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24 May 2011 16:40

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Politics: New Jersey Gov. Christie’s poll numbers looking worse

  • 40% of New Jerseyites view Gov. Chris Christie favorably source
  • » Is the grass just looking greener from here? So, something seems to be happening. Even as Governor Chris Christie’s national profile has expanded, and his frequent denial of national ambition can barely beat back the GOP clamoring for him to enter the 2012 race, his poll numbers back in the Garden State aren’t looking so hot. We’re wondering if this might have to do with the difference between how it looks from outside to see a “tough” leader calling the shots, versus how it feels to be the constituents under that thumb. Strident austerity measures, YouTube videos of Christie verbally sparring with public employees, and his generally bombastic personality may play like a GOP action movie in Oklahoma, but could it be wearing thin on those closest to it?
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 14:32

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U.S.: MI Gov. Rick Snyder’s “emergency manager” law in full swing

  • NO Benton Harbor, MI’s elected government has no power source
  • » A plan comes to fruition: Governor Rick Snyder supported and signed into law a bill authorizing him to appoint “emergency financial managers” for towns, cities and school districts. This manager would have broad power to strip the power of elected officials, and dissolve whole cities; Benton Harbor, a chronically impoverished city with a black population well over 90%, now knows this disgrace all too well, in the person of their new emergency manager, Joseph Harris. Over the weekend, Harris decided that the city’s elected officials don’t get to govern anymore. No vote, no decision making, nothing but holding meetings and approving the minutes of said meetings. This is the sort of thing, frankly, that should outrage any American regardless of their political stripe. Here’s hoping principled conservatives will join in on decrying this.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2011 17:26

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Offbeat: Little boy to be governor for a day (well kinda, it’s New Jersey)

  • Jesse’s day in the sun: This three-year-old boy, by virtue of both his evident passion for executive authority, as well as our culture of YouTube celebrity, will be getting his wish: one day as honorary Governor, as signed by real-life Governor Chris Christie. Christie’s response to Jesse, via Twitter: “Don’t worry Jesse, people gave plenty of reasons why I couldn’t be Governor, though being too small wasn’t one of them.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jan 2011 13:21

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Politics: Jerry Brown’s tax pitch to Californians may pay off

  • 54% of California likely voters are okay with raising taxes source
  • » New polling from the California Public Policy Institute: A surprising and heartening result, in light of Governor Brown’s rhetoric about tough choices and shared sacrifice. Staring down a state in dire fiscal crisis, Brown has proposed broad, painful spending cuts, as well as a special election to seek voter approval on a package of new taxes and fees. Say what you will about the strategy, but Brown’s candor and honesty about his cuts have been impressive, and it seems voters may reward him with that rarest of the rare: a voter approved tax increase.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jan 2011 15:53

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Politics: Arnold Schwarzenegger: I lost $200 million being governor

  • In all it is probably more than $200 million. But I’m not sorry. It was more than worth it.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger • Explaining the overall cost for him to be the California governor. We’re not exactly sure how that cost breaks down, but we’re guessing it has something to do with the number of movies he had to turn down while playing politician. That said, though, he notes that the bigger cost was what it did to his family. “There is a lot there that needs to be repaired,” he said. He noted that he was better about it in his second term than his first, but during that first term, he would leave home for weeks at a time. At least you weren’t recalled. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jan 2011 21:20

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U.S.: Mario Cuomo tickled pink over son’s footsteps-following

Meet the happiest man in Albany: Nearly two decades since Mario Cuomo left the governor’s mansion in Albany, his son Andrew checked in today. Someone’s planning a sleepover! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Dec 2010 16:17

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Politics: Dear birther movement: Hawaii’s governor knew Obama’s parents

  • It’s an insult to his mother and to his father, and I knew his mother and father — they were my friends, and I have an emotional interest in that. It’s an emotional insult, it is disrespectful to the president, it is disrespectful to the office.
  • New Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie • Expressing his anger over the “birther” movement – something he has a personal stake in because he was good friends with Obama’s parents when they first met and had Barack. So, just to shut those morons up, he’s working on ways to improve the law or offer even more details of Obama’s birth. We hope Abercrombie’s work means Orly Taitz will never be on TV ever again. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Oct 2010 07:42

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Politics: Crossdressing Korean bassist: Pawn in Meg Whitman’s campaign

  • And let this be a lesson to political campaigns: If you miss a character on a bit.ly URL, you might not get what you want. Meg Whitman’s press secretary lost a character in her tweet, pulling this entertaining video instead of the rah-rah endorsement that Whitman got from some police group. Sure, it happens to everyone, but it’s usually not as entertaining as this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

07 Oct 2010 22:27

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U.S.: Chris Christie’s N.J. rail tunnel cancellation = Shaky political ground

  • New Jersey’s governor just gave public works projects a body blow today. Why, you ask? Well, Chris Christie, frustrated over the possibility of putting taxpayers on the hook for billions in cost overruns, ordered the shutdown of a massive, long-in-the-works plan to build a passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York City. While his reasons are fiscal conservative to the core, let’s just emphasize a few things about what he’s costing his state by shutting down the largest public works project in the country:
  • $8.7 billion, the estimated cost of the New Jersey rail project
  • $3
    billion     the amount the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had already promised for the project
  • $300
    million     the amount New Jersey may have to pay back the federal government for the unfinished project
  • $2.7B the anticipated cost overruns of the already-in-progress public works project
  • 6,000 the number of jobs the project would have given New Jersey construction workers
  • 20 the number of years the wheels had been turning on this highly-anticipated project source
  • » And lots of people are pissed, too. Even considering the costs of this project (which had bipartisan support, by the way), the potential benefits could’ve been long-term and might’ve paid for themselves. Homeowners lost out on higher home prices. Commuters lost the possibility of less-annoying commutes. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sounded like he wanted to shout in Chris Christie’s face so loudly it ripped the governor’s skin off. And Christie, while bolstering his support among the right, could hurt his re-election chances because of the perceived flip-flop. This is dangerous ground no matter the fiscal benefits.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2010 10:16

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Politics: Meg Whitman’s entire campaign eaten by the immigration monster

  • bad Meg Whitman’s political image has become centered on a single issue: What she did to her former undocumented housekeeper.
  • worseCalifornia’s gubernatorial debate last night became about the issue of immigration, which pretty much sucks for her. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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