The Gov. Phil Murphy who struck an agreement to revamp — and expand — the state's politically tainted corporate tax incentive program is not the same Murphy who waged war on the program a year ago.
Back then, those entrenched in the grassroots ranks of the New Jersey Democratic Party heralded Murphy as the new, progressive Moses who would lead their flock to the promised land of reform — a land where taxpayer dollars are doled out by merit, not simply to those with political clout.
But by agreeing to a complicated, 219-page agreement that was approved Monday by both houses of the Legislature after less than a week of deliberation, Murphy instead led Democrats back to the old, familiar confines of the Trenton backroom.