More about Governor Christie of New Jersey

I've mentioned Governor Christie of New Jersey in one or two previous posts. He's getting a grip on the tangled administration of that State and imposing financial discipline, to the fury of established interests and institutions. He's even succeeding in doing so in a bipartisan fashion.

The Wall Street Journal has published an article about him. Here's an excerpt.

The main fault lies with ... elected officials. They have, over decades, tended to give in, buying themselves peace with taxpayer money. Both Republicans and Democrats have been among the spineless.

This is why Christie's been a sensation. Certainly it must be surprising, even in New Jersey, to hear a governor evoking that scene in "The Untouchables." One hastens to add that there's no sign Christie ever actually struck anyone with a bat or anything, though fact-checkers may yet dig up some Little League mishap. Presumably, voters know it's metaphor. His approval ratings are, depending on the poll, either even or, at 57%, rising.

The really shocking thing is to see an official, especially a Republican, who is forceful in driving a hard bargain with taxpayers' money rather than caving the moment someone says he's mean. Christie could do this in part because New Jersey governors are powerful and he has the personality. But those aren't prerequisites, Christie insists. His success is duplicatable.

"This is all working through the legislature," he said, "a Democratic legislature, I might add." That body approved Christie's package of 401(k)-style plans, employee contributions, an end to double-dips and other good sense even as unions howled in mass protests. The bat Christie took out was his power of persuasion.

You persuade, he says, by telling cold truth. His state was going broke. He said so, repeatedly and to all. You can't have voters look you in the eye, he said, and wonder whether you're just placating them. They must hear that when government labor is costly, less essential service can be afforded by taxpayers' finite wallets.

This must be duplicated, Christie said, because having enough fiscally conservative governors could pressure Washington into reform. He's touring to support like-minded candidates such as Walker, he says, because if fiscal conservatism ever had moment, it's now.

There's more at the link. Recommended reading.

I like very much what Governor Christie is doing. We need more people like him in politics. He's stated very bluntly that he's not interested in running for President; but his example shows us what we need in a candidate for that office.

Peter