NJ: Declare Your Independence from the Culture of Corruption

If the people of New Jersey needed more reasons to support independent and third party candidates in this year's gubernatorial race, they were supplied with upwards of forty, when dozens of public officials and their enablers in the local political machines were arrested in the federal corruption probe that made headlines this week. Philly.com has a rundown on the who's who in the scandal. Independent candidate for governor Chris Daggett commented on the scandal, emphasizing the obvious connection between political corruption and the duopoly system of government. New Jersey Newsroom:

It's a clear message that we need an alternative in Trenton that is not part of the broken two-party system, which controls government at virtually every level in New Jersey. Only an independent can fix the mess in Trenton, someone who is not beholden to special interests or worried about raising money to ensure their party does not lose seats in the next election. It is time for the citizens of the state to look to a candidate who is not enmeshed in a political system which seems to breed corruption from state government to town halls . . . More than anything, this points out the continuing failures of politicians from both parties to put the interests of the people of New Jersey in front of their own. Until the 2.4 million independent voters in New Jersey wake up and realize it's time to put true independents in office instead of partisan politicians, all we are doing is letting the robbers and scam artists switch jerseys.

Since qualifying for matching funds and a place in the gubernatorial debates, Daggett has received more attention from the local political press, not all of it positive. He was included, for instance, in a commentary by Neil Scheck urging that we "add Corzine's opponents to list of narcissists." Daggett, however, is not alone in challenging the stooges running on the Republican and Democratic Party tickets. Joining him are Libertarian Ken Kaplan, Socialist candidate Greg Pason, and a handful of other independent candidates.