This week, the Associated Press took a stab at a bit of humor when discussing the current state of play in New Jersey politics. They referenced the 1991 Bill Murray movie “What About Bob” when bringing up Senator Bob Menendez (D New Jersey) and his current legal problems. While perhaps not the cleverest joke to be made, it’s certainly a valid question for Democrats in the Garden State. Menendez and his wife have been hit with multiple charges ranging from acting as a secret agent on behalf of the Egyptian government to accepting cash and gold bars in exchange for peddling influence on behalf of a friend. Thus far he has stubbornly refused to resign, risking what should have been a fairly safe Senate seat for the Democrats. And the bad headlines could continue to stack up right through the next election.
The “What about Bob?” question is no less relevant now, though it has taken on new meaning. It still bears no connection to the movie, though it has cinematic qualities of its own. Menendez is facing federal charges that he secretly aided Egypt’s authoritarian government and tried to thwart a friend’s criminal prosecution in exchange for gold bars and cash. He and his wife, who was also charged, and other co-defendants in the alleged scheme have all pleaded not guilty.
So if New Jersey Democrats ask the question these days, they’re more likely to be wondering when he’ll get out of the way and let them get on with the business of trying to keep a crucial U.S. Senate seat in Democratic hands.
New Jersey Democrats up to and including the Governor have already called on Menendez to resign, but he continues to insist that he’s “not going anywhere.” The Governor might have a bit of an ulterior motive in this because his wife has already announced a primary challenge to Menendez. Several others have as well, including one member of Congress. There’s blood in the water and the sharks are circling.
The “Bob problem” is a thorny one for New Jersey Democrats and the voters in general. No matter how bad his legal situation looks (and it looks quite bad indeed), there’s really nothing they can do about it. Senators are not subject to a recall vote, so short of resigning or dying, the only way to get rid of him would be for the Senate to expel him. But that would require a two-thirds vote to accomplish and while the Democrats are barely holding on to the majority by a thread, we shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for that to happen.
The optics of this stink to high heaven, however. Keep in mind that this is Menendez’s second federal corruption indictment. He got away last time by the skin of his teeth thanks to a hung jury, but he might not be so lucky this time. Unfortunately for those hoping to see Bob “move on,” the wheels of justice turn slowly, particularly for high-profile suspects with cagey legal teams. The process could drag on all through next year and keep his story in the news right up through election day.
The county Democratic parties in New Jersey can remove him from the ballot and run another slate of candidates, and that seems to be the direction they are taking. Sadly, the Democrats have such a massive registration advantage in the state that it’s virtually impossible for a Republican to defeat him in November, so it’s probably just a question of which Democrat will replace him.
In the meantime, “Bob” is causing a serious political problem for his party. It’s hard for them to complain about the GOP being the party of corruption with Menendez hanging around. They can’t even draw comparisons to George Santos because the Republicans finally stepped up and ejected him themselves. Bob Menendez is an albatross around the necks of the Democrats in an institution that the country has largely lost respect and trust in. If there were more of a question as to his guilt, he might once again be gifted with the benefit of the doubt. But the cartoonish stacks of literal gold bars and massive wads of cash that investigators turned up at his house don’t leave much room for questions. Menendez has hung himself from his own petard. Now the only question is whether he will take his party’s electoral chances down with him.
