Lautenberg: The Ghouls are out already

The last Iris of my spring garden:  In
Memory of Senator Frank Lautenberg,
1924-2013 

Life contains surprises for all of us.  The most prominent is . . . well, death!  But not many want to be reminded of that troublesome truth.  Particularly if it relates to one’s own mortality.  There are few exceptions.

And so it was with great dismay, and with no small sense of irritation and outrage that I thought Tom Moran’s column  about Senator Frank Lautenberg in today’s The Star Ledger to be way off-base. 

TO SUMMARIZE:  Mr. Moran speculated that Lautenberg should have resigned to open up his seat “70 days before today’s primary, then Christie would have been forced to set the special election date this year, the OLS says.”  Moran prefaced that statement with, “You can call that tough.” 

THE REST OF THE STORY:  I don’t think so:  I consider Moran’s column and the timing of his near-death viewpoint ghoulish.
 

There are matters in this life that are far more important than politics – in this case, the inanely premature conjecture of what might happen within New Jersey politics, as well as to the balance of power on Capitol Hill in Washington after Lautenberg’s death.

Who knows what was in the mind of Senator Lautenberg in the first five months of 2013?  Or on his deathbed?  Perhaps the man thought that he would make it.  Perhaps he did not want to confront his own mortality.  Can anyone blame him for that?

Should Mr. Moran question the man’s thinking mere hours after his death for solely political purposes? 

It is, at least to this writer, crass, that a noted editor of New Jersey’s largest newspaper should write such an untimely and inappropriate column.

For goodness sakes, at least let the man be lowered into his final resting place before the ink of such an exceedingly partisan column is permitted to dry on newsprint.

Perhaps Senator Frank Lautenberg didn’t get the timing right with respect to his last term in office.  But there is one decision in which he did not have any choice, and, in his last days, I doubt sincerely that his thoughts were on the electoral succession process.

If, as I do, some of you hold a belief in a form of intelligent and perceptive afterlife, it is doubtful that Frank Lautenberg will be looking down on this political situation with anything but a smile and no regrets whatsoever.

Tom Moran worried about “Republicans get(ting) a toehold in the U.S. Senate.”  He concluded his column with “If that becomes one of Frank Lautenberg’s legacies, then it is merciful he is not here to witness it.”

I don’t think that Lautenberg’s soul needs mercy from any editor or politician, whether Democrat or Republican.  Given Lautenberg’s lifetime record, I think he is quite at peace in the arms of the Almighty.  Not to worry about his legacy.

NOTE:  Governor Chris Christie has already made his decision.  It may be seen at NBCNEWS.com.