The newly-elected, progressive Governor of New Jersey (ex-Goldman Sachs executive Phil Murphy) is already eyeing 2020.
Murphy led a delegation yesterday to visit Puerto Rico, three months after Hurricane Maria. Digging further, a press release listed an extensive delegation including some curious choices, like appointed health officials from small towns with heavy Spanish-speaking (though not necessarily Puerto Rican-heavy) populations. It also includes the head of a leading Northeastern utility, PSE&G.
Last I checked, PSE&G has absolutely no business in Puerto Rico.
Ostensibly, this is for “relief efforts.” But no source document I could find, including that mentions actual relief efforts. No mention of what’s being brought down there. I suspect that’s because they probably aren’t bringing any relief supplies, no medicine, no equipment. Nothing. It’s just meetings, optics, maybe “fact finding.”
It should be obvious what’s really going on here.
Mainland public officials are going to Puerto Rico to recruit people — Puerto Ricans are birthright American citizens, have been since 1917 — to move to the mainland.
Upon arrival, those Puerto Ricans can legally claim “domicile” and register to vote (that is, if they were citizens to begin with) within any of our 50 states.
But Murphy’s team is looking to pack his state — a deep blue New Jersey which went for Hillary by a 55%-42% margin last year — and other likely settlement destinations (count on them also being blue states) with even more likely Democratic voters.
Murphy just got elected by a double-digit margin in New Jersey, ending eight years of term-limited and integrity-limited Republican Chris Christie’s bad beach manners. He does not take office until January 16, 2018.
Murphy does not need more help in re-election.
This is about the next presidential election.
The progressives are already packing the voter rolls.
But this trip is, very likely, using public funds, whether from Murphy’s transition budget or elsewhere. Given New Jersey’s legendary and current budget problems,
Call this what it is: A taxpayer-funded, Democratic voter-registration drive.
This guy is running for President. He’s already working on votes.
And bet that his delegation is recruiting Puerto Ricans to move to the mainland. Of course, those Puerto Ricans — already citizens — would become eligible to vote in the next Presidential election.
How that use of taxpayer money is legally suspect. These expenditures are subjects that are within the jurisdiction of the Justice Department (which has used its discretion to investigate matters of far less potential impact) to inquire.