Promoted by Jason Springer: A very candid take from Senator Weinberg on the race that was. Thank you for the shout out and for running.
Let's get the negatives out of the way first: We lost! Property taxes, unemployment, property taxes, property taxes. That was it in a nutshell.
To some of my colleagues whose egos might be a little out of control: Ray, was it really necessary to trash the Governor within 24 hours? Perhaps if you had joined us just once on one of those 18 hour days on the campaign trail, we might have gotten a couple of more votes out of your home base. Dick, did you have to share that White House anecdote? We could have saved that one for "the book". How about the party officials who couldn't join us for a very graceful concession. And how about that Jeff Tittel? He seemed to go out of his way to be mean and condescending. The Sierra Club endorsement is one thing - your meaness of spirit another altogether. Jeff, it's not ALWAYS about you!
Now to some of the more positive recollections: Our stars who were always there in full force. Thank you to Assemblywomen Annette Quihano, Linda Stender, Grace Spencer, Milla Jassey, and Nellie Pou, Senators Theresa Ruiz, Nia Gill, and Mayor-elect of Camden Dana Redd and to Mayor Colleen Mahr of Fanwood, Mayor Wilda Diaz of Perth Amboy, Mayor-Elect Toni Ricigliano of Edison (who must be related to half her constituents), the "WeDo" women of Passaic County, the Demo women's groups of Bergen County and of Essex County and so many more. To our Congressmen Frank Pallone, Steve Rothman, Donald Payne and Bill Pascrell who joined us many times on the campaign trail. Another "shout out" to our two Senators Lautenberg and Menendez.
Of course, our President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton gave us so much of their time and insight. I'll tell you in my next posting what he suggested to me to follow up. Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Shultz and Loretta Sanchez joined us on the campaign trail and made women elected officials very proud. Fran Adubato runs a great progam in Newark. The labor community could not have done any more to help us. Charlie Wowkanich, Laurel Brennan, Ray Pocini and the building trades and my personal favorite, Buzz Dressel, were fully involved. The labor
bus with "the painter and insulator guys" was not a bad way to get around.
The campaign was energizing and I thank the Governor for giving me a wonderful opportunity to travel the great state of New Jersey, to meet many terrific NJ citizens, and for giving me a statewide voice to talk about the family values we share. I wouldn't change a moment of it.....oh yes, except the losing part!
I have so many anecdotes to share and hope to do that over the next few weeks. Jason Springer and Jay Lassiter along with those brave breast cancer survivors met me at the street fair rain and all. So we used pink umbrellas and carried the hand-colored pink Corzine/Weinberg signs right up the street.
The various Garden State Equality headquarters were always filled to the rafters and their members worked tirelessly. DFA came through for the Governor and me with a resounding endorsement. Rosi sent emails of encouragement. That picnic in Willingboro where I met 92 year old Miss Lizzie who is still actively engaged in civic life and their wonderful Mayor Jackie Jenkins. All those unairconditioned headquarters where folks worked in the heat of summer and never gave up. THANK YOU.
My friend and colleague, Rocco Mazza, put more than 12,000 miles on his trusty car. Rocco, the GPS and I traveled together for three months sometimes 14 or 18 hours a day. The only thing I got tired of was the voice in the GPS! My own campaign protectors Tory Singleton and Cecelia Fassano, made me feel comfortable every step of the way. Sometimes, there was a little too much "hovering" from the staff, but hey - it was great being part of an effort which had common goals.
Would I change anything? Perhaps better communication on the really good things Jon Corzine did these last four years. Perhaps one or two positive ads spelling these out a little more clearly. But that's all hindsight. I thank Governor Jon Corzine from all of us for working his heart out for New Jersey's residents.
Let's now join together with a newly installed Assembly, a newly organized Senate and figure out what the voices of our party should sound like; how we address the people's mistrust of their elected officials; how we make sure we have together taken a strong stand against corrupting influences in our body politic; and how we work with a Republican Governor on the things necessary to improve the lives of New Jersey residents.
I know that most of this is going to come off like sour grapes because I was a Florio supporter in 2000 and a Codey supporter in 2005 and on both occasions saw Corzine's money rule the day, because as we all know, in New Jersey politics, money talks and if bullshit is accompanied by enough money, it talks as well, but I need clarification about what exactly we should be thanking soon-to-be former Governor Corzine for?
Is it for buying a Senate seat in 2000?
Is it for turning the balance of power in the state's political dynamic towards the bosses that backed Jim McGreevey, enabling him to run unopposed in 2001 instead of being challenged by former Morris County Prosecutor, Michael Murphy, who earned the attention of a lot of people during the 1997 Democratic gubernatorial primary as a result of his candor, honesty, and solid, third-place showing in that year's gubernatorial primary without the support of a single Democratic machine?
Codey said he got a call from the White House a week after Vice President Joe Biden appeared at Corzine's poorly attended primary night kickoff rally in West Orange in June. "They wanted to talk about what's going on with the governor's race," he said. "They would call me every week, every two weeks."
By July, Codey said there was growing concern from the president's advisers as Corzine's polls declined even as he poured money into anti-Christie ads. It grew worse after 44 arrests on July 23 in a corruption and money-laundering case.
According to Codey, Corzine had thoughts of getting out of the race:
Corzine privately mused to the White House he was having second thoughts about continuing his campaign, Codey said.
"He was, mentally, as low as you can get," Codey said of Corzine, even before July 23. "Then this ... hit. It was understandable he was having a moment where he was saying 'to hell with this.'"
Codey says the White House showed him internal polling that he held a lead over Christie and wanted to know if he'd run:
"I told Gaspard I was going to be seeing Mr. Corzine in Trenton. I told him I felt duty-bound in terms of being a gentleman to tell Corzine. I sat with Corzine. I told him what I knew. I said 'as a friend, I just wanted you to know.' I said 'bottom line is you're the decision-maker. You want out, just do me a favor let me know as soon as possible. If you're going to stay in there, I'm with you.'"
"I did not hear back from the White House."
Margolin's story says the White House and Corzine campaign declined to comment, but that Senator Torricelli confirmed Codey's account. A few things. The comments were made by Codey to Margolin just hours after Corzine conceded. What do you think of the story he's telling? Also, what do you make of the fact that he's telling it in such detail and so soon?
"Hi this is President Obama," says the robocall, "I want to apologize for disturbing you, but there's an important election in New Jersey this coming Tuesday.
"Last year we started the movement for change," he says. "Now we need to keep it going."
"That's why I'm asking you to get behind Governor Jon Corzine. Together we can fix our schools, improve health care, turn around the economy so it works for all Americans.
"So please get out to vote on Tuesday. And vote for my friend and your governor Jon Corzine. Thanks for listening."
But that's not the only calling going on. PolitickerNJ tells us that Dick Codey has a robo call going into homes of Democrats in Essex County, while Kevin O'toole has calls on behalf of Chris Christie. In addition, the State Party has had a call hammering Chris Christie and reminding voters that it's never wrong to vote for the right person, which has been a line from Chris Daggett, although they initially denied involvement in the call.
In what is shaping up to be the second most important election this cycle, State Senator Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) announced today that he's secured the necessary votes to be elected President of the State Senate come January.
According to a Sweeney press release:
Fourteen senators from North, Central and South Jersey have endorsed Stephen M. Sweeney (D-3rd) to be the next State Senate President, propelling him to the majority he needs to gain the upper chamber's top position in the new session starting in January. The statewide coalition of senators said Sweeney would bring new, bold leadership at a critical time in the state's history. The 12 senators announcing their support for Sweeney today are Barbara Buono, Bob Smith, Nicholas P. Scutari, Raymond J. Lesniak, M. Teresa Ruiz, Nia H. Gill, Paul Sarlo, Jeff Van Drew, James Whelan, Fred Madden, Dana Redd and James Beach. Sen. Brian Stack endorsed Sweeney last week. Today's endorsements, plus Sweeney's own vote, gives him the majority needed to become the new State Senate President.
It's long been rumored that Sweeney, who currently serves as Majority Leader, aspires to replace State Senator Dick Codey (D-Essex) in the upper chamber's number one spot. Those rumors bubbled to the surface in recent weeks as the two engaged in a very public back and forth about who is best qualified to lead the Democratic Caucus.
Sweeney's announcement, coupled with the news that Assembly Democrats are coalescing around Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) for Speaker, suggests that Sweeney supporters are working to preserve the longstanding tradition of balancing the top posts between northern and southern New Jersey. Today's developments also indicate that powerful forces are working against Codey, the second longest serving Senate President in state history. That said, Codey has proven time and again he is one of Trenton's most effective operators. No one should count him out.
I've asked a few times in posts about the impact that the pending Senate President contest between Sweeney and Codey will have on the race. Congressman Rob Andrews was asked the other day at the press conference for the Port of Paulsboro and he had this to say:
Regarding the intra-party Trenton scuff-up between Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) and Andrews's South Jersey colleague, Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney and the possibility of that spat spilling with negative consequences into the gubernatorial contest, Andrews said, "That doesn't affect the governor's race at all. There are about 100 people engaged in that fight and they are all capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time."
I hope the Congressman is right, because sometimes it feels like they are having trouble just handling one or the other, not both at the same time.
The Wood-Ridge Democrat refused to say last week whether he would support Codey or Stephen Sweeney, the current Senate majority leader from South Jersey who is likely to challenge Codey this fall and after the governor's race.
"I'm not answering," Sarlo said while milling through the Bergen County Senior Citizens Picnic in Paramus last Tuesday. "It's an internal family conflict that should be worked out by the family behind closed doors."
Sarlo's non-answer actually spoke volumes. Translated, the family feud is a time of opportunity for Sarlo. While Codey and Sweeney duke it out over the Senate president's perch, Sarlo sits in the catbird seat.
Stile went on to talk about the importance of Sarlo when each side is counting their votes:
Sarlo could very well emerge as a key, North Jersey swing vote, which puts him in the position to leverage his next move up the political food chain in the state Senate. For example, Sarlo could cut a deal with Sweeney, agreeing to support him for Senate president in exchange for the Senate majority seat, a role that Sarlo failed to win in a bitter caucus contest against Sweeney last year. (Imagine the irony of that scenario: Despite the clamor for political reform that led to the state's first ban on dual elected office holding, the Senate would continue to be led by two power brokers exempted from the ban.)
That last note is sure to raise the eyebrows of many readers here at Blue Jersey. This isn't the first time Sarlo has found himself at the center of a leadership contest. After his election in 2001, where he received a good deal of support from the leadership PAC of the Minority Leader and Assemblyman Joe Doria, Sarlo chose to support Albio Sires for the Speakership. Stile also reminded readers that Sarlo supported Rob Andrews in the Senate primary last year over Senator Lautenberg. Codey will be trying to entice Sarlo's vote as well:
The threat of a Sarlo defection to the Sweeney-Norcross camp could force Codey to compete for Sarlo's support, with possibly more pork, appointments, or just about anything else that can legally be steered to Sarlo's south Bergen-based 36th Legislative District.
Last year, Codey showered Sarlo with several high-profile consolation prizes since Sarlo's failed bid for the majority leader. He was named chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, the first non-lawyer to hold that role in more than three decades. He was also named vice chairman of the Senate budget panel and was enlisted in Codey's leadership circle as a deputy majority leader.
This is the sausage making process that so many can't stand. While Codey will try to focus on the actions of Steve Sweeney seeking to take control, he clearly has, can and will play the game as well. For now, all involved say they are focused on the Governor's race. But it will be interesting to see who Sarlo decides to go with and why.
Sources say that State Sen./Union City Mayor Brian Stack will announce next week that he has endorsed the re-election of Gov. Jon Corzine. Stack, who had openly flirted with the prospect of backing Republican Christopher Christie, committed his support of Corzine during a meeting of the Hudson County Democratic Organization today.
"I am confident in Senator Sweeney's ability to lead the Senate, as we prepare to address matters that are critical to the residents of New Jersey," Stack said in a statement.
"Senator Sweeney has demonstrated both strong leadership and sound judgment during his tenure as Democratic Majority Leader, and I am certain that he will make an outstanding Senate President as he continues to fight for the families of our State. His prominent record as a labor leader conveys his understanding of the needs of New Jerseyans at a time when it is particularly important for working families to have their interests represented in the Statehouse."
Here's another case of the race for Governor crossing paths with the pending Senate contest. Meanwhile, Senator Codey picked up a public supporter as well this week with Senator Nick Sacco.
As Gov. Jon Corzine prepares to for the gubernatorial debates, he has asked Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) to play his Republican opponent, former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie. That may cause some buzz among Democrats who have noticed that Corzine did not ask Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), who was New Jersey's Governor from 2004 to 2006. Sweeney is expected to challenge Codey in a leadership fight set for after the general election.
Christie has picked State Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton) to play Corzine. Baroni has played Corzine in Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Franks' 2000 debate preparations, and played U.S. Senator Robert Menendez when Republican Tom Kean was preparing for his 2006 debate.
Corzine used Rob Andrews to prep in 2005. Something tells me that any time we see the names Steve Sweeney or Dick Codey for the next few months, it's going to be in the context of the pending contest for Senate President and which one benefits from that latest news. Do you think it's a distraction to have the talk about potential leadership elections or will they serve as a motivating factor for each side to show their influence and turn out voters in support of the Governor?
On the heels of yesterday's massive corruption bust, it's beginning to look like even more of an uphill climb for Jon Corzine. Should he consider stepping down?
Time will tell if this is wishful thinking, but Legislative leaders are hopeful that the Budget will be done early this year:
Sen. President Richard Codey and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. said they hoped to get the budget passed on June 18.
The new fiscal year begins on July 1, so that would be the deadline before they'd have to stop the clock and extend time. Here's what Speaker Roberts had to say about what we will see:
Roberts says the proposed budget provides for basic services "but not much more."
In an election year with not much good news, the budget has the potential to cause nothing but headaches and bad headlines. They may just want to get this one behind them.
Governor Jon Corzine is set to undertake the historic task of selecting an individual to run as the Democratic candidate to become the first Lieutenant Governor in New Jersey history.
On Monday, we looked at the potential Republican picks for Lieutenant Governor. Today, below the fold is a diverse list of ten possible Democratic contenders. It is subjective and, more than anything, written to solicit the opinions of Blue Jersey readers on the strengths and weaknesses of each potential pick.
The verdict, coming after four days of deliberations, found Coniglio guilty on five counts of defrauding the public of his honest services and one count of extortion. He was acquitted on two mail fraud counts; the jury said it was unable to reach a verdict on a third mail fraud charge.
Assistant US Attorney Michele Brown had this to say following the verdict and the oath he forgot:
"Sen. Coniglio sold his public office for his own gain," she said.
Each count comes with the potential penalty of 20 years in prison, but Brown said the U.S. Attorney?s Office would pursue sentencing of between 78 and 97 months.
So it appears Coniglio will have at least 7 years to think about things. Chris Christie credited his former office, but then cast a wider shadow:
I commend the U.S. Attorney's Office for its continued success in fighting political corruption," said in a statement released by his campaign today. "The result validates the confidence the office had in seeking the indictment in the first place. Senator Coniglio's guilty verdict is just the latest example of why a comprehensive reform plan is so badly needed in Trenton.
Senator Codey, whose name came up frequently in the trial had this to say:
The jury has rendered its verdict, and I respect it. I have always known Joe Coniglio to be a caring and dedicated individual, and this decision in no way changes my feelings for him.
This isn't really about Senator Codey's feelings, but he's entitled to his opinion. With all due respect, I'd be more concerned with the ever growing list of Legislators that have been convicted on state or federal corruption charges. Even if there are no more revelations or charges against anyone, it's going to take a long time to change the perception of corruption created by many of these actions. And that's a big if.
Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Thorofare, would eliminate property tax rebate checks mailed to homeowners and renters each fall. His bill would replace rebate checks with a property tax credit system that would automatically credit property tax bills for the amount the resident is entitled to receive.
New Jersey's property tax rebates have been called a lot of things.
Some call them direct property tax relief, and they're right.
They've provided timely help to many homeowners and have been a financial lifeline to countless seniors and working homeowners.
And they will continue providing help this year to those who need it most during these difficult economic times.
Some call them gimmicks, and they're also right. The antiquated checks arrive each fall and many homeowners, for obvious reasons, don't see a direct connection between the checks and the property taxes they pay.
Property taxpayers pay their property tax bills months before receiving a rebate check.
He points to what he calls a disconnect between people getting the rebate check at their house and the property tax bill still remaining high. Here's a video release on the plan:There have been some privacy concerns surrounding the bill that seem to have been worked out for now:
The bill classifies tax bills as nonpublic documents. This prevents one resident from being able to ascertain another's earnings by looking at the income-based credit listed on their tax bill.
I've long credits were a good idea if you could make them work, the problem was getting it passed. The nearly $10 million we potentially save on processing and mailing the checks alone make it worth considering. Politically, I've thought that legislators wanted the check in the hand of the voters, so they wouldn't get rid of them until they absolutely had to. In fact, Senator Codey even says he favors rebates for everyone except for seniors, because they still like getting that check in their hand. It does look like with the added budget pressure on rebates in general, maybe we've reached the point where people are willing to consider replacing them with credits.
Senate President Richard J. Codey and Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. today agreed to honor Gov. Jon S. Corzine's call for a two-day furlough of employee salaries in the legislative branch to close the mounting gap in the state FY 2009 budget.
Under Corzine's plan, employees would be required to take one furlough day in May and one in June to help close the gap in the current budget.
Codey (D-Essex) and Roberts (D-Camden) said they will furlough the Senate and Assembly majority and minority offices in accordance with Corzine's plan.
They said they will also direct the Office of Legislative Services to do the same, while also directing the clerks of each legislative house to research how Senate and Assembly members can furlough two-days of pay and apply the two-day furlough to their district offices.
Hetty Rosenstein, New Jersey state director for the Communications Workers of America, said the CWA will file an unfair labor practice complaint with the state's Public Employment Relations Commission.
"We think that in fact in our contract we have negotiated an annual wage. We think they need to respect that contract, and the furlough is in fact a violation of that," Rosenstein said. "They're going to try to pretend it's a layoff. Our attorney doesn't think you can gimmick your way out of it."
The governor has repeatedly said all options, including rebates, are on the chopping block as he tries to balance New Jersey's finances, though he has so far declined to discuss rebates specifically. But behind the scenes, discussions on how to trim the rebates are occurring daily, the sources said, because there are very few budget areas left to cut that could save hundreds of millions of dollars.
Everyone is going to feel the pain. Just because no one is going to be happy with the hard choices that have to be made, doesn't mean we don't have to make them. Legislators will have a hard time giving up those rebate checks, but if they don't want them to bounce, they may not have a choice. It's going to be a long budget season. What do you think the state should do?
Two years ago today, New Jersey enacted a civil unions law by a wide margin. Compelled by the New Jersey Supreme Court to deliver full equality to same-sex families, the Legislature copped out and chose to demean thousands of New Jersey families (denying over a third of them equal rights like health benefits, hospital visitation, financial security, and more), because they were politically afraid to support marriage equality. A few legislators bravely spoke out in favor of true equality, realizing you cannot have Equality and Diet Equality, you can only have true equality or a sham.
Were some legislators justified in the political fears that led them to support civil unions over true equality? No.
A new poll, commissioned by Gannett (the news org that operates the APP, the Home News Tribune, the Courier Post, and other papers) shows that New Jersey voters support marriage equality 50%-40%.
Every time, there's been an excuse from legislators too politically afraid to stand up for what's right. But that's all they are: excuses. There are no excuses anymore. Gannett has no axe to grind here, no political agenda. And it is straight-up reporting that the voters of New Jersey respond favorably to marriage equality, based on credible and unbiased polling. If the poll is at all biased (which we doubt, as Monmouth University is a renowned, fair NJ pollster), it likely skews to the right. The numbers remain. A strong majority of New Jerseyans support marriage equality.
So, we're paging Steve Sweeney, Dick Codey, Diane Allen, and other members of the New Jersey State Senate who have appeared lukewarm or quiet on the issue of marriage equality. Senators, you have no more room for excuses. Fundamentally, you either support full equality or you don't; you must either stand up for what's right or cave in to baseless political fear and timidity. New Jerseys same-sex families have suffered because of civil unions; that's not in doubt. You can either recognize that suffering and fix it by enacting marriage equality this year, or you can turn a blind eye.
The truth is, there are no half-assed attempts at equality. It's time for members of the New Jersey Senate to stand up and be counted, and it's time for members of the Blue Jersey community to turn up the heat and call these wavering senators today.
A radio promo for Spike TV's upcoming documentary series on drug enforcement in Newark has been spiked after Senate President Richard J. Codey voiced outrage over the commercial's depiction of the city.
The promotion for the new season of "DEA," scheduled to air next week, characterized Newark as "one of America's most dangerous cities," and asserted that "after 9/11 New York's ports shut down, severing the lucrative drug supply, so dealers moved across the river to Newark."
"As of right now, all the ads have been pulled until the new ads are swapped in," said Debra Fazio-Rutt, spokeswoman for Spike TV. "Yes, we heard from officials in Newark and the DEA, the mayor's office, and we are modifying our ad."
New York Times: In New York City, an Aromatic Mystery Solved
New York Daily News: What's that smell? Mayor Bloomberg reveals source of mystery stench: Food-additive plant in N.J.
New York Post: IT'S NEW JERSEY'S FAULT!
The Record: Smelly mystery solved
And the Wall Street Journal Law blog gave this flattering review:
Ever since the landfill on Staten Island closed, who in New York doesn't look to the Garden State when it comes to bad smells?
Lovely. You'd think that with everything else they blame us for, they wouldn't mind the sweet smell of syrup. Maybe SpikeTV will run ads about the smell when they replace the original ones that insulted Newark.
The NY Times editorial board took on the issue of civil unions yesterday and they didn't mince words:
Civil unions are an inadequate substitute for marriage. Creating a separate, new legal structure to confer some benefits on same-sex couples neither honors American ideals of fairness, nor does it grant true equality. The results are clearly visible in New Jersey, which continues to deny same-sex couples some of the tangible civil benefits that come with marriage.
Shadowed by a national recession and plummeting state revenues, Corzine said issues like enacting gay marriage will be shoved to the sidelines while he tries to stimulate New Jersey's economy and push ethics reform through a reluctant Legislature.
With all due respect, gay people can't marry because the economy sucks and we have ethics problems? They weren't allowed to do it when the economy was good and our ethics problems weren't such public fodder either.
Maybe we should be looking at the potential economic benefits of same sex marriage to help ease some of our budget pain. According to a Williams Institute Study:
Over the next three years, the direct spending from same-sex couples on weddings and tourism will generate approximately $19 million in revenues for state and local governments.
Spending on weddings by couples living in New Jersey, and tourism and weddings by out-of-state couples, will generate over $17.3 million in state and local sales tax revenues and occupancy fee revenues. This estimate is conservative in that it does not include increased revenue from many other taxes that are harder to estimate, such as New Jersey's motor fuels tax, earnings taxes, property taxes, excise tax on alcoholic beverages, or taxes on indirect spending or earnings.
In addition, the weddings of in-state and out-of-state couples will generate approximately $1.6 million in marriage license fees.
Now clearly this wasn't the point the Governor was making above when he talked about priorities. I'm just pointing to the potential economic stimulus. We could use nearly $19 million in additional tax revenues. We also could use the extra $248 million they estimate would come from New Jersey weddings and tourism from same sex couples. Those numbers were also cited in the recently released Civil Union Review Commission final report talking about the fiscal impact of same sex marriages.
Separate from the fiscal impact, the Times also goes after the legislature for not advancing the bill:
We regret that the leaders of the state's Democratic-controlled Legislature do not view this issue with the same urgency. Senate President Richard Codey, for instance, said recently that progress in civil rights areas "is typically achieved in incremental steps." We suspect that political expedience is clouding Mr. Codey's sense of fairness. Next year in New Jersey, the governorship and all seats in the Assembly are up for grabs in an election. Some Republicans already are talking about making their opposition to same-sex marriage a campaign issue.
First, it's a shame yet not surprising that some Republicans are already planning. Any candidate who opposes the issue throw up the same sex marriage "boogeyman" and say if you elect them, you won't have to be afraid because they'll protect you.
Second, I was watching ESPN yesterday and they were talking about integration in the 60's. One of the football players made the point that when a white player got cut, their blood was red, and when a black player got cut, their blood was red too. That really summed up how I feel about this issue. Their blood is red just like everyone else's, so what's the difference?
