Christie's Total Lack of Self Awareness - Part II

by: Jersey Jazzman

Wed Aug 03, 2011 at 05:00:00 PM EDT

A day after U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez voted no on the national debt deal, Gov. Chris Christie wailed on Lautenberg in particular, saying he continues to be puzzled by what he sees as the senator's rhetoric.

"His tone is just awful," said the governor, who also described Lautenberg as regularly "angry," and questioned how a man in his 80s could sustain the rage.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg:

"I mean, can you guys please take the bat out on her for once?" Christie said to a crowd of reporters at a State House news conference. "Here's a woman who knows she did it, yet she comes to you and is pining ... 'Oh! My goodness! How awful this is! What a double standard!' But she's the queen of double standard."

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn

"Let me tell you something: We won't lose any business to Illinois as long as Pat Quinn's the governor," Christie, a Republican, said during a news conference Thursday. "He's a disaster."

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley

"I heard that pabulum Governor O'Malley was spewing down in Maryland. He doesn't know what he is talking about. Come to New Jersey and listen to what I am saying rather than listening to his Democratic consultants," said Christie.  "We are shining a bright light on what these things cost and they cost a lot of money. Governor O'Malley calls that picking on public sector workers. I call that telling the people who are paying the bills the truth and not kissing up to every special interest you want to have on your side to get electoral success."

The NJEA:

Pretty much every day before breakfast, Christie rips the state's Democrat-aligned teachers union, the NJEA, as "fat and entitled and sanctimonious and self-serving."

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver:

He even accused Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver of lying when she claimed she had tried to arrange a meeting to discuss the issue. As it turns out, she was right. He owes her an apology.

Former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler:

Christie has not directly called Schundler a liar, but on Tuesday he said there is one clear lesson from last week's fiasco: "Don't lie to the governor. That's the message."

Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle:

Christie took the opportunity to respond to criticism by Assemblywoman Valarie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) that his priorities were off because he left his son's game in the fifth inning, calling her a "jerk" and saying that she should be embarrassed.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney:

One more thing: Sweeney had good reason to be furious. The governor picked this fight by promising to speak with him about the budget and then left him hanging. At one point last Wednesday, a staffer warned Sweeney that the governor would be calling in five minutes and still no call came.

35,000 teachers:

"35,000 people came from the teachers. You know what that rally was? The "me first" rally. "Pay me my raise first. Pay me my free health benefits first. Pay me my pension first. And everybody else in New Jersey, get to the back of the line." Well, you know what? I'm not going to sit by and allow that to go unnoticed, so we'll shine a bright light on it, and we'll see how the people react. But I think we are seeing how the people of New Jersey are reacting, and that's how you make it politically palatable in other states in the country. Just shine a bright light on greed and self-interest."

A Third Grade Teacher:

"Scaring students in the classroom, scaring parents with the notes home in the bookbags, and the mandatory 'Project Democracy Homework' asking your parents about what they're going to do in the school board election, and reporting back to your teachers union representatives, using the students like drug mules to carry information back to the classroom, is reprehensible."

Steve Wollmer, a spokesman for the NJEA, said a third-grade teacher in Monroe distributed the homework as part of a civics lesson on voter participation, and it had nothing to do with how parents would vote.

Every other public school teacher in the state:

"I love the public schools but the fact of the matter is there is excess and greed there," said Christie, during an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box.

A constituent who dared to ask him a question:

"It's none of your business."

I think you get the point. Add your own favorites below.