There are a myriad of reasons why Americans across the country pleaded, begged and nearly burst into tears urging New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to run for President this year, not the least of which is his refusal to comply with the demands of public sector unions in his home state. In their latest push for more governmental assistance, Liberal Democrats in the state legislature lobbied the Governor to appropriate money for public employees who don’t use up all their sick time.
“There is no intellectual efficacy to their argument,” he said. “So now they have to go to ‘well, people will commit crimes and commit fraud if we don’t pay them more money for not being sick’…Let me tell you something, the people of New Jersey know that [this line of reasoning] is a complete pile of garbage.”
Indeed, Christie challenges the cogency of the opposition’s argument in several different ways. His most persuasive point, not unexpectedly, is that Democrats in the legislature are playing politics – at the expense of New Jersey taxpayers – to placate the political donors and lobbyists who funded their re-election campaigns last year. These “gifts,” he argues, would cost $7,500 per person totaling more than $3 billion. Moreover, if he were to sanction such an unnecessary and wasteful proposal, he would essentially raise taxes on upper income earners. This, in effect, would betray the conservative principles on which he ran for office as well as threaten the solvency of the state of New Jersey.
“Every dollar that accumulates from here forward is the responsibility of the Democrats in the legislature,” he said.
In any event, Chris Christie’s rise from political obscurity to national prominence is a product of both his conspicuous leadership and willingness to effectively compromise with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. But, perhaps more importantly, as one of the few politicians who will answer a question directly and unambiguously – whether one agrees with his position or not – his conversations with the press are candid and sincere. At a time when congressional approval ratings have plummeted to historic lows – and politicians are among the least trusted people in America – it’s refreshing to see a Republican leader stand up to the political naysayers, especially Liberal Democrats, who would profligately waste other people’s hard-earned money all in the name of “fairness.”
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