Has Trenton turned Christie upside down?

Jim McGreevey is Governor Christie’s Ethical Compass?

Govenor Chris Christie at his Belmar Town Hall on July 31. Photo by Art Gallagher

In the summer of 2004, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie had Governor Jim McGreevey on the ropes.  McGreevey was “State Official #1,” an unindicted co-conspirator in a pay for play scheme that nabbed Democratic fund-raiser David D’Amiano.  A few weeks later McGreevey was resigning, purportedly because he was a “Gay American” who gave his boyfriend an important homeland security job that he wasn’t qualified to perform.

Yesterday, a decade later, Governor Christie is hanging his hat, and his orange sweater, on a McGreevey Executive Order that exempts the Governor from New Jersey’s ethics laws against accepting gifts.

Chris Christie marched into Trenton promising to turn the place upside down. Five years later McGreevey is Christie’s ethical compass.   Not the man McGreevey has become over the last 10 years.  Christie’s ethical compass is the man he investigated and probably could have indicted and convicted.  To paraphrase Christie on the stump for Mitt Romney two years ago, something got turned upside down in Trenton, but it wasn’t the culture of government that Christie promised he would impact and overturn.

About the best thing we can say about Christie accepting gifts of travel on private jets and seats in owner’s boxes at NFL games is at least it was family friendly entertainment with the cameras running, unlike the alleged entertainment U.S. Senator Bob Menendez flew off to on a friend’s private jet.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Christie Pushed Port Authority To Award Deal To Jerry Jones’ Firm

Less than two years before Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones paid for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s tickets and travel to NFL games, government documents show Christie personally pushed the Port Authority to approve a lucrative contract for a firm part-owned by Jones. Christie nonetheless accepted the gifts from Jones, despite New Jersey ethics rules barring… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Dallas owner Jerry Jones paid for Chris Christie’s trip to root for Cowboys, including private jet

The sweater is orange

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie’s trips to NFL games to root for the Dallas Cowboys were paid for by the team’s owner, Jerry Jones, according to the governor’s office. Images of Christie celebrating with Jones Sunday evening following the Cowboys’ latest win created a stir among sports fans on social media. Christie has now attended three… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Christie Tapped to Captain the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

By Tommy DeSeno

So that’s why he wanted to lose all that weight.

Since we have nothing better to do here in New Jersey, for instance, trying to stop Atlantic City from crumbling into the water, or hoping that Trenton does, let’s wring our collective hands over the Governor cheering for the Giants’ divisional rival while bromance hugging Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. I’m a Jets fan. If it weren’t for this distraction I’d be scouting the Pop Warner leagues to find my team a better coach than the one we just fired.

Governor Christie has really bad optics by publicly wearing Texas spurs. Why? Because Football ain’t baseball, that’s why. Politicians can only lose more votes in the football world than they can gain. Everybody knows that.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Jeb Bush Front-Runner In 2016 GOP Presidential Poll

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s announcement this month that he would “actively explore” a U.S. presidential campaign has led to a CNN poll released Sunday showing him as the early front-runner for the Republican Party U.S. presidential nomination in 2016. Bush, favored by 23 percent of respondents, had a 10-percentage-point lead over New Jersey Gov. Chris… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Speaker Prieto slams Christie-Cuomo vetoes of Port Authority reform bills

In a press statement, New Jersey Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto of Secaucus blasts New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for vetoing legislation aimed at reforming the Port Authority. “These vetoes are terribly disappointing news for the people of New Jersey and New York, especially the commuters who get stung by toll… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Christie and Cuomo Enact Port Authority Reforms, Encourage Legislative Concurrance

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released and endorsed a report issued by the Bi-State Panel on the Future of the Port Authority which calls for reforms to the agency that the governors called “comprehensive and wholesale changes” in a joint statement this evening.

In accepting the report by the panel comprised of three current commissioners of the Port Authority and the chief counsels of each governor, Christie and Cuomo said they are reorganizing the overall operations, leadership and management of the multi-billion dollar organization.  They said that the reorganization will “return the Port Authority fully to its original mission – developing and maintaining the world’s largest transportation system and infrastructure.”

Additionally, the governors each vetoed identical legislation approved by the New York and New Jersey Legislatures which calls for increased transparency of the Port Authority. The governors said they “accept and endorse the transparency legislation” “but with some sensible changes to eliminate confusion that would be caused by the bill as currently drafted.” The changes are included in Christie’s Conditional Veto message to the New Jersey Legislature.   New York’s governor does not have conditional veto powers.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Chris Christie makes the Cubans an offer they can refuse: Mulshine

There is some speculation that our governor will eventually bow out of the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in return for a position in the administration of the next President Bush. I doubt that will happen. But if it does, let’s hope the position in question isn’t secretary of state. Earlier this week, Chris… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Chris Christie criticizes Obama on Sony controversy, Cuba, Chesimard

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie said tonight Sony was wrong to pull a movie from release because of threats from North Korea, but also placed blame on President Barack Obama over the controversy. The governor, speaking live on NJTV for an hour-long interview that was streamed live on nj.com, agreed with Obama when the president suggested… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Live Christie Interview Tonight

Governor Chris Christie will sit for a live one hour interview this evening the public television personality Steve Adubato, JR. The interview will be broadcast on PBS and NJTV. It will be viewable via YouTube here on MMM.

• Tweet