Posted on 08/13/2004 1:26:53 AM PDT by kattracks
Gov. Jim McGreevey walked out of the statehouse in Trenton yesterday, not in shame but playing both victim and hero. Some might say martyr. After declaring his homosexuality, he resigned from office. As if the two were inextricably linked.It was a dishonest performance - but perhaps an inevitable one, because by his own admission, the gov has been dishonest with himself through much of his life. Leopards and spots and all that.
In his announcement, he said: "At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it but as it is. And so my truth is that I am a gay American."
His listeners were supposed to feel his pain. And his pride - belated though it might be. They were supposed to be stunned by his revelation, and admiring of his courage in making the decision to quit. But the public, especially New Jersey voters, has a right to be a bit suspicious of his timing. And his motives.
McGreevey noted that his admission removed the danger of "rumors, false allegations and threats of disclosure." Thus, these could not be used as excuses to leave office. "It makes little difference that as governor I am gay," he declared. Precisely. So why leave? Because of the "circumstances surrounding" his affair with a man.
The governor at least had the decency to confess to an "inexcusable" violation of the bonds of matrimony. But the aforementioned circumstances he did not delineate. And he did not mention that he appears to be on the verge of being sued by his ex-lover - whom, by the way, he had tried to put in charge of New Jersey's homeland security office. Did Jim McGreevey come out of the closet or was he dragged out? If the affair had stayed secret, would he still be hiding among the hangers and dust bunnies?
It should be noted, too, that this entire saga is being played out against a corruption scandal swirling around the McGreevey administration. Federal criminal charges have been filed against his top fund-raisers: Charles Kushner, whom McGreevey once named to the Port Authority board, is accused of conspiracy and obstruction of a federal investigation; David D'Amiano is charged with extortion. And there's more. Much more.
One can feel only sympathy for the homosexual who struggles to come to terms with his identity. Jim McGreevey says he did so through his youth and into adulthood. Yes, gay men marry and father children. McGreevey did so twice. But he did something else. He made a deliberate decision to use his family as a political set piece. The loving couple and their baby. The picture of heterosexual domestic bliss. Scenery for his personal American Dream saga. All the better to fill the traditional image of the "perfect" candidate. All the better to win votes.
That is the despicable thing about McGreevey's performance. He walks away a hero and a martyr, victim of a world beyond his control - when, in reality, it was he doing the controlling. Of the electorate. And he's still doing it, or at least trying to.
War politics is hell
Invariably in political campaigns, otherwise honorable people engage in dishonorable attacks. This go-round, it has been a vicious, coordinated assault on John Kerry's military record by Vietnam veterans funded by a pal of President Bush's political adviser Karl Rove.
In a television ad, in a book and in interviews, these vets - only a few of whom actually fought at Kerry's side - assert that he didn't deserve his three Purple Hearts, Bronze Star or Silver Star. Their charges, if true, obviously would be devastating for a candidate who has made military service a centerpiece of his campaign.
Only one problem: The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, as this crew is known, are long on insinuations and very, very short on proof. So short that there's no reason to doubt Kerry's heroism in winning the Navy's third- and fourth-highest decorations. Distortions and assumptions couched as fact are no match for official casualty reports, real-time battle accounts and descriptions of Kerry's exemplary conduct - some written by the very people who are trashing him now.
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are furious over Kerry's anti-war activities after his tour of duty ended. They feel betrayed and believe him to be a traitor, a disgrace, an insult to the uniform he wore. They are entitled to that anger, but rage is no justification for smear.
You can e-mail the Daily News editors at voicers@edit.nydailynews.com. Please include your full name, address and phone number. The Daily News reserves the right to edit letters. The shorter the letter, the better the chance it will be used.
Originally published on August 13, 2004
Which is why Kerry soukd release all of his records.
Why won't he, if the allegations made by the Swiftboat vets are simply "distortions and assumptions"?
'But he did something else. He made a deliberate decision to use his family as a political set piece.'
Small potatoes. How much government money did he allow his fudge-packing friend to steal from the government with jobs he wasn't qualified for? That is sodomous prostitution money, paid for by New Jersey. That was the same argument I used about Monica, tax funded prostitution, at least in Bubba's sick mind, although Monica may have thought she needed to really earn the money by working.
If I were an employer, and found out that the personnel manager was a limp-wristed sodomite who rewarded goof-ups with jobs because they let him get stinky, I would try to get that creep thrown in jail.
Is this creepo still planning on taking away the peoples' right to vote by resigning officially later? Is this the level of morality that New Jersey wants to appoint their new governor? Do they have a pair other than a pair of fruit cakes?
"They are entitled to that anger, but rage is no justification for smear."
"...now please excuse me while I get back to my 17th viewing of Michael Moore's poignant and thoughtful documentary."
You said in your Aug 13 editorial, "The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth... are long on insinuations and very, very short on proof," and go on to say "rage is no justification for smear."In fact, as the SBVT have said since their campaign began, many of their eyewitness accounts are difficult to prove OR disprove without details in Kerry's entire military file, which he is preventing the electorate from viewing. If the SBVT are unjustly accusing Kerry, the candidate has in his arsenal a proverbial silver bullet -- his complete declassified records, which would settle things once and for all. If the truth is on Kerry's side, he has nothing to fear.
But Kerry hasn't released those records, and now has been forced by SBVT to revise his decades-old 'seared memory' of being secretly sent into Cambodia by President-elect Nixon in December 1968. In light of that fact, you and everyone else should hold off on judging SBVT, lest you be guilty of "smear."
L.N. Smithee
San Francisco
(415) xxx-xxxx
Excellent!
The last thinking man in San Francisco. Or rather it seems, the last man in San Francisco to think with his HEAD instead of his ****.
We're about to see if the New Jersey Republican Party has any courage at all. They MUST demand an immediate resignation. They MUST exhaust all options before allowing McGreevey to hand off power to a fellow member of the same corrupt party without the voters having their say.
McGreevey should be sent to prison and put in a cell with the horniest bastard they can find in the place. In the cell next to him should be all his fundraisers.
I saw Pat Buchanan on Hardball last night and he was absolutely amazed that the New Jersey GOP was yet to question the resignation date of McGreevey. Buchanan went as far as to say this scandal puts New Jersey "in play" for the presidential election. That will only be the case if the Jersey Republicans force the issue, which they should immediately.
Thanks. Waiting for a call from the Daily News to double check on me.
Frankly, I would be surprised to get that call. If I do say so myself, they don't want to deal with the twist I employed that they might be doing the smearing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.