This should be fun: Unvaxxed GOP lawmakers may boycott statehouse (Opinion)

The Democrats control the statehouse and New Jersey. That’s pretty much the way it is. So they make the rules.

That’s why the next assembly session on Dec. 2, this Thursday, could prove to be very interesting. According to an article on InsiderNJ, a new rule says that all legislators must either be vaccinated or show a negative COVID test in order to enter the assembly chamber. The COVID tests are available for all unvaccinated lawmakers at the statehouse, but it is a matter of principle to many GOP lawmakers who think the rule is discriminatory.

Assembly Republicans will challenge this rule by refusing to enter if even one Republican is blocked from entering. They are, apparently, all in this together. According to the article, Brian Bergen, a Republican Assemblyman from Denville, feels that if unvaccinated people should be required to take a COVID-19 test in order to enter the chamber, then so should vaccinated people, since they can catch and spread the virus, too.

He makes a good point.

The article also points out that it doesn’t really matter whether the Republicans get into the actual meeting or not, since whatever the Democrats want, the Democrats get. It also says that, unsurprisingly, Governor Murphy is all about this new rule, citing the “health and safety“ of others and noting that, “It is 20 seconds of time … 20 seconds, 10 seconds in each nostril,” as if the time it takes has anything to do with the principle of the matter. That’s so Murphy.

Since State Troopers, according to the rule, can technically can block someone from entering, this should make for an interesting showdown if one of those legislators actually does get blocked from entering on Thursday.

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.