In his infinite wisdom and glory, God granted New Jersey two great gifts: We don't have to pump our own gas, and we have the Shore.

Gov. Jon Corzine messed with the first a decade ago, when he suggested that gas stations should be free to force us out of our cars in the snow, rain and sleet. The roar of protest left him so beaten he felt the need to apologize in his next State of the State address.

"Jersey girls don't pump gas," he said.

Now Senate President Steve Sweeney is messing with the second, proposing a new tax on Shore rentals.

Mark this: If Sweeney's proposal carries the day, I hereby promise to light what's left of my hair on fire. It's just not going to happen.

Our shoreline is more crowded than most, sure. But it's beyond beautiful, and it's a treasure because it's affordable enough so that working families can get their own week in heaven every summer. Why would Sweeney mess with that?

"I don't get it, frankly," said Gov. Phil Murphy.

Sweeney is searching for new sources of tax revenue because he's rejected the main tax hikes proposed by Murphy.

He doesn't want to raise the millionaires' tax because he's concerned it will drive away the wealthy, given that the Trump tax plan capped the deductibility of state and local taxes. Agree or not, that has some logic to it. The federal changes make state and local taxes more painful, and that makes low-tax states like Florida more attractive by comparison.

But Sweeney also opposes Murphy plan to restore the sales tax to 7 percent. And he's offered no rational reason for that.

The sales tax was reduced in 2016 by a tiny amount, less than half a penny. It was part of deal to win Gov. Chris Christie's support for a hike in the gas tax.

No one noticed when it was reduced. Even some small businesses said it was more of a hassle to calculate than it was worth.

But that half penny is now blocking a budget deal.

It would raise more than twice the money Sweeney expects from the tax on Shore rentals. And it would bridge almost the entire gap between the two sides, putting a settlement within easy reach.

That's right. Less than half a penny. And remember that groceries, clothing and shelter are exempt from the sales tax, so the poor don't get hit too hard.

And yet Sweeney, D-Gloucester, along with Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, are both refusing to budge.

Sweeney's detractors say this is his personal vendetta against Murphy, a claim I rejected at first as a silly conspiracy theory. Now, I'm not so sure.

It's tough to imagine that Sweeney really believes the stuff he's been saying lately. He says New Jersey has "a spending problem, not a revenue problem" and then presents a budget that spends almost precisely as much as Murphy's.

He's proposed a steep hike in the corporate business tax, one that would make New Jersey's the highest in the nation, saying he prefers to tax companies rather than individuals. But then he proposed this tax on Shore rentals that would smack middle-class families right between the eyes.

"He wants to be co-governor," says one Democratic senator who asked not to be named. "Those that I've spoken with would vote for a millionaires' tax in the Senate. And on the sales tax, those I've spoken with don't care about it."

It's an odd moment. I'm normally a card-carrying fan of Sweeney's, and we should remember that our fiscal crisis would be twice as bad if it weren't for his decade-long effort to contain pension and health costs of public workers.

And if he's furious with Murphy, he has good reason. The governor has blown this relationship badly, refusing to criticize the teachers' union when it spent $5 million in a failed effort to defeat him last year, and then failing to arrange a one-on-one meeting with Sweeney until six months after the election. That's political malpractice.

But Sweeney is answering with some malpractice of his own during this budget fight. He made this proposal on taxing Shore rentals without consulting his fellow Democrats in a caucus meeting. Several told me they were surprised by it, and a day after it was proposed, some were saying it is doomed.

Let's hope so. The deadline is looming, and Murphy has made credible offers to meet the Legislature halfway. So far, he's been met with the hand.

If this shutdown happens, it will be the Legislature's fault, not Murphy's. But it will leave Murphy wounded. And I'm starting to think that's the whole point.

More: Tom Moran columns

Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.