For Christie and 2 Senators, Animus Is Mutual

[Kire]

For Christie and 2 Senators, Animus Is Mutual
NYTimes - By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
Published: September 29, 2011

When floods ravaged New Jersey in August, the state’s three top elected officials — Gov. Chris Christie and Senators Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez — joined President Obama in touring damaged areas.

It was the most time either senator had ever spent in the governor’s company.

Encounters between a state’s governor and its senators are inevitable, whether at a disaster or at a Chamber of Commerce dinner, but the officials usually seek each other out for private talks about conflicts and shared goals. So the last time Mr. Christie and the state’s senior senator had such a chat was when?

“Never,” Mr. Lautenberg, a Democrat, said in an interview just before the floods. “We haven’t talked, other than just bumping into one another. We’ve never had a serious conversation about New Jersey’s needs. Never.”

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/nyregion/for-christie-and-2-nj-senators-no-love-lost.html?_r=1

[JustAnotherGen]

1. And that's the problem right there

Christie has no respect for other elected officials. And the fact that he's never sought either out with their backgrounds/experience speaks volumes. Menendez has a lot of quiet power in the Senate. If Christie is Pro Nusiness, initiative, entrepreneur and small business . . . why is he not seeking the assistance of the founder of ADP? It was a small start up once.

[karynnj]

2. One of Christie's biggest errors was cancelling the tunnel

Lautenberg chairs the subcommittee of the Commerce committee that oversees transportation and he has experience on rail and other transportation gained over decades. He was the one who was able to get this huge, very needed project passed. Not only would it have created very needed jobs, it would have created a piece of the infrastructure that will be needed. Interest rates will not get much lower.

The economy being bad actually reduces the amount of NJ to NYC traffic, but there are usually extensive waits at any crossing and the rush hour trains are full. When the economy revives, this transportation bottleneck will constrain growth.

I have seen Lautenberg speak to Morris county Democrats and he is a pretty incredible guy. Christie really should be speaking to him. As you point out, he created a small business that became huge - Christie, as Republicans say of Democrats, has no private industry experience.