Take It Away, Governor

Chris Christie is a former prosecutor, so he knows how to make a good closing argument.  Here's a phenomenal one against President Obama's request for four more years.



(hat tip: Erika Johnsen at Hot Air) The guy makes me want to move to New Jersey. Then I remember... it's New Jersey. But hey, the big guy still kicks ass.

Drafting Chris Christie

I'm serious when I say these two things:  If I were his political advisor, I would say Chris Christie should not run for President.  But as an American, I really wish Chris Christie would run for President.

Christie is, for better or worse, the flavor of the week in the GOP race.  If he got into the race, he would instantly take a lead, then spend weeks getting pummelled by his opponents on issues where he is vulnerable -- and they do exist.  The difference, at the end of the day, is that I'd expect him to handle the attacks far better than Rick Perry has done.

I watched his speech at the Reagan Library and the short Q&A that followed, and the experience was very similar to watching the Marco Rubio speech at the same venue a few weeks ago (new theory: put anyone in the Reagan Library, and they can deliver a kickass speech!), except it was Rubio in 6 years (with 100 additional pounds).  After watching him, I had one thought:  I want this guy as my President. 

I don't agree with him on some stuff, and I suspect he'll disappoint me at times, but the guy screams leadership and accountability at a time when both are sorely lacking.  He has executive experience, which Cain, Bachmann, Santorum, and Paul (and even Rubio and Ryan) all lack.  He's real and sincere, unlike Romney.  He's telegenic (which is weird to say for a fat guy) and capable of delivering an impromptu response to questions while thinking on his feet, unlike Perry.  He's not trying to lecture Republicans on how they're wrong on key issues, like Huntsman or Johnson. And while half the GOP would have reservations about him on issues from gun control to immigration to climate change, there's no one else who's worthy in the current field.  Yes, it's important that the next President be a conservative.  But it's also important that they be a competent conservative, and you can't sell me that anyone in the current field meets both qualities as well as Christie, at least with evidence of past performance.

If you don't have time to read or watch the speech, just watch the video here:

That lady's too worshipful of Christie; it's not on the same level as the stupid Obama-Messiah morons, but it's far too deferential to the idea that "only Christie can save us!"  The country doesn't necessarily need Chris Christie to run for President; it needs people who want to make America better to roll up their sleeves and work hard to make America better.  Our hope is that the next President is someone who makes that task easier rather than harder, but we're already working on that task, and we need to keep working on it after the election, even if President Obama is defeated.  Defeating President Obama is only the first step in making things better; whomever wins that election needs to be somebody who can follow through on policies that assist, but it's ultimately the efforts of the American people that will make or break America. 

When people seem as desperate as this woman, I worry that they're investing too much in an empty suit and putting into it what they desire rather than what's there (see 2008).  Electing Chris Christie or anyone else in 2012 isn't going to change anything overnight, except Prozac sales and therapy appointments for Democrats.  But Christie's response is pitch-perfect; he doesn't pretend to be anything other than what he is.  I appreciate someone who doesn't want this job, but may feel a calling to it; by contrast, I sense that Rick Perry decided he wanted the job because he felt like he could have it.

If Christie doesn't run, I feel like South Park's 2004 election parody (Douche and Turd) is what we're going to get in 2012.  A summary for those fools who haven't watched the show is available at the link,  but you're better off watching the whole thing than watching a Presidential debate next year if we end up with what I expect (besides, the episode features P. Diddy killing PETA members, which is fun to watch). 

I'm someone who's passionately opposed to the douche, so the Turd (whichever Turd it is) will get my vote.  But somehow, "Vote for the Turd -- It's Important" does not strike me as an inspiring campaign slogan.  And once he gets in office, he's still a turd.  But Chris Christie, if he ran and won the nomination and won the office, would not be a turd.

And he's not running.  Damn it.  Damndamndamndamndamn.

Still Kicking Ass

Seriously, at this point, can we just force Chris Christie to run for President (hat tip: Hot Air)? Or make him promise to accept the nomination for VP?

I May Need To Reevaluate That Desire To Move To New Jersey

I hope the number isn't right, and that Chris Christie's approval rating is higher than 33 in New Jersey.  There are some polling methodlogy questions here as well. 

But you know what? He won't face the voters for three more years.  If they vote him out because he won't bend over to public employee unions and keep raising taxes at that time, more people will leave New Jersey, until the state's begging for a federal bailout... which won't come because everyone else will be laughing at them.

In the meantime, I suspect Christie's doesn't care, which means he'll keep doing what he has been doing.  Good for him, and better for New Jersey.

Almost As Bad A Joke As The Union Itself

I've got a new personal measure to help judge if a politician is doing well -- the quality of the job performance directly correlates to how much public employee unions dislike a said politician.  By my new metric, Chris Christie must be doing a great job in New Jersey if he's got people in the state teacher's union hoping that he dies...

Bergen County representatives of the state teachers union have ratcheted up the campaign against Governor Christie's agenda in a fiery memo that encourages members to "get some dirt" and "go public," and adds the education commissioner to the "attack list."


But it's the memo's closing "prayer" that is sure to ignite controversy:


"Dear Lord … this year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze, my favorite actress, Farrah Fawcett, my favorite singer, Michael Jackson, and my favorite salesman, Billy Mays. … I just wanted to let you know that Chris Christie is my favorite governor."


The memo, sent to locals in the county earlier this week and obtained by The Record on Thursday, is signed by New Jersey Education Association field representatives, including Joe Coppola, president of the Bergen County Education Association.


Coppola said the "prayer" was a joke and was never meant to be made public.


"Obviously, it's inappropriate," he said. "I would never wish anybody dead."

I would dispute that last comment -- plenty of people wish death upon others in a moment of anger, and some continue to do even after the moment passes.  Immediately after 9/11, I wished for death upon Osama bin Laden, and I'm not sure I feel differently today.

Of course, Coppola is speaking about this issue in the general sense -- rational people rarely if ever wish death upon other human beings.  I think he's telling the truth here, but the lack of judgment in including this joke in a written communication is awful.  Jim Geraghty rightly notes that liberals might have a tough time screeching about Tea Party rhetoric against Obama when a key bastion of Democratic Party support is busy praying for the death of a sitting Governor.

In the end, I'm guessing this has to be a joke -- I don't know of anyone who would claim Patrick Swayze or Farrah Fawcett to be their favorite actor. Even liberals aren't that sappy.

Reasons I Would Move To New Jersey

Governor Wrecking Ball?  Considering Jersey's a fiscal wreck, that may be exactly what the state needs...

WHEN Republican Chris Christie campaigned for governor of New Jersey last year, he promised to turn Trenton upside down.


Voters - even Democrats - must have liked the idea, because they kicked out incumbent Jon S. Corzine in favor of a tough-talking former U.S. attorney who had virtually no experience in elected office.


Now, Christie has a white-knuckled grip on the Capitol, and yet, amid his trying to topple established Trenton norms, his approval rating has dropped by 9 points.


"I think the public is confused," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "What we have right now is a governor who is doing exactly what he said he was going to do. It's certainly a breath of fresh air."


Christie, dubbed "Governor Wrecking Ball" by a Newark Star-Ledger columnist and praised as a reformer by Rush Limbaugh, unveiled a doomsday budget in Trenton last month that included deep cuts in state aid to school districts and municipalities. He proposed massive cuts to public transportation and Medicaid, all to help close the state's nearly $11 billion deficit. He also has pledged to veto any tax hikes.


"The day of reckoning has arrived," Christie said during his budget address.


About a week after he unveiled the budget, Christie signed sweeping pension reforms for public employees that include reimbursement caps for unused sick days and contributions toward health care.


"It's like cold turkey for the state," said Bill Layton, Burlingtion County GOP chairman.


Some say Christie's fresh breath has been a little too hot, like a fire-breathing dragon laying waste to municipalities and school districts across the state, with no regard to whether some have made budget sacrifices.


"I think part of the problem in New Jersey right now is that too much is happening too soon," said Chuck Chiarello, mayor of Buena Vista Township and vice president of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.


"I have to admire the governor's spunk, but New Jersey didn't get into this deficit last year or the year before," Chiarello said.


"It's been a 20-year process. The governor could actually be jeopardizing our state economy. The economic impact this could have on our communities hasn't been measured yet."


In an escalating war of words with the powerful New Jersey Education Association, Christie has accused teachers of being unwilling to give up raises to save jobs or the high-school marching band. Christie called the union "bullies." The union said that he was picking on teachers to give tax breaks to millionaires.


"We expect to lose anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 jobs," NJEA president Barbara Keshishian said. "There's going to be plenty of after-school programs cut, too. It's going to be devastating."

Yes, it's just as devestating as all those private-sector workers who have lost their jobs in a down economy. The voters are coming to the realization that government, at least state government, can't just print money out of thin air. Christie's following through on their wishes. Kudos to him.

Reasons I Might Move TO New Jersey

You have to admire a Governor with the cojones to follow through on his promises...

You know, at some point there has to be parity. There has to be parity between what is happening in the real world, and what is happening in the public sector world. The money does not grow on trees outside this building or outside your municipal building. It comes from the hard working people of our communities who are suffering and are hurting right now.


I heard someone in the legislature say two days ago that they wanted no fare hike in New Jersey Transit, no cuts in service, and no cuts in subsidy. And I was thinking to myself, man I should have made this guy treasurer. [Laughter] Because if you can pull that one off, you're obviously magic.


This is the type of awful political rhetoric that people sent me to this city to stop.


I would love to be able to do that, but I can't. I would love to tell you that municipal aid will stay level, but it's not. And it's not because we don't have the money. So you need to prepare. You need to prepare for what's coming down the line because we have no choice but to do these things.


And so we need to get honest with each other. In this instance, the political class,for which unfortunately all of us are a member of, the political class is lagging behind the public on this. The public is ready to hear that tough choices have to be made. They're not going to like it. Don't confuse the two. But they are ready to hear the truth.


In fact, they find it refreshing to hear the truth.


They are tired of hearing, don't worry I can spare you from the pain, because they have been hearing that for a decade, as we have borrowed and spent and taxed our way into oblivion.


We have done every quick fix in the book that you can do. And now we are left, literally holding the bag.


Leadership should be about making tough decisions. I'm not hear to tell you that anything you are going to have to do as mayors, council people will be easy. But I firmly believe after spending the last year traveling around the state of New Jersey, talking to regular citizens, that this is what they are expecting us to do.


...We need to understand we are all in this together. And you know, all of you know in your heart, what I am saying is true. You all know that these raises that are being given to public employees of all stripes, we cannot afford. You all know the state cannot continue to spend money it does not have. And you all know that the appetite for tax increases among our constituents has come to an end.


And so the path to reform and success is clear. We know what it is. We just have to have the courage to go there. What we are doing is showing people that government can work again for them, not for us. Government has worked for the political class for much too long.


There's no time left. We have no room left to borrow. We have no room left to tax. So we merely have room left now, to do this. We are all reaching the edge of a cliff. And it reminds me a bit of that part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where the had a seminal decision to make. So what did they do? They held hands and they jumped off the cliff.


We have to hold hands at every level of government, state county, municipal, school board. We have to hold hands and jump off the cliff.


I firmly believe we will land and we will be fine. It does not mean it will not be a scary ride on the way down. And it does not mean there won't be moments of fear and moments of apprehension.


But for certain, the troops of the decades of overspending and overborrowing and overtaxing have gained on us. So the ruination of New Jersey's economy, and of the quality of life we want all our citizens to have, is certain if we do not take this course.


It's time for us to hold hands and jump off the cliff. It's time for us to do the difficult things that need to be done and to stop playing the petty politics of yesterday, of lying to the people telling them they do not have to pay for it because someone else will.


We are going to make the leap because that's what people elected me to do. We are going to make the leap because it is the responsible thing to do. We are going to make the leap and we are going to do it together because that is what leadership demands for us. That is what the responsibility of the offices we hold requires of us.

As Moe Lane notes, that is from the Governor of New Jersey.   Maybe hope and change does exist.