Gov. Chris Christie: responsible when he wants to be.

[a completely inoffensive name]

So, for the 99% of people who don't live in New Jersey, the governor Chris Christie was in some hot water for using a state helicopter to fly him across the state to his son's baseball game, where he landed, got out, then got in a limo which drove the last 100 yards from the plane to the field. He then stayed for 5 innings before leaving in the chopper again.

All the info of the incident is recorded here:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...at_sons_h.html

The governor is known for attempting to crack down hard on government expenses, but many wondered why he would take a state chopper to a private event not related to his job, especially for New Jersey, a state which isn't exactly large by anyone's standards. He initially refused to apologize for the incident as recorded here:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...reimburse.html


But now after the heat has been increasing, he feels the poll numbers starting to slip and just recently reimbursed the state some of the money spent out of his own pocket, with the rest coming from Republican Party funds. He is still unapologetic about using the chopper in the first place.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...opter-flights/
EDIT: Non Fox News link http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...tory?track=rss

For someone that has tried to crack down hard on the teachers union I want to know why teachers can't reimburse the state for all the government resources they use but instead have to undergo cuts and possible stripping of union power, meanwhile it is ok for the governor himself to take a chopper for what should only be an 1hr and 30 min drive at most (disclaimor: I am ignorant of what New Jersey traffic is like) and as long as he pays it back at some point, every thing is just fine according to him.

[InsaneApache]

Politicians mate, politicians.

Don't vote for them, it only encourages them.

The next time the EU demands a budget increase, remember where the money is going. European Commissioners have spent €7.5m (£6.6m) on private jets, gifts, luxury hotels, orchestras to play at parties and the other bare necessities of a Brussels apparatchik’s life. While all this private jetting was going on, a Commission team flew to New York to lecture the rest of us about the need to cut carbon emissions. A private aeroplane typically emits 55 tonnes of carbon dioxide on a transatlantic flight.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/da...-cut-spending/

Why do people vote for these bastards?

Oh wait! Unlike your lot, who you can vote out, we're stuck with this lot. No one voted them in in the first place.

[Centurion1]

Not that it matters but to answer your question New Jersey traffic is essentially the devil. Terrible terrible terrible. Also ever hear of a jersey barrier? yeah its literally impossible to turn left when your in jersey so that if you wanna make a uturn you have to travel as far as possible.

It is the absolute devil. you wouldnt understand coming from Californias gorgeous freeway system. That is the way to travel. Go out and kiss it now. RIGHT NOW!

[a completely inoffensive name]

It is the absolute devil. you wouldnt understand coming from Californias gorgeous freeway system. That is the way to travel. Go out and kiss it now. RIGHT NOW!

Yeah, the California freeway system is great for Northern California maybe, but anywhere from LA down to the border is this:

[Xiahou]

It looks worse than it is.... but how it looks is what matters in politics.
I read that the NJ state police offer helicopter flights to the governor because they can chalk it up to training hours for their pilots. In other words, most of the money would have been spent flying the choppers around anyhow.

But again, this looks terrible. It's hard to imagine what he was thinking when he decided the flight would be a good idea.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Yeah, the California freeway system is great for Northern California maybe, but anywhere from LA down to the border is this:

At least SoCal drivers don't slow to a crawl whenever there's more than 20 cars per mile. Up here most everyone feels the need to go 40 mph whenever there's a car on each side of them. And go 10 mph past any and all accidents in order to properly gawk.

Also, there's Canadians.

Oh, right - the OP - indeed, what was this guy thinking?

CR

[Centurion1]

No ACIN. I'm from San Diego. Trust me...... yeah rush hour is bad. But imagine rush hour at all times. East Coast Traffic from the Mid Atlantic and up is horrendous in general. Plus when its not rush hour on the freeway........ can you say getting from like....... Orange County to San Diego in an hour thirty or less.

[GeneralHankerchief]

This was just such a dumb move on Christie's part. Half the state already wants his blood because of his budget cuts and taking on the unions, which are still quite powerful in NJ (one-off anecdote: my mother, a retired NJ teacher, has pretty much told me that Christie is her least favorite politician ever, which is a shock since I had heard her absolutely ripping W at every opportunity for 8 straight years), and now he goes and does probably the single-worst thing possible for his public image. Seriously, even a sex scandal might not be as bad for him. All of the national Republican establishment loves the guy and wishes he would run in 2012, I very much doubt he'll even be able to hold onto his own state in 2011.

Our last governor, Corzine, got in hot water a while back because he got in a bad accident and it was revealed that his driver was going over 100. Maybe Christie was trying to avoid that mistake...?

Also, NJ traffic actually isn't that bad. Cherry Hill (where I live) to Morristown is about a 90-minute drive, slightly less, and Trenton is like 30-40 minutes on the way there.

[Subotan]

Hooray for public transport!

[Hosakawa Tito]

Texas has public transport, for its cattle.

PR disaster for Christie, but he isn't alone. Most of the ruling elite, and their minions, don't include themselves in the "shared sacrifice theory" during tough economic times.