the rix mix

Jerry Lewis impersonator Jennifer Beck reacts to her 5th place finish on the America's Got Talent TV show with an ear-splitting "Heyyy Laaydeeeee."

Looking over election results, Democrats did pretty good in Jersey in the kind of off year election that could've hurt a majority party, with Jerseyans in a foul mood over taxes, debt, corruption, & the economy. The Democratic safety net here is still George W. Bush - only a hard core percentage trusts the Repugs with him & Cheney at the top of the pyramid. Jeff Van Drew solidly defeated an incumbent Senator in South Jersey & he had coattails. Another Senate gain in the Atlantic City area district, without coattails. Wingnut special interest money failed to defeat two targeted pro-choice Democrats. Ellen Karcher gave back a Senate seat Repugs had lost in a scandal. A rare reform Democrat had the party line in Bergen County - reform mainly because she was a popular choice who successfully out-maneuvered the county machine in the primary.

I was mildly surprised at the $450 million Stem Cell Research Bond being defeated by such a wide margin, 54% - 44%. The religious right will claim a moral victory, but this was a year when 40% voted against removing the word "idiot" from the constitution. Like the "Property Tax Reform" question, also defeated, voters were not giving Trenton a mountain of money without even vaguely understanding how it would be spent. I voted for the Stem Cell Bonds, not enthusiastically, & with justifiable suspicions that a lot of politically connected people were already scheming to get a piece of the state-sponsored stem cell research business. Huge infrastructure repair bond issuances are probably unavoidable here in the near future no matter how generous a Democratic Congress & President are toward us. Additional gasoline taxes won't cover the cost. We're still waiting to find out how much we're getting from the Feds toward children's health care, & I think opinion is Jersey is shifting toward some form of universal coverage. Jersey is a moderately progressive state that cannot afford to be more progressive, a damned shame.