Letter to the editor: Chris Christie
The November 11–17, 2015 Medford Sun featured an article in the Opinion section titled “The Chris Christie effect” which attempts to blame Governor Chris Christie for the Democrats picking up seats in the General Assembly during the Nov. 3 election. This article is misguided. There are 690,000 more registered Democrats in New Jersey than registered Republicans, so it is no surprise that Democrats picked up seats in an off year election. What is noteworthy is that Governor Christie has been able to work with Democrats during his time in office to get significant legislation passed. In particular public worker pension and health care reform, which is arguably the most significant issue facing this state.
The article mentions that the voters are unhappy with the way things are going in the assembly. That may be the case, but what does that have to do with Christie? He is a Republican and Democrats control the Assembly. The article mentions Christie’s “blunders” back home. What blunders would these be? Was it a blunder to take on the issue that could potentially bankrupt the state? Reforming public worker pension and health care benefits was an economic necessity and the state is in better financial condition because of it.
The article mentions the George Washington Bridge debacle. This indeed was a debacle. As someone that commutes to work on a regular basis I would be furious if I was stuck in that mess. But again, what does this have to do with Christie? This has been thoroughly investigated by the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey and a state legislative committee and there is zero evidence Christie had any prior knowledge of the lane closing. So mentioning this is simply an attempt to infer guilt by association. That issue is dead.
Whether or not Christie gets the Republican nomination and ultimately wins the Presidential election is anyone’s guess at this point. But many people around the country are looking for a President that is tough, can get things done on the important issues and can work with both major political parties. Sounds like someone we know.
Charles LaRosa
