Crook for Congress? Only in Jersey!

We've seen a lot in New Jersey. We've seen unapologetic political corruption. So should it be any great surprise to see a crook running for Congress? But what if it's a good guy, who is just stuck with a lousy name?

Yes, this really happened. There's a man running in the 11th congressional district named Robert Crook. You can't make this stuff up. The sign is perfectly real. But Robert says he's no crook.

In fact his campaign theme is "Honesty, Integrity, Compassion." And on information he submitted to Ballotpedia he lists his political philosophy as, "Not Left, Not Right, Forward. No Labels. Stop Fighting, Start Fixing."

If he means that, that is something desperately needed right now in America. So maybe it's time we had a Crook in Congress!

Should he do something about this name though? It's been done before. Remember Gary Hart who ran for president until he was caught with a woman other than his wife on a boat called Monkey Business? His birth name was Gary Hartpence and he shortened it for political reasons. Bill Clinton was born Bill Blythe. He didn't change that for political reasons though. It was as a gesture at 15 years old towards his stepfather Roger Clinton.

Then there were politicians who had awkward names but just rolled with it. Like a mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana named Harry Baals. We all remember Rep. Dick Armey, right? Who would mess with that army? There was a U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo of Idaho. Then there is a Dutch politican named Tiny Kox.

So good luck to Robert Crook in his bid for Congress. But if it doesn't work out, maybe he should consider a name change.

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