‘We are Who We Said We’d be’: Trying to Grasp what Murphy Meant
Most State-of-the-State addresses begin with the governor being “escorted” by legislators down the center aisle of the Assembly chamber amid polite applause.
This one began with a commercial.
Welcome to the pandemic-era State-of-the-State.
Before Phil Murphy’s recorded speech from a podium in an empty room rolled this afternoon, viewers saw a video of people telling all how great New Jersey is.
We learned that New Jersey is filled with “strong people” and that it’s “number one.”
In retrospect, the high school pep rally nature of things was quite appropriate. This was very much the unofficial start of the Murphy re-election campaign.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but it would be wrong to see the address as anything but that.
The pandemic was everywhere – literally. No audience meant no applause, which was another stark departure from the norm.
While Murphy spoke of the state being “tougher than ever” and “wiser than before,” it was hard to grasp what that actually meant.
Then, he highlighted what he sees as his accomplishments since he was sworn-in back in 2018.
And, in truth, many of the liberal aims Murphy campaigned on have been achieved.
The minimum wage has been increased and the family leave program expanded. Those earning at least a million dollars a year pay income taxes at a new, higher rate and there is no tuition for many students attending community college.
The governor also took credit for a revamped business incentive program, expanding health care services and advancing an off-shore wind program he called the best in the nation.
Coming around to legal pot, the governor said, “This hasn’t been an easy fight.”
In fact, the fight is not yet over. Murphy and lawmakers are still haggling over one aspect of legalizing recreational marijuana – penalties for those caught using it who are under 18.
For the most part, the governor avoided political pot shots at Republicans, or even Donald Trump – a pretty easy target these days. An exception was when Murphy talked about “baseless conspiracy theories” surrounding the recent election. On the contrary, the governor was delighted to talk about how more people voted in New Jersey than ever before.
That prompted him to mention that he still wants to start early, in-person voting in New Jersey. That’s up to the Legislature.
Speaking of voting, the 2021 election was shaken up a bit Monday when Republican Doug Steinhardt bowed out of the race. This was big news for insiders, but not for average voters who probably had no idea Steinhardt was in the race in the first place. At the moment, Jack Ciattarelli, who formally announced his campaign last January, is the GOP frontrunner.
The governor has time to focus on Ciattarelli, or whoever else pops up as a candidate.
But you got the feeling today he’s quite comfortable with how his three-years running the state are going.
“We are who we said we would be,” Murphy said.
Nothing to help the taxpayers. Everything for illegals. More and more handouts on our dime. Driving the middle class out of the state or into poverty. The Soviet Socialist State Of NJ is now a gulag for it’s legal, law-abiding citizens.
Basically, don’t agree with this comment, but I found it interesting.
AND…….I love the word, gulag.
………….NEW JERSEY VOTER APPLAUDS GOVERNOR MURPHY
YES, I applaud our Governor who is guiding New Jersey residents through
a pandemic with clarity, science based facts, and empathy while on a
national level, we receive little or no guidance and vast incompetence.
I read Governor Murphy’s accomplishments with pride.
“We are who we said we would be.”
I can grasp that—- We said we would accomplish much, and we did.
I read Ciattarelli’s remarks on the State of the State.
“failed policies and gross incompetence”. … I thought he was talking
about Chris Christie.
He also stated…. “ I am determined to fix our broken state.”
Trump flip flopping Ciattarellii is going to fix our state.
As the saying goes if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Seems mean spirited to me and somewhat petty.
IN MY OPINION I THINK CIATTARELLI HAS BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK.
PS… Reseach.. Ciattarelli, statement on this site. His statement is/ was there.
You must not live in NJ, because things here are terrible. Or maybe you’re working on the Millionaire Goldman Sacks executives campaign, because no honest person would give the toothy clown high marks. Most NJ residents agree, this state sucks.. and has only gotten worst under Murphy. That is why more people are leaving NJ than any other state. NJ leads the country in outbound migration for the last 3 years (right when Murphy won).
https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/new-jersey-tops-list-most-moved-out-state-third-year-row
You praise his Covid Response? Guess you have no sympathy for the 17,000 dead residents, 1/3 of which can be directly attributed to the Governor’s decision to force nursing homes to admit covid positive patients. If having the highest covid death toll in America makes one a model of governance, then every other governor in America, specially the Republican ones who saved more lives without destroying their economy, deserve sainthood.
Murphy’s NJ, Highest Covid Deaths: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/
Get the facts before deciding to lick someone’s butt, you could have saved yourself a Brown Nose.
Sound a little grumpy, a little whiney, a little unsuccessful in.life.
CHEER UP……..you will feel better when our dear
Governor Murphy wins a second term.
PS…. please post picture, I am sure you are very handsome.
New Jersey has the highest Covid deaths in the country. That is over 200 deaths per 100,000 people. That is 3 times the rate of Sweden which had NO lockdown. It is higher than any other state in the country… even states that had minimal lockdowns and where Republican governors were accused of “not following the science”. Considering that 1/3 of the deaths were in nursing homes, we can squarely blame Murphy’s executive order for those… he forced nursing homes to admit covid positive patients.
Baffling why the Gov earns high marks on his Covid response. They must have polled really stupid people who had no clue what the numbers are. But then again, elections are popularity contests… whomever makes the better speech, wins… damn the outcomes and deaths. And thats great for Mr. Murphy, because he Can Not run on his record. His record is terrible:
Jobs: Highest Unemployment in the Country.
Racial equality: Highest black unemployment in the Country
Income equality: Top Quartile, ranking 8th in the country.
Unemployment Insurance: 150,000 people waiting 9 months, no money
Bond Rating: One notch above junk bond status
Pensions: $140 Billion in liabilities, $20 billion added in Murphy’s term
Income Taxes: 3rd highest in the country
Property Taxes: Highest in America
Deficit: $8,000,000,000 due to Murphy’s lockdowns
Courts: 1/2 are closed, even judges/clerks are getting full salary for their Covid vacation
The Governor, as Chief Executive, is the General Manager of the state. Smart voters vote for the Governor’s management abilities, making sure the 200,00 state employees show up to work and do their jobs. Not on Ideology; that is reserves for the State Legislature, which promotes its values through laws and spending.
The Governor’s management is awful, I wonder what he did at Goldman Sacks to make his millions cause I would not hire him to manage a Bodega. Bad Management Results: There are over 150,000 unemployed and desperate NJ residents who have not gotten their money back from Unemployment Insurance socialistically run by the state. The commissioner is directly appointed by the Governor. Yet, the governor does not give a rats ass if poor people can’t afford food. How dare he talk about expanding government, increasing taxes and promoting socialistic programs, when he can barely manage state unemployment and the DMV. The NJ DMV offers 8 services, all paper related. No, they are not like private companies, like ShopRite, which carries 40,000 products most of them perishable. Yet ShopRite is fully stocked, and he DMV can’t push paper around.
This governor sucks, even South Jersey Dems hate him. On the Dem side, Steven Sweeny would have been a great Governor, he atleast understands the state’s finances and is working hard to save the state from bankruptcy (Gov. Murphy has got his head in the sand). Sweeney also supported mj legalization and criminal justice and expungement reform. On the Rep side, Jack Ciattarelli is a great guy, runs a business is moderate and can surely govern our state batter than the bozo currently asleep at Drumthwacket.