Posted on 06/25/2010 9:18:58 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Something's happening in the state of New Jersey.
Over the weekend, I traveled from my home in Brooklyn to the ancestral Romano estate on the Jersey shore to celebrate Father's Day with my family. I've been making the trip on NJ Transit's 137 bus for years, but this time I was in for a surprise: the ride now cost about $20, one way—a 50 percent increase from only a few months before. Ouch.
When I got to my parents' house—and recovered from the customary offering of heart-clogging snacks that always accompanies my arrival—I noticed a stack of official-looking papers on the kitchen table. Turns out they were documents from the state demanding that one of my now-retired parents, both of whom spent their careers working in New Jersey's public schools, give up his or her health insurance and sign onto the other's plan as a dependent.
Perhaps the weirdest part, though, was the buzz that night at the bar. My New Jersey friends aren't political animals. They don't work in Trenton or obsessively watch FOX News. But on Saturday, over beers, they couldn't stop talking about the sort of stuff that usually puts non-wonks to sleep: teacher pay freezes, property-tax caps, local school budgets, the "millionaire" tax, and so on.
As I said, weird.
The person to blame for these changes—or to credit, depending where you stand—is the Garden State's freshman governor, Chris Christie. Since taking office January, the hulking former prosecutor has embarked on an aggressive crusade to slash spending/repair the state's wildly out-of-whack finances. (Next year's projected deficit of $10.7 billion is the worst in the country.) The onslaught has made Christie a lot of enemies among liberals in New Jersey, who have taken to calling him "Governor Bully" and slamming him for declaring "war" on schoolteachers.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
"It's also made him very, very popular with fellow travelers outside the state--including some guy named Rush Limbaugh."
"In fact, Christie Fever is now so widespread on the right—bloggers and activists regularly salivate over YouTube videos of the tough-talking governor "lighting into Democrats, teachers' unions, and journalists critical of his style"—that Dave Weigel, a blogger for The Washington Post who covers the conservative movement, is now declaring that Christie is "a clear frontrunner for the GOP's 2012 vice-presidential nomination."
Newsweek: Has Chris Cristie stopped beating his wife yet?
Of course NewsWeak ignores what Christie had to start with....
Christie treats the selfish spoiled brats in unions and government like a disciplinarian CEO should. If they don’t like it let them try their hand at the private sector.
As a result, the Garden State has suddenly become a fascinating test case for GOP governance: can a conservative response ameliorate this fiscal crisis, at least on the state level? Can Republican leadership—as opposed to the Republican oppositionism we see in Washington—actually solve problems? If the notoriously misgoverned (and largely ungovernable) New Jersey considers itself better off in a few years’ time—if businesses are moving back to the state, if unemployment is down, if the budget deficits are under control, if the balance between taxes and services is more reasonable—Chris Christie will deserve most of the credit. If not—and there’s reason to think that might be the case—conservative policymaking will suffer a blow. Rarely are the battle lines so clearly drawn.
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Dems are counting on the national screw up of a President and Congress we have right now to tank the Jersey economy regardless of what is done at the state level.
Do the right thing regardless Christie!
What’s a “Newsweek?”
“Newsweek Asks: Is Chris Christie the Best Governor in America—or the Worst?”
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Eyeguy Asks: Is LeftWeak the Worst Communist Propaganda Organ in America-or the Second Worst?
Only Republican politicians may have their physical characteristics noted in the press.
Spewsweak used to be a legit news magazine; now it’s a near-clone of “Mother Jones.” For them to insinuate Christie is doing a poor job because of his badgering teachers’ unions shows they have now grasp of reality. Some people have been long overdue for a head-bashing and it’s rather satisfying to see them get it.
Why can’t Newsweak just declare bankruptcy already and be done with it?
Is the WaPoo still trying to peddle the money losing NewSqueek for just about anything they can get - or have they finally bitten the bullet and decided to shut the rag down?
From what Ive seen in the national media, there are only 2 governors making strong pushes on major issues. They are Christie and Brewer. So naturally, they will be the two best and the two worst.
I do love the fact that both governors are addressing the top issue of each state, not threatening to cut police if they dont get more taxes.
“Is the WaPoo still trying to peddle the money losing NewSqueek for just about anything they can get - or have they finally bitten the bullet and decided to shut the rag down?”
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I don’t know, but SOMEBODY was paying to send the RedRag to my office, gratis, for over a year.
Said delivery, followed immediately by a ritual burning in my parking lot....
Let compare:
Chris Christie - One of the best.
Mac Daddy - Without a doubt the worst.
Who would you trust the most with your money?
I just started getting Newsweek for free a few weeks ago. What a joke!!!
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