"He had trusted the person who told him the information"

by: Jason Springer

Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 10:30:00 AM EDT

It's amazing to see some of the Christie campaign answers and justifications when they get caught for doing something wrong. The Westfield Patch caught them making more things up, this time on education statistics:

Data on public higher education that Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie provided during an appearance in Westfield last week has proved inaccurate.
During a press conference following a round table discussion on higher education issues, Christie cited an anecdote from a New Jersey guidance counselor saying that a New Jersey student attending either of two campuses of the State University of New York - Albany and Binghamton - would pay less money than attending Rutgers. Christie used the anecdote to reinforce a statement he made during the roundtable saying that New Jersey's public colleges have become too expensive for New Jersey students. Last week Christie toured the state with running mate Kim Guadagni holding a series of events on higher education.
A review of data for projected 2009-2010 costs at the three universities in question by Westfield Patch reveals that Rutgers would be cheaper for a New Jersey resident to attend, and live on campus, than either of the two SUNY schools referenced by Christie. A New Jersey resident living on campus at Rutgers is expected to pay $22,262 in tuition and fees for the 2009 - 2010 academic year. An out-of-state student at the University at Albany will be paying $24,886 in projected costs for next year. An out-of-state student at Binghamton University will be paying $27,280 in projected costs for next year. SUNY schools traditionally refer to themselves without using the SUNY moniker.

And when the Christie campaign was called on this latest instance of the facts undermining their message, we got this gem:

A Christie campaign spokeswoman said that the gubernatorial candidate had been using the story in order to emphasize his point on higher education. She said he had trusted the person who told him the information and started using it. The spokeswoman said that Westfield Patch's inquiries into the issue would cause the former U.S. Attorney to stop using the anecdote at future campaign stops.
"Chris was using a story he was told to prove a point about the affordability of New Jersey schools," Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella said, noting that while the candidate will stop using the anecdote he will continue pressing for lowering higher education costs.

He started to use a story without ever checking on whether it was true? I have a few tall tales I'd be willling to share with the GOP nominee for Governor if that's the way he does things. I'm sure there are a few people who Christie touts as his accomplishments who tried the same excuse. So in the same event, their Lieutenant Governor candidate didn't tell the whole story on why her son wouldn't go to school in NJ and Chris Christie used facts that were completely wrong. And that's on top of the fact that they say they'd turn down stimulus funds with "strings", but in the same breath say they'd accept education funding that has the same requirements. It's just another day on the campaign trail for the Christie campaign apparently. Great work by the Westfield Patch to catch this one.

Jason Springer :: "He had trusted the person who told him the information"