Mikie Sherrill’s inaugural address suggested ambitions — or at least a political audience — far larger than the State House.
In a conversation a few days ago, a top Republican in New Jersey opined that it looks like Mikie Sherrill wants to be president.
That’s something pretty easy to dismiss. After all, over the years many New Jersey governors have been spoken about as possible contenders for the White House. That never happened, although Chris Christie actually ran for president – twice, in fact.
As for Sherrill, she wasn’t even governor when the above speculation was offered.
She’s governor now, of course, and in listening to her inaugural address, one thing seemed obvious: She was talking, at least in part, to a national audience.
All addresses of this type mention history, and New Jersey has a lot of it. So, it was not unusual for Sherrill to talk about the Declaration of Independence. More so when you realize New Jersey was there at the beginning as one of the original 13 states.
Here is what she said:
The list of grievances in our Declaration of Independence included these charges against the king:
He has refused his assent to laws.
He has obstructed the administration of justice.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.
He has obstructed the administration of justice.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.
And here was the kicker.
This election proved that the people of New Jersey recognize the parallels. That we see a president illegally usurping power. He has unconstitutionally enacted a tariff regime to make billions for himself and his family, while everyone else sees costs go higher and higher. Here, we demand people in public service actually serve the public instead of extorting money to benefit themselves and their cronies.
Not much subtlety here.
The new governor added that by supporting her overwhelmingly last fall, New Jersey voters gave the nation hope. Left unsaid, but understood was the “hope” that the spirit of last November would carry through the midterm elections this fall.
A few things of note here.
In polarizing times, one can not be shocked that a Democratic politician would say such things.
Yet, this was an inaugural address by a governor. Should not the whole focus be on New Jersey? There was no talk about property taxes, which is a big reason New Jersey can be unaffordable.
One man listening closely was Anthony M. Bucco, the Senate Minority Leader. In fact, he had a seat in the front row of the dignitaries section, right next to Phil Murphy and his wife. From that perch, Bucco’s lack of applause for much of what Sherrill said was noticeable. He said afterwards that he thought the speech should have been more New Jersey-centric.
But it really wasn’t. It was a defiant speech that seemed designed to make political headlines across the nation.
One man listening closely was Anthony M. Bucco, the Senate Minority Leader. In fact, he had a seat in the front row of the dignitaries section, right next to Phil Murphy and his wife. From that perch, Bucco’s lack of applause for much of what Sherrill said was noticeable. He said afterwards that he thought the speech should have been more New Jersey-centric.
But it really wasn’t. It was a defiant speech that seemed designed to make political headlines across the nation.
Will that help establish Mike Sherrill as a national figure on the Democratic stage. It sure might.
But of more relevance, will that help her govern New Jersey?
By William Swanson, Special to The Central Observer