Red Team, Blue Team, Whose Team?

New Jersey was at the center of two major battles this week between red teams and blue teams. Tuesday night saw the Red triumph, when Republican Chris Christie was elected, rather decisively, to be the Garden State’s next governor. Blue turned the tables the following evening when the New York Yankees clubbed the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series.


In the case of both contests, you could see the blind loyalty exhibited by ardent followers of their respective teams. Critics of the Yankees contend they simply paid for their championship, amassing a $208 million payroll in order to steamroll opponents in their quest for a 27th title. But dyed-in-the-wool Yankees faithful see their personalities behind the pinstripes: the grace under pressure of a Derek Jeter, the guile of an Andy Pettitte, the sheer talent of an Alex Rodriguez. Reason doesn’t enter the equation; these teams were chosen at childhood, and no matter how ugly things get (such as the Stump Merrill era for the Yankees), their unwavering loyalty remains the lighthouse in the storm.

In the political arena, we often see the same sort of fealty, but to Democrats and Republicans. “Dad always drove Fords, rooted for the Yanks, and voted Republican,” you might say. And many times, that loyalty has proven wise. After all, these organizations have given us the Mustang, Mickey Mantle and … um … George W. Bush?

Whoops! Hey, what the hell, dad? You know, if you were a Democrat, you could proudly pull the lever for … um, wait … Jon Corzine?

“Well, he’s the party candidate, and I’m a party guy.”

And that’s the problem with politics. These are not teams. When the Yankees win, their fans exult with the players, even if it’s from the anonymity of their family rooms. Season after season, they live and die with these guys, only ever asking one thing: just win, baby. So when they fulfill their end of the bargain, it’s sheer ecstasy for the true fan.

Too often, I see voters adapt this same mentality to their political candidates, the ones anointed by their respective parties. They need to see their guy win. The thing is, though, in politics, winning the election is not the end game. It’s only the beginning.


On Election Night, enthusiastic supporters of Gov.-elect Christie lit up thousands of message boards, comments sections and social-media sites with messages of delight, giddy that “their guy” had won. Those familiar with New Jersey know that the demise of the limp Corzine era is cause to rejoice, but that’s because he not only let down Republicans, but Democrats, too. His policies were simply toxic to the state’s economy, across the board, and didn’t seem the slightest bit inclined to alter his degenerative direction.

But Christie hasn’t done anything yet, so what’s to celebrate? Four years ago, when Corzine was the one popping champagne, would the mood at Democratic Headquarters have been the same if they had known his governorship would be an epic failure, and that he’d be drummed out of Drumthwacket in 2009?

Maybe. But that’s because the ones who pull the strings in the party knew they had achieved their end game. Four more years of political patronage, no-bid contracts, bid-rigging and assorted quid pro quo was set to commence. But to the little guy – the one with the “Elect Corzine” sign on his lawn, the one paying $12,000 in property taxes – was hoping for a little relief. Instead, yet another betrayal was at hand.

Corzine, like the Yankees, used his seemingly bottomless wealth to procure victory. When the Yankees win, however, they win. That’s it – that’s exactly what their faithful needed them to do, and that’s why their fans feel like champions, too. But when a Corzine, or a Christie, wins his election, what exactly do we win? When do New Jerseyans get to pile on top of each other, delirious over a 20 or 30 percent cut in our property taxes? Or a bill that guarantees A and B students won’t have to pay to attend a state university? Or even some fundamental budget-balancing, the sort that doesn't throw a $45 billion deficit in our laps?

None of these will happen, of course – if you pay attention, you know it’s impossible to fix under New Jersey’s de facto one-party system – which is why our residents are tripping over each other to get to places like Pennsylvania or Delaware, or even North Carolina, where the fiscal situations aren’t nearly as dire.

My team won the World Series this week, and that made me feel good. But you’ll pardon me if I didn’t come charging out of the dugout on Election Night. I couldn’t help feeling that my team – the regular, taxpaying citizenry of New Jersey, got shut out.

Again.