Sarah slept here

Guess who stayed in my neck of the woods last night?  Yep, Sarah Palin's bus tour called it a night in my part of New Jersey. I got a tip from a friend of mine that Sarah Palin and family were staying at hotel a few blocks from my home.  So I walked over there to see if I could catch a glimpse.  The place was as quiet as ever.  Dismayed I started walking back home on a different route and I spied the tour bus in a parking lot only a block away.


I wanted to post this last night, but I wasn't sure if Sarah was still planning to play cat and mouse with the media so, I scheduled the post for this morning.  Give them hell, Sarah!

The Other Side of the Equation: Chris Christie to cut 1,200 public sector jobs

Washington Examiner: Since assuming office, Chris Christie has been relentlessly hammering home the message that New Jersey’s state government, which is badly in the red, must live within its means. But he’s also not afraid to make the tough decisions either. Whereas the previous governor, Jon Corzine, struck a deal to prevent layoffs in the public sector at a time when private sector workers were unemployed in record numbers, here comes Christie taking on the public sector unions:

State government is on track to shed at least 1,200 jobs in January, Gov. Chris Christie said today.

“Whether it will grow beyond that, I don’t know,” he said at a Statehouse press conference. “That’s very much going to be dependent on what the revenue outlook looks like for the state.”

The job cuts include layoffs and attrition, spokesman Michael Drewniak said.

How much do you think unions are going to spend to take Christie out when he runs for reelection? Sky’s the limit, I bet. 

This is the other side of the balance budget equation.  For too long politicians only see the increase revenue (i.e. higher taxes) side of the equation.  Chris Christie is looking at the cutting spending side.

I can already hear the left’s complaint that Christie will be adding to the unemployment rolls by cutting these jobs.  This argument is flawed because public sector jobs are not like private sector jobs.  Public sector jobs must be funded by the private sector and right now the private sector is struggling with high unemployment, foreclosures, job insecurity, high taxes and creeping inflation.  Is it fair then to ask these folks who are under such economic assault to continue carrying the burden of public sector employment?

As our economy continues to struggle along, I think more and more people are going to start realizing that the time has come to unburden ourselves from the weight of big government.

Via: The Washington Examiner

Anna Little: The Little Engine That Could

Two weeks ago Christine O’Donnell and Carl Paladino were making headline news with their upsets, but two months ago a quiet little upset happened here in New Jersey.  Tea Party backed candidate and Mayor of Highlands, New Jersey Anna Little had made an upset of her own.  In her race for Congressional District 6 Anna Little was financially out gunned by her opponent Dianne Gooch.  Gooch had  all the backing of the NJ GOP establishment, yet when all was said and done Anna Little prevailed.

NJ.Com: TRENTON — It took a week, but Highlands Mayor Anna Little can now officially celebrate her stunning victory in the 6th District Republican congressional primary.

Millionaire weekly newspaper publisher Diane Gooch conceded defeat today to the tea party-backed Little, who now faces 22-year incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.) in the general election.

Gooch, a Rumson resident, had the backing of the Republican organizations in all four counties that comprise the Shore-dominated district, giving her preferable ballot placement. She also raised $433,000 to Little’s $22,000 and was endorsed by most elected officials.

Gooch’s deep pockets helped win her establishment support, even though she lives just outside of the district. But Little ran a grassroots campaign that relied partly on tea party activists to canvass the district’s neighborhoods.

Now Little, who had just $2,000 in her campaign account in mid-May, finds herself as even more of an underdog against Pallone, who has over $4 million in campaign cash in a district with more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans. 

Listening to Anna Little’s positions on the Tenth Amendment, it is easy to see why she got the Tea Parties to back her.

I must admit I am a little surprised Sarah Palin has not found this Mama Grizzly yet, but hey there is still time. To learn more about Anna Little visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

Via: NJ.Com 

Being tough pays off: N.J. voters approve of Chris Christie

When Republicans take control of Congress next year, they would do well to pay heed to Chris Christie’s latest approval numbers. 

New Jersey Online: The Quinnipiac University survey of 1,190 registered voters found 51 percent approve of Christie’s job performance, while 36 percent disapprove. Voters are also more likely to identify Christie as a “leader” (51 percent) than as a “bully” (39 percent) when asked to choose.

It’s a significant improvement from June, when voters were split down the middle on both Christie’s approval rating and whether he’s more of a bully or a leader.[…]

Christie’s ratings are better than what his predesessor, Democrat Jon Corzine, chalked up in his first summer. Coming off a battle with the Legislature that temporarily shut down state government, Corzine had a 44 percent approval rating in a July 2006 Quinnipiac poll.[…] 

Garden State voters are split on how they feel about President Obama, with 47 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving — his lowest rating in any New Jersey Quinnipiac poll. [MORE] 

If Chris Christie can make the hard choices in a blue state like New Jersey and no suffer from it, then national Republicans need not worry about making the hard choices when they take control of Congress. The American people have pretty much figured out that the bill for decades of reckless spending has come due.  They are pretty much ready to take the harsh medicine needed to put our financial house in order. All that is required is a dose of honesty from Washington and change in the national narrative.

Christie has successfully changed the narrative by casting the tax payer as the victim and government largess as the victimizer. Christie will continue to be a success so long as he stays clear of foolish comments like opining on Snooki and the Ground Zero Mosque.

The Republican Governor’s Association is actually putting together a twenty-minute video of Chris Christie. Here is a sample of what is to come.

Remember November Act I: 'A New Jersey' Opening Featurette from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: New Jersey Online

Via: The Week

Via: Politico

Via: RGA

Chris “Two Stones” Cristie vetoes Millionaire Tax in 2 minutes flat

If you heard a large clanging sound coming from New Jersey, it was Governor Chris “Two Stones” Cristie throwing down his first veto. 

New Jersey Online: TRENTON — It took about two minutes from the time Senate President Steve Sweeney certified the passage of the millionaires tax package for Gov. Chris Christie to veto the bills at his desk.

"While I have little doubt that the sponsors and supporters of this bill sincerely believe that the state can tax its way out of this financial crisis, I believe that this bill does nothing more than repeat the failed, irresponsible and unsustainable fiscal policies of the past," wrote Christie in his veto statement. "Now is not the time for more of the same. Ultimately, another tax increase will punish the state’s struggling small businesses and set our economy further back from recovery."

After the state Senate passed the bill, which had already passed the Assembly, Sweeney walked the bills down the hallways of the Statehouse, from the state Senate chambers to the governor's office. Once inside, he handed the bills to Christie, who was waiting. 

"What took you so long ?" asked Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak.

Christie sat at a wooden desk emblazoned with the seal of the state of New Jersey and swiftly signed vetoes.

"We'll be back, governor," said Sweeney.

"Alright, we'll see," said Christie. 

Democrats would need two-thirds majority in both houses of the Legislature to override the veto. 

"This is something we're not going away on," said Sweeney. "This isn't theater, this isn't a gimmick." 

Yes, this is theater and it is a gimmick. The Democrats do not have the votes to override his vetoes, so they simply go though this drama so that they can make campaign commercials saying Cristie sides with the rich.

This will give you some idea of the madness here, New Jersey use to be the number one state with the most millionaires. Not anymore, many have used their money to flee to tax friendlier states and along with their money go opportunity for private sector employment.

Less than a year ago, Trenton tried to balance the budget with almost $1 billion in new taxes, yet here they are again looking for more. At some point the light bulb must come on and NJ lawmakers must realize that they cannot spend forever. 

'Millionaires tax' bills pass both houses, but is vetoed by Gov. Christie

Via: Memeorandum

Via: New Jersey Online

Via: The New York Times

Chris Christie shows how the right should handle the media

Man, Chris Christie has turned out to be the real deal. I remember voting for him, thinking he was going to be just another talker. Boy was I wrong, wrong, wrong.

Check out this video from Hot Air.  Chris Cristie gives this stupid Star Ledger columnist a shot right between the eyes.

Gov Christie calls S-L columnist thin-skinned for inquiring about his 'confrontational tone'

New Jersey, just like New York and California, is facing a serious budget shortfall. However, unlike Schwarzenegger or Paterson, Chris Cristie is actually following a commonsense conservative approach and is shrinking New Jersey’s government.

He is even getting Democrats to go against the powerful teacher’s union NJEA to support a school voucher program that is funded by private corporations.

If Christie can turn things around and save New Jersey, he will be the new template for Republicans to follow and will certainly be on the fast track to the White House.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Hot Air

Via: NJ.Com

Via: The Hill

Chris Christie: Reagan comes to New Jersey?

People are starting to notice that New Jersey governor Chris Christie is putting down some serious Reagan conservatism inside this very blue state. Yesterday William McGurn in the Wall Street Journal explained part of the secret to Christie’s early success.

... What makes the battle interesting is the way Mr. Christie is throwing the old chestnuts back at his critics.

Here are a few examples, culled from his budget address, public meetings and radio appearances:

The children will be the ones to suffer from your education cuts. "The real question is, who's for the kids, and who's for their raises? This isn't about the kids. Let's dispense with that portion of the argument. Don't let them tell you that ever again while they are reaching into your pockets."

Budget cuts are unfair. "The special interests have already begun to scream their favorite word—which, coincidentally, is my 9-year-old son's favorite word when we are making him do something he knows is right but does not want to do—'unfair.' . . . One state retiree, 49 years old, paid, over the course of his entire career, a total of $124,000 towards his retirement pension and health benefits. What will we pay him? $3.3 million in pension payments over his life, and nearly $500,000 for health care benefits—a total of $3.8 million on a $120,000 investment. Is that fair?"...

Isn't your talk of 'stopping the tax madness' just another 'Read My Lips' promise? "[Mine is] much better than 'Read my lips.' I'm sorry, it's just much better. Much stronger. . . . It's gonna be how my governorship will rise or fall. I'm not signing a tax increase."

What Christie has done is to basically combat the old lefty compassion arguments with compassion argument from the taxpayer’s perspective. In doing so, he leaves these special interest groups looking like the unreasonable ones.

When Republicans take control in 2010, they would do wise to follow Christie’s example. The nation has reached the point where all this spending has become quite distasteful, so now is the time to really point out the insanity of it all and go about doing some serious cutting.

I’ll leave you with this interview Chris Christie had yesterday with Joe Scarborough. Listen to what he says and just imagine if this guy was free to run in 2012.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Wall Street Journal