Will Christie be able to get anything done?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I doubt it. Think of Khatami in Iran, though in this case Christie is the bad guy and it's the good guys who will be hindering him completely.

[Alexander Hamilton]

No.

[Zarn]

I doubt it. Think of Khatami in Iran, though in this case Christie is the bad guy and it's the good guys who will be hindering him completely.

Christie isn't a bad guy...

[Alexander Hamilton]

Christie should focus on losing weight

[Eraserhead]

Christie should focus on losing weight

[Zarn]

Also, it is better for New Jersey, if certain things were not getting done, for once.

[fezzyfestoon]

Wow, this is news to me.  I didn't know there were any good guys in office in New Jersey.  Weird.  Oh wait, I get it now, they just have Ds behind their names...nevermind.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Wow, this is news to me.  I didn't know there were any good guys in office in New Jersey.  Weird.  Oh wait, I get it now, they just have Ds behind their names...nevermind.

The Democrats in New Jersey recently have accomplished much good:

-Abolished the death penalty.
-Legalized medical marijuana.
-Plan on shoving through gay marriage before Christie takes office.

None of that could be done with Christie in office.

[Zarn]

Wow, this is news to me.  I didn't know there were any good guys in office in New Jersey.  Weird.  Oh wait, I get it now, they just have Ds behind their names...nevermind.

The Democrats in New Jersey recently have accomplished much good:

-Abolished the death penalty.
-Legalized medical marijuana.
-Plan on shoving through gay marriage before Christie takes office.

None of that could be done with Christie in office.

They also killed the state, causing people to actually leave.

[JSojourner]

"Will Christie be able to get anything done?"


Of course not, BRTD.  He's a Republican.  That's the idea.  Do nothing, slay the beast.

[Alexander Hamilton]

"Will Christie be able to get anything done?"


Of course not, BRTD.  He's a Republican.  That's the idea.  Do nothing, slay the beast.

lol

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Christie should focus on losing weight

[JohnnyLongtorso]

I guess you mean "white people have been leaving in droves", since it appears that every other demographic group is increasing in the state.

[Zarn]

Does it matter who is leaving? People are still leaving.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Christie should focus on losing weight

[© tweed]

I doubt it. Think of Khatami in Iran, though in this case Christie is the bad guy and it's the good guys who will be hindering him completely.

NJ Dems are good guys?  c'mon, you know better.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

The Democrats in New Jersey recently have accomplished much good:

-Plan on shoving through gay marriage before Christie takes office.

Institutionalized Democrats, like future Senate President Sweeney, had been trying to stop the gay marriage vote—it was mostly lobbying from "grassroots" progressives that got them to take it seriously.  Codey was pushing it not exactly because he believes in it, but because it's a good revenge shot against Sweeney.  He came out with a tirade against Sweeney before someone reminded him that, you know, you're the Senate President still—you're the one who gets to deal with this.  (o yah cool i guess well get it posted rofl)

That doesn't mean it'll pass, of course.  Democrats don't hold the kind of lead in the Senate that they do in the Assembly, and a lot of Senate Democrats represent Republican areas.  Even some who don't have already come out as firm "no" votes.  Frankly, unless we get pleasantly surprised by Republican support (specifically those "target" Republicans like Bill Baroni and Jen Beck), expect this to die the kind of undignified death it did in New York.


With regard to the question at hand: Maybe.  Christie's team is, frankly, filled with some of the smartest minds in New Jersey.  (Look at how Democrats were falling over themselves to praise Rich Bagger.)  His Democratic opponent on budget issues, Senate Finance Chair Paul Sarlo, couldn't find his way outta a fucking paper bag.

I think he may be able to do something on charter schools too, because he's got some serious Democratic support behind him on that one (like Adubato, the Newark North Ward political boss who runs one of the most successful charters in the state).

I don't think anyone can seriously solve all the problems New Jersey has, but Christie has a shot to do some good.  A lot of Democrats represent areas Christie won by a landslide, so he should be able to get majorities for his less-controversial bills pretty easily.  We'll see how it all goes, though.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I doubt it. Think of Khatami in Iran, though in this case Christie is the bad guy and it's the good guys who will be hindering him completely.

NJ Dems are good guys?  c'mon, you know better.

They are in relation to Christie.

[© tweed]

I doubt it. Think of Khatami in Iran, though in this case Christie is the bad guy and it's the good guys who will be hindering him completely.

NJ Dems are good guys?  c'mon, you know better.

They are in relation to Christie.

color-coded political relativism won't help us survive much longer

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Survive what?

[JohnnyLongtorso]

The Democrats in New Jersey recently have accomplished much good:

-Plan on shoving through gay marriage before Christie takes office.

Institutionalized Democrats, like future Senate President Sweeney, had been trying to stop the gay marriage vote—it was mostly lobbying from "grassroots" progressives that got them to take it seriously.  Codey was pushing it not exactly because he believes in it, but because it's a good revenge shot against Sweeney.  He came out with a tirade against Sweeney before someone reminded him that, you know, you're the Senate President still—you're the one who gets to deal with this.  (o yah cool i guess well get it posted rofl)

That doesn't mean it'll pass, of course.  Democrats don't hold the kind of lead in the Senate that they do in the Assembly, and a lot of Senate Democrats represent Republican areas.  Even some who don't have already come out as firm "no" votes.  Frankly, unless we get pleasantly surprised by Republican support (specifically those "target" Republicans like Bill Baroni and Jen Beck), expect this to die the kind of undignified death it did in New York.

It got voted out of committee 7-6, with Baroni supporting it and two Democrats (Sarlo and Girgenti) opposing it. Not that I'm hopeful it will get passed, but it's gotten farther than I would have expected.

[Holmes]

The Democrats in New Jersey recently have accomplished much good:

-Plan on shoving through gay marriage before Christie takes office.

Institutionalized Democrats, like future Senate President Sweeney, had been trying to stop the gay marriage vote—it was mostly lobbying from "grassroots" progressives that got them to take it seriously.  Codey was pushing it not exactly because he believes in it, but because it's a good revenge shot against Sweeney.  He came out with a tirade against Sweeney before someone reminded him that, you know, you're the Senate President still—you're the one who gets to deal with this.  (o yah cool i guess well get it posted rofl)

That doesn't mean it'll pass, of course.  Democrats don't hold the kind of lead in the Senate that they do in the Assembly, and a lot of Senate Democrats represent Republican areas.  Even some who don't have already come out as firm "no" votes.  Frankly, unless we get pleasantly surprised by Republican support (specifically those "target" Republicans like Bill Baroni and Jen Beck), expect this to die the kind of undignified death it did in New York.

It got voted out of committee 7-6, with Baroni supporting it and two Democrats (Sarlo and Girgenti) opposing it. Not that I'm hopeful it will get passed, but it's gotten farther than I would have expected.

Two days was enough to get Reynolds to switch. I'm not gonna guess how much each swing senator will be e-mailed or called in the next few days.

[© tweed]

Survive what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony_or_Survival

[Lunar]

Will Christie be able to get anything done?

It's a great question and I agree that the answer is no outside of things that NJ Dems calculate will hurt him more than themselves...how much room exists in that territory will be decided by politicking soon enough.

NJ Democrats are even thinking of trying to push through gay marriage before Christie takes office (!!!).  If they pull it off I'll be singing their praises shortly.  I'm completely comfortable with railroading through this type of legislation through judicial gimmicks, not to mention legitimate rulings and popular support.  The backlash against gay marriage (if you can even call it that) seems to be the same everywhere regardless of how it is implemented.

I think I'm drifting away more and more from theories about political backlash.  It exists, but it doesn't seem to be remotely as predictable as I had thought once upon a time. 

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

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Two days was enough to get Reynolds to switch. I'm not gonna guess how much each swing senator will be e-mailed or called in the next few days.

Okay, so here's the problem.  Sarlo and Girgenti are no votes on the Democratic side.  So is Ron Rice for sure, and Van Drew is on record against.  I haven't heard from Whelan, but he's in a GOP-friendly district with two Republican Assemblymen—I would assume he's a more likely "no" than "yes."  Sweeney is a "no" in his heart, considering the roadblocks he's throw in front of this, but he may acquiesce for the sake of holding popular progressive support.

So already, we've got four pretty solid "no"s, up to a possible six.

Now, proponents of gay marriage singled out four Republicans who are possible yes votes for the bill.  Of those four, three were on the committee and only Baroni went "yes."  (Kip Bateman and Jen Beck were the other two.)  You can cross your fingers for Sen. Sean Kean (who represents Asbury Park) and maybe even Diane Allen (who has supported gay marriage in the past, but seems to be against it now).  But that's, at MOST, three.  And likely only one.

Republicans aren't going to want to go out on a limb and support this unless their votes are going to have an impact.  This bill will probably get defeated 25-15, IMHO.