Tag Archives: state budget

Do as he says, not does in New Jersey

The dictionary definition of “chutzpah” is as unambiguous as it gets. “Utter nerve; gall,” says my trusty and tattered American Heritage volume.

That would describe New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to a “t.”

The Republican governor shut down the state government on Friday and then took his family to a state park on the Jersey Shore to soak up a few rays.

Did I mention that the state park system was closed to the public? Oh, I guess I just did.

Christie doesn’t get it.

This guy has ripped a page out of Donald J. Trump’s playbook, the one that instructs government executives on how to act and sound boorish while inflicting some hurt on the folks who pay the bills that run the government.

The beach was, of course, deserted. No member of the public could enjoy the park because of budget issues that created the government shutdown.

Christie’s response was typical of the blustering blowhard. ‘‘The governor has a residence at Island Beach (State Park),’’ he said. ‘‘Others don’t. That’s the way it goes. Run for governor and you can have the residence.’’

There you have it. Rank has its privileges, or so the governor would seem to suggest.

Except for this: The governor works for the residents of his state, not the other way around.