Gov. Phil Murphy’s State of the State takes backseat

Gov. Phil Murphy gave his State of the State speech Tuesday, in which he … in which he did what every other governor always does, blather on about his accomplishments while ignoring his failures and making promises he almost certainly won’t keep.

At least it was only a little over 30 minutes. Usually, the governor’s State of the State is the biggest political story of the week in New Jersey, and while Murphy will certainly get plenty of ink on the speech, it’s only the number two story, politically.

Number one, of course, is the state of the Republican party in New Jersey, namely the fact Doug Steinhardt, former state GOP chairman, fervent Trump supporter, and guy with the inside lane to the nomination to go up against Murphy in November, dropped out of the race.

“Last month, I was thrilled to announce our campaign for Governor, and the positive response from grassroots activists and donors has been overwhelming,” Steinhardt said in a statement announcing he’s ditching the race. “While our strong standing in this race make this decision even more heartbreaking, unfortunately, unforeseen professional obligations have made it untenable for me to continue in this race as a candidate for Governor.”

OK. Is it possible this lawyer truly has “unforeseen professional obligations?” Maybe O.J. is getting tried again or something? Sure, it’s possible.

But uh … is it also possible Steinhardt dropped out because with Trumpism on the ropes, he realized the next few months would be miserable for him?

“No,” said his spokesperson when NJ Advance Media basically asked the question.

Of course, it’s fair to wonder, especially in light of Steinhardt’s now tone-deaf comments he made the day after thousands of Trump supporters attempted to overthrow the country.

First, according to the NorthJersey.com report, Steinhardt pitched the “it wasn’t Trump supporters” false narrative, then followed it up with “The actions of violent criminals do not speak for Republicans and supporters of President Trump,” without addressing the question if Trump was responsible.

So yes. It is fair to wonder if Steinhardt - who released a campaign video slamming his then-opponent Jack Ciattarelli for not supporting Trump the very same day of the attempted coup - decided that his “unforeseen professional obligations” are code for “yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and get as far away from Trump as possible so I still have a career.”

Meanwhile, the big winner here, of course, is Ciattarelli, who now has a clear path to the GOP nomination without the baggage of Trump attached to him … oh wait that’s not true anymore, as Jack went ahead and dummied it up.

See, Steinhardt was 100% correct - Ciatrraralli did not support Trump. The campaign video Steinhardt released was glorious in that regard. Back in 2015, Ciatrraralli called Trump a “charlatan.” Then he called on then-Gov. Chris Christie to resign for supporting said charlatan. Then he called on Trump to drop out of the race after he secured the nomination. Then he called him an “embarrassment.” And then he didn’t vote for him.

Jack Ciattarelli, he of the moral high ground!

And then he torpedoed the whole thing by becoming another Trump toadie.

He spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Bedminster last month. Previous to that, he had this to say to David Wildstein of the New Jersey Globe before the 2020 election: “I’m voting for the president. His policies have worked for the country, David. He’s been right on the economy. He’s been in right playing hardball with China. He’s been right on the war on ISIS. He’s been right on border security, and I believe he’s been right in transforming the federal bench, including the Supreme Court, into a more conservative leaning. His policies have worked for the country, and yes, he has my support and has my vote this November.”

Why the about-face? Well, as a gambit to secure votes in the primary against Steinhardt. Kind of obvious.

It’s continued, as well, with Ciattarelli saying post-Capitol riot, ““No one is innocent here. We need a bipartisan, zero-tolerance policy on this behavior — both in word and action,’’ he said in a statement.

Really channelling the “good people on both sides,” aren’t you there, Jack?

Here’s what I can promise you: Right now, Ciattarelli is undoubtedly beating himself up over jumping to Team Trump for what he thought was political expediency. It is going to bite him in the ass come November, which is sad, because Ciattarelli is a Jersey Guy in looks and manner, and that carries a lot of weight in this state.

Instead, he’ll just be painted - fairly - as another Trump enabler.

So yes. Murphy spoke Tuesday, and blah blah blah’d his way through the speech, making promises, whatever. It wasn’t the biggest story in New Jersey politics this week. But it will probably be again next year when Murphy gives his State of the State as New Jersey’s first re-elected Democratic governor since Brendan Byrne.

Didn’t have to be this way, but the fallout from last week’s attack on the Capitol is going to linger for a loooooooong time, and Ciattarelli’s 4th quarter pivot to Team Trump is going to destroy his chances to win the election.

Last remaining question: Is there a wealthy GOPer who has stayed far enough on the Trump sidelines and who is willing to barrell into the race?