I know its hard to believe, but the 2011 elections are closer than they appear. Thanks to the new map, huge pick ups for Republicans remains very slim, but there are some key districts that could yield some positive results. The key, though, is not to lose any!
Every year it takes a bit of time before the lines are finally drawn between the warring factions for the upcoming election, and with the passage of pension reform a few weeks ago, those lines were looking rather blurred. No one could really understand why (politically, not practically) the democrat leadership would push for progress on some of the Governor’s key items; achievements that were only going to help him with taxpayers, and simply make state workers a bit more angry with him.
But then, the budget happened. Democrats realized they were up the creek without a paddle and they tried to throw together a budget that could help pull them ashore with their base. They knew exactly what to do. They put together a budget that spends a ton of money that our state simply does not have. They knew exactly what the result would be. The Governor would use his line-item veto to set the states finances back so they form some semblance of fiscal sanity again.
It played into their hands perfectly. The narrative has now been perfectly set. According to the Democrats: Governor Christie is a big jerk who cut money from stuff that wasn’t getting funded in the original budget in the first place, and the Republicans in the legislature are just puppets in his plan to hurt children and poor women. They got exactly what they wanted.
Yesterday’s failed overrides were nothing but political theatre. Just like Steve Sweeney calling the Governor names for making the cuts in the first place. Sweeney knew it was coming all along, but he needed to save face among his own. Democrats in the Senate knew they would never get the 27 votes needed to pass an override, and they did it anyway. They wasted precious time on a political game in hopes of earning some new capital to spend come the fall, and the media is playing right into it. Job well done, Dems. You set all your pieces out at the taxpayers expense.
