Chris Christie won the Governor election with less than 50% of the vote. That means more than half of the voters wanted someone other than him to govern.
He has consistently abused his power. He pulled rank as a US Attorney to get out of a ticket when he went the wrong way down a one way street, and also pulled rank when he got a speeding ticket in an unregistered car to avoid being towed. He failed to disclose his close financial relationship with top assistant Michele Brown, a conflict of interest. He gave huge no bid contracts to his boss (John Ashcroft) and the man who didn't prosecute his brother for securities fraud, while 19 others were prosecuted. He governs with a personal vendetta to the detriment of New Jerseyans.
Those are just off the top of my head. And they aren't "partisan policy disagreements". They are basic character traits of a man with a short temper who is set in his ways, come hell or high water. We already had a nightmare of a similar "leader" that just left the White House. And Christie is a disciple of that regime.
And this current situation with the $400 million in education funding that NJ students now lose out on after he took over the application process - accusations and documented support from Bret Schundler that Christie again is playing fast and loose with the facts all while lashing out at anyone who dares to point out the truth.
Understanding that many in the corporate media are overwhelmed and overworked, it would be nice to see some more reporting on this very disturbing pattern of reckless behavior and how these ethical issues on Christie's part are a danger to the state and its future. Christie has shown that he does not negotiate in good faith - if he even negotiates at all. He is not one to be trusted, and his word has been proven over and over to conflict with his actions and reality.
For July the BLS reported, NJ unemployment was at 9.7%, a slight increase over both last month and the same month last year, and above the national average of 9.5%. Realty Trac reported home sales in NJ declined precipitously by 55%, from 7,206 in June to 3,196 in July. This is bad news for New Jerseyans, but does Governor Christie care?
On Tuesday the governor signed into law the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority. In a press release Assembly Majority Leader Cryan said, "Quite simply, this is all about jobs for New Jerseyans." In the governor's press release the word "jobs" is not mentioned once. Instead it refers to loftier notions of "investment, continuity and economic growth." Does he care that NJ unemployment is higher than the national average? Does he care about jobs for New Jerseyans?
In order to help people buy homes and reduce current unsold inventory, Assemblyman and Budget Committee Chair Louis Greenwald sponsored a bill to establish a New Jersey Homebuyer Tax Credit Program. Christe vetoed it saying "It would undermine our 2011 budget." Does he care that home sales fell 23% in May, 27% in June, and 55% in July? Does he care how this impacts New Jerseyans?
In the Quinnipiac poll released today Governor Christie is presented as "winning the hearts and minds of NJ voters who approve 51% - 36% of the job he is doing." Christie, however, seems remarkably detached from the lives of real people. He couches so much of what he says in terms of costs, finances and the budget, and he seldom talks about the impact of his actions on individuals. His single-minded focus on budget cutting and reducing the size of government satisfies his limited and short-sighted approach to governing. But does it satisfy those who are un-or-underemployed, concerned they might become un-or-underemployed, unable to sell their house or unable to buy a house. How many others are worried about not receiving a rebate, increased public transportation costs, smaller class sizes, or fewer municipal services? Do you get any sense he sympathizes with these people? When will New Jerseyans from the "Real World" strike back at "Christie's World?"
Each week, Blue Jersey Radio streams LIVE with Jersey's latest political buzz, interviews with newsmakers, and your stimulating calls Number: (646) 652-2773.
Tonight's guest Bob Ingle is senior political reporter for Gannett NJ. He also wrote the bestselling book Soprano State which was made into a movie to premiere later this fall!
He'll update us on that plus share his thoughts on hot topics du jour like Sheriff Speziale's dramatic exit or the scandal-plagued DRPA.
It'll be hot hot hot.
So, tune in tonightand every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. to laugh so hard you'll get an ab workout. Seriously.
You won't want to miss an episode - and of course, you never have to. Listen to them all on Blogtalkradio, or download any show on iTunes.
I was recently the victim of a hate crime based on my gender identity and expression, which was eventually downgraded by the Bergen County prosecutor's office. The culprit will be making an appearance in Mahwah municipal court on April 6, 2010 for an appearance, and I intend to be there and possibly give a statement. More info can be found at this facebook event!!!
So, why am I posting it here??? Because prosecutors in NJ serve at the whim of the governor for five year terms, and it is my position that BCP John Molinelli was intimidated by Chris Christie into downgrading the charge.
Show up, and show that hate crimes won't be tolerated, even though we have a red governor.
It seems to me that if most of our schools have eliminated civics classes, the political party that works to educate its members to the structure, process and history can build in an advantage. Yo, Democrats? - - promoted by Rosi
As a person who teaches political science, I understand that I probably have an overblown sense of importance about my field of expertise. After all, if I won the lottery, I'd just keep throwing money into various studies and dream programs of study until I was broke again. But I want to make a case here for the very real need for a basic familiarity with the reality of our political system, its design, and the foundation of it.
"A progressive believes government knows what's best for people. Our government believes in government from top down. Conservatives, our founders, believed in government from people up. It's something we slowly have to go back to. This is not going to happen overnight. We have to awaken to the fact that both parties have done us wrong. Bush took us there on a steam train. Obama's taking us there on a rocket ship."
I emphasized that third sentence because it reveals a whole world of ignorance about everything I want to talk about. First, our country was founded by wild-eyed radicals, not conservatives. Second, they were not a uniform group of thinkers (some delegates even boycotted the Constitutional Convention). Third, while they trusted the common man to run his own affairs, they did not trust the common man to run the government. They were, first and foremost, elitists, confident in their ability to reshape the world to their will.
I had the honor, privilege and good fortune of seeing then-Senator Obama speak in Hoboken, on November 2, 2006, at a campaign event for Senator Menendez. Afterwards I called my father and said "I think I just saw the next President of the United States." Two years later, November, 4, 2008, he and the American voters proved me right; I attended a victory party for President Obama, Senator Lautenberg, for "Change we can believe in," for the American people, and for, I think, the world.
I felt like that watching the State of the Union; less euphoric, more focused and disciplined.
Politico had a story yesterday talking about how the NRSC will be trying to score political points against Democats up for re-election during the healthare debate:
The NRSC already has its eyes on Democrats up in 2012 - and plans to bombard Democrats who sit on the Finance Committee with attacks on their votes on controversial amendments during the Committee deliberations beginning Tuesday. Its top 2012 targets on the Committee: Nelson and Conrad, as well as Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
That news didn't sit well with Senator Menendez:
Menendez accused the Republicans of playing politics, and he's surely one who would know, given that he chairs the NRSC's counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
"...Senate Republicans have absolutely zero interest in reforming health care," Menendez said through the DSCC. "If Republicans think the health care crisis is just a game or political opportunity, they clearly have not learned the lessons of the past two elections."
NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh responds: "When you consider that the DSCC has issued literally dozens of press releases and fundraising appeals attacking Republicans on health care in recent weeks, these remarks are ironic and unfortunate to say the least."
Didn't this whole story start with the fact that the Republicans were going to try to play politics with the process of legislating and governing in committee? But of course to the NRSC it's only the Democrats playing politics. For New Jersey, whether it's on the politics of the DSCC or the policy of the Finance Committee, Senator Menendez finds himself in the middle of everything.
Politico had a story yesterday talking about how the NRSC will be trying to score political points against Democats up for re-election during the healthare debate:
The NRSC already has its eyes on Democrats up in 2012 - and plans to bombard Democrats who sit on the Finance Committee with attacks on their votes on controversial amendments during the Committee deliberations beginning Tuesday. Its top 2012 targets on the Committee: Nelson and Conrad, as well as Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
That news didn't sit well with Senator Menendez:
Menendez accused the Republicans of playing politics, and he's surely one who would know, given that he chairs the NRSC's counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
"...Senate Republicans have absolutely zero interest in reforming health care," Menendez said through the DSCC. "If Republicans think the health care crisis is just a game or political opportunity, they clearly have not learned the lessons of the past two elections."
NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh responds: "When you consider that the DSCC has issued literally dozens of press releases and fundraising appeals attacking Republicans on health care in recent weeks, these remarks are ironic and unfortunate to say the least."
Didn't this whole story start with the fact that the Republicans were going to try to play politics with the process of legislating and governing in committee? But of course to the NRSC it's only the Democrats playing politics. For New Jersey, whether it's on the politics of the DSCC or the policy of the Finance Committee, Senator Menendez finds himself in the middle of everything.
Hot off the wire, and hot on the heels of the mass arrest of several New Jersey politicians (as well as several rabbis) on corruption charges, comes the news (now confirmed) that Governor Jon Corzine has selected State Senator Loretta Weinberg as his running mate for the 2009 gubernatorial race.
If anything good came out of the scandal that has rocked the Hudson County Democratic Party (although that was not the only area of New Jersey where politicians were arrested, it was the epicenter of events), it's that Governor Corzine turned to Senator Weinberg today after previously considering several other possibilities (including State Senator Barbara Buono and "The Apprentice" winner/philanthropist Randall Pinkett).
Loretta Weinberg is the epitome of a progressive reformer. She's also one tough grandmother who's not going to let Chris Christie run away with this election.
Is this all New Jersey cares about? I know times are beyond tite, but it is all you here about as an issue in campaigns the budget this or that. What about other issues? Do children in NJ mean nothing? I don't know now more than ever I feel as though trying for reform is a lost cause. Because now do people not only believe DYFS is a broken monster we could never fix, but now it would cost too much to even look at. The other day Nj 101.5 was interviewing Senators and congress men asking for our questions. The problem was the only ones they would allow were those on the budget. When I raised the question of DYFS reform the screener said well, it would cost too much anyway. So we just go on letting kids lives get flushed away because we are too concerned about money?
The conventional wisdom is that the recently announced federal probe into the dealings of former Corzine friend, Carla Katz, with the local CWA which she had led, will score United States Attorney Chris Christie political points with Republicans, Independents, and some anti-Corzine Democrats. Governor Corzine has been battling to keep emails between Katz and himself from becoming public and Katz is already under investigation by the national CWA for alleged improper conduct. Christie's federal investigation promises more negative Katz headlines, more unfavorable publicity for the Governor, and positive publicity for Mr. Christie. However, Mr. Christie's possible gubernatorial ambitions may actually be undermined by this probe.
I am writing this comment to correct some late-breaking misinformation about Barack Obama's women's rights record.
Obama is 100% pro-choice. As the former President of NARAL, Karen Mulhauser has recently written, he "always has been and always will be. That's why he made sure that FDA-approved contraceptives were covered by insurance plans for women in Illinois as a State Senator. That's why Obama spoke out against South Dakota's attempt to outlaw all abortions. And that's why Obama has worked so hard to make sure that low-income and college women can access affordable birth [control]. (You can find Mulhauser's complete statement on Huffington Post, and you can find detailed information about Obama's record at "barackobama.com.")
Nevertheless, emails and rumors now circulate in New Jersey which argue, falsely, that Obama is "weak" on choice and other women's rights issues. One of the emails, sent by New York NOW, was posted on February 1 on Blue Jersey by Xpatriated Texan as a comment under "Me or Your Lying Eyes". XT refuted the email with a long list of facts about Obama's consistent support for choice, but facts do not seem to matter to folks who want to distort Obama's record.
In Iowa and again in New Hampshire, untruths were told about Obama's strong pro-choice record. One Hillary Clinton supporter (Lorna Brett Howard) actually switched to Barack because she was familiar with work for women's rights in Illinois and was shocked that so many falsehoods were being circulated about his record. See youtube.com/watch?v=OVuMYKs8iJs (showing statement by Lorna B. Howard).
Some readers may be asking: So, if Obama is so strong on choice, how could he have been attacked on this issue? The answer is simple. Obama did something that is complicated to explain, and anything that is complicated to explain is vulnerable to attack in the context of sound bite politics.
When Obama served as a state Senator, he voted "present", instead of "no" on a few anti-abortion bills. He did this at the request of Planned Parenthood which had developed a strategy of opposing such bills with "present" votes, rather than "no" votes, so that moderate senators in rural areas would be less vulnerable to attack for their votes at election time. "Present" votes could prevent the the passage of a law that required a certain percentage of affirmative "yes" votes. On politically volatile issues, however, these votes were harder to use than "no" votes as attack points at election time.
Obama, by the way, did not need to worry about voting "no" on anti-choice legislation: He was not representing a district in Chicago that made him vulnerable on this issue. In short, his "present" votes did not reflect political timidity or raw self-protection. Rather, Planned Parenthood wanted him to vote "present" to provide political cover and make it easier for more moderate, downstate, rural Senators to vote the same way. It is not much of an exaggeration to say that Obama's "present" votes were a form of political altruism. . .
The following is an excerpt from the Auditor from star Ledger:
"Meeting across the Pond When he's not out locking up crooked pols or (not so quietly) running for governor, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie is often found on his way to or from a Bruce Springsteen concert. And even though The Boss was thou sands of miles and an ocean away last week, that didn't deter the federal lawman. The Auditor caught up with Christie in London a couple days ago, after the U.S. attorney and his family took in not one but two shows on the European leg of Springsteen's tour. Christie, his wife, Mary Pat, and their four children caught The Boss first in Paris and then in London, between taking in sights such as the Louvre. "Bruce, in Paris, was amazing," said Christie, who's seen Springsteen in concert nearly 100 times. "The audience was pretty wild." Springsteen said he scored the tickets courtesy of Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg, whose late father was an assistant U.S. attorney before Christie took over the office in 2002. Weinberg and Christie have become friends in recent years and, in light of the tour schedule, Christie said he was able to "plan the vacation in concert with the concerts." Understanding how much trouble could be caused by junkets and those who pay for them, Christie had a message for The Auditor: "Your readers should not be concerned about who paid for the concerts or my vacation."
So how was this missed, who did pay for your trips Mr. Christie?
As Governor Corzine's tenure continues, it is becoming more and more apparent that he is realizing his vision of a fiscally responsible and ethical government will not come to fruition during either his current term or a second term, should he seek one. He took office thinking that his vast bank account would enable him to be independent and allow him to lead without owing anyone anything. It appears that he has come to realize that despite his bank account, the recalcitrant politicians in Trenton are reluctant to advance any reform that will cut them off from the public trough. Therefore, Governor Corzine's reform agenda depends on Assemblymen and State Senators. As a result, his thoughtful ideas stand little chance of passage. For the greater good, Governor Corzine could bring about the kind of change he alleges he would like to see happen. However, he would have to forgo a second term, be willing to make lifelong enemies, and conceivably use some of his own assets. In short, the Governor would have to exhibit what many consider to be selfless genuine leadership. To that end, the following are some suggestions:
In the wake of several high-profile corruption stings in the State of New Jersey, it is an opportune time to seriously improve the condition of Garden State politics. The following roadmap for reform is meant to provide some thoughtful ideas to help generate a public and constructive dialogue about these important issues in order to enable both our elected leaders and our citizens to begin to develop a consensus for reforming New Jersey politics.
Have you heard the latest installment of Blue Jersey BlogTalkRadio?
Of course we air live every Saturday morning, but each episode is available for download. I must confess the response to our radio show have been uneven thus far.
For example:
You guys are morons. If you feel you must continue this little radio show thing you really should practice a lot more. Assholes!
Or
I laughed so hard it was like a 30 minute ab workout. You guys are HI-larious!
So take a listen and judge for yourself.
These podcasts and more are just waiting to be downloaded to your iPod. What? You didn't know you could do that? Well - you can! Just subscribe here:
Politics has always had its share of negativity and personal invective.In the election of 1884, Republicans backing James Blaine for President circulated the phrase "Ma, ma, where's my pa?” referring to an affair Grover Cleveland, the Democratic nominee, had engaged in prior to entering politics.Unfortunately, such a tactic is tame by today’s standards.In Hudson County, Democrat Sal Vega, who is running for State Senate against Brian Stack, accuses Stack and his allies of harassing and “paying off” the opposition and “abusing” City employees.Also in Hudson County, Assemblyman Manzo and Sandra Bolden Cunningham have unleashed assaults against each other for the right to claim the contested Senate seat there.On the Republican side of the aisle, Larry Casha and Jay Webber are engaging in a fiercely negative campaign for the District 26 Senate seat, with Webber recently stating that Casha “is proud of his tax and spend record.”
Fifty years ago, women would typically vote for the candidates their husbands voted for or would not vote at all. Times have thankfully changed and women now have a significant role in campaigns and elections. Whether it be the soccer moms of the 1990's or the security moms post-9/11, the role of women in politics has taken on greater importance, especially in the last decade. As a significant voting block, women have become critical to the election hopes of any politician. However, the number of women serving in elected office continues to be dwarfed by the number of men who serve. In New Jersey, on the Republican side of the aisle, something is being done to address this problem: the Christine Todd Whitman Excellence in Public Service Series. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party currently has no comparable program.
It's in a quicktime format and runs around 15 minutes. If it loads slow for you and stops/sputters; just pause it and leave that window alone for a spell. Then come back after it's loaded and it should play smoothly.
I'm trying to load a second, longer excerpt. If you appreciate this one; the second will be better.
Unfortunately my battery crapped out so the end of the event was not recorded by me. However, I dare say, there'll be more than enough to get the flavor of what our Constitution is up against.
Molly Ivins was a rarity among political columnists -- a real humanist who saw through the purely partisan manner in which most of the political world worked, a writer of uncommon clarity and a razor-sharp wit.
