Back in 2004, Save Jerseyans, your Blogger-in-Chief was an undergraduate at Washington, D.C.’s Catholic University of America when a couple other friends and I interned at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
It was an amazing experience for a wide-eyed young conservative nerd to interact with so many distinguished politicians, media personalities and career activists in one place.
It was also a very different time in the Republican Party, and I discovered a healthy level of intellectual diversity on display from the right-of-center CPAC attendees. Libertarians, neocons, paleocons, fiscal conservatives and social conservatives from across the country mixed, drank, shared cabs, and downed hot dogs while discussing equally hot races in long book signing queques.
The common thread among the CPAC patrons? A healthy disdain for large, active, expensive and intrusive federal governance.
Lt. Governor Guadagno, Madam Speaker, Mr. President, members of the Legislature, fellow New Jerseyans:
I am pleased to present to you my budget for Fiscal Year 2014.
The budget continues a journey you began with me three years ago – to get New Jersey’s house in order; to turn Trenton upside down; to make hard but better choices so that we could put our state back on a path to growth.
For the fourth year in a row, the budget maintains the fiscal discipline we need to restore New Jersey. Fiscal sanity has indeed returned to Trenton.
For the fourth year in a row, this budget is balanced and imposes no tax increases on the people of New Jersey. I want every New Jersey citizen to remember just how different things were before we arrived. 115 tax and fee increases in eight years. Skyrocketing spending. $13 billion in deficits left on our doorstep by the irresponsibility of the past.
We must never take for granted what we have already achieved. Reduced spending. New jobs. Balanced budgets four years in a row. And lower taxes. It is truly a new day for New Jersey.
Photo by Serena DiMaso. Taken with Tom Arone’s phone
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal is only 27 years old, but he’s over the hill politically according to Governor Chris Chrisite.
Speaking in Sea Bright while accepting Mayor Dina Long’s endorsement for reelection, Christie responded to the statement Gopal issued criticising Long and threatening her political future by saying,
“Vin represents the party of yesterday,” Christie chimed. “To put out a statement like that is a product of yesterday. Maybe Chairman Gopal will see the wisdom” (of Christie’s brand of bipartisanship),” according to PoltickerNJ.
Following yesterday’s news of Long endorsing Chrisite, Gopal issued the following statement on facebook:
Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long, a Democrat, will endorse Governor Chris Christie for reelection tomorrow morning at Woody’s, according to a source who doesn’t want to be known for talking to a Republican blogger.
Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long. photo credit:RedBankGreen.com
The Christie campaign has announced a campaign event at Woody’s Ocean Grille for 11:15 am.
Long did not return a call for comment. Nor did Christie strategist Mike DuHaime.
Long’s support of the Republican governor is a set back for Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal, one of Democratic gubernatorial presumptive nominee Senator Barbara Buono’s strongest supporters.
Should Long find herself in trouble with Gopal, Monmouth Republican Chairman John Bennett would welcome her to the GOP.
“I would welcome any caring mayor or council member, including Mayor Long, into the party,” said Bennett in a phone interview, “So long as they are working for the people and not out of a personal agenda, I will welcome them.”
If the gubernatorial election was today, Chris Christie would be reelected in a landslide, according to a Quinnipiac poll released this morning.
Christie beats likely challenger Barbara Buono by 62%-25%. Christie leads with women 54-38, with men 71-18. Republicans back the governor by 93-4, Independents by 68-18. Democrats would vote for Buono, 51-31, despite the fact that they approve of the job Christie is doing by a 56-38 margin. Overall, New Jersey voters approve of Christie by 74-22. That’s the highest rating of any governor in the 17 years Quinnipiac has been doing surveys.
83% of New Jersey voters don’t know enough about Buono to form an opinion.
In a 2016 presidential match up with Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State beats Christie for New Jersey’s 14 electoral votes by 4 points, 49-45. Christie beats New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for president 54%-36%.
Chris Christie’s independent streak continues to confound liberals and conservative alike, Save Jerseyans.
Just the latest example: sometime yesterday, New York’s Capitol Confidential blog (hosted by The Albany Times Union) highlighted a Glens Falls Chronicle interview with the political director for the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Steamfitter.
The relevance for New Jersey political watchers? Governor Christie purportedly called this gentlemen to thank him for union donations to the Sandy relief effort. I’m sure you’ll find the details of their convo (as recalled by the political director, Mr. Bulman) as interesting as we did:
[Bulman] said when he told Mr. Christie he is from upstate New York, “he said, ‘I’m not much different from Andrew Cuomo. I probably agree with him on 98% of the issues.’ ” Mr. Bulman said Gov. Christie “sees value in the building trades, which are private sector unions. He complimented us and said he uses us as an example of a pro-business union.
Mr. Bulman, asked if he thinks Gov. Christie will run for president, said, “I don’t know, but he talked about Israel, and he wanted to make sure we knew he had been traveling abroad.”
12.5-Mile Stretch of Highway from Point Pleasant Beach to Berkeley Will Undergo Accelerated $200 Million Transformation
Trenton, NJ – Taking action to repair and restore the Jersey shore’s transportation system, Governor Chris Christie today announced an aggressive schedule to completely rebuild a 12.5-mile storm-damaged stretch of Route 35 along the Barnegat Peninsula in Ocean County. The highway, which serves as the primary north-south route along the Jersey Shore peninsula from Point Pleasant Beach to the entrance of Island Beach State Park, sustained severe damage during Superstorm Sandy and requires immediate attention so that residents and visitors can resume normal travel in Ocean County. The reconstruction project will rebuild this span of Route 35 in a stronger, more resilient manner, while also providing better drainage, a smoother driving surface, improved accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists, and more economical repair and upkeep costs.
“The destruction wrought by Sandy is evident almost everywhere you look up and down Route 35, from Point Pleasant Beach to the entrance of Island Beach State Park. In the days after the storm, our transportation professionals did truly remarkable work along the entire highway, removing thousands of truckloads of debris and sand to make way for emergency responders, contractors and homeowners. As we have marked the rebuilding of our homes and businesses throughout the state, we now look forward to rebuilding Route 35 stronger and better,” said Governor Christie.“Today, we’re announcing an investment of more than $200 million in federal highway funds to rebuild this stretch of Route 35. This commitment demonstrates the determination we have to rebuild after epic devastation and heartbreaking losses as residents, businesses and this Administration work together to restore the Shore in ways that will help us all stand stronger.”
Chris Christie’s independent streak continues to confound liberals and conservative alike, Save Jerseyans.