NJGOP Statement On 2021 State Of The State

Today, Governor Murphy issued his 2021 State of the State address. The address included policies that would make our state worse off in the short and long term, and papered over the administration’s failures.

New Jersey leads the nation in Covid death rate, and outmigration. We are consistently ranked last in tax climate, and close to last in fiscal stability and GDP.

NJGOP Chairman Michael Lavery issued the following statement:

“As Governor Murphy gives his 2021 State Of The State address, we look back on a year of challenges that the Governor undeniably exacerbated. The governor failed in his response to the pandemic, ordering covid-positive patients back into our long term care facilities, not protecting our veterans homes, and ignoring medical advice in favor of PR spin. He also chose his far left ideology over the basics of his job – pushing a liberal wish list over running Motor Vehicles, raising taxes instead of effectively delivering unemployment aid, and repeatedly telling people to leave New Jersey if they don’t agree with him. Our state is taxing and spending more than ever, and Murphy’s massive debt scheme will leave our children footing the bill.”

“New Jersey’s 2020 was very much a Murphy Meltdown. After we win the November election, I know that the Republican Governor giving the 2022 State Of The State address will be talking about how to bring our state into a new era of growth and prosperity, how to lower taxes and regulations on our hard working citizens and businesses, and how to truly transform our great state from one that leads the nation in outmigration for three straight years, to one that attracts the best and brightest, keeps them, and is truly a land of opportunity for our nine million residents. New Jersey Republicans have the right prescription for what ails our state, and I’m confident the voters of our state will side with us this fall.”

Background

The 2020 Murphy Meltdown:

• Ordered Covid-Positive patients into nursing homes, and now over 7,500 people in these homes are dead
• Whistleblowers in the administration said the Governor’s response was “an unmitigated failure” that led to “preventable deaths”, and that the administration was “making things up as they proceed…”
• Murphy left Taxpayers holding the million dollar bag on the Katie Brennan settlement, never answering questions about the sexual assault scandal in his campaign and administration
• Murphy’s #MeToo scandal worsened with more and more women revealing misconduct by the Murphy team
• The Murphy Administration is under Department Of Justice investigation for its handling of Long Term Care Facilities. 
• The Governor and his team failed spectacularly to reopen the MVCs
• The Governor and his team couldn’t get unemployment relief to tens of thousands of needy New Jerseyans
• Murphy broke his own executive order and attended Black Lives Matters protests in large groups at the height of the pandemic. 
• Democrats attacked Governor Murphy for his “Failure to implement vote by mail and to insure the integrity of our elections”
• Murphy encouraged the firing of senior staff at the Department of Health in the middle of the pandemic. 
• Murphy withheld billions in CARES act money for months, as one third of our businesses have closed. 
• In spite of the pandemic, Murphy’s liberal tax and spend ideology trumps all, as he proposed and signed a budget for FYI 21 that actually raises spending and taxes, just as our economy and taxpayers need relief. 
• Borrowed $4.5 Billion, to be paid back by our children and grandchildren, to finance his liberal priorities. 
• Murphy got caught coordinating with the leadership in the SDA patronage scandal
• As gun crime skyrockets around New Jersey, Murphy released 20% of our state’s prison population
• Murphy fired the head of the state veterans homes, then ducked questions about what, if any, work his administration did to help those vulnerable vets
• Murphy got our credit downgraded, by creating a long term structural deficit
• Murphy caused our state to be ranked last in the nation in business tax climate
• A Democrat mayor blamed Murphy for crime surge in Paterson
• Covid cases have exploded this fall, especially in our LTCFs
• Murphy prioritized vaccinating prisoners over veterans