Norcross Defends Christie

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Christie and NorcrossSorry, Senator Weinberg. New Jersey’s most powerful Democrat has a message for his national party and other Dems (like Loretta Weinberg) seeking to make hay out of the NY/NJ Port Authority flap: build a bridge and get over it.

h/t Washington Post:

George Norcross III, an influential Democratic figure in South Jersey and a sometime Christie ally, said Democrats should “be focusing on their own candidates and their own profile.”

“If I was a national Democratic leader, I’d be pretty concerned about circumstances involving the implementation of Obamacare right now versus trying to speculate as to who might be the Republican nominee in a number of years,” Norcross said.

A note for the WashPo editorial staff: his influence extends well beyond South Jersey.

As the majority owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the political patron of Senate President Steve Sweeney (among other prizes), you could make the case that only Chris Christie himself rivals Mr. Norcross as the single most influential politician in the mid-Atlantic region.

Their strategic alliance (yes, Chris Brown wasn’t wrong about its existence, even if you don’t agree with his assessment as to who’s to blame for legislative losses) shaped the 2013 Election cycle and promises to continue to orient state politics for years to come.

Don’t lose sight of what’s really go on here, folks. Christie worked with him (e.g. the ill-designed Rutgers/Rowan merger) but that’s not the same as outright owning him. Chris Christie possesses a life essence independent of Norcross. The less-than-articulate, red district-situated Sweeney would be like a flower without sun in a post-Norcross universe. GN3 wants a governor. It’s that simple. 

Next up: a president who will take his phone calls.

He believes that’s right around the corner, too, and it doesn’t matter whether the POTUS has an (R) or (D) after his surname. Folks who think this is about ideology don’t understand how a guy like GN3 thinks; this is a game of raw, major, unassailable power. Legacy-building. Empire crafting. The man loves a challenge and his only platform is pragmatism.

As a political insider reminded me this morning, Norcross’s own moderate stable of Democrat electeds is likely too centrist to ever win a U.S. presidential primary. Chance and luck also play into something that grand. Siding with CJC is his best bet.

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8403 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

Comments are closed.