Tag: Chris Christie

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Domestic Policies Education News Politics Wisconsin Union Bashing

Pensions in the Age of GOP Math

Things are getting a bit complicated in New Jersey for Governor Christie, and that’s having a major effect on when (and it will be when) he announces his bid for the presidency. Yes, he is waiting for the economy to improve and the George Washington Bridge scandal to go away, but now he’s added what could be a signature accomplishment for him to run on: another public employee pension reform bill. This time, however, he won’t have as many Democrats to help him.

Christie has been traveling the state telling some marvelous half-truths and outright lies about the history of governmental pension neglect since the 1990s. He’s even saying that the legislature is blocking pension funding when it’s actually the good governor who took out the full funding from the 2015 budget with a line-item veto. When the legislature then passed a bill to have the state pay quarterly payments, he vetoed it and the Republicans who supported it the first time around would not vote to override. At a legislative dinner in March, State Senator Joe Pennacchio (District 26) was asked why that happened. His answer: “Christie is going to run for president. We didn’t want to embarrass him.”

So much for fiscal responsibility.

Now comes word that State Senate President Stephen Sweeney is saying the the legislature will include a full pension payment in the 2016 budget, which starts on July 1. That battle will define the struggle for the next two months, but Christie will veto anything that even smells of a tax increase or else he’s going to be burnt toast in Iowa and South Carolina. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand of public employees will have to sweat it out and worry that the pensions they were promised will not be paid in full, although they have made their payments reliably their whole careers.

But even if Christie doesn’t win the nomination, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is now attracting gobs of Koch Brother money for his campaign, would be an even worse choice. He’s been able to do what Christie has not when it comes to public employees, and that is to strip them of their collective bargaining rights. Imagine the nightmare scenario of a President Walker with a Republican Congress slashing taxes for the wealthy and slashing public programs and benefits for the middle class. Never mind that the number of working people who qualify for public assistance has increased in the last 10 years. The GOP loves to blame those lazy burger-flipping door-greeters (because many have two jobs) for their own problems while catering to the upper crust.

Blaming public workers and the working poor for America’s fiscal problems has worked well for the GOP. It’s time to fight back.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

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New Jersey Politics

Poll: Chris Christie’s Approval Hits New Low in New Jersey

How low will he go? I don’t know, but according to these new poll results in New Jersey, Republican Governor Chris Christie just hit an all time low in the state he governs.

New Jersey voters disapprove of the job Christie is doing by 56 percent to 38 percent, his lowest-ever approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

Voters gave him the lowest marks for his handling of the state budget, education, the economy and jobs. The results come just days after the state of New Jersey’s credit rating was downgraded for a ninth time since Christie took office in January 2010.

Moody’s Investors Service cut New Jersey to A2 with a negative outlook late on Thursday, citing “the lack of improvement in the state’s weak financial position and large structural imbalance,” stemming mostly from huge shortfalls in its public pension contributions.

New Jersey is the second-lowest-rated U.S. state, behind only Illinois.

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Politics

Poll: Hillary Clinton Destroys Chris Christie… in New Jersey

But then this is not real news. Chris Christie is so damaged in the state he governs that the governor in the Walking Dead would be more popular in New Jersey than Christie is.

A new Rutgers-Eagleton poll in New Jersey finds Hillary Clinton has a commanding 23 points lead on Gov. Chris Christie in a possible presidential match up, 58% to 35%.

Chris Christie’s presidential ambitions may have already ended. He’s probably the only one still thinking he has a shot in 2016.

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Politics Sports

Charles Barkely Likes Chris Christie in 2016

Not that anyone really cares what Charles Barkley has to say about politics, but someone did ask and Barkley of course, offered his opinion.

“I am paying close attention to the political situation,” Barkley said, when Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch asked him in a new interview for his thoughts about the 2016 presidential election . “I have always voted Democratic. But I like some of the Republicans this time around. I like Chris Christie. I like Jeb Bush. I like those guys.”

Asked about Hillary Clinton, Barkley laughed and said, “Well, I just told you I was thinking about voting Republican.”

“But I was very disappointed in Chris Christie the other day on the measles thing,” he said, referring to the New Jersey governor’s comments about vaccinations. “It is a shame that these guys are afraid of just answering the question and trying to make everyone agree with you.”

Barkley said he did vaccinate his daughter but did not appreciate how Christie started to change his position once he received “blowback” from the media. “I’m like, dude, your opinion is just your fucking opinion,” he said. “I don’t understand why you answer a question and think everyone is going to agree with you. You can’t live your life like that.”

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Domestic Policies Education Express Yourself News Politics

Christie Tells It Like It’s Not

It’s getting a bit too easy finding contradictions and hypocritical statements in what Governor Chris Christie is saying these days. That must mean he’s running for president.

On his signature issue, pension and benefit reform, the governor went back on his promise to make a full payment for 2014, and his administration even argued in court that the 2011 reform bill is unconstitutional. These are both odd turns, but they are simply a matter of doing business under a man who shamelessly switches policy positions, excoriates those who disagree with him, and simply does what is politically expedient with no central philosophy or plan to guide him.

And through all of this hypocrisy, Christie has the nerve to say that he “tells it like it is.” As a keen observer of national and state politics, I can say with 100% confidence that people who rely on that phrase do not tell it anything near what it is and are, in fact, blowhards who like to hear themselves talk.

The latest example of Christie’s flip-flop road show occurred this week on the issue of the Common Core educational standards. Two years ago, the governor was all for the national standards and agreed with President Obama that the country would be better off with benchmarks on which all states could be evaluated. He even said that this issue should not be politicized.

Clearly, things have changed. Last week in Iowa, he said,

“I have grave concerns about the way this has been done, especially the way the Obama administration has tried to implement it through tying federal funding to these things. And that changes the entire nature of it, from what was initially supposed to be voluntary type system and states could decide on their own to now having federal money tied to it in ways that really, really give me grave concerns.
 
“So we’re in the midst of re-examination of it in New Jersey….It is something I’m very concerned about, because in the end education needs to be a local issue.”

Yes, he even used the word “grave” twice. This is a man who is definitely running for president.

The problem is that he is mistrusted among the conservatives who will decide two of the first three Republican popularity tests, Iowa and South Carolina, and is mistrusted in New Hampshire, the third test, because he has no record to run on. In fact, he’s running fourth among the early names being bandied about for the GOP nod, which wouldn’t be terrible, except that two of the four ahead of him, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, are competing for the same voters as Christie is. He’s going to have to muscle past those two, and they don’t have the scandals and YouTube rantings that he does. I would never count Christie out, but pandering to the right is not the road that “tell it like it is” Chris wants to navigate.

This also comes on the heels of a poll in New Jersey that shows the governor’s popularity and approval ratings at their four year lows. That’s not the political environment in which you’d like to start a national run, but that’s what the man has done since being reelected rather emphatically in November 2013. For a politician who says he knows how to safeguard public money, he sure has spent and wasted a great deal of political capital.

If Christie really wanted to reverse himself, I’d rather it be that he decides next week to build the third rail tunnel under the Hudson River. Or by fully funding public education. Those would definitely show that he knows how to tell it like it is. I’m not holding my breath, though.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

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New Jersey Politics

Chris Christie’s Approval Ratings Sink to All Time Low

He’s running around the country gearing up for a 2016 presidential run, but back in the state of New Jersey, the state he actually governs, Chris Christie’s approval ratings just hit a new low.

In a Rutgers University-Eagleton poll released on Friday, 53 percent of New Jersey voters view Christie unfavorably and just 37 percent hold a favorable view of the governor — down 7 percentage points in two months.
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The possible 2016 GOP candidate’s job approval ratings are facing similar blows. Fifty-two percent of New Jersey voters disapprove of the job Christie is doing while 42 percent approve. In December, 48 percent of voters approved of Christie’s job performance.
Those questioned for the poll were able to elaborate on why exactly they hold unfavorable opinions of their governor. When asked, 20 percent cited his “attitude, personality and behavior,” while 15 percent specifically mentioned Bridgegate and 10 percent mentioned his national ambitions to possibly run for president in 2016 as affecting his ability to govern the state.

“As one respondent said, ‘Christie visiting different states for the presidential race made New Jerseyans not like him,’” David Redlawsk, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, said in a news release.

“Others used words like ‘arrogance,’ ‘rudeness’ and ‘abrasive’ to explain the turnaround from his high flying post-Sandy days. And of course, all manner of mentions of Bridgegate and other scandals were offered.”

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Health Politics

Jon Stewart Slams Science Deniers on the Whole Vaccination Debate – Video

Yes, if there is a debate going on there are obviously those who are for and against something, and yes, in the case of vaccinating children against measles and the like, those for vaccination are usually liberals and those against it are usually Republicans and conservatives – you know, the science deniers.

Stewart however, managed to find a liberal in California who appear against the idea of vaccination. When asked if she had her kids vaccinated against measles – over 100 cases diagnosed since January 2015 – she thought for a while and then answered, “kinda.” Stewart of course, had some words for this woman.

But he also had something to say about the likes of Rand Paul and Chris Christie who both appeared in separate clips touting “personal freedom” as reasons not to vaccinate children. But it was the way Stewart ended the segment that left a lasting impression… at least on me.

In breaking down the reason to vaccinate, Jon Stewart likened America to an old farm house out in the middle of nowhere, and he compared measles as zombies trying to get into the house. The only way to keep these zombies out of the house was to board up the doors and windows. Everyone in the house was responsible for boarding up their area, but there was one lady from California who read somewhere that zombies will not come in, so she left here windows and doors unprotected.

Zombies, ah, measles made their way inside, infecting or eating all the survivors, just because one idiot failed to vaccinate! Get it?

Watch the video.

Categories
Politics

Chris Christie Falls on His Butt at Radio Station – Video

I’m not one to laugh at the mishaps of another, but I will post this video of Chris Christie falling on his butt at a radio station –  SportsRadio 94WIP. As he was introduced by Angelo Cataldi, Christie pulled out his chair and rolled right off it, landing on his hind-quarters. The incident happened last June and was released to the public on Friday.

Categories
New Jersey Politics

Poll – Jersey Voters Admit – Chris Christie Has Done Little to Nothing for New Jersey

This is for my one and only Republican friend who swears that Chris Christie is the best thing to happen in New Jersey since sliced bread. Jersey voters beg to differ.

Three-quarters of New Jersey residents believe Gov. Chris Christie has made minor or no real accomplishments to the state since first taking office, according to a new poll.

A majority of residents rate Christie average when stacked about against his predecessors and 75 percent indicated his accomplishments for the state have been minor or minimal, according to the Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind Poll released today. It found only about one-in-five residents, just 19 percent, said the Christie years have been good for the average Garden State citizen.

New Jersey residents are critical of Christie over the state’s economic conditions, with a little more than half – 52 percent – indicating they believe taxes and spending have increased under the administration and 42 percent saying the state’s overall economy has grown worse over the last five years.

“Voters look to what someone has done in the past for insight into what the future may hold. Many in the state don’t believe the economic conditions have improved while Governor Christie has been in office,” said Krista Jenkins, professor of political science and director of PublicMind.

Residents responded similarly when asked to consider the health of other issues facing the state, including its transportation systems, environmental conditions and New Jersey’s cities.

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Domestic Policies Express Yourself Healthcare Mitt Romney News Politics

The Latest GOP Swimsuit Competition

My apologies if the image of Chris Christie in a swimsuit finds you eating a meal while reading this. It’s one of the hardships of the blogging trade, I know.

As mid-January hurries into late-January (a month of Mondays if there ever was one), we find ourselves confronted with news from the right side of the political spectrum as Hillary Clinton and any other would-be Democrats are seemingly taking the month off.

The big news, as usual, comes from New Jersey where the main question revolves around whether the Governor’s actions in Dallas last weekend dealt a fatal blow to his presidential hopes. The thinking is that Christie’s awkward embrace of Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones while wearing an orange sweater, was akin to Michael Dukakis in a tank or Howard Dean screaming. That is, an unpresidential image so egregious that it renders a candidate unelectable. My sense is that, no, this did not end Christie’s run before it began (and it will begin later this month), but it did project Christie as the wanna-be he clearly is. And it also reinforces the notion that the man just doesn’t think before he acts sometimes. He believes that he is always right and his aides reinforce that daily. The Dallas escapade might not be the end, but it presages another event that will hurt him sometime down the road. Bank on that.

More bigger than Christie, though, is the news that Mitt Romney is strongly considering a third run for the White House. This would be a very bad idea because third time candidates tend to become parodies and, then, national jokes.

William Jennings Bryan ran for the Democratic nomination four times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, matching the Buffalo Bills for important national losses. Bryan, though, will always be remembered for his Cross of Gold speech, where he attempted to tie the business-friendly Republicans to a policy that would increase the suffering of the lower classes at the expense of the wealthy. Sound familiar? Today, Romney would more likely make a speech saying that a Cross of Gold would be a sound investment.

Even Teddy Roosevelt lost some luster when he ran for a third time in 1912, but he had the extra added legitimacy of having previously been president for almost eight years, and for being a firm advocate for responsible corporate behavior and for his solid conservation record. You know those national parks that Romney wants to open for drilling, exploration and timber? Roosevelt made them happen. Romney can only dream of that kind of influence, even if he does manage to get out of the primaries. Which he won’t.

And finally, there’s Jeb Bush, who apparently is evolving as we speak. And for someone whose view on evolution is somewhat suspect, it’s refreshing to read that:

“There is an evolution in temperament and an evolution in judgment and an evolution in wisdom — and there is an evolution in his respect for others’ point of view,” said Al Cardenas, a longtime friend who insisted that Mr. Bush had “not changed his conservative values.”

Perhaps by the end of the campaign, Mr. Bush will evolve into a Democrat. OK, OK, I know, but a fella can dream, can’t he?

So there you have it: the early mid-January political report. By the end of the month I would suspect that Mitt and Chris will join Jeb in the money-raising competition and then they’ll all jump head first into the campaign sometime after the Supreme Court affirms the Affordable Care Act.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

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News Politics Texas

Christie Back From Dallas. Why Is Everyone Else Leaving?

Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

As if the Cowboy kerfuffle wasn’t enough of a distraction for the governor, along comes another story where ‘Boys owner Jerry Jones condescends to Christie’s fandom by saying that having Christie in the owner’s box is payback for when the not-governor was too poor to pay for parking. Jones also said that he will support Christie if he decides to run for president.

Which he will. And apparently he will make that announcement by the end of the month. It would certainly be a delicious treat for the candidate-in-waiting to be able to announce his intentions a day or two after the Cowboys win the Super Bowl on February 1, but I don’t believe that is in the offing if the Green Bay Packers have anything to say about that. A Cowboys loss this Sunday would clear the news cycle for Christie’s announcement, which I assume will come during the week when there’s no game scheduled. The man might be unsuitable to be president, but he does have a knack for public relations.

But, oh! the complications. First up is a report that one of New Jersey’s marquee employers, Mercedes-Benz, is leaving the state and heading for Georgia, which is cheaper and has lower taxes. This doesn’t help Christie with the pro-business crowd and will further reduce the chance that New Jersey’s economy has a robust recovery in time for the governor to run on a miracle.

Then comes another story that says that of people involved in an interstate move involving New Jersey, the vast majority are leaving the state–fleeing is the headline word–rather than moving in. This is not a scientific survey as the data is being supplied by United Van Lines, a moving company, but it does attest to what anecdotal evidence has suggested for years. The Governor will probably seize on these numbers to continue to argue against a millionaire’s tax because his main argument has always been that more people will leave the state rather than pay. But since people seem to be leaving anyway, it doesn’t say much about his improving things in the state.

The real damage, though, comes because these are more negative stories about New Jersey. Christie can go around the country and tell tales about bipartisanship and how he got the Democratic legislature to pass a pension and benefits bill, but his refusal to actually make a mandated payment will also follow him. As will the videos of him yelling at veterans and public employees. Americans do want someone who will fight for them, but they don’t want someone who will fight them because he disagrees with them.

Finally, there’s that darned Bush family. Yes, Jeb Bush is off and raising money for a White House bid that will directly compete for the same voters Christie needs for support during the primaries. And Jeb’s talking about big issues like immigration and income inequality, while Christie is huddling with foreign policy experts to learn what to say in interviews.

It’s clear that Christie will rise above the silliness of the Dallas story, but the pertinent point is that once he declares himself a candidate for president, he will have precious little to run on.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

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Domestic Policies News Politics Texas

Christie Does Dallas

It’s one thing to sit in the owners box and discuss politics or bidness with a somewhat straight face and an unemotional posture.

Then there’s what Governor Chris Christie did on Sunday evening with Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones. Christie looked like an unabashed fan who had just won a side of beef in a bet after America’s Team came back from 13 points down to win their playoff game against the Detroit Lions. He never got to actually hug Jones, so much as wrapping his hands near the owner’s underarms and besides, Christie never looks good when his feet leave the ground.

So now to the political fallout. This was not a good moment for the Governor. First of all, he has three teams from which to choose in his own market–the Giants, Jets and Eagles–yet he chose to go halfway across the country to essentially be a win-chaser and to actually look like he was in thrall to Jerry Jones. Christie wants to appear as a lunch pail every day Jersey guy, but now that’s been jettisoned as the Presidential-Candidate-In-Waiting shows his true colors. I’m sure he’s had the money conversation with Jones and they look like they’re real pals, which means something in a race that will also feature the former Governor of Texas.

Then came Christie’s reaction, which was, as usual, defensive, heavy handed, sanctimonious and humor-free.

Mr. Christie, characteristically, doubled down in the face of criticism. He seemed happy to replay the incident when he called into the Boomer and Carton show on New York’s WFAN sports radio, as it gave him another chance to boast of his closeness to Mr. Jones. He gave details on the locker room celebration that the camera did not capture, saying that Dez Bryant, the wide receiver, was the first person to hug him. “Dez knows exactly who I am, yes,” the governor assured his hosts.

Why would the governor want to boast of his closeness to Jones? Aren’t the Tisch’s and the Johnson’s wealthy enough? Or do they see right through Christie’s act?

This is but one episode in what will become a complete circus once Christie enters the presidential race and unveils his true persona to the American people. They will then learn what we in New Jersey already know; Christie has no shame and no filter. These will be his greatest strengths at the beginning of the campaign, but will ultimately prove to be his undoing.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

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