WyBlog

Chris Christie to NJEA: Drop Dead

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie fired a shot across the NJEA's bow, and got their attention. The NJEA (New Jersey Education Association) is the state's largest public employee union, representing more than 95% of the teachers in New Jersey's 600+ school districts.

In a letter to the union's leadership Mr. Christie said he would not even consider supplicating himself before their membership in search of their heretofore coveted electoral endorsement.

You are right Ms. Powell. Your union is most certainly not an ally of the beleaguered taxpayers of New Jersey. And with this action, Mr. Christie is establishing himself as someone who is.

Invoking former Governor Tom Kean is disingenuous. Tom Kean enacted the state income tax, strongly favored by the NJEA, to ensure they would have a steady and hopefully bottomless source of funding for their lavish salaries, perks, and benefits. Of course your union would endorse that!

When Christie Whitman created an $8.6 billion slush fund for school construction (one that the NJEA and their cronies managed to blow through in record time) even that wasn't enough for them to endorse her.

Besides, everyone knows the Democratic Party in New Jersey is a wholly owned subsidiary of the NJEA. Most elected Democrats in this state don't even take a dump without asking Joyce Powell for permission first. The only way to get their endorsement is to promise to bend over and take it whenever she says "jump". Every Democrat knows the drill, and they reflexively bow down before her at every opportunity.

Two Republican sources tell The Auditor Christie was overjoyed at the NJEA's reaction because the candidate feels a fight with the teachers union is a no-lose proposition with voters in the current economic and tax climate.

Yup. The NJEA — jobs for life with no accountability. The Real World — record unemployment, declining revenues, escalating taxes, cratering 401(k) funds, and did I mention the escalating taxes? The unions' puppet governor just put through a 25% increase in the tax on wine and hard liquor to keep their pension plan in clover. Nobody's bailing out my 401(k).

As governor Chris Christie won't be a union toady. That's got Joyce Powell understandably worried, but it bodes well for those of us who work for a living.

UPDATE 15 Jun 2009 13:48:
Correction

Reader "njsales" emailed to note that "it was Democrat Gov Byrne that enacted NJ income tax, not Repub Tom Kean". My memory glitched on that one. Kean ran against Jim Florio, probably the most unpopular incumbent governor in New Jersey history. Backing him over Florio was still hardly a courageous move; it was more like betting on a sure thing.

UPDATE 24 Sep 2009 15:30:
The NJEA has come out swinging at Christie (there's a big surprise!).

I whack them with a clue-by-4 here.

Posted at 12:19 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Archived | Perm Link |
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