I am really curious to see what happens in 2012 when Menedez runs for re-election. Assuming that Healthcare is passed and people are paying taxes on their healthcare benefits as well as higher state taxes to pay for the expansion of medicaid, I will be really curious to see how the middle class votes. While Nelson got his "Cornhusker Kickback",Landrau got the "louisiana Purchase", Dodd got $100 million for Ct to build a hospital, what did Menedez get for NJ. Is he just a yes man and doesn't care about his state residents. Ct, NY, Mass, and Pa. all got deals also While not as large as Louisiana's $300 million or Nebraska's exemption from paying any mediaid expansion for his state residents,, our senators got nothing. NADA. Should make for great campaign ads when people are paying higher taxes. Money talks bullshit walks

Quote:

You still don't get it. Democrats who have voted for these guys aren't voting for Republicans, they're voting for people not part of the machines that have given them the same old crap for years. They really want no part of the rest of the GOP bullshit, and would NEVER send a Republican to DC.

My kids are in a charter school and I think charters are a great idea, but as an experimental lab, not as an excuse to dismantle the public school system when combined with vouchers. A successful charter should be a model for the public schools, not necessarily for more charters.

I am impressed by the comments here. I wrote this article and originally posted to my blog at http://newarknjcre.wordpress.com just after the election - glad it got picked up here and caused such a heated exchange.

I am not a professional journalist - I am a commercial real estate professional. I have to agree with some of the comments that calling NYC a republican stronghold is a bit strong if not inaccurate. I think my point was to say that conservative policies have a place in dense urban centers and these are places where republicans can win. Guliani took on crime & corruption Bloomberg has taken on the schools. Many conservative ideas ring very true with inner city constituents especially charter schools and vouchers.

I live in NYC so I know firsthand how strong liberal ideology is here.

Again thank you for the interested discussion and I hope I can provide more

There have been several articles in the NYT, Ledger, etc. discussing groups that came out against Christie hard during the election.

Of those, the largest & most vociferous (there is a 99% chance I spelled that wrong) was the NJEA. If you recall, they pulled out all the stops & really went at the guy in a semi-personal way.

Well, he won anyway. Now the NJEA is coming with the, "We look forward to working with blah blah". Apparently they've tried to contact the transition team several times & have met with silence.

He ran on a platform that included education reform & school choice, so you knew he was going to be not the Union's favorite candidate. Still, the way NJEA went after them apparently the administration is now thinking "no quarter".

Previously I think they would have had a seat at the table. Now I think they're in for a massive fight. What are they going to do to Christie? They threw their biggest punches & he still won.

I bring this up because it's similar to the urban situation, but different: He won, despite hugely lopsided vote totals coming out of the urban centers, despite huge efforts by the various machines. But the machines aren't all the people. You can stick it to a union, you can stick it to a political apparatus, but he's got a legal not to mention moral obligation to be the Governor of the entire state... I think he's accutely aware of this and I seriously doubt you'll see anything that "hurts" inner urban areas.

What I *DO* think you'll see is self-interested parties screaming like they've been murdered to try to drum up support for the next cycle. Banning double dipping, for example, or pay to play, will somehow be spun as "diluting the power of urban voters". Wait for it.

After reading the comments posted by crushthedemonic and mybeat, I really understand the comment one of my friends once made to me:

"You get the government you deserve."

I have slightly more hope with Christie than I do Obama, which isnt much.

Do u really think Christie is the Savior? Lol.
Give me a break,Naive,Nellies.
No pun intended! Love his stand on gay marriage. He parroted George Bush with the man amd woman crap.
He is just another politician
Making his name at the expense of Hudson County.
Look at the other counties OMG Essex, Union. They are probably worse.
He will party away with all his GOP Blueblood buddies at Drumthwacket while the cities
Get screwed and the working class get their benefits taken away.

WATCH.....

MyBeat . . . Really???

What other sacraments are administered down at City Hall these days???

And aren't gays tax paying citizens too, some portion of which go to support public schools and related education and child care expenses?? While I'm NOT out to make an argument against tax dollars benefiting interests other than each individual tax payer. I do want to illuminate the absurdity of your comment.

Quote:

Quote:

Thats why we need a legitimate 3rd party in this country, because its the old, your tired of the repub's so lets go vote Dem, bottom line pick your poison.

Nonetheless, I think and want to believe that Christie will have a positive impact.

"Marriage is something sacred between a Man and Woman"

Occasionally.

Hey Mybeat,

Know how to respect the sacred institiution of marriage? Keep it in your pants except for your spouse. A steady parade of GOP conservatives who vote rank and file against gay marriage get a FAIL on that one.

I'd love to see conservatives at least be consistent about the "small govt" thing and get out of peoples bedrooms.

Christie won't get much done; I doubt he'll even have much of an impact on coruption. People will be ready for the Democrats in 4 or 8 years.

Quote:

Exactly! Don't like gay marriage? then don't have one. It is as simple as that.

Quote:

true! just ask Britney Spears and husband #3! or is it 4? whatever, I bet it's sacred. and what the hell does "meal ticket on the backs of tax-burdened citizens?" A) mean and B) have to do with marriage? your logic eludes me...

Quote:

A.Marriage is something sacred between a Man and Woman!, if your looking for a meal ticket on the backs of the allready tax burdened citizen thats just outright disgusting!

B.This election was not won because of political lines, but rather because enough people are fed up with the BS thats been going on on this state forever!!!, i.e. all these scumbags that got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, just scratches the surface of how corrupt this state is and therefore why someone like Christie will be a breath of fresh air, will he be the states savior>????? Huhm, probably not, but he will put a system in place that will make the politicians accountable for their actions and big time!

His plan to audit all the school boards will be huge, wait and see how many rats get smoked out the system when this comes into play, can't wait to see!!!

C.As for counties like Hudson, camden, essex, these are traditional corrupt filled strong holds, no secret to anyone by any stretch of the imagination and therefore will feel the wrath even greater and the good people of these counties can thank their elected officials who have screwed them bigtime!!

Cheers

When Corzine was elected I though urban issues would get attention and get some change. Not so much, it was more business as usual. Maybe the stick of attacking the corrupt Democratic machine will yield more than the carrots of a friendly Governor.

OTOH, cluelessly calling NYC a GOP stronghold totally undermines everything else said.

I've had enough and I'm voting with my feet. I'm moving to Stamford, Connecticut. Lower taxes, marriage equality and easy commute to NYC.

I'm fed up with the broken promises of the NJ Dems and the I fear what NJ will become with a Republican governor, especially one who can't see that marriage equality is a civil rights issue.

Vote with your feet!!!!

Christie & Bloomy are new BFFs

By DAVID SEIFMAN
New York Post
December 11, 2009

Chris Christie dropped into City Hall yesterday for a chat with Mayor Bloomberg, and the mayor wasted no time trying to create an alliance with New Jersey's governor-elect.

"We will spend some time together in the future -- lots of it, I think. The economy of New York City is linked very strongly to the economy of northern New Jersey," the mayor said after their meeting.

Christie returned the favor and said Bloomberg had accepted his invitation to tour a Jersey City school with him next month.

"Our leadership styles are similar," Christie said. "I don't think you ever have to wonder what's on the mayor's mind. He's very direct.

"There will be no smoke signals being sent across the Hudson River either way. We'll be talking to each other directly when we have issues."

Christie said the meeting would launch "a new era of relationship between New York City and New Jersey."

Deputy Mayor Bob Lieber, the mayor's point man on the World Trade Center reconstruction, attended the Bloomberg-Christie meeting.

But the Republican governor-elect declined to comment on the mayor's war with the Port Authority over helping fund a second tower for developer Larry Silverstein at Ground Zero.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ch ... yk9Lhxq62YO#ixzz0ZOaZ2ayD

Quote:

This is exactly what I was thinking.

I especially liked the first sentence that explains that the voters "... dismissed John Corzine and the 12 years of democratic rule that preceded him."
I found the rest of the article equally thoughtful and insightful.
I have to admire the exhaustive research done by Mr. Bailey and the editors.

I like how ignoring the needs = not taking (as much) from some to give to others

I fail to see how Guliani or Bloomberg have shown inner cities can be Republican strongholds. Bloomberg didn't win because NYC is super Republican. Neither did Guliani. The city is overwhelmingly liberal, and they won in spite of that, not because it's really conservative.

What Does Christie's Election Mean for Urban NJ, especially Newark, East Orange & Irvington?

By Geoff Bailey
November 11, 2009, 1:40PM

November 3rd marks a day when the voters of NJ said ENOUGH and summarily dismissed John Corzine and the 12 years of democratic rule that preceded him. Chris Christie presented himself as the ?Not John Corzine? candidate and was able to win with little substance or specifics.

I want to focus not on why he won, but how. Chris Christie won due to an unprecedented swell from the suburban counties of Monmouth, Sussex and Ocean as thoroughly analyzed in this article. The democratic strongholds of Essex, Hudson and Camden not only didn?t elect Christie but went even more strongly for the incumbent.

In physics as in politics for every action there is a reaction and the voters who elected Chris Christie are set to be the benefactors of his policies while those who did not will suffer. Does this mean Christie will ignore the needs of the most populous counties in the state? Will the urban centers be spited for the appeasement of the suburbanites? Will reduction in services and property taxes disproportionately impact Newark, Jersey City & Camden? Maybe?

One thing for sure that can be taken from Chris Christie?s background is a proven record for going after corruption. As shown in the recent arrests in Jersey City, corruption abounds in the urban centers and low income neighborhoods of the state (not that the rich suburbs are immune). Corey Booker has fought against corruption in Newark with some success. A zero tolerance of corrupt officials statewide will be a big win for the State of NJ?s inner cities and should be a benefit of having Governor Christie.

As far as programs and funding the urban centers will likely lose. The suburban voters who elected Christie are fed up a rising tax burden due to expanding welfare, wasteful spending on education, and ineffective social programs with little to no provable results. There will certainly be a severe reduction in these types of funds.

On the bright side the Republican party of today has changed from the days the days of President Ford leaving the city of NY to twist in the wind. The examples of Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg show that inner cities can become Republican strongholds, economic engines, and areas to score big political points. Hopefully Governor Christie has learned from their example.

The exodus from the cities that occurred from the 1970?s through the late 1990?s is over. Suburbanites are fed up with suburban sprawl and have been reclaiming urban blight. Waste in the state is mainly due to the corruption and mismanagement of our inner cities. Revitalization of Newark, Jersey City & Camden is the key to making NJ a place where people want to live and business want to do business.

Essex, Hudson and Camden may not have voted for Christie but they hold the key to his political future.