Iowa comes to NJ for the flavor of the week

Now that Donald Trump's approval ratings are sinking like those of his TV show, some Iowa bigwigs (read: money men) are treking to NJ this week to see if they can talk our governor into running against President Obama in 2012. Before the GOP pronounces Gov. Christie as their candidate for 2012 they really need to address a few things.

Governor Christie hasn't seemed to have done much when he's been in state aside from yell and scream at his enemies. He has yet to really tackle the legal corruption that invades almost every part of government life at all levels here. I don't mind paying taxes for services, like police, schools and libraries. I do mind paying taxes so that the high school drop out of a friend of a low level politician can have a $60k a year job doing nothing in some government office. And I was promised lower property taxes, not a 2% annual increase cap. Not that I was really expecting a tax decrease like his millionaire friends so they can create jobs overseas, but a little piece of the action would have been nice.

Also Gov. Christie's reputation is enhanced in part because he has been very lucky that the tone deaf union leaders here have made some very dumb moves. Instead of making logical arguments, like the pensions are deferred compensation that the workers agreed to wait for and offer suggestions on how to work together with the governor regarding insurance costs, their responses have been along the lines of "Wah! You promised!!" I don't think President Obama is as dumb as the union leaders.

Then there is his woman problem. My wife and her friends, some of whom are pretty conservative (for NJ), see him as a big bully picking on women with his attacks on state workers and especially teachers, many of whom are female. Though they voted for him in '09 (or at least didn't vote for Corzine), I don't know if they'd vote for him in '13. I'm not even going to start on his plans to seemingly destroy the state's school system, which is pretty good outside of urban areas, for charter schools run by for profit corporations (it's ok for money to go to corporations, but not teachers or administrators in the field).

I don't dislike Gov. Christie. NJ needed change. The state needs someone who can tell us the truth -- that we've voted through weak, pandering politicians to make this state almost unaffordable. He's made some good points and has tackled some waste (train tunnel to Macy's -- so much extravagance when cheaper options, such as an extension of the 7 subway train, which would provide East Side access, were possible), but most of his changes have been smoke and mirrors and getting the have nots to fight with the have a little bit mores. The state is not going to get back to prosperity by blaming teachers, police officers, and blue collar workers for the state's own bad policies. Neither will the nation.