Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

A big win for the New Jersey governor:

Here’s a sign that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is fundamentally reshaping the Garden State: He’s got teacher-union leaders sounding like, well . . . Chris Christie.

The gov is just days away from enacting a sweeping reform of teacher-tenure laws, which currently guarantee lifelong jobs to even the worst educators.

And Christie has managed to twist the union into quite a pretzel: Its leaders now say they support making it easier to lay off the lemons among them.

“This legislation moves us in the right direction by making it harder to earn tenure, and less expensive and time-consuming to remove teachers who are not performing well,” said union boss Barbara Keshishian.

Yes, that’s the sound of Hell freezing over.

More precisely, it’s a labor leader explaining why she’s backing a bill that zaps the system that grants 98 percent of Newark’s new teachers near-automatic tenure — and jobs for life — every year without fail.

It’s a real testament to Christie’s skill. He called out the unions last year for running a system “where you have no rewards for excellence and no consequences for failure.”

And the Senate answered, passing a bill this week that requires four years of high ratings to win tenure, and lets schools revoke tenure and possibly fire teachers who get back-to-back negative reviews.

Unions have outlived their usefulness, and if they wish to remain in business they're going to have to agree to requirements like they have in New Jersey. You can't blame poor education on the lack of tax money while you continue to allow bad teachers to be employed.

This is something desperately needed in many states. California teachers have had far too much influence over state politics and the constant demands for more money while refusing any accountability will come back to bite them this Fall when I predict voters will reject Gov. Moonbeam's latest money grab. Reforms need to come first.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

Do you think Chris Christie would be a good VP for Mitt Romney?  And would he even want the job?  Some people think he would really energize the race:

The Case for Christie  -- In a new book on Chris Christie, two authors suggest that the New Jersey governor would bring a lot of excitement to the presidential ticket if Mitt Romney picked him as his number two. You think? TheDC's Alex Pappas reports:

"The authors of a Chris Christie biography set for release on June 5 argue that the New Jersey governor would be a 'productive vice president' if presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney were to choose him as his running mate for a winning ticket in November. 'On the campaign trail he is tenacious, going after political enemies with gusto,' Bob Ingle and Michael Symons write in 'Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power.' 'They could sell tickets to a Christie-Joe Biden debate.'"

I actually think if word got out early that Christie was going to be the VP nominee Obama would have to dump Biden and go with Hillary Clinton or some other much stronger candidate.  Biden would be savaged by Christie.

I'm still not convinced Christie wants the job, but apparently his re-elect numbers are not looking quite so good in New Jersey and he's not a shoe-in for another term.  If he thinks he's unlikely to win again in New Jersey he just might be open to a VP pick from Romney.  Having Christie on the stump every day would certainly keep the general election interesting.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

The New Jersey governor has a few words for Warren Buffet and his millionaire's tax:

"He should just write a check and shut up. Really. And just contribute. I'm tired of hearing about it. If he wants to give the government more money, he's got the ability to write a check. Go ahead and write it."

For some odd reason all these millionaires suffering from liberal guilt are unable to write that check unless they make all the rest of us write a check too.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

This guy understands the importance of having a good relation with Israel:

In an address recently delivered to an AIPAC audience in New York, New Jersey governor Chris Christie articulated a responsible view of America’s role in the world, stressing the importance of us standing by our friends and taking action against our adversaries.

“America should stand by its friends and its democratic allies, even, and sometimes especially, when it’s unpopular to do so,” Christie said, outlining his foreign policy vision. “And you know I know, that it may not be fashionable in some of the chancelleries, the foreign ministries, and salons around the world to talk about why America stands with Israel – but that’s no excuse not to be saying, and saying it loudly.”

Christie continued: “I read a quote from President Franklin Roosevelt which I thought made this point much better than I ever could. He says, ‘Please judge me by the enemies I have made.’ In that same spirit, I would like to say to all of you tonight: I admire Israel for the enemies it has made.”

The New Jersey governor went on to explain that Israel’s enemies are America’s, and that the two countries share important values. “We both believe in self-government, we both believe in democracy, and unalienable rights,” Christie said. “From what I understand, the Knesset and Israel’s free, vibrant news media make Trenton seems like a cordial and sleepy atmosphere. You’ll find that hard to believe, if I say so myself.”

Too bad the White House doesn't see it that way.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

Sometimes you gotta call 'em as you see 'em:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lashed out at a fellow Garden State politician Monday, calling an openly gay state legislator a “numbnuts” in response to the lawmaker labeling him a racist last week.

A visibly perturbed Christie made the comment during a news conference on Monday, reported the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

It all started last week when Christie called for a voter referendum on gay marriage.

“I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South,” Christie said.

Those comments upset Democratic assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who responded last week by saying, “Govs. Lester Maddox and George Wallace would have found allies in Chris Christie over efforts by the Justice Department to end segregation in the South.”

On Monday, Christie called Gusciora’s words “transparently political.”

“You have numbnuts like Reed Gusciora, who put out a statement, you know, comparing me George Wallace and Lester Maddox.”

That's exactly how every politician should respond to Democrats who play the race card - call them idiots (or numbnuts). The more the race card is slapped back like this the less likely the left will attempt to use it.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

Normally I use this series to tout good things Gov. Chris Christie has done, but this is not a proud moment for him as he shills for Mitt Romney and tries to do damage to a fellow Republican:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday dubbed Mitt Romney’s showing in South Carolina “clearly disappointing,” but quickly turned his focus to Newt Gingrich, saying he has been “an embarrassment to the party.”

Christie, a key Romney surrogate in his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, blasted Gingrich on NBC's "Meet the Press" for his ethics violation fine and losing the speakership in the House, saying that “sometimes past is prologue.”

“Newt Gingrich has embarrassed the party over time. Whether he'll do it again in the future I don't know, but Gov. Romney never has,” Christie said on NBC's “Meet the Press.”

No, all Romney has done is lose...several times. Losing can be pretty embarrassing too.

Oh, and he's run for Senate as a liberal Republican. And then run for president...twice...as a moderate...then conservative.

The GOP has got to get back to Reagan's 11th commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. We can't cannibalize our own candidates and then expect them to win in a general election.

This is a Chris Christie lesson in government that I hope others won't follow.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

The New Jersey governor has some words for #Occupy protesters:

Chris Christie tells protesters to occupy a baby carriage -- Here's another one for the "Why Isn't This Guy Running for President?" file. Alex Pappas reports from Des Moines:

"New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie gave a group of Occupy protesters here a taste of his Jersey charm when they disrupted a rally he was headlining in support of presidential candidate Mitt Romney Wednesday night. 'You're so angry, aren't you?' Christie said, mocking the protesters to the delight of the crowd. 'Work it all out. Work it all out for yourselves.' Several minutes into his remarks at the headquarters of the Iowa-based Kum and Go business, at least a dozen protesters who blended into the audience wearing stickers for Romney's presidential campaign began shouting phrases like, 'Make Wall Street pay...' After the protesters departed, Christie said to laughter: 'Where was I before I was so New Jersey-ly interrupted? ... Let's talk about these folks for a second … Their anger is rooted not in me or in Mitt Romney, their anger is rooted in the fact that they believed in this Hope and Change garbage that they were sold three years ago by this president."

Yep. I hope Christie is involved in the presidential campaign in some way because he can be very entertaining.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

The New Jersey governor takes it to Obama over the failure of the supercommittee:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ripped President Obama for the failure of the debt supercommittee calling the president "a bystander in the Oval Office" in comments Monday.

“I was angry this weekend, listening to the spin coming out of the administration, about the failure of the supercommittee, and that the president knew it was doomed for failure, so he didn’t get involved. Well then what the hell are we paying you for?” Christie said in Camden, N.J. “It’s doomed for failure so I’m not getting involved? Well, what have you been doing, exactly?”

Christie was contrasting the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements, saying both stemmed from "anger" with government's inability to respond to the financial crisis. But while Christie said "both parties deserve blame for what's going on in Washington, D.C.," he pointed the finger squarely at Obama for failing to strike a budget deal.

“Why the president of the United States refuses to do this is astonishing to me. If he wanted to run for Senate again and just be 1 of a 100, I’m sure he could have gotten reelected over and over again in Illinois,” Christie said. “He’s the one in Washington and he’s got to get something done here. And it’s not good enough just to say, ‘Well, I’ll get it done after the election.’"

Obama never wanted the supercommittee to succeed because that would have meant big entitlement cuts that would have imperiled his election. He had hoped the Dems would shame the GOP into agreeing to immediate tax hikes in exchange for nebulous future spending cuts that would never be enacted. He didn't get that when the GOP thankfully recognized their duty to their constituents and held strong.

Now he owns the budget crisis, and that will be an anchor on his campaign.

Report: Chris Christie Will Endorse Romney Tonight

Herman Cain must be making the GOP establishment pretty nervous if they've got to trot Gov. Chris Christie out to endorse Romney tonight, but that's the report from Fox News. This is only going to make conservatives mad.

The GOP establishment should have learned from 2008 that conservatives will not get excited to turn out and work for RINOs.  Mitt Romney will not inspire conservatives and will likely lose to Obama next year.

ATTN:  Sarah Palin - if you're going to endorse someone who's not Mitt Romney, you better get on it before the GOP establishment sews this whole thing up.  You still have a shot at relevance.

Gov. Christie Schedules a Presser for 1pm ET Today

This tweet from Fox News seems to suggest that Christie plans to run for president:

Gov. #Christie has scheduled a 1 p.m. ET conference where he's expected to unveil plans for a presidential campaign. Watch LIVE on Fox News

We'll see, but I'm not so sure he really wants to get into this whole mess.

 Granted, there's an opening for him. People looking for a strong leader but who isn't a doctrinaire conservative don't really have anyone in the race. A lot of conservatives are worried about Christie because some of his stands don't fall right in line with what they want, and I expect they'll be quite vocal if he runs.

And, of course, someone on the left will come up with something they'll claim will prove he's racist. That's par for the course now with any challenge to Obama.

And then there's his weight. If he decides to run, and especially if he starts looking strong in the polls, the media will be flooded with stories about how his weight, combined with the stresses of the job, are sure to kill him before he finishes his term. It's gonna happen.

However, I doubt if Christie will run mainly because he said so many times he wasn't ready for the job.  It would be hard to overcome that now.

Christie and Palin, In or Out...NOW!

S.E. Cupp says it's time for the game playing to end.  Get in or get out and quit dragging things out:

It's happened. The build-up and anxiety over whether folks like Chris Christie and Sarah Palin are going to throw their hats in the ring for the GOP presidential primary has reached critical mass.

And now, the will-they-or-won't-they game has flipped from fun and energizing to damaging to the party. Christie and Palin now do conservatives more harm than good.

With the question marks still lingering in the ether, and pundits on both sides of the aisle still performing their daily trapeze act -- swinging back and forth between "yes, he's running" and "no, she isn't" -- the focus on Christie and Palin has taken valuable resources and attention away from the rest of the field.

Because of those question marks, conservatives haven't been able to invest fully in the candidates who are running. They haven't been able to imagine one of them as president. They've held back support, money and endorsements, because they still don't know that the field is settled.

Read the rest of it here.

When it comes to Christie the only thing I've ever heard him say is "I'm not running", so I'm not sure the speculation surrounding him is his fault. The real problem seems to be the people, many of them part of the establishment GOP, who insist on pushing for a Christie candidacy and keeping the speculation alive. They're practically begging him to get in, and he keeps saying "no". Somehow he's got to make it official.

Palin as offered several possible dates (including today) that she promised to give a final decision, but as each date approached she'd push it off again. I think she's just playing everybody and has no real plans to get in. It's getting awfully late to line up campaign cash and top quality staffers.

So, my advice to Republicans is to pick somebody from the existing field and back them until they win or drop out. And if they don't make the cut, plan on supporting whoever does, because it will take a unified GOP plus a lot of disenchanted independents and Dems to flush the Obama curse from the White House.

Chris Christie for President?

The New Jersey governor may decide he's the guy to fill the hole that Rick Perry underperformance is leaving in the GOP field:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is reconsidering his decision not to enter the 2012 presidential race — and he says he will let top Republican donors know within days about his plans, Newsmax has learned.

During the past few weeks, several leading Republican donors and fundraisers have been urging the popular Republican governor to reconsider his decision not to run and to enter the GOP primary.

These Christie supporters note that significant GOP support has remained on the sidelines of the primary fight. Many leading fundraisers have yet to commit to any current primary contender, including frontrunners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.

Newsmax has learned that the effort to draft Christie culminated in a hush-hush powwow held in the past week with Christie and several notable Republican billionaires.

A source familiar with the meeting suggested that Christie seemed inclined to enter the race but said he needed more time.

This could make things very interesting, but it won't make some conservatives any happier. Christie is not that conservative on some of the social issues.

UPDATE: From Ari Fleischer:

@AriFleischer: $ ppl are telling Christie he can't win reelection in NJ so he needs 2 run 4 potus. It's now or never, they r telling him.

That would certainly help explain the sudden interest in running for president, but Ari thinks it's too late:

Stop the Christie wishing. It's too late 4 him. It's too hard 2 build a national campaign & get up 2speed on issues, even w $

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

No coddling for New Jersey State employees:

Public unions are furious at New Jersey governor Chris Christie for calling public employees into work on Monday, advising private workers to stay home.

"For people in many cases, it took hours, hours and hours to get into Trenton," complained Hetty Rosenstein, regional director for the Communications Workers of America. "It was not safe and it didn’t make any sense that you would say to every worker except for state workers: ‘If you can stay home, stay home,’ then say but to state workers: ‘It’s important for you to be at your desk.’"

Christie's response?

"Folks sat in traffic this morning, my apologies," he said sarcastically. "Toughen up and get to work."

Yes sir.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

George Will has a good column on the New Jersey governor and why it's very unlikely he'll run for president in 2012.  Here's part of it:

He relishes being America’s Caesar — its most powerful governor. He wields a line-item veto, he can revise spending numbers but only down (he blocked $1.3 billion in spending this year) and he can exercise a “conditional veto,” rewriting legislation and sending it back to the Legislature for approval. The governor and the lieutenant governor, who run in tandem, are the only state officials elected statewide. The governor appoints the attorney general, treasurer, comptroller, all judges and all county prosecutors.

Understanding the first rule regarding political power — “use it or lose it” — he has flexed his institutional muscles. “I don’t want to leave my political capital in my desk drawer to frame when I leave.” A legislature, he says, “is almost genetically predisposed to inaction.” To get it to move on his combative agenda for taming public employees unions, he held 30 town meetings in nine months — almost one a week.

Read the whole thing. I don't think Christie will run this time either, but he could be a force in 2016 or 2020 depending on who wins in 2012.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

The New Jersey governor participated in a conference call in which some wealthy Republicans, mostly moderates who ended up supporting Obama, basically begged him to run for president.  He said no, and here's how he said it (h/t Campaign Spot):

“I’m not running, but I came because Langone is so aggressive, he basically just physically shook me into doing it. I’ve weighed this carefully; I didn’t dismiss it out of hand. There were four considerations. 1) One question was: Where’s my wife? She’s not enthused. 2) The second is: I looked ahead at the potential for two years of running, and not seeing my kids. If I won, six years of not seeing them. If I won a second term, 10 years of not seeing them. Missing my kids growing up is a big deal to me, and it was a big reason. The wife was the biggest. The children were the second. 3) I’m staying in New Jersey. I am not just going to quit halfway through my term. The people trusted me, and I feel like I owe that trust and faith some fidelity. 4) And fourth: Could I win? Could I really do it? I think I would win — not saying I would win, but I could win. I brought my oldest son today because, first of all, I wanted him to wake up early. And, second of all, to have to put on his one suit and tie. But I wanted him to listen because if I did run, which I’m not going to — but if I did in the future — it’s going to affect him. There’s six people in the family — I’m just one. I recognize that not all of you would immediately commit, but it certainly makes me realize that if I were to run, and had this group were behind me, I certainly wouldn’t have any problem raising money.”

He's got his priorities straight.

These wealthy moderate Republicans apparently fell for the whole rainbows and unicorns thing in 2008, but instead of getting The Anointed One, they got a class warfare socialist who demonized their life's work and earnings. That's what happens to moderates - staying in the middle of the road will get you run over.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

Don't diss Christie on camera.  God doesn't like it:

Dissing Christie on camera, NJ Senate president nearly struck by lightning...

That was a warning shot. Next time he won't miss.

Union Reform Wins Bipartisan Support...in New Jersey??

Wow.  The public employee unions have had their sails trimmed in Wisconsin and now New Jersey:

New Jersey lawmakers tonight voted to enact a sweeping plan to cut public worker benefits after a long day of high-pitched political drama in the streets and behind closed doors.

Union members chanted outside the Statehouse and in the Assembly balcony, and dissident Democrats tried to stall with amendments and technicalities. Although they successfully convinced top lawmakers to remove a controversial provision restricting public workers’ access to out-of-state medical care, they failed to halt a historic defeat for New Jersey’s powerful unions and a political victory for Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

Nearly 8500 people gathered in the streets surrounding the Statehouse in Trenton to defend their stance on pension and benefit reform. Collective bargaining was the overall theme, but some delved deeper as to what exactly is important to them and their families as a bill awaits a vote in the state assembly.

"Together, we’re showing New Jersey is serious about providing long-term fiscal stability for our children and grandchildren," Christie said in a statement released after the vote. "We are putting the people first and daring to touch the third rail of politics in order to bring reform to an unsustainable system."

You know things are pretty bad in statehouse budgets when you can win bipartisan support for union benefits reform in New Jersey. Gov. Christie is doing what he said he'd do and the state will be better off for it.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

During an interview with Piers Morgan, Chris Christie was asked this dumb question:

"Part of the thing of being a Catholic is you confess the sins. Obviously in light of Weiner-gate, Schwarzenegger-gate, and so on, is there anything you want to get off your chest?"

Christie's answer:

"You know, listen, any confessions I need to make, I'll make to my wife and to my priest, not on CNN to you, pal."

Politicians don't owe the press anything.

Today's Chris Christie Lesson in Government

If people are your political enemies, don't sugarcoat it:

New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie took another shot at his state's teachers today by describing their union leaders as "political thugs."

In an interview with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, Christie offered no apology for his often tough talk that has left some teachers feeling bruised. He also talked about the presidential possibilities of both himself and his "friend" Donald Trump, and criticism by Jersey rock icon Bruce Springsteen.

While sitting in the school library at Lincoln School in Kearney, N.J., Christie told Sawyer that it's essential for his state's education system to change and he blames the teachers union for the harsh cuts his administration is making, that includes layoffs and larger classrooms.

"I believe the teachers in New Jersey in the main are wonderful public servants that care deeply. But their union, their union are a group of political thugs," Christie said.

He said the New Jersey Education Association refused to negotiate on a salary freeze last year. "They should have taken the salary freeze. They didn't and now, you know, we had to lay teachers off."

The congressional leadership could take some lessons from Christie in how to deal with the Harry Reids and Nancy Pelosis of the world. Call 'em out. Quit the pretense of civility that pervades Congress. Tell them and the world what you really think of them. It would be a refreshing change of the layers of B.S. that are heaped on our ears everyday.

And as a bonus, Christie responds to a very young man who was filmed crying because he was too small to be governor of New Jersey.  Christie made him "Governor for the Day":

People Who Shouldn't Run Against Obama in 2012

Sen. Marco Rubio has rejected a 2012 White House run with this statement:

“I want to be a United States senator. I want to be the best United States senator that Florida’s ever had ...I just got elected three months ago ...So how can I be a full-time

United States senator if my eye’s already on something else?"

Let me add some other names of people who should reject a 2012 run.  These are people whose names I see thrown about on Facebook and political blogs:

• Gov. Chris Christie (NJ) - too soon in the job. Give him a chance to straighten out New Jersey and he'll be a force in 2016.
• Gov. Scott Walker (WI) - see Chris Christie and swap New Jersey for Wisconsin
• Sen. Rand Paul (KY) - Again, too soon. Give him some time in the job.  I want to make sure he's sane first.
• Rep. Ron Paul (TX) - goes without saying.
• Sarah Palin - damaged goods. She can be far more effective in her current role as political analyst and speaker for conservative causes.  Could be a kingmaker in 2012.
• Michele Bachmann - Although a favorite of some Tea Partiers there's no sign that she would have any significant national following. I think her 2012 hints are more about gaining visibility for a Senate run than running for president.
• Herman Cain - former pizza company chairman and conservative speaker. No one knows who he is. Needs more time.
• Rep. Allen West - too new in the job.

Republicans shouldn't go after the latest flash-in-the-pan politician. Given them a chance to prove themselves first.

Yes, Democrats went after the latest fad and won, but they had a race card they could play and a media willing to join in the fawning. The GOP won't have any of that. We'll be running against an incumbent president, and although with Obama's record beating him in 2012 should be easy, we just don't seem to have the kind of presidential field we need. However, that's no reason to rush someone into the race before they're ready.

Oh, there is one Democrat who should run against Obama - Hillary Clinton.  I firmly believe she could win the nomination though the outcome in the general election is far from certain.