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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Maggie Gallagher :: Townhall.com Columnist
Only in New Jersey
by Maggie Gallagher
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This week, Dina Matos McGreevey filed court papers accusing former Gov. Jim "I am a gay American" McGreevey of extreme cruelty, fraud and libel, for concealing his homosexuality in order to marry her. And so the McGreevey saga continues.

I'd say "only in America," but I suspect this is a story that could happen only in New Jersey.

Imagine: You are the governor of New Jersey and (by your own account) you're having sex with a young man behind your wife's back. The young man in question describes it as nonconsensual sexual harassment, but never mind. The feds are closing in on indicting your fundraising pals, one of whom even claims you arranged a special code word, "Machiavelli," signalling that they had a deal, the deal being: You pad their pockets with public funds in exchange for their donating campaign cash.

Jihadists have just recently blown up the Twin Towers, orphaning thousands of New Jersey children. The country's at war. You're taking time out to have anonymous sex in public restrooms (Or was that earlier? The timeline is murky). Rumors about your randiness are apparently rampant, so rampant you now claim your wife had to know that you were gay when you married. (She was asking for it, see? Somehow with these powerful men, it's always the woman's fault). So Dina didn't know you would be bleeping the boy toy in the marital home while she was in the hospital recovering from the birth of your child, but, hey, what did she expect when she agreed to become your own little Jackie Kennedy?

Suddenly it all blows up in big type. The one indisputable fact -- you are the man who let your lust decide who should head up homeland security in New Jersey -- is suddenly on the front page of every newspaper.

What do you do? First, you ask your wife to smile and look supportive at the press conference in which you will announce that (A) you are resigning, and (B) you are a gay American. Then you write a book, naturally, explaining how sorry you are for your mistakes, but homophobia made you do it. Leaders of groups like the Human Rights Campaign and Garden State Equality enthusiastically endorse your narrative.

But what do you do next? If you're Jim McGreevey you do this: You try to stiff your wife out of as much money as you can, naturally. You can live in luxury with a very rich boyfriend, postponing the job of earning the big bucks you might have to give your wife a piece of. You've got to keep the net worth down until the divorce is over, see? So you work a little on the side, teaching "ethics and leadership" (I kid you not) to future MBAs at a public university in New Jersey. This nominal income (about $17,000 a year) will allow you to pad your pension for years at taxpayer expense without driving up the old alimony, see?

What to do with the rest of your time? Above all, do not get a real job to support your child or the wife you used and abandoned. Instead, enter the seminary. The Episcopalians are glad to oblige. Studying four days a week, with $12,000 tuition for the next three years should do it. Bonus points: You call your wife a homophobe because she doesn't want you bringing a 5-year-old girl into bed with you and your new partner or displaying giant photos of naked men in the little girl's presence either.

Like I said: Only in New Jersey. I hope.

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About The Author

Maggie Gallagher is a nationally syndicated columnist, a leading voice in the new marriage movement and co-author of The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially.

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Just insane!
Jim McGreevy is an idiot! How insulting this is to say that abandoning your family was due to homophobia. I'm sorry pal, being gay is not a get out of jail free card. You disgraced your family with your little affair and are now trying to become a priest. The irony! It's a shame HRC is making you out to be a hero, it seems only conservative gays and moderates who aren't bamboozled by liberal lies are insulted by this. McGreevy, everyone makes mistakes but all this publicity you are getting is only hurting your child and it's showing your true selfish colors.

He Wore a Brand New Jersey
Jim McGreevey is indeed a degenerate woman hater. And he seems to get away with it due to his leftist positions. What else is new?

He should never have been elected governor. He should never have gotten married. Both his wife and the State of New Jersey have suffered from his arrogance and I'm-better-than-you attitude---let alone his leftist positions. Both should be shed of him with less difficulty than has been recently apparent.

McGreevey can join Barney Frank and others in the 'shouldn't-be-in-position-of-power class. We need less of them. Aren't you with me in being tired of this Liberal "I'm tolerant of everything" nonsense? Whenever the World seems to dim, you can find a Liberal at the light switch.

McGreevey is slime
I personally know of no liberal who supports McGreevey. The HRC shouldn't support him either. I support gay rights, but there is no way I could support this slime. To begin with, I don't have much sympathy for any gay person who marries someone of the opposite sex. I have trouble with any adult who claims that they weren't sure of their sexual orientation. Baloney. If there is one thing that we all know, it is whether we are attracted to males, females or both. All my sympathy is with the betrayed spouse.

Closeted gay men and women are not suitable for public office. Could you imagine the pandamonium if we had closeted straight politicians? Thankfully we don't put such unreasonable demands on heterosexuals.

gay American
McGreevey is a joke. A gay joke.

His egocentric behavior not only put New Jersey at risk during war (although some would say that's a good thing), he demanded his wife embarass herself by initially pretending to support him.

Those who think that homos are normal (except for who they sleep with) need to look at McGreevey and re-think their "tolerance".

I can hardly wait to sell..
I have 67 more months before I can retire and leave the People's Republic of New Jersey. This place is just an unbelievable nest of corruption and bureaucrats gone wild. From just the past week here are some more "only in New Jersey" newspaper stories. They are not about McCreepey, but they certainly capture the essence of this late, great state.

1) After the governor is injured due to a state trooper's driving at excessive speed, some residents had the temerity to suggest that Corzine and his cops should adhere to the speed and seat belt laws that apply to the rest of us. The vindictive troopers felt dissed and conspired on their website to launch a malicious ticket writing campaign. When that plot made news, the troopers' union president made public threats against the media personalities involved.

2) Fifty state troopers, local and county police, and BATF bust a guy on his farm in southern New Jersey for a little marijuana and a few high capacity magazines. He was a burglary victim and the magazines were discovered in a toolbox that the police recovered from the perpetrators. The guy allegedly had thirty functional weapons (some appeared to be black powder collectibles) and a bunch of junk like practice grenades, barrels, stocks, trigger assemblies, etc. The newspapers made it sound like a quirky military surplus collector was a bona fide terrorist.

3) Today's newspaper reported that in Cherry Hill, New Jersey they are breaking ground for the town's first mosque. The town is a Philadelphia/Camden suburb with a sizable Jewish community. All of the politicians turned out for the festivities and spoke of the benefits of diversity and understanding the "religion of peace."

4) Meanwhile, six Muslin nitwits are caught plotting to attack Fort Dix, New Jersey. Two of the plotters went to high school, where? If you guessed Cherry Hill, give that man a cigar!

ONLY in New Jersey!

after reading this story......
I'm so glad I live in the bible belt! I do wonder how much therapy the poor child of this sicko will require after learning just how badly he hurt his wife before running off to Seminary. Talk about "ripped from the headlines",this would've made the perfect script for Law & Order or one of those late night programs on FX if it wasn't true.

I just can't believe the Episcopal Church would ordain this guy given his "checkered" past as Governor of NJ. Oh wait a second! These are the same people that ordained an openly gay man as Bishop several years ago. I guess anything is possible in America these days.

My truth is . . .
Was anyone else as put off as I was by the first three words of his revelatory statement?

Borghe
What lies did she put in her column? Specifics, please. Otherwise you are just throwing mud in an attempt to make her look dirty. As for as this being "gossip," the guy was the governor of a state -- that makes his reprehensible behavior a public matter.

The Asylum of New Jersey
I love New Jersey! It supplies more comedy than all the TV channels combined! Democratic voters march to the polls like zombies and elect the same corrupt politicians to office and then complain about high taxes. The Star Ledger seemingly has a story every day about another corrupt politician indicted or sent to jail for malfeasance while in office. Isn't that the definition of insanity: When you continue to go through the same actions expecting a different result every time?

Borghe doesn't like the message
so his solution is to attack the messenger?

Cute.


Borge, what a troll!
Its a photograph, not a painting. The NY Post showed it.

If a straight man appointed his mistress as head of the state's department of homeland security, he'd certainly get the same treatment, especially if he was a republican.

Finally, the fact that he married under false pretenses it the whole point.

Dear Borghe
What really sickens the soul is the rationalizations you fruity pebbles come up with to justify the doing of your business.
Kathy is perfectly correct and she is stating the truth about sexuality, that is to say, the clinically normal view of it. Everyone knows that when individuals such as yourself refer to those who disagree with your "agenda" as haters and religious fanatics, this is just leftist code for "I (meaning Borghe) cannot practice sexual self-control and since I cannot, and do not want to feel guilty about it, I'll just blame someone else." Right? Right!
In short, Borghe, its time for you to consider these two words: "grow" and "up."

Borghe
You are totally losing your arguement. Go slap yourself. This whole incident with McGreevy is complete evil. Nothing more I can say about it - he disgusts me and he is pure evil.

Will the NJ GOP Learn It's Lesson?
One of the reasons people like Whore-zine and McGreedy keep winning office in NJ is because the NJ GOP keeps nominating mediocre candidates. NJ is not NY. Republicans CAN get elected here, if they offer a strong candidate. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if we keep nominating the likes of Doug Forrester we will never win another statewide race.

Nude photos/paintings/crayon renderings
of a personal acquaintance, in life size form, are sexually oriented material which is inappropriate and damaging for a five year old girl.

Exposing a grown man to a five year old girl is, in fact, child abuse.

Please, get a grip and take off the tin-foil hat. It doesn't become you.

Maggie's mouth -- for sale!
Never trust a word this woman says or writes. She has been exposed as a bought-and-paid for mouthpiece for the Bush Administration.

Every word she utters is a lie: including "and" and "the."

NJ and dudes... perfect together

As someone who lived in the garbage state, I can honestly say that nothing cumming out of NJ surprises me. What a craphole. Remember, this is the state that produced Florio.

If you are conservative and live in NJ get out now. Trust me on this, you won't miss it one bit.

Not even the green flies.

Dear "Christian" Manfred
Please move on to Moveon! This site is by, for, and of conservatives!

EllisWyatt & Devilspaintbrush
We could nominate some good Republican candidates, but then where would we get our fun? These Dems are just so good for laughs that I really would miss them.

DPB: Florio was originally from New York, which made me believe he was sent over to destroy us.

Actually, Christie Whitman did a very good job of destroying the state, and the final damage report isn't in yet.

Stay tuned, guys and gals, we haven't even gotten warmed up, what with our pension shortfall, local property tax bills and selling the turnpike (and who knows what else?).

Barry

Barry

I forgot to mention the socialist mecca that is Camden.

A perfect example of liberalism being a mental disorder.

oh boy....
I don't think much of McGreevey. He is obviously an ambitious man and I'm not at all supportive of him.

However...we cannot ignore the concept of passing. I have to remind you all of the historical context of passing.
It's understandable, given the institutionalized discrimination that gay people face, whether they are having sex or not.

Passing is done by other individuals to be able to achieve just the basics in freedom and human rights.
But look at the posts by one extreme like Kathy to the other when ANY issues regarding gays and lesbians is discussed.
There is too much cafeteria information being disseminated without the MAIN INGREDIENT that infuses EVERYTHING about the integration of gays and lesbians in every day life.

The straight world in part IS at fault for the mixed marriages between one straight and one gay spouse.
You KNOW that from youth, gay children are taught they can change, that marriage or sex with someone of the opposite sex will cure or change the urges to be gay.

You KNOW you treat gay people like that! You say it over and over again.

And when it causes disasters like McGreevey or any and every other situation similar to his, you blame the gay person as being deceitful and selfish.

There is correlation and causation that stems from the homophobia that McGreevey was born into.
Could he have reached the level of governor if he'd lived his life ALL ALONG as a gay man?
Can anyone gay really be honest with you without some kind of admonishment?

No.
Can a gay child be honest with his family, educators or pastor...without the hammer of judgement coming down on him?
When YOU say the only hope is for a gay person to pretend they aren't...taking it all the way to marrying straight and bearing children, did YOU really give him ANY OTHER CHOICE not to?

Did you really?

McGreevey is just the most public instance, and very often groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council are quick to exploit the straight spouses left after a divorce from someone gay.
They aren't above and beyong fostering bitterness and many courts take the children away from the gay parent in as cruel a fashion as possible.

You don't ask yourselves, that if he'd been able to live HONESTLY as a gay person, would all this mess had happened.

Straight people make a mess of gay lives every day. Arrogating themselves with the rationale that it's godly to do so.
Well, good work doesn't make a mess.
Godly and moral acts don't create divorces, violence and other forms of threat and fear against gay children.

Straight people make these messes of gay lives, and don't even have the stones to take responsibility for their part in it OR ask how such messes can be prevented.
And THEY CAN be prevented. They CAN.

But have you EVER asked anyone other than the most biased straight people among you how that can happen?

I doubt it.
Maggie Gallagher doesn't know a thing about gay people. She knows NOTHING.
And only selects the most prurient of stories to make her case.

Prurience regarding gay lives is hers and your stock in trade.
You're only fooling yourselves.
Gay folks know you better than you know them.

And women like McGreevey's wife and kids pay the price.


hey Kathy...or any others
Hey Kathy...or any others of those eager to scroll Scripture or religion in to and EVERY discussion regarding gays and lesbians.

If someone admits to you that they are divorced...are you equally eager to blast them with religious admonishment the way you do towards gay people?
Every time, each time?

Do you want to?

From experience I know...those that attend church the most, sometimes are so very cruel to a person when they are having their worst troubles.
You're not listeners...you are lecturers.
You'll abandon the prime directive when you think there will be no repurcussions from it.

And I'm not the only one that can see the cafeteria style in which you feel safe to be that way.
Patriotism might be the refuge of scoundrels.
But sometimes it's not hard to see who makes piety look like the refuge of cowards and bigots.
Are you SURE you know what you're doing?

Look up prejudiced in your dictionary, instead of a rationalization for it in Scripture. As previous BAD CIVIL law was proscribed against NON CRIMINAL MINORITIES before.




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