It's called 'change'

NY Post ^ | May 09, 2010 | Editorial

[Scanian]

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is showing no signs of let-up in his drive to fix his broken state. His latest move: announcing last week that he won’t reappoint Justice John Wallace to the state’s Supreme Court.

Tapping former Deputy Attorney General Anne Patterson for the spot instead, Christie sent the state’s political class into a tailspin.

Good for Christie: Clearly he means to shatter Trenton’s entrenched, destructive status quo, no matter how hard the fight; this is his chance to reel in Jersey’s notoriously left-wing-activist court.

Immediately, of course, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a close ally of Wallace, vowed not to even hold a confirmation hearing for Patterson, the state Constitution be damned. (And Sweeney claims it’s Christie who’s politicizing the process.)

[Frenchtown Dan]

Yes, and he’s not afraid of the NJEA (New Jersey Extortion Assocation either).

[canuck_conservative]

New Yorkers must be watching in awe what’s happening across the river.

Any of this rubbing off on New York?

[BobL]

“Yes, and he’s not afraid of the NJEA (New Jersey Extortion Association either).”

...and that is so rare. But it is also a lesson for Republicans out there. Don’t try to tip-toe around the monster in the living room - take out your guns and FIGHT IT, head on. They’re not used to it, they don’t really know how to fight back.

[AliVeritas]

[DemforBush]

Christie has been impressing the heck out of me.

I admit that I wasn’t expecting a lot from the guy when he was elected. I was focused on McDonnell winning in Virgnia, and kinda figured a win in the NJ race would be a case of “well, at least he’s not Corzine” - i.e. an establishment Republican that was at least better than a corrupt jerkwad.

I’m sure there are still a number of issues I would disagree with him on, but there’s no denying the guy’s “got sand”, as the old saying goes. The way he has stood up to the unions and the state legislature has been nothing less than inspiring.

[jwparkerjr]

The steps he is taking are critical to what needs to be done if NJ is to avoid permanent financial crisis. They are the very kind of medicine that so many Democratic run governments, at every level, need to be forced to take. He's finding out it's not easy, but at least, so far, the public is adapting a “wait and see” attitude and he's been relatively free to play doctor.

So much depends on the leader trying to restore fiscal responsibility to a governmental entity being able to effectively communicate to the citizens why it's mandatory and how taking on real pain now will pay off later. Unions and civil servants in these states have so often been able to arrange an infrastructure of courts and others as enablers.

God bless him. He's going to need some true grit as he moves along in this process. It's pretty plain to see now why Obama made keeping him out of office a priority. Hopefully if he can fly in the face of the entrenched powers that be in his state others will be encouraged to follow suit. We'll see!

[ripley]

A big thank you to all you brilliant independents out there who think you are as brilliant as this young man thinks he is.

Thank you for all this smug, adolescent revolutionary thought that makes heroes out of murderers and adolescent psychotics.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

/S/

IMHO

[Freds2nd]

I won’t happen in New York. When Christie was Fed Prosecutor, he bagged 138 NJ pols with no losses. He put 20% of the state senate in jail. The remaining crooks are all wary of the endless hours of wire taps and plea bargain statements that Christie can use against his rivals. The Dems will scream then fold when the pressure is on.

[ripley]

A very interesting speech by that young revolutionary at the beginning of this thread.

A big thank you to all you brilliant independents out there who think you are as brilliant as this young man thinks he is.

Thank you for all this smug, adolescent revolutionary thought that makes heroes out of murderers and adolescent psychotics. (He mentioned those great heroes Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (

/S/

IMHO

[Shery]

Woo Hoo! He’s looking more presidential everyday!

[kindred]

Good for him.

[Frenchtown Dan]

And get rid of the Abbott districts!

N.J. pays more per student for education than any other state except New York, and we’re a very close second at that. Our students test scores or only marginally better than the state that pays the least, I think that’s Iowa.

Highest overall taxed state in the Country.

[Free_SJersey]

"Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a close ally of Wallace, vowed not to even hold a confirmation hearing for Patterson, the state Constitution be damned"

This statement pretty much confirms why Sweeney is fighting this. The majority on the State Supreme Court don't give a damn about the state Constitution either.

[Magnatron]

Sweeney is a snake. When you meet him, he’s the epitome of a New Jersey politician.

My wife was involved in a piece of state legislation (a conservative issue that - amazingly - was sponsored by Democrats). It became stalled in a Senate committee, so we met with him to see if we could get it moved forward. The entire time, he was fixated on my wife’s boobs. He didn’t even look at me. Worse, he didn’t even seem to hear our request. A year later, the bill is still stuck in committee.

I had a weird feeling that if I had brought a briefcase full of cash, he would have been more interested. Maybe not, but that’s the feeling I had.