and from a research standpoint it's most likely a mistake as well. My background is economic not medical, but from that perspective the expectations are pretty straghtforward.

So Easy Even the DMV can do it