Posted on 06/24/2011 11:50:53 AM PDT by mandaladon
We may never know how he did it. It could have involved some sort of broad scale mind control experiment. Perhaps he brought in somebody from over the border in Delaware to cast a spell on the state legislature. But in New Jersey – a state generally defined by partisan warfare between liberal Democrats and really liberal Democrats – Governor Chris Christie has met the public workers unions on the field of battle and sent them running like pigs from the gun.
New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved a broad rollback of benefits for 750,000 government workers and retirees, the deepest cut in state and local costs in memory, in a major victory for Gov. Chris Christie and a once-unthinkable setback for the state’s powerful public employee unions.
The Assembly passed the bill 46 to 32, as Republicans and a few Democrats defied raucous protests by thousands of people whose chants, vowing electoral revenge, shook the State House. Leaders in the State Senate said their chamber, which had already passed a slightly different version of the bill, would approve the Assembly version on Monday. Mr. Christie, a Republican, was expected to sign the measure into law quickly.
In a statement released after the vote, Mr. Christie said, “We are putting the people first and daring to touch the third rail of politics in order to bring reform to an unsustainable system.”
What were the horrible, unreasonable, punishing changes the governor demanded in this reform effort? Public union workers will need to kick in a bit more for their benefits, on par with private sector employees. The retirement age will need to go up slightly. There will be a temporary suspension of cost of living increases for current retirees. Oh, and the collective bargaining rights of the unions over benefits packages will be curbed. (Any of this sounding familiar?)
That RINO! /s
Please don't misunderstand. I'm not condemning Christie. What he got done is fantastic considering the hand he was dealt. However, he did not accomplish what Walker did and we should not be elevating Christie to that level.
I think your analysis of how voters in blue states act is right on target. As soon as everything starts going well all the benefits will be back.
Walker is the one who facing incredible pressure kept his party together and got the job done. Walker knows full well it will probably cost him his job in the next election as well as those that are going through recall elections. They went ahead and did the right thing anyway. Guys like this I put on a higher pedestal.
ping to #22
It's much harder to do. If they vote it out they are all on record. If it dies on it's own they don't get blamed. This is why the unions didn't fight any where near as hard to stop it in NJ. Also, WI ends tenure and automatic deduction of union dues.
What Christie did was great, but nowhere near as sweeping and he didn't face the same level of opposition. I think the unions winked at the whole thing because they know it's only a 4 yr set back.
Nope, he didn’t get any help from across the border here in Delaware. Our legislators just finished a slobber fest of spending after coming up with some new money for their budget. Everybody got a pie, including the legislators who get an additional $100K slush fund to spend on ‘street repairs’ in their districts.
Ok - I see what you are saying
Quote: “Walker knows full well it will probably cost him his job in the next election as well as those that are going through recall elections. They went ahead and did the right thing anyway. Guys like this I put on a higher pedestal”
Here I disagree with you. I do not think it will cost him his job at all. I have come to the conclusion that the protests and outrage were contrived. If you have to bring in that many people from out of state and rely on a University population to get gin up a protest, you are not reflecting the will of the people. In the end Walker will be re-elected or not based on the performance of Wisconsin’s economy in light of his reforms.
I had some respect for Christie but he lost major points with me when he ordered the U.S. flag flown at half mast to honor some rocker instead of a real hero. Shame!
New Jersey has a powerful Governors office and Mr. Christie is simply competent to uses that power to have his way.
I hope you're right. We need real leadership.
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