Chris Christie’s hero

In spite of his schoolyard bully personality and miserable record as governor of New Jersey, which today leads the nation in foreclosures and has seen real living standards for the majority of its residents decline, Chris Christie’s propaganda handlers continue to portray him as a “moderate Republican,” an alternative to the misnamed “tea party” ultra-rightists. Since they keep on saying that over and over again, there may be some who believe it.

At the end of the article I have noted Christie’s praise for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in a recent Time Magazine issue devoted to what they call the “100 most influential people in the world” –  a huge exaggeration, to say the least.

Below, in Christie’s own words, one can see what he really stands for. His praise of Walker, the Koch-owned governor of Wisconsin, shows his true political colors.

By the way, Christie’s commentary on Walker is as accurate as Walker’s self-congratulatory statements.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel –  which supported Walker in 2010 and opposed his recall in 2012 (which Christie calls a “re-election”) –  has listed Wisconsin’s economic outlook as 49th in the country, using a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

It has also called upon Walker, who is running for re-election this year, to make good on his promises of jobs. And polls in the state (which is much more of a swing state than New Jersey) show him in a virtual heat for re-election with his most likely Democratic opponent. Like Christie in New Jersey, Walker rejected federal support for a high speed rail link between Milwaukee and Madison to the tune of 870 million and has rejected federal support for the Affordable Care Act.

Christie would have done pretty much what Walker, a stand in for the Koch Brothers has done, if he had the Republican majority that Walker has had in the state legislature.  And, if the New Jersey state Democratic party had supported Barbara Buono in the way that the Wisconsin state Democratic party is rallying behind Walker’s opponent, New Jersey, a stronger liberal labor state than Wisconsin, might not be moving forward in terms of economic and social policy, instead of being mired in government deadlock and the Christie corruption of the Bridgegate scandal.

Photo: AP


CONTRIBUTOR

Norman Markowitz
Norman Markowitz

Norman Markowitz is a Professor of History. He writes and teaches from a Marxist perspective, and has written many articles on a variety of topics, including biographical entries on Jimmy Hoffa, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the civil rights movement, 1930-1953, and poor peoples movements in U.S. history.

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