In a letter to the editor, Hoboken resident Joshua Sotomayor-Einstein, a Republican voter, explains why the strongest argument for re-electing Gov. Phil Murphy (D) “is weak to non-existent.”
Dear Editor,
At its strongest, the case for re-electing Governor Murphy is weak to nonexistent.
In a recent letter published in HCV a Mr. Cecchini makes a valiant, but futile, uphill argument for re-electing Murphy. Mr. Cecchini divides his doomed-to-fail arguments into three areas – Covid, economics, and President Trump.
On Covid, he states that Murphy’s “steady and courageous leadership since the onset has served to comfort New Jersey residents.”
Yet all but the most diehard partisans can see that Murphy’s “leadership” was not a “comfort” to the thousands of elderly who died because of his executive orders.
Even before the pandemic it was common knowledge that long term elderly care facilities had no quarantine capabilities and that they housed a population susceptible to infection.
The families of the near 8,000 victims of Murphy’s Executive Orders were not “comforted” by the avoidable killing of their parents and grandparents, nor does any regular person (not a serial killer or Murphy political loyalist) call it “leadership” to condemn thousands to death when many other states avoided this outcome.
Across the nation, most governors prioritized vaccine access for the elderly, putting their place in the line right after frontline healthcare workers. Murphy, on the other hand, decided criminals and smokers were just as important as grandma and grandpa.
In NJ, elderly residents had to compete with convicts and smokers for access to the limited supply when vaccine began production.
79% of the 13,000 New Jerseyans dead of Covid as of July 30 were 65 and older begging the question – how many grandparents could have been saved if not for Murphy’s policies deprioritizing elderly vaccine access and forcing them to share facilities with people with confirmed Covid positive cases?
After attempting to distort Murphy’s Covid record, Mr. Cecchini shifts to bastardizing economics, making the laughable case that Murphy has “leveled the playing field” and brought “tax fairness,” but does anyone believe the Goldman Sachs investment banker really got his 1% mega-millionaire friends to pay more?
What Murphy has done is increase the cost of living for working and middle class New Jerseyans.
From rising toll prices, the fact that the average property tax bill is over $9,000, the increased cost of goods beginning prior to Covid, the killing of over 1/3 of small businesses, to the exodus of young adults to states with greater opportunity – the proof is all around.
Murphy’s economy doesn’t work for the working and middle class.
Finally, Mr. Cecchini likes to pretend that Trump is on the ballot. He, like many Murphy partisans, does this because the list of Murphy’s positive accomplishments for the working and middle class is non-existent.
They do not want people asking if they are better off than they were 4 years ago because the answer for most working and middle class people is no.
Partisans are worried that if people discuss how Murphy failed our elderly, released convicted felons from jail early, ignored education for over a year, attempted to cover up multiple scandals, and increased costs of living, they will not vote for Murphy.
This tired tactic is already as much a failure as it disingenuous and even according to Monmouth University Polling, itself known to skew a bit towards the partisan left, the voters of NJ do not view Trump as factor in this election because they know this election is a referendum on Murphy’s failed policies.
Partisans, like Mr. Cecchini, can attempt to trick the public otherwise, but New Jerseyans understand that over the last 4 years their costs have skyrocketed and the quality of services from the state government has sunk.
The public knows that just as Murphy and his partisans tried to sit on the nepotism scandal at the state Schools Development Authority, his administration is also sitting on billions of dollars in federal aid meant for the people.
Voters understand that government services under Murphy from public education to the stewardship of elder care has ranged from non-existent to deadly.
The people know it’s time for Murphy to go.
Joshua Sotomayor-Einstein
Hoboken resident