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In The Blog's-Eye: New Jersey's 'Senator Bling'

The mainstream media gets the credit for breaking the news that New Jersey Sen. Jon Corzine loaned nearly a half-million dollars to a union leader he had been dating. But conservative bloggers are doing their best to keep the story about "Senator Bling" alive long enough to undermine the Democrat's bid to become governor.

"Senators aren't supposed to be loaning money to people who have business with the government -- certainly not with people who make major political endorsements at election time," Mark Noonan said at GOP Bloggers. "What would we think if Hillary [Clinton] were to loan half a million dollars to the head of the Teamsters a month or two before a Teamsters endorsement of a presidential bid by Hillary? And then forgive the loan? Can you say, 'bribe,' boys and girls?"

Enlighten-New Jersey, meanwhile, noted that Corzine refused to answer whether Carla Katz, the president of Local 1034 of the Communications Workers of America who received the loan, is still receiving support from Corzine. "A simple, truthful, no would have been the expected answer if there were no additional financial ties between the union president and the senator. Refusing to answer the question speaks volumes."

Michelle Malkin and NJ Conservative also comment on the controversy.

The mini-blogswarm does not appear to be having much impact so far, though. DynamoBuzz noted that the latest Quinnipiac University poll still gives Corzine a 10 percent edge over Republican Doug Forrester and ranks corruption a distant second to taxes as the top issue on voters' minds.

A headline at Rob's Blog gave voice to what appears to be the prevailing attitude for now: Let Me Be The First To Say "So What".

Posted by | 12:27 PM

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Comments

Is this really corruption? That was the big point I was trying to make. I agree, it may look on the surface like a shady deal, but I'd have been much more suspicious of it if he *WASN'T* dating her at the time. How many guys do you know who haven't gone out on a financial limb for their ladylove?

Seriously, if he needed the endorsement of her union, do you think money was the issue when she was his girlfriend? Money or no, he was getting the nod. Unions tend to heavily favor Democrat candidates anyway, it's not like he had to really go out of his way to woo them. It looks more like he was going out of his way to woo *her*.

And legally, it's his money, right?

Does it look bad? Yep. Many things do, but absent any illegality it doesn't see like it *was* bad. Bad judgement, maybe, but he's a private citizen as well as a politician and deserves the right to piss away his paycheck how he sees fit.

It is an issue voters should be aware of, but the truth of the matter should trump partisan spin.

Rob | 08.17.05 03:26 AM

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