Well, it looks like the end is near, ladies and gentlemen. Gov. Murphy announced on Sunday that there would be a big announcement Monday. Tragically for Murphy, Andrew Cuomo of New York had to steal Murphy‘s star power by making the announcement himself at his own press conference earlier on Monday.

What was it? Indoor dining limits lifted, bar-side seating restrictions lifted, blah blah blah, too little, too late. See the full rundown here.

But I think some attention needs to be paid to the Republicans who banged their heads against the wall all year to try to stop Murphy from destroying the state. They’re the heroes.

The Republicans in the New Jersey Statehouse have been begging Phil Murphy to stop with his antics, his endless executive emergency orders and all of his ridiculous COVID-19 restrictions for the better part of the year. These stories are rarely reported.

Suffice it to say, most Republicans feel, as I do, that Murphy's power grab has gone way too far. Just this morning at 10 a.m., the Republican state committee issued a statement demanding that governor Murphy lift all of his “self imposed business restrictions," according to InsiderNJ.

In fact, my hero of the day, NJGOP Executive Director Tom Szymanski, said this: “Our message to Governor Murphy is a simple one: Re-open our state to 100% capacity and lift all your unilateral economic restrictions today, or don’t bother showing up to your self-promoting press conference.”

Amen.

Apparently, they are just as sick of his press conferences/dog and pony shows as we are. But their demand had nothing to do with the fact that the governor announced an announcement. They have been railing against Murphy‘s bad decisions all year. They know that the governor models all of his decisions after what New York and Connecticut do. And because, like Cuomo, he still feels so guilty about his heinous decision to put elderly people back in nursing homes, killing thousands of them, we knew that he would be the last guy to fold when it came to keeping our economy shut down.

Now Gov. Cuomo beat him to the punch, making the eagerly anticipated announcement before him, telling his constituents in New York that New Jersey would lift indoor dining and bar restrictions and increase capacity for many venues.

I’m thrilled that Gov. Cuomo got to steal his limelight. But it doesn’t matter. The press conference went on per usual, with Gov. Murphy‘s preening, smug self-promotion continuing. And we’ll have to endure it all the way through till Election Day. So don’t let me catch you cheering him.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi Franco’s own.

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