Meghan McCain's progressive views on supporting gay marriage have irritated the Republican Party's base, but her most obnoxious view as far as Republicans are concerned is her support for Obama to succeed as president.

"He's our president and when the election was over and when President Obama won, all negative feelings were gone," McCain said on the CNN's "Larry King Live" show. "I support the president."

That kind of unfettered patriotism and American loyalty is anathema to Republicans, who would rather see worldwide chaos and destruction than improvement following their electoral loss.

Sen. John McCain's 24-year-old daughter, who is now a columnist for TheDailyBeast.com, had better shine her jack boots and stop thinking so much, or Sarah Palin's party will just have to ditch'er.

Real Republicans, like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Timothy McVeigh, would never support a Democratic president.

The Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey has got to change its name

When one of a handful of Hispanic state lawmakers announced he would not seek re-election, the leader of the Middlesex County Democratic Party reportedly said, "nobody from the Latino community has shown an interest in that seat..."

Although South Amboy Mayor John T. O'Leary has been campaigning for the seat held by Assemblyman Joe Vas and he is likely to be given the 'organization line,' the Hispanic community should be faulted for not responding to the alteration in the political dynamics created by Vas' indictment. By not even coming up with a single name for consideration as a 19th District legislator in 2009, the Alliance has forfeited its right to assert leadership of anything.

The mission of the Latino Leadership Alliance is to mobilize and empower Latino communities to obtain political, economic, and social equity. Without advocating the election of Hispanic representatives, they cannot do that. Latinos have not achieved a degree of representation in the Legislature that is commensurate with their share of the population or for the Hispanic community's contribution to the state’s progress.

It is worth noting that the Alliance failed to participate in the election of New Jersey's first Latina mayor in Perth Amboy the year before. More precisely, the group withdrew from active involvement in Mayor Wilda Diaz's campaign after it pledged significant support.

It remains true to this day: 'Evil can only prevail when enough good people do nothing.'

I do not doubt that the members of the organization from the grassroots to the top are well-intended, but New Jersey cannot prosper unless people take action against the forces of corruption that have pervaded government at all levels. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, but it is action that constitutes good deeds.

The black community in Union County's 20th District could be accused of an equal failure, but there is no organization that presents itself as the voice of African-Americans in that region, although one is sorely needed. For that matter, New Jersey labor unions should not be content to let affluent political insiders carve up the state's resources among themselves and their corporate special interest patrons.

The times call for angry mobs storming the State Capitol, not quiet acquiescence. Primary election contests have become a rarity in the Soprano State, while government failure and corruption have become common.

Now that tens of thousands of people have lost their private-sector jobs through no fault of their own, voters should be treated to much more competition for public offices. Are Americans fresh out of ideas or just afraid to take a stand for anything?

"Go along, get along," is the motto of those who advance corrupt control over the political process. People in a position of power who do not want to make waves are drowning the opportunity to progress for all Hispanic people, or anyone who is poor or middle-class.

If the Latino Leadership Alliance and the people within the communities it purports to represent are unwilling to rock the boat, they shall never achieve progress. Instead, they will be co-opted and subjected to pandering and exploited, but most significantly, they will be ignored when it comes to substantive policy.

Hispanic residents are a key constituency in New Jersey's Democratic Party, and their failure to come forward when opportunity presented itself is a loss for all Democrats as well as for the principle of diversity. African-Americans and organized labor share a similar unfulfilled responsibility, and there is a good chance that you do, too.

Not having contests for public office means politicians are allowed to grow arrogant as they become entrenched. Political bosses are permitted to pass judgment on candidates instead of letting the public decide. Those who would question authority are forced into silence and those who would right injustice are forced out of the way.

Those who look at such failures as the Katrina disaster, over-crowded for-profit immigration detention centers, rising joblessness and a floundering economy, and other examples of government in action that lead to disgust, must look at their own inaction as a powerful part of the cause.

Our society is seriously flawed.
That mitigates against making small modifications to set things right and more strongly indicates a need for dramatic action: Big, revolutionary changes.
Of course, nobody likes making big changes and revolution scares the wits out of them.
That does not change the fact that we have to engage in massive restructuring so we can afford to send our kids to school, care for our sick people, employ all those who want to work and enjoy a standard of living comparable to or better then the one we know.
We can do what needs to be done, but we have to start doing it now.
All that 'doing the right thing' takes is enough faith in ourselves and enough love for one another.
I am disturbed by those pollsters who seem to have concealed the fact that Jon Corzine is not 'electable' in a contested primary even though he could prove 'unbeatable' in November.
Worse yet are those who call themselves Democrats, who accept corruption and incompetence from someone like Corzine simply because removing him is a difficult task that would require courage and effort.
Jon Corzine is not 'electable' in a contested primary because just 37% of Democrats believe he deserves re-election. He has closed hospitals, wasted opportunities to create jobs, improve state finances and cleanse the pervasive corruption that plagues New Jersey.
Jon Corzine is a waste, but he also bought his way into Democratic politics in a demonstration that there is no moral superiority in being the one giving out bribes as opposed to being the one taking them.
Having betrayed his promises and failed to achieve his potential, former Wall Street baron Jon Corzine should be fired.
Democrats believe Jon Corzine should be fired, but we are not going to replace him with a Republican just a year after George Bush made such a mess of our nation by plunging us into multiple wars, showing unparallelled incompentence with Katrina and wrecking the economy.
Independents believe Jon Corzine should be fired, but they too are unlikely to embrace any Republican so soon after Bush. No Republican has gotten 50 percent in a statewide New Jersey election in 20 years and there are 600,000 more Democrats now than there were in 2007.
Only 1-in-10 New Jerseyans feel that the structure of their government, including both state and local government, works well enough as it is now.
The cost of living, property taxes, and health care, along with the political corruption that makes it impossible for our government to address any of these problems, should require New Jerseyans to act like Americans, or people who do something about it.
Jon Corzine must be stopped in a Democratic primary or he will not be stopped at all, and New Jersey will surely suffer for it.

Supreme Court Seeks Clerk
The New Jersey Judiciary is seeking an experienced attorney to serve as Clerk of the Supreme Court.
Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume by Feb. 19, to: Cheryl Whiting (#09-10-15) Judiciary Personnel Office, Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, PO Box 989, Trenton, NJ 08625 - OR- Recruitment.Mailbox@Judiciary.state.nj.us.
The job calls for excellent administrative, analytical, and leadership skills and has a salary range of $104,010 to $137,821.
This position is responsible for the overall management of the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, the Board of Bar Examiners, the Committee on Character, and the Board on Attorney Certification.
Assigned tasks include ensuring the efficient processing of the cases before the Court, attorney and judicial disciplinary matters, bar admissions, the attorney certification program, and miscellaneous applications such as petitions for review from Supreme Court Committee decisions.
The person hired will be responsible for scheduling Supreme Court oral argument calendars, setting conference agendas, recording votes, drafting orders, filing opinions, and undertaking such other tasks as may be assigned by the Chief Justice.
The job is also responsible for the management of the Supreme Court's budget, purchasing, information technology, and personnel actions other than workers hired directly by the justices.
The director of the Office of Attorney Ethics, the chief counsel to the Disciplinary Review Board, and the executive director of the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection will all be supervised by the court clerk.
In addition, the position undertakes special assignments and administrative duties as may be required by the Chief Justice and the Court.

Councilwoman's Sister Alleges Discrimination

ELIZABETH -- The city council president's sister has filed a lawsuit in federal court charging officials in the administration of Mayor J. Christian Bollwage with racial discrimination.

Linda J. Perkins filed charges in 2005 complaining that Community Development Program Director Susan Ucci treated her unfairly because she is black and other municipal officials in the Bollwage administration failed to take any action.

Linda Perkins is a sister of Councilwoman Patricia Perkins-Auguste, a Bollwage ally who was rejected by the Union County Democratic Committee in a special August 19 election to replace former Assemblyman Neil Cohen.

According to the complaint, Linda Perkins claims that the Bollwage administration violated her constitutional rights, the federal Civil Rights Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and the state's Civil Service Act.

The suit says Linda Perkins was hired as a program monitor by the city on July 23, 2001, but assigned to a lower paying job title as senior planning aide.

When her job title was changed to program monitor in 2004, Linda Perkins claims that her salary remained at the lower pay grade.

Linda Perkins also claims that throughout her tenure in city government, Ucci has degraded and ridiculed her and other black employees.

"Ucci would yell at (Perkins) and speak to her in a demeaning tone," according to the complaint. "Ucci did not speak in this manner to the non-black employees."

The complaint alleges that Ucci rearranged the office to inconvenience Perkins and that she got no response from approaching Ucci's supervisor, Planning and Community Development Director Oscar Ocasio.

Perkins said Ucci had acted in a discriminatory manner against other city workers, including Jumilah Abdul-Baatin and Viola Cade, who have asked supervisors for assistance.

"The city and Ocasio have done nothing to address this pattern of racial discrimination," said Perkins, who claims that she was unable to locate a municipal official responsible for handling racial discrimination or affirmative action.

In an amended complaint, Perkins says she was forced out of work and spent a year on disability while prescribed anti-depressant medication until officials compelled her to return under a promise that she would be protected against Ucci's harassment.

That complaint says Ocasio and Ucci have since engaged in retaliatory actions against Perkins, denied her reinstatement because her position had been assigned to another employee and instead place her in a part-time post as juvenile curfew officer.

Perkins is demanding a pay raise and promotion, as well as compensatory damages for her claim of lost wages plus an undisclosed amount in punitive damages under six counts.

Cranford attorney Robert F. Renaud, who has been hired by Elizabeth officials to represent Ucci, filed papers with the court denying all allegations against the supervisor. Bollwage declined to comment on the case through an administration spokesperson.