"I've seen Chris Christie be magnificent" ~ Montclair University Professor Brigid Harrison
"Me too" ~ NJN reporter Michael Aron
"Me too" ~ Monmouth University Poll Director Patrick Murray
All of the above speaking during the post debate analysis show on NJN.
Specifics will not win the election for Chris Christie. The Wall Street Journal, Asbury Park Press, Star Ledger, and numerous pundits and pollsters are warning that Chris could lose the election because he has not laid out a specific plan for reducing government spending and taxes in New Jersey. As Chris would say, "They're wrong."
Giving specifics would be both dishonest and politically stupid. Dishonest, because as Chris said before the Star Ledger editorial board today, the size of the problems that whoever is governor come January will have to deal with is unknown. Politically stupid, because Corzine would use his millions to distort Chris's position in order to scare people, as he has done with Chris's health care proposal and mammograms.
Christie should give specifics in his budget address in March.
Chris could probably keep doing what he's doing and eek out a narrow victory on November 3. As Alan Steinberg said in the post debate analysis, it is very unlikely that Chris Daggett will get 11 or 12 percent of the vote. Corzine can't get over 40%. Corzine only wins if 11+% of the voters waste their vote on Daggett.
Eking out a victory would be a missed opportunity and would make governing more difficult for Christie than what it needs to be.
If I were running the Christie campaign, I would stop talking about Jon Corzine and his failures. I would spend the next four weeks giving New Jersey voters something and someone to vote for. I would create an honest and optimistic message about New Jersey's future. I would introduce New Jersey to the "magnificent" Chris Christie that Harrison, Aron and Murray say they've witnessed. The gracious, charming and hopeful leader with back bone that I met when the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce awarded him the Public Servant of the Year Award in 2008. The optimistic and determined leader I witnessed at Democrat Kate Mellina's home on Labor Day.
New Jersey voters are cynical for good reason. Christie won't break 50% with specifics over who has a better plan to fix New Jersey or by talking more about what a failure we all know that Jon Corzine has been. He can break 50% by leading from the heart as well as from the head. He can break 50%, not by only reminding us how bad things are, but by instilling hope and optimism for what our lives will be like when we are once again the leading economy in the country, when our cities are thriving and our children are learning. He can break 50% by letting people know that he is the guy who will turn things around so that they don't have to flee to North Carolina or Georgia.
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8 comments:
I don't plan on voting for Corzine, but if Christie supporters don't want people like me to "waste" their votes on Daggett then they have to come out with more specifics.
Chris should oppose the ridiculous Mass Transit Tunnel and even more ridiculous Glassboro to Camden Railroad. These projects are just to earn kickbacks for Corzine and the rest of the crew. The public doesn't want this nonsense.
There is only two reasons for a politician not to give specifics. They have no plan, or they know we would not support their plan. Unfortunately Christie is leaving voters no choice but to vote for Dagget the only candidate presenting solutions. Everyone who supported SL knew this was where we would be in October snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The fact that 80% of the residents of this State are too stupid to vote for the only honest candidate is not a reason for the few informed people two waste their votes on the lesser of two weasels.
Well at least when Corzine gets reelected he won't break his Campaign promise this time ...HE WILL RAISE TAXES !
Just like with Obama maybe it is best to let the people see what democrats can really do. Then they will be ready to vote for real Republicans and we won't have to settle for political hacks like Christie as our least worste choice. Until people realize that the politicians can do real harm they will just keep sending the same clowns from both parties back.
Art,
I knew there was a reason I read your blog.
It's as if people are asking "Please tell me about the plan you have that you won't or can't implement."
Corzine had specifics four years ago. How are everyone's property taxes looking these days? What happened to the spending cuts?
Daggett offers a plan that has no chance of passing. He puts down the Republicans and the Democrats, but when asked about the future of health care in the state he says he hopes the Democrats in Washington will have a federal plan to solve that problem for him.
I prefer to look at what someone has accomplished in positions they've already held. I believe past performance is a better indication of what someone will do in the future as opposed to non-binding proposals that get thrown around by an individual trying to sell himself as a candidate.
Chris Christie did a great job as US Attorney for New Jersey. No one can reasonably dispute that.
John Corzine has done a terrible job as Governor. No one can reasonably deny that.
Chris Daggett is a question mark who would enter the office of Governor with no allies, therefore, he would accomplish very little if anything.
Chris Christie has a proven track record as being an effective public servant. Jon Corzine does not. What campaign promise trumps that?
Christie is full of shit. I'm not voting for him for just that reason. Christie is telling us that he will cut billions in spending but he won't tell us what specific areas of the budget he intends to cut. If he doesn't trust me enough to be straight with me, he doesn't deserve my vote.
It does frustrate me a lot that Christie doesn't call for massive public education funding cuts. Our budget problems are caused by the idiotic Abbott funding. Do we need to spend $25,000 per pupil to fail in Newark? No.
And do we need to continue pre-K? No.
And, rather than say gut COAH, why doesn't Christie break down what will happen in each town because of COAH?
And, I continue to be frustrated because of Christie's absence of any opposition to the Mass Transit Kickback Tunnel.
Nevertheless, Christie without a plan is better than Corzine with a plan.
When Jon Corzine was at Goldman Sachs, it was his plan to rob the public blind and that's what he did. He had his analysts tout Enron stock so the firm could collect 69 million in fees from Enron. Then his and other Wall Street firms decided to rob people by selling C paper as AAA, i.e., the subprime crisis.
Now, Jon Corzine's plan is to rip off as much from NJ as possible. He bought the Governorship so he could earn even more in kickbacks. He loves to steal. And, behind every large school construction contract or the tunnel, there is Jon Corzine and his kickbacks.
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