Chris Christie, Governor Wrecking Ball

[rusty charly]

http://www.thenation.com/article/156522/rise-chris-christie-governor-wrecking-ball

[prodigals0n]

1. Thanks for posting this. Finally some national attention on the Christie threat

Chris Christie is a dangerous demagogue in the style of his hero, Ronald Reagan, and the unwitting political booster who appointed the unqualified Christie as U.S. Attorney for NJ, George W. Bush (after Todd Christie donated $400,000 to the Republican Party).

Christie is "W" in a fat suit. He's following the same trajectory although Democrats in Washington are largely ignoring the threat he represents, as did the Democrats in New Jersey, and as they did another incompetent, corrupt demagogue governor, George W. Bush.

The more you read about Christie, and his brother, Todd, the more legal and ethical lapses you find. Just Google these two.It's unbelievable these two aren't both in prison. But then, neither is Bush, or so many other deserving criminals.

And it's weird that in New Jersey politics these names are so eerily omnipresent.

Chris Christie
Todd Christie
Christie Todd Whitman

What's really going on here in NJ? :scared:

[tilsammans]

2. I see how Christie's being deified nationwide . . .

I see my wingnut relatives glorifying him on their Facebook feeds.

Fer f*ck's sake, they don't live anywhere near New Jersey! Yet Christie = God to them.

:puke:

[prodigals0n]

3. From a New Jerseyan: Tell your wingnut family this

Chris Christie has been in office a little over ten months. In that short time, Chris Christie has caused major economic damage to New Jersey through his mean-spirited, tyrannical style and what can only be described as sheer incompetence.

Christie has eviscerated the public school system with over $822 million in budget cuts. Christie even cut school meal programs for needy children. Take a good look at that fat pig. He's never missed a meal in his life but he takes food from the mouths of children.

Christie cut all property tax relief for seniors and disabled in New Jersey, the state with the highest property tax burden in the nation, and he cut that property tax relief to give his millionaire buddies an over $670 million tax break.

Chris Christie lost over two-thirds of a billion dollars in federal funding for New Jersey's taxpayers and students, losing $400 million in Race to the Top funding through nothing other than his own complete incompetence, vindictiveness, and dictatorial nature, and Christie lost another $271 million New Jersey taxpayers have to pay back to the feds for the ARC tunnel Christie canceled. And that doesn't even take into account the many other negative results Christie's unilateral ARC tunnel cancellation is responsible for. For more on the effects of Christie's cancellation see this link:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-03/christie-killing-new-york-tunnel-erases-wages-risks-montclair-property.html

Christie has cut public transportation funding for NJ Transit to the point where fares had to be raised fifty percent for rail and bus services while bus routes and train schedules suffered deep cuts.

Christie cut all funding for libraries.

Christie refused to increase economic improvement zones so small businesses could apply for loans.

Christie ended state car inspections in New Jersey and now local police departments are conducting random inspections on the street where, instead of two weeks to fix your vehicle as in the state inspection system, you now get a ticket if they find problems with your car to add to your costs of repair.

This is just off the top of my head. There is so much more. And none of this takes into account Christie's myriad legal and ethical lapses before he even became governor, any of which should have prevented him from even running.

Here's an interesting link another DUer posted concerning Christie's record of criminal activities:

http://www.bluejersey.com/diary/17194/christie-has-lost-the-benefit-of-the-doubt

Tell your family and anyone else you know that if they liked what George W. Bush did to America they're going to love Chris Christie.

[prodigals0n]

4. I forgot to add

Those cuts also affect essential services like police, fire, municipal services where layoffs are occurring and more are expected and ALL AS PROPERTY TAXES IN NEW JERSEY CONTINUE TO RISE.

None of Christie's ideas or policies have helped New Jersey. Christie made massive cuts, then literally threw away hundreds of millions of dollars (not to mention the billions in funding, current jobs and future jobs and economic growth), yet property taxes are still rising in New Jersey. And even with these massive cuts and still rising taxes Christie is borrowing, through taxpayer debt in the form of bonds, over $2 billion for "cash flow" and another $1.4 billion for the transportation fund he steadfastly refuses to raise New Jersey's low gas tax to replenish but had no problem canceling the ARC tunnel to there redirect those funds. Also notice that Christie announced the tunnel cancellation on the day Bret Schundler was testifying in a Senate hearing in Trenton regarding the Race to the Top fiasco. And his testimony didn't fit the image Christie desired.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/gov_christie_ex-education_chie.html

Ex-education chief Schundler openly blames Gov. Christie for Race to the Top loss

Under subpoena, Schundler returned to Trenton to testify that he took responsibility for a clerical error that cost the state up to 4.8 points on a scorecard that determines which states get grants for education reforms. New Jersey was 3 points shy of getting the money. The error ultimately cost Schundler his job.

For the first time, Schundler openly blamed Christie for reneging on a compromise application for the grant that Schundler worked out with the New Jersey Education Association teachers union — something he said cost the state 14 points.

"It was intolerable for him to be perceived as giving in to the NJEA," Schundler said of the governor’s reaction to the compromise. After having battled with the NJEA through last year’s campaign and in his first months as governor, Schundler said Christie called him after learning about the negotiated application and said "he was not going through the fire, with all the attacks on him, merely to cave into the union ... the money was not worth it."

Schundler added that Christie was most upset after he heard the coverage of the compromise on Jim Gearhart’s morning radio show on New Jersey 101.5 FM.

As the hearing progressed, Christie’s office summoned reporters for a major announcement — the governor’s decision to kill the long-awaited trans-Hudson train tunnel to Manhattan."

This is the type of person we're dealing with here. We didn't hear much about Schundler's testimony after the tunnel cancellation, did we? Now the truth about the ARC tunnel is being hidden, a $261 bill from the federal government for refund of money already spent on the tunnel, another scandal itself. Plus the very great current and future ramifications of Christie's reckless use of the tunnel as a cover up for his previous reckless loss of Race to the Top funding.

From scandal to scandal burnishing that image wingnuts so worship. When you're Chris Christie you must maintain that image but the Christie's true strategy is very familiar: The people pay more for less while millionaires get a tax break.

And the amoeba respond predictably to the stimuli.

[tilsammans]

5. Thanks so much for your excellent summary rants!

I'm going to use them as necessary.

I am so ashamed that certain family members -- intelligent professionals, many of them -- have gulped down every drop the FuxNews Koolaid. And they look for any opportunity to spout that sh*t.

In particular, their ChristieLove disgusts me. They don't have to live among the wreckage. :puke:

BTW, I am moving out of NJ next month. I'm happy to escape Christie's reign of terror. When I see him being touted as the Next Coming of Ronald Reagan, I sadly acknowledge: There's no escape.

[prodigals0n]

6. You're very welcome

Thanks for putting up with my rant. I sometimes go off on a jag on the subject of Chris Christie because his political trajectory reminds me so much of another incompetent, corrupt, dishonest megalomaniac -- "W". And there is without any doubt the same Karl Rove connection as Rove was involved in Christie's gubernatorial aspirations long before Christie left his non-political post of U.S. Attorney and in clear violation of the Hatch Act. Yet there were no repercussions. There is a saying, "It's only illegal if you get caught." With people like Christie, Bush, Reagan -- for them it's never illegal. Not even when they're caught in the act.

Too much like Bush. And Christie's national campaign is being handled very carefully, a media booster campaign designed to get just the results you're witnessing while the truth about what Christie is doing to New Jersey is left out. It's very frustrating to see Democrats ignore Christie the way they did Bush. Senator Menendez has a score to settle with Christie and I wish he'd get seriously to work on it.

I'm also hoping some organization with the money, clout, and existing infrastructure begins an organized recall campaign on November 30. This guy is a total disaster. Chris Christie has no ideas whatsoever, no clue of the horrific effects of his policies and actions (he wouldn't care even if he did), an apparent hatred for working people, particularly unionized working people, a combative personality that I wouldn't want anywhere near a nuclear code, and a dangerous, failed agenda that is a siren call for that ChristyLove crowd, the same low information dunces who elected Bush -- TWICE (or not?)

Best of luck in your new state. If my family wasn't here and the real estate market was a bit better I'd get out of New Jersey too.

[The Wizard]

7. He's Rove's tool in NJ

After Rove redistricts New Jersey there will be two more Republican seats in Congress.Who knows, maybe they'll follow Tom Delay's blueprint for redistricting. Texas had a swing of five seats from D to R after Delay got done. Maybe they'll follow Delay to the Gray Bar Hotel and License Plate Factory.