Lame Duck Lunacy

Next week the legislature will very likely pass Corzine's massive spending initiative, the school funding scheme, which will force the new legislature to pass the gargantuan borrowing plan and toll raising scheme formerly known as asset monetization.

In the Senate, if the votes go along party lines, the school funding scheme will pass 22(D)-18(R), unless Republican Senator Martha Bark quits early so her retirement benefits kick in sooner. In that case the party lines will be 22-17.

Of the 22 Democrats, two are under indictment and one has been informed that he his the target of a federal corruption probe. Those three senators did not seek re-election, yet continue to serve until their terms expire on January 7. Had those three senators been forced to resign their seats, like their indicted counterparts in the Assembly were, the Democrats would not control the Senate. In that case the new legislature could have deliberated over the school funding scheme, and maybe even understood what they were voting on.

Maybe we'll all get lucky and Senators Bryant, James and Coniglio will join Bark in resigning early. The month's worth of extra retirement benefits will be a bargain in comparison to the damage thier votes will cause in the last week of their political careers.