By now, we all know that a huge ring of corruption and bribery circled the state of New Jersey. Its tentacles reached mayors, rabbis, the governor's office, and to every politician who leapt at the chance of selling their soul for a few thousand bucks. It is truly a sad chapter in state politics, not just for New Jersey, but for the entire nation. Let's not compound the problem by prosecuting the officials involved.
This investigation has been going on for ten years. I say to you, my fellow Americans - isn't it time to look forward, not backward?
While it's true that from 30,000 feet, we might ideally believe in a rule of law and prosecuting public officials when they sell influence, everyone knows that in reality this is destined to be a show trial. All the ingredients for a media feeding frenzy are there - politicians, greed, illicit kidney sales, and rabbis. If we have trials, the media will be forced to enter a he-said/she-said meaningless political horse-race of who this helps or hurts the most, Barack Obama or John McCain(this is good news for John McCain).
Worse, New Jersey, like many state governments, already has enough problems. Despite having a Wall Street wiz-kid as governor(the type we can otherwise trust to run Treasury, the Fed, and America), the fact is New Jersey has high unemployment and huge budget problems. This trial would surely be a distraction from Governor Corzine's agenda of getting re-elected and fixing the state. Do we really need such a distraction at this time?
Furthermore, haven't the people involved already been punished enough? They've been embarrassed on national television - one cabinet member even resigned! At some point, shouldn't we say, whoever hasn't sinned amongst us may cast the first stone?
We shouldn't forget the impression this would leave on other states and indeed other countries. In what kind of banana republic do current political leaders put other political leaders on trial? This kind of partisan witch-hunt would just make New Jersey look anti-Semitic. Is that the image New Jersey wants to broadcast to the world?
For all of these reasons, I urge the attorney general of New Jersey to look forward, not backward. Now is not the time for recriminations. Don't think about what could be gained by having trials - just think about how much we could lose.