Has Gov. Christie become unhinged?
I recently wrote an op-ed for the Times of Trenton. Below is an excerpt. (Warning: The column is a satire).
Chris Christie is desperate. The Garden State’s governor wants to be president. He may even make an official announcement someday. But his poll numbers are dropping. So Christie now spends his time arguing with people in Iowa and New Hampshire. The guv no longer has time to scold New Jerseyans on a daily basis. He forgets that we in New Jersey gave him prominence in the first place. I know that this is a “what have you done for me lately” world, but I still miss the love.
The real sign of Christie’s desperation, though, is his recently announced plan to reform Social Security. He proposes raising the retirement age to 69. He would like to raise the early retirement age to 64. He advocates upping the Medicare eligibility age to 69. Christie further wants to phase out Social Security payments for retirees who earn more than $80,000 annually.
Is he nuts? Sure, Social Security and Medicare are going broke. But that’s no excuse for a politician to offer concrete proposals to fix a problem. At least, not if that politician wants to get elected.
Hasn’t Christopher learned anything from his Republican colleagues in Congress? They opposed Obamacare from the start. They voted umpteen times to repeal it. Did you ever hear them offer a specific program to replace the president’s health plan? Of course not. For that lack of detail, the voters awarded the GOP full control of Congress last November.
Some Republicans think Christie is a RINO (Republican In Name Only). Their suspicions have a basis in fact. After all, when the president visited New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, Christie went out of his way to give Barack a hug. That public endorsement took place a week before the 2012 presidential election. The embrace torpedoed Mitt Romney’s chances. (While Christie has denied that a hug took place, he has admitted to at least a “handshake.”) ….
You can read the full piece here.
