OK people if ever there was a topic from me you could take to the bank, this is it. My home State of New Jersey is still very near and dear to my heart, and I keep tabs on a lot of what goes on in the Garden State. Recently, you may have heard accolades for the Governor of New Jersey and his "...Its time to do big things - the really big things." agenda. Only a year into the job and Republicans are clamoring for the new Governor to run for the White House, although he says he's not ready for the job, and dismisses any plans for 2012. His tough budget cutting rhetoric has conservatives dribbling in their pants, particularly the Tea Party clan, which he is not associated with. He doesn't just talk a good game either, he backs it up. The State was facing an $11 Billion dollar deficit and he wasted no time in taking the hard road. He cancelled a $9 Billion dollar plus new train tunnel to New York City, slashed $3 Billion dollars from the States pension plan, and tangled with the powerful New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) cutting school aid and entering into frequent battles with teachers, and other organized labor groups.
His first years 2 biggest blunders were almost loosing $400 Million dollars in federal grant money for education, and languishing on a Florida beach while the State was paralyzed by a massive winter storm. In one year he has managed to alienate just about every labor group in New Jersey, and systematically tried to destroy one of the best school systems in the country. As one of many educators in my family, I can tell you he is firmly in touch with the third rail of New Jersey politics, the NJEA. His approval rating is at 33% and falling, and he faces another $11 Billion dollar deficit this year. The next group on Christie's chopping block are State employees, and all this while the courts decide if his education cuts from last year are unconstitutional.
The GOP may like Chris Christie, but nobody else does. He has stirred up such a hornets nest in the Garden State, that one wonders if after 4 years if there will be anybody he hasn't pissed off? Christie defends his cuts "You can disagree, but you're never going to be able to say, 'The guy wasn't willing to take a risk. The guy wasn't willing to take a chance on how to fix something.' ...If people don't like it after four years, they can send me home." If I were you Governor I'd start packing. I know New Jersey and this guy is gone, and I don't mean to the White House. I have friends and family home in both labor and education, and they want this guy gone like yesterday. I'll sum things up this way, my 65 year old brother a retired teacher of 33 years said this: "If I've been shot 5 times, stabbed 3 times, and then crushed with a rock, I'll crawl to the polls to vote this asshole out." So when you hear all the hype about Chris Christie from New Jersey just forgetaboutit.
His first years 2 biggest blunders were almost loosing $400 Million dollars in federal grant money for education, and languishing on a Florida beach while the State was paralyzed by a massive winter storm. In one year he has managed to alienate just about every labor group in New Jersey, and systematically tried to destroy one of the best school systems in the country. As one of many educators in my family, I can tell you he is firmly in touch with the third rail of New Jersey politics, the NJEA. His approval rating is at 33% and falling, and he faces another $11 Billion dollar deficit this year. The next group on Christie's chopping block are State employees, and all this while the courts decide if his education cuts from last year are unconstitutional.
The GOP may like Chris Christie, but nobody else does. He has stirred up such a hornets nest in the Garden State, that one wonders if after 4 years if there will be anybody he hasn't pissed off? Christie defends his cuts "You can disagree, but you're never going to be able to say, 'The guy wasn't willing to take a risk. The guy wasn't willing to take a chance on how to fix something.' ...If people don't like it after four years, they can send me home." If I were you Governor I'd start packing. I know New Jersey and this guy is gone, and I don't mean to the White House. I have friends and family home in both labor and education, and they want this guy gone like yesterday. I'll sum things up this way, my 65 year old brother a retired teacher of 33 years said this: "If I've been shot 5 times, stabbed 3 times, and then crushed with a rock, I'll crawl to the polls to vote this asshole out." So when you hear all the hype about Chris Christie from New Jersey just forgetaboutit.
