The title of this post is not a trick question. Jeffrey Chiesa was chosen today by governor Christie of New Jersey to fill the seat of the late senator Frank Lautenberg. Chiesa announced that he will not run in the special election in October, so he is just there to warm the seat for a few months.
I find it amazing that everything that Christie does seems pointed only at helping his own political career. The other day, he decided to hold a special election in October rather than November in a move that will cost the state $25 million. If Christie had instead let the election be three weeks later, much of that cost would have been avoided. Of course, if he had saved the money, Christie would have had to run for re-election on the same day as the senate race and that might have hurt his margin of victory. Christie could also have saved the funds had he determined that the senate election was to be in 2014, a choice allowed by New Jersey law.
Today, Christie appoints a senator who will not run for re-election. New Jersey does not usually elect Republicans to the Senate, but had Christie appointed someone like Chris Smith to the Senate until 2014, he would, at least, have had a decent chance at re-election. Christie smothered that plan just as well as if he sat on it.
All of these moves were designed to burnish Christie's credentials as being "fair" and "non-partisan". That is all crap, and Christie knows this. When the senate votes on the next spending bills, is it better to have a vote for lower spending or one for higher taxes? That is the choice. When the senate votes on the approval of the Keystone pipeline, do we want a vote to approve the project or to block it? That is the choice. When the senate votes on changing the sequester so that the impact on the Defense Department can be reduced, do we want a stronger defense or do we want a weaker defense so that president Obama can score political points? That is the choice. Each of these votes is likely to come during the year from October of 2013 to January of 2015. Most likely Christie guaranteed that these wrong choices and many others will be made by the senator from New Jersey during that period, and he did it all just to help himself politically.
Christie made a name for himself by supposedly taking positions that would help the people of New Jersey over the special interests. Today, however, Christie made undeniably clear that he still favors one very, very, very large special interest: himself.
Last fall, there were many Republicans who blamed Christie in part for the Romney loss to Obama. Christie did his Obama hugging bi-partisan love fest with Obama on the Jersey shore after the hurricane. Christie said that he was just trying to get relief for his state, but to many across America it looked very different. With these latest maneuvers, Christie has made everything clear. He is just another typical politician who will do anything to help himself without regard to the effect that this may have on his party, his state or his country.
I find it amazing that everything that Christie does seems pointed only at helping his own political career. The other day, he decided to hold a special election in October rather than November in a move that will cost the state $25 million. If Christie had instead let the election be three weeks later, much of that cost would have been avoided. Of course, if he had saved the money, Christie would have had to run for re-election on the same day as the senate race and that might have hurt his margin of victory. Christie could also have saved the funds had he determined that the senate election was to be in 2014, a choice allowed by New Jersey law.
Today, Christie appoints a senator who will not run for re-election. New Jersey does not usually elect Republicans to the Senate, but had Christie appointed someone like Chris Smith to the Senate until 2014, he would, at least, have had a decent chance at re-election. Christie smothered that plan just as well as if he sat on it.
All of these moves were designed to burnish Christie's credentials as being "fair" and "non-partisan". That is all crap, and Christie knows this. When the senate votes on the next spending bills, is it better to have a vote for lower spending or one for higher taxes? That is the choice. When the senate votes on the approval of the Keystone pipeline, do we want a vote to approve the project or to block it? That is the choice. When the senate votes on changing the sequester so that the impact on the Defense Department can be reduced, do we want a stronger defense or do we want a weaker defense so that president Obama can score political points? That is the choice. Each of these votes is likely to come during the year from October of 2013 to January of 2015. Most likely Christie guaranteed that these wrong choices and many others will be made by the senator from New Jersey during that period, and he did it all just to help himself politically.
Christie made a name for himself by supposedly taking positions that would help the people of New Jersey over the special interests. Today, however, Christie made undeniably clear that he still favors one very, very, very large special interest: himself.
Last fall, there were many Republicans who blamed Christie in part for the Romney loss to Obama. Christie did his Obama hugging bi-partisan love fest with Obama on the Jersey shore after the hurricane. Christie said that he was just trying to get relief for his state, but to many across America it looked very different. With these latest maneuvers, Christie has made everything clear. He is just another typical politician who will do anything to help himself without regard to the effect that this may have on his party, his state or his country.
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