Monday, March 16, 2015

350 vetoes give lie to Christie's image as a compromiser

Englewood officials found a cost-efficient way to fill a deep pothole on Jones Road and Linden Avenue.



By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's front-page story today on vetoes during what a reporter calls "the Governor Christie era" has been years in the making.

This is the first time since the GOP bully took office in early 2010 that the Woodland Park daily has bothered to tally his vetoes, and the shocking number doesn't appear until the continuation page (A-6).

Also shocking are the number of staff stories and columns that have portrayed Christie as a moderate who often compromised with the Democratic majority in the state Legislature to achieve so-called reforms.

The front-page headlines are deceiving, only hinting at how many vetoes Christie has used to get his way on a range of issues, and insulate wealthy companies and individuals from higher taxes:

"Another try to override Christie
Democrats are 0-for-49 against governor's vetoes"

In fact, "Governor Christie has enthusiastically embraced his veto power, exercising it at least 350 times since he took office," The Record reports on A-6.

Still, the story never says what seems obvious: Christie has used his veto power more than any other governor in New Jersey history.

More Christie

Two other Page 1 stories report on Port Authority airport rescue teams, and another desperate Christie grab for environmental money to help plug gaping holes in his budget plan.

Christie vetoed Port Authority reform legislation passed unanimously by New Jersey and New York lawmakers last year, ensuring the bi-state agency will continue to do things as expensively as possible.

The creation of fire and rescue squads at each of the agency's airports tripled the cost of response teams, Staff Writer Shawn Boburg reports on A-1.

Falling short

But Boburg still hasn't linked the agency's  profligate spending to increasingly higher tolls and a refusal to expand bus and rail transit in the region.

And the editors run three major Page 1 stories today on how Christie has screwed up the state and region, and still won't declare him the worst governor in New Jersey history.


2 comments:

  1. The problem was also with the Democrats who sold out and went along with Christie during his re-election which gave rise to his image as a compromiser. We've since seen the political payouts from Bridgegate and other stories these Democrats should have not sold out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. The Democrats are shameful. Barbara Buono was a sacrificial lamb, and voter turnout was the lowest in history for a gubernatorial election. A lot of that had to do with how The Record and other media portraying Christie as invincible.

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