Bucco: False Scatological References Aside, Governor Corzine, the Debate Is About the Priorities of Middle-Class New Jersey

March 12, 2009

Contact: Senate Republican Office / (609) 292-5199
A More Affordable NJ, Senator Anthony R. Bucco

Bucco: False Scatological References Aside, Governor Corzine, the Debate Is About the Priorities of Middle-Class New Jersey

Senate Republican Budget Officer Anthony Bucco said this in response to state Treasurer David Rousseau’s vulgar and inaccurate attack on past Republican initiatives. These proposals would have generated surpluses that could now be used to keep jobs in New Jersey and prevent taxes on hard-working families from soaring during a recession:

“It’s obvious that the treasurer’s election-year attempt to discredit Republicans was crude and inappropriate. What may not be obvious to some is that the treasurer’s statement is demonstrably false.

“The truth is that the governor has embraced several of the savings measures in the Republican Common-Sense Plan for a More Affordable New Jersey, as well as key policy proposals. Why does the treasurer think he can dismiss Republican initiatives with a crude, scatological inaccuracy when the governor claims credit for decisive leadership when he regularly steals bits and pieces of the Common-Sense Plan and calls them his own?

“Forced by crisis, the Governor belatedly has adopted Republican proposals to scale back incredibly large and unjustifiable increases in spending for a few school districts and to reduce funding for the unaccountable and patronage-driven Special Municipal Aid Program. He has praised himself incessantly for ending job-killing taxes on business that Democrats put in place and Republicans consistently opposed.

“These Republican common-sense proposals ‘borrowed’ by the governor have been out for a year and posted publicly on websites. Earlier adoption of Republican budget proposals would have prevented this year’s crippling tax increases, the unfair toll hikes adopted last year and the motor vehicle fee increases the governor is now proposing.

“The governor has had five months to prepare this flawed budget, which is little more than another display of his willingness to put his priorities ahead of those of middle class New Jersey’s. That’s what this budget debate should be about – the shortchanging of a struggling middle class that finds this state increasingly unaffordable. Republicans will continue to engage in this debate, regardless of what crude outbursts it may provoke from Democrat appointees.”