Governor: Ethics will be a lame duck priority

The Star Ledger reports that Governor Corzine will propose ethics reform legislation after the election, during the lame duck session. (I wonder if he will do that before or after he reveals his double secret asset monetization plan.) He pledged to end dual office holding, even for those he grandfathered in this week, and end wheeling and pay to pay.

He should throw term limits in while he's at it.

"It's not a healthy environment to do this in front of an election," Corzine said. "I don't think this is a Republican or a Democratic issue, it's a character issue and it should be addressed that way."

Good luck with that Governor. It is a character issue, but the only way your going to get the characters in the legislature to go along with it is to do it now, before the election when their jobs are on the line.

Republican Assemblyman and Senate candidate Bill Baroni has asked the governor to call a special legislative session and pass reforms this week. Baroni's call to action should become the Republicans' chorus.

The Broken Board Busts gave the NJGOP an opening to win control that they were woefully unprepared for. They don't have candidates in every race, and they don't have a winning message. Corzine gave them another opening by deciding to wait until after the election to enact reforms.

This week will tell if the GOP leadership has grown a set.