The Mourning After

If you're a GOPer this morning, you don't have a lot to cheer about. The House went to the Democrats (but don't blame New Jersey for that). The Senate is still up in the air and it might be a tight squeeze as Montana and Virginia are too close to call even this morning. Recounts might be in order in both.

It didn't take long for the world reaction to come through. They think that the Democrat wins are a huge loss for Bush. Wonder what the terrorists will think? I don't. I know that they're going to bide their time and hope that the US folds on Iraq and fighting the war on terror - such that they'll be able to find their safe havens around the world and press the jihad on their terms.

The tenor at the Times' blog suggests that the Democrats can't wait to get control of the House to start all sorts of mayhem. From investigations, rolling back tax cuts, to impeachment talk, it's all in there. That's what the rank and file left wingers want - and that extends to the likes of Rangel, Conyers, and Murtha. All three stand in line to have chairmanships of key committees (from appropriations to armed services to intelligence). Don't doubt for one moment that they're not going to use those positions to undermine the US war on terror and seek to redeploy US forces from Iraq.

New Jersey's incumbents all won. There were no upsets, and despite Bob Menendez's ethical quandries, he was sent back to the Senate by a comfortable margin. The GOP didn't lose any seats as a result of New Jersey. I guess there's cold comfort in that. Meanwhile, here's how the NJ ballot initiatives went (and my positions on each):

The NJ initiatives are as follows:

1) Do you approve the amendment of Article VIII, Section I of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, to provide for the annual dedication and annual appropriation of an amount equal to the annual revenue derived from a tax rate of 0.5% imposed under the New Jersey Sales and Use Tax, exclusively for the purpose of property tax reform, through a special Property Tax Reform Account established in the constitutionally dedicated Property Tax Relief Fund?

I voted against this one. This is a tax burden shifting scheme that will only result in higher taxes for everyone.

2) Shall the amendment to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, expanding the authorized uses of the constitutionally dedicated Corporation Business Tax Revenue, to allow the use of 15% of the dedicated funds to fund the development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, and beginning on January 1, 2016, allow the use of an additional 17% of the dedicated funds to fund the development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, be approved?

I voted for this one. Open space and conservation makes a lot of sense in New Jersey, which is one of the most heavily polluted states in the country. Preserving what open space we have makes good sense, even if it means higher real property costs - by limiting the places where one can build new homes.

3) Do you approve the proposed amendment to the State Constitution, agreed to by the Legislature, which changes the current $0.09 per gallon dedication of the motor fuels tax to $0.105 per gallon to be used only for the funding of the State transportation system, subject to previously enacted laws dedicating any of these revenues for debt service on bonds of the State or for any other uses of these revenues?

Among the three initiatives, this is the most pressing issue. The transportation trust fund had been depleated over the years because the gas tax had been diverted to other purposes. This ends that practice and helps insure that the fund is funded to rebuild the state's highways and byways and mass transit. I voted for this bill because the revenue would be guaranteed to go where it belongs - helping maintain and expand the state's transportation infrastructure.

All three ballot initiatives passed by a wide margin. In fact, siphoning the sales and use tax to pay for property tax relief passed with a 67-33 margin. Well, when property taxes continue to rise and the sales and use tax has to be raised to cover for additional spending, don't come looking here for support. I told you so. This was a tax burden shifting scheme that did nothing to address the underlying issue of property taxes in the first place. All it does is cover one tax payment with another. The state hopes that there are enough people who aren't New Jersey taxpayers who are coming to New Jersey to spend their money and pay sales tax to lessen the burden on property holders. Too bad that isn't how it works in real life. The property taxes will continue to go up, and there's nothing in this initiative that solves the problem.

So now everyone will spend the next few days sorting out the Senate - and if the Senate does go to the Democrats, the calls for impeachment and censure and investigations will only grow louder as the left wing of the Democrat party will seek to assert itself more vigorously. That will only play into GOP hands going into the 2008 elections, which are only 2 years away. Let the fun begin!

UPDATE:
And for those that are interested in such things, I paid off my wager with anonymous emailer this morning. He was gloating, of course, but knows that things could have turned out quite differently. He even had someone take a picture of me handing over the money, but I refused to give it over glumly. Had a big smile on my face because that's just my style.

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