One more reason why Christie isn't ready to be president:

[no_hypocrisy]

Feds charging NJ interest for scuttled ARC tunnel; debt now at $274M

A year after Governor Christie shut down a Hudson River rail tunnel project, New Jersey’s debt to the Federal Transit Administration has grown to nearly $274 million.

-snip-

Meanwhile, New Jersey taxpayers have shelled out more than $1 million to Patton Boggs, a Washington, D.C., law firm that Christie hired last year to fight the FTA’s demands for repayment. The firm — whose lawyers are being paid $485 per hour — has billed the state more than $1.16 million for work performed from December 2010 to August 2011. Just over $1 million has been paid, according to invoices obtained by The Record.

Patton Boggs in January submitted arguments to the FTA as to why New Jersey should not have to repay the $271 million. But in April, the FTA rejected those arguments and held NJ Transit to an earlier agreement between state-run NJ Transit and the FTA that said "a recipient must repay all government payments made under" the agreement.

-snip-

John Wisniewski, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, said he fears the FTA will at some point begin withholding other transportation dollars from New Jersey as a penalty for the unpaid debt. FTA officials last year warned NJ Transit that it could withhold future federal funds from the transit agency to offset the debt if it wasn’t repaid.

-more-

http://www.northjersey.com/news/130834053_N_J__still_facing_bills_for_tunnel.html

[ProSense]

1. Chris Christie was

able to fool NJ voters to win the election over Corzine.

Christie is a typical Republican hypocrite, it's all about tax cuts for the rich, lay off of public employees and cronyism.

House panel postpones hearing on Christie-Ashcroft contract

Christie won't testify on Tuesday

No-bid contract brings scrutiny in U.S. Justice Dept.

Is he kidding? Gov. Chris Christie wants more tax cuts for the rich

N.J. unemployment jumps from Christie budget cuts (updated)

A first-class ticket to ‘a mental Shangri-La’

Editorial: N.J. Gov. Chris Christie's dodges key creationism, immigration questions

Chris Christie Gets Booed At Seton Hall Commencement

[no_hypocrisy]

2. For all his blather, I really don't think that Christie will be able to explain or justify

the list of deficiencies you provided. There may be some republicans who like his style, but it means nothing if he doesn't win primaries and the nomination and the general election.

Not to mention he's ONLY held public office for a little more than two years. Not even trustee on a Board of Education. His experience or lack thereof matches that of former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

[karynnj]

8. He was a one term Morris County Freeholder years before

Morris County has not had a Democratic freeholder in the 40 years I lived here. So, how come he was a one term freeholder? His fellow Republicans enlisted another Republican and ran as a team in the next primary - claiming all the Republican slots. Yet the Morris County record had a front page article that referred to his personality as "likable". They also had an editorial advising him to run - that ended by saying that they were no not ready yet to endorse him - as he needed "fine tuning" - to be the Republican nominee to run against Obama's failed Presidency.

(The newspaper, once reputable, was bought out a few years ago and has moved steadily right.)

[no_hypocrisy]

9. Karyn, I stand corrected, thank you. I totally forgot about the one term as a freeholder.

OTOH, it's just a county office, not state representation like an assemblyperson or a senator.

:hi:

[karynnj]

11. Believe me - I added it because it did him no credit

He ran a nasty race to get in in the first place, accomplished little and quickly wore out his welcome. (He is from an adjacent much wealthier town than mine.)

Other than seeing the articles on his races and his tenure as freeholder, the next thing I saw of him was when he wrote a very whiny op-ed for the Daily Record complaining that musicians should not give concerts to help the politicians they like because it hurts the feelings of fans who disagree. He spoke of having gone to well over 100 Bruce Springsteen concerts and being unhappy that he could not attend the one for Kerry - because he thought he would end up on the Jumbotron. (poor baby with an inflated ego. ) He was so tone deaf that he later publicly asked Springsteen to play at his inauguration and was immediately rejected.

:hi:

[no_hypocrisy]

12. + 1,000

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Listen, I personally know someone who has Christie's personality.

I know Christie is eons above the individual I have in mind, but I can tell you that he has a personality that will eventually wear you down. He will suck the oxygen out of the air as he pushes his opinions. Over confidence is not always a positive trait in a leader.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Welcome to DU and please explain to me

the relevance of your post to my original contention of Christie's miserable failure to either build a needed transit tunnel to improve the state's economy or to return the federal money that doesn't belong to New Jersey.

Bringing Obama into this discussion is a cognitive disconnect, a red herring.

[ProSense]

6. Wow, a threefer

Can anyone help me reply to this?I understand what you are saying but Obama has been President long enough to end the wars, to do anything he promised, he was more concerned with getting Obamacare passed than he was in getting Americans back to work. Both parties suck and helped pass NAFTA and the bazillion other "agreements" that are sucking the jobs out of America. The biggest problem though is the American people, they want high wages but to buy everything dirt cheap. Until we value hard work and respect others this will never change.....GOP or Dem.....

Good job of attacking health care reform, slamming Americans for wanting higher wages and pushing the "value hard work" meme (conservative in the context above).

Oh, false equivalency check: "Until we...respect others this will never change.....GOP or Dem."

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. Update: N.J. to Repay U.S. $95 Million Over Hudson Tunnels

Well, well, well . . . interesting timing, n'est-ce-pas?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/nyregion/nj-to-repay-us-95-million-over-hudson-tunnels.html?_r=1

On Friday*, Gov. Chris Christie and Ray LaHood, the federal transportation secretary, announced that New Jersey would pay back $95 million that the federal government had provided for a pair of rail tunnels under the Hudson River that were projected to cost $8.7 billion. The effort, known as Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC, was one of the biggest public-works projects under way in the country when Mr. Christie decided to cancel it one year ago.

Mr. Christie maintained that his state could not afford to shoulder potentially huge cost overruns on the project, which would have doubled the train capacity between New Jersey and New York City. His unilateral decision to scrap the tunnels enraged Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, who had spent years lining up $6 billion in commitments from the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Mr. LaHood, who was also angry at Mr. Christie, demanded that New Jersey repay all of the $271 million in federal money that had gone toward the early stages of building the tunnels. The governor responded by declaring, “We are not paying the money back.”


-more-

* As we were typing, Christie realized what a problem this would be if he decided to be a candidate.

[Tarheel_Dem]

14. The best reason is Christie himself. He said he wasn't ready, and I believe him.

:hi: