New Murphy theme song: ‘I’m A Loser’ by the Beatles

Yup, it's over. At least for Governor Murphy.

For a brief moment, I truly thought we had a shot at creating some balance in Trenton where the Governor, who was right to go after the insider elites taking millions in tax breaks, would stand strong against the bosses. Turns out, Phil Murphy is not willing or not capable of standing up for anyone. Let alone the taxpayers of this state.

His power eroded as quickly as he gained it with his victory in 2017. Now he's left with a Senate President who will dictate the terms of spending in Trenton and continue to line the pockets of special interest millionaires while the rest of New Jersey plans to exit. It's a shame really. But don't give up.

As Yogi Berra famously said, "It ain't over till it's over!". As voters you have stepped up before and taken control locally most recently shooting down $600 million in new borrowing and spending. You're gonna get another chance in November when all 80 members of the state assembly are up for election.

Electing a new majority will be the only way to regain balance of government in Trenton. I'm hard on the Republicans who have devolved into a weak, directionless party of Christie-apologists over the past decade. That said, Jon Bramnick, the Assembly minority leader, rallied his 24 members and they stood unified in opposition to the Sweeney spending plan and the Murphy tax hikes. That's enough for me to say we have to make progress somewhere.

So let's give Bramnick a chance. Let's send a few more Republican votes to the lower chamber and fight back. I don't have to tell you that if that resistant inferiority gets smaller and Sweeney's power remains steady, we're not gonna be able to turn this thing around.

That said, one thing is for sure, Governor Phil Murphy is a lame duck and totally irrelevant to the future. The term we chose as we dedicated a song for him? Loser.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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