Why did Murphy have such a reserved reaction to NJ beach disturbance? (Opinion)

It took a couple of days and pleas from residents and elected officials alike to make sure what happened Saturday night in Long Branch doesn't happen again.

The governor was suspiciously silent for a couple of days after the "pop-up party" that was advertised on Facebook that overwhelmed the Monmouth County town over the weekend. It was estimated that up to 5,000 revelers showed up and overwhelmed the area near Pier Village.

Murphy was careful to excuse the behavior Saturday night due to the COVID shutdowns.

He said, "You're coming out of a pandemic where people are desperate to get back out and scream from the highest mountains and get back in with other people. I get that and we have to figure out responsible ways for that to happen.”

He's in a real pickle here.

He's afraid to come down too hard on the group so as not to turn off or offend the minority community that he constantly and obviously panders to out of his immense wealthy white progressive guilt. There were 15 arrests, and law enforcement from surrounding jurisdictions had to be called in for backup.

Prosecutors said Sunday morning that Department of Corrections officers deployed disorientation devices, specifically a single flash-bang as well as smoke "in limited situations in response to fights taking place and bottles and rocks being thrown where the crowd would not disperse."

There is a "Part 2" planned for Long Branch on June 19 according to posts on social media, encouraging partiers to bring their own weed and alcohol, and a $1,000 prize for a twerking contest.

Murphy likes to come down hard on people he doesn't pander to, like conservatives or Second Amendment supporters, who he told to "shove their thoughts and prayers" last week after the shooting in Buffalo.

If this were a crowd of Trump supporters or even people protesting his devastating lockdowns of 2020, he would be singing a different tune.

It wouldn't take Murphy two days to come up with some kind of gentle approach speech to make sure this doesn't happen again. If it was a group he opposes politically the rhetoric would have been swift and vicious.

He is a very calculating, fiercely partisan, multi-millionaire politician. He sees everything through a political lens rather than a constitutional or even public safety point of view.

It could be a couple of tough weeks and summer ahead for the "Givenor." He can't wait to get New Jersey in his political rearview mirror and move on to national politics. Neither can we!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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