Cuomo Helped Christie Cover Up Bridgegate By Conspiring To Issue A "False Report" For The Bridge Closures (UPDATED)

Bombshell testimony from government witness and former Christie ally David Wildstein today in the Bridgegate trial:

David Wildstein, a former top Port Authority official turned star witness in the Bridgegate trial, suggested in Tuesday testimony that Gov. Andrew Cuomo discussed with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie issuing false report on the nightmarish lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in 2013, according to reports.

Multiple outlets reported that Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty to his role in the lane closures, heard there were conversations between the two governors within a month after the incident and they agreed that Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye would approve a false report that blamed the closures on a communication breakdown and push blame onto the New Jersey side of the bi-state agency.

Such a report never was issued, though it was reported Tuesday that it was used for testimony before a legislative committee by former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni.

Cuomo’s office did not immediately comment.

More details from the Daily News:

Gov. Cuomo directed the head of the Port Authority to "lay off" of an inquiry into the Bridgegate scandal until after the 2013 election following conversations with N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, a former PA official testified Tuesday.

David Wildstein, who has already pleaded guilty for his role in the September 2013 gridlock, said he had heard there had been "conversations" between the two governors after the Port Authority's executive director, Pat Foye, vowed to get to the bottom of the lane closures from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge.

Cuomo and Christie had agreed in October 2013 that Foye would sign off on a bogus report on the closures in which the Port Authority would admit a communication breakdown resulted in Fort Lee being caught by surprise by an agency traffic study, Wildstein said.

Wildstein recalled saying it would be a "heavy lift" to get Foye to approve the report, but that he believed it could be done thanks to Cuomo.

"My understanding was Gov. Christie and Gov. Cuomo had discussed this, if the New Jersey side (of the PA) accepted responsibility, Foye would sign off on this and that would put an end to this issue," Wildstein said.

 This report would be issued, there would be an explanation to the public, the Port Authority would take responsibility for the failure in communication ... and the question of lane closures would go away."

Under cross examination by Kelly's attorney Michael Critchley, Wildstein agreed that Cuomo's order that Foye "stand down" and "lay off" was only in effect to Election Day in November 2013.

The day after the election, Wildstein said he was contacted by a reporter who identified him as the architect of the Bridgegate plan.

Wildstein told the court today that he believed Foye was behind that leak to the reporter.

Cuomo so far has not commented on this allegation, but if it's true, then Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York, helped Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, to cover up the closure of the George Washington Bridge by knowingly sanctioning a false report about the reason for the closures.

Why would Cuomo do this?

Well, he was running for re-election next year, Christie was head of the Republican Governors Association, so by helping Christie out when he was running for re-election, Cuomo could expect to get help back from Christie in return when he was running the next year.

And that's exactly what happened - Christie mocked the Republican candidate for governor (Rob Astorino), withheld money and resources from the campaign and basically did all he could to help Cuomo win re-election.

At the time, many of us suspected that Cuomo and Christie had a non-aggression pact despite being in different parties.

We now have what appears to be definitive proof of that.

So, would be great to hear what Cuomo's excuse for helping Christie cover up Bridgegate would be, but the governor is whereabouts unknown and apparently his flying attack monkeys haven't come up with a good excuse yet to go public with.

We'll see how long we have to wait until they finally conjure up some bullshit excuse for Cuomo's helping Christie cover up Bridgegate.

UPDATE 2:15 PM: Didn't have to wait long:

Cuomo spox on #Bridgegate "Anyone can say anything, especially a convicted felon spinning a tale, but it’s just false and delusional.”

— Joseph Spector (@GannettAlbany) October 4, 2016

Same old song - Deny, Deny, Deny.

Cuomo's on the witness list for the trial, so there's an outside chance he could be called to testify and put under oath where this kind of denial becomes perjury if proven false.

But best bet here is, he won't be called to testify, the NY legislature will do nothing about these allegations, Democratic and Republican politicians around the state will continue to defend/enable him  and he'll get away with his crimes, as he has since 2010.

Chris Christie Too Busy To Deal With Impending New Jersey Blizzard

NJ.com this morning:

TRENTON — With most of the Garden State under a blizzard watch, Gov. Chris Christie was asked Thursday afternoon what lessons he'd learned about New Jersey's power grid in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Appearing as a guest on conservative talk host Hugh Hewitt's syndicated talk radio show, Christie gave a foreboding answer.

"What we learned is that it's incredibly vulnerable, and incredibly fragile," the governor and Republican presidential candidate said, adding that "a bad storm, a historic storm like Sandy, put the most densely populated state in the nation without power for 75 percent of the state for three weeks."

Christie said the fragility and vulnerability of New Jersey's power grid after Sandy  means "that we have a lot of work to do," and then took the opportunity to promote his corporate tax plan, which calls for repatriating $2 billion in U.S. corporations' assets at a substantially lower rate.

The governor promised that if elected president, he would "use that money exclusively for rebuilding our infrastructure, and by that I mean, roads, bridges and the grid."

Hewitt noted that his radio show would repeat throughout the weekend on stations in both New Hampshire and South Carolina, and asked the governor for his "closing argument" to voters in those early primary states.

Christie answered that "I don't think there's anybody more tested by crisis" and that when faced with a devastating storm, "I put the people of my state first and foremost."

Here's Christie putting the people of his state first this weekend with the impending blizzard coming north:

LACONIA, N.H. — Gov. Chris Christie continues to monitor the a winter storm from New Hampshire that has most counties in New Jersey under a blizzard watch and the rest of the state under a winter storm watch.

The governor's office issues a statement late Thursday evening that advised Christie continues to "actively monitor the winter storm."

Christie, who's seeking the Republican presidential nomination, is in the middle of a six-day tour of New Hampshire as makes his final pitch to voters here with less than three weeks before voters head to the polls. He said earlier Thursday he had no plans for now to cut short his campaign trip and return for the impending storm, saying the lieutenant governor can handle the situation.

You just can't make this stuff up.

When I think about the politician who is most full of shit in this country, I can never figure out if it's Chris Christie or Andrew Cuomo.

Every time you think one of them wins the award hands down, the other one does something to put himself back into contention.

Christie, Like His Pal Cuomo, Is Full Of Shit On Common Core

Chris Christie, once a great supporter of Common Core, turned on the standards as he started to gear up for a run for president in a Republican Party where the Core is disdained.

Christie, as on other issues like gun control or Planned Parenthood, likes to muddy the waters on just how much support he has had for the Core in the past and continues to have for the Core now.

For example:

During Thursday night's Republican debate in South Carolina, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was attacked on several fronts for an allegedly left-leaning past, including his supposed support for Common Core education standards, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Planned Parenthood.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called out his rival for propping up Common Core, the reading and math standards implemented in 42 states, plus the District of Columbia, and widely reviled by conservatives as acts of federal overreach.

"I like Chris Christie, but we can not afford to have a president of the United States that supports Common Core," Rubio said on the main stage.

Christie refuted that: "Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey."

But Christie, who once supported the education standards, has flipped on the issue since last year.

In May, the governor asked New Jersey's department of education to review the implementation of Common Core in the state's school system.

But according to NJ.com, earlier this week, the panel charged with reviewing the standards recommended that 84 percent of them remain in place, with slight revisions to the rest. Common Core, the news site reported, does "still have a place in New Jersey classrooms."

Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey?

Hardly.

Not if 84% of the standards remain in place, with slight revisions to the rest, and the state tests still based upon the Core (and the opt-out option for the test soon to be eliminated.)

The same game is happening in New York, where Christie's Port Authority-pal Andrew Cuomo is playing similar deceptions on New Yorkers, claiming Common Core is going to get a "total reboot" when his Common Core Task Force actually recommended that the "instructional focus" of the Core remain in place.

In short, New York's going to get a similar 16% or so tweaking to the Core, where most of the standards remain in place and the others get minor changes so that Cuomo can say the Core no longer exists in New York State.

Christie and Cuomo are full of shit together on education, full of shit together on Common Core, and full of shit together on a lot of other issues (including the Port Authority.)

Quite frankly, the emblems for both the Christie Presidential campaign and the Cuomo 2018 re-election campaign ought to be two big piles of shit.

And if that's a little too crass, well, so is the shit these two crooks are looking to get away with on a whole host of things - including Common Core.

Cuomo Appointees Planned Fake Bridgegate Memo

Andrea Bernstein at WNYC:

In the Bridgegate scandal, much has been made of what New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knew and when he knew it. But the other governor who also runs the Port Authority, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has long downplayed his knowledge of the scandal.

Documents filed Tuesday night by Bridgegate defendant Bill Baroni suggest that was a deliberate strategy.

Cuomo wasn't asked about the politically-motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge until three months after they occurred. "I don't know anything more basically than what was in the newspapers. This basically is a New Jersey issue," Cuomo told upstate radio station WCNY.

But now a new set of emails suggests that Cuomo's top appointees at the Port Authority were, two months before those remarks, actively discussing how to respond to the burgeoning scandal with top Cuomo aide Howard Glaser.

One of the suggestions? That Pat Foye, the Port Authority executive director, produce two different memos — one for the governor's office and a fake one that might some day be made public.

"How about the following — he types a detailed memo that he produces on his home computer, gives a hard copy to the 2nd floor and then type up a general memo for his files."

“Second floor” is Albany-speak for the floor of the state capitol where Cuomo and his top staff have their offices.

The email, penned by David Garten, the chief of staff to Port Authority Vice Chair Scott Rechler, goes on to say: "that way we have a thorough documented account, it's in the 2nd floor's hands...and then a general memo at the PA in case we get subpoenaed."

...


The newly-released emails suggests a level of communication with the governor's office about the scandal that Cuomo has never acknowledged. Glaser is described as speaking with both Foye and Rechler, though it's unclear what Glaser relayed to Cuomo.

Cuomo's press office did not respond to inquiries about what he learned from Glaser. Glaser also rebuffed email and phone inquiries. 

Two sets of memos, one real and one phonied up in case there's a subpoena.

Want to bet that's not the first time the geniuses in the Cuomo administration have come up with that strategy for something politically and/or criminally dicey?

Christie's Port Authority Scandal Back In The News

NJ.com:

Amid lingering fallout from the George Washington Bridge lane closures, the Port Authority's top lawyer announced that he would step down at the end of next month.

Port Authority General Counsel Darrel Buchbinder, 68, sent a letter to agency colleagues Monday informing them of his "bitter-sweet" decision to retire after 36 years with the agency.

...

Buchbinder's decision to step down form his $277,000 -a-year job comes amid multiple investigations involving the bi-state agency and current and former officials following the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures.

They include civil and criminal probes by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office into the use of $1.8 billion in Port Authority funds on the Pulaski Skyway and other New Jersey infrastructure projects that Buchbinder's office signed off on.

Buchbinder, who has not been accused or any wrongdoing, is among several Port Authority lawyers for whom the agency has hired outside lawyers to represent them in the post-Bridgegate investigations.

Not related to the investigation into the Pulaski money?

Perhaps.

Or perhaps not.

Something to keep a watch on, at any rate.

Christie's got the Bridgegate trials coming up early next year, the David Samson/United investigation is still ongoing (with Christie's pal David Samson expected to be indicted in that case) and there's the Pulaski investigation still ongoing.

Christie likes to make like all his corruption problems are over.

They're not - not by a long shot.

Scott Walker Proposes Making Entire Country Right-To-Work, Outlawing Unions For Federal Workers

Scott Walker's political fortunes are plummeting - he's fallen sharply in Iowa polls (a must win for him), in national polls and in the estimation of GOP political insiders (he's been called the "biggest loser of the summer.")

That may explain this gambit:

Highlights of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's proposed changes to federal labor law affecting unions, which the Republican presidential hopeful plans to lay out on Monday in a town hall meeting in Las Vegas:

-Make it illegal for federal workers to form unions. That would take an act of Congress, but Walker said he's for it because "big-government unions should have no place in the federal workplace." 

-Eliminate the National Labor Relations Board, transferring some of its powers to the National Mediation Board and leaving what Walker calls its "quasi-judicial functions" to the federal court system.

-Impose right-to-work laws, under which workers can't be forced to pay union dues as a condition of their employment, nationwide. Twenty-five states, including Wisconsin, already have such laws. Walker's proposal, if passed by Congress, would require states to vote to opt out of the right-to-work requirement.

-Prohibit unions from automatically deducting dues from state public employees that are used to pay for political activity. Walker said if the Supreme Court does not address the issue in a pending case, he will send a bill to Congress to change the law.

-Require federal employee unions to disclose and certify the portion of dues used for political activity and prohibit withholding that amount.

-Prohibit union organizers from having access to employees' personal information and require union recertification votes "on a periodic basis."

-Repeal any regulations proposed by President Barack Obama's administration that require employers to pay overtime rates to salaried workers and provide paid sick leave. "These rules will only reduce wages and deprive workers of the flexibility to balance work and life commitments," Walker said. 

-Require online disclosure of union expenditures, including total pay of union officers, additional reporting for local affiliates of government employee unions and more conflict-of-interest reporting requirements.

-Change federal law to ensure unions can't fire, discriminate or otherwise retaliate against a whistleblower who reports wrongdoing.

-Repeal wage controls and project labor agreements for federal highway projects.

The chances of this agenda getting enacted by Scott Walker are zero.

Barring a miracle, he's not getting elected president, let alone enacting this agenda and getting it through Congress.

That said, it's instructive to see Walker fall back on union-busting and union-bashing as his poll numbers fall and his chances to president fade.

Just as Chris Christie tried to turn around his flagging fortunes and falling poll numbers by reliving his "glory days" (teacher-bashing!!!), Walker's gone back to his "glory days" taking on the unions in Wisconsin to try and gain some campaign momentum.

We shouldn't be surprised by this, of course - this is a guy who, when asked how he would deal with Al Qaeda and ISIS given that he has no foreign policy experience or expertise, said terrorists would be quaking in their boots at dealing with him because he took on Wisconsin's unions.

Today's Walker union-busting gambit is a sign that he knows he's done as a candidate unless he can quickly turn things around in a race where all the oxygen has been taken up by outsiders like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina.

De Blasio Appeared To Be Only Politician To Stay To The End Of Today's 9/11 Ceremony

From WNBC News:

Perhaps it was in the spirit of Sept. 11 -- or maybe they were just stuck together in the politicos’ pen -- but on Friday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke face to face for the first time in months after a widely publicized rift.

...

Subsequent video images of the ceremony show Cuomo and de Blasio standing in separate areas of the politician area, attended by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani.

...

Most of the politicians left the ceremony early, after the fourth set of bells and about 90 minutes before the reading of the names concluded. De Blasio appeared to be the only politician who stayed until the ceremony ended.

Apparently Cuomo, Christie, Bloomberg and Saint Rudy of 9/11 are too important to stay all the way through the reading of the names of the dead from the 9/11 attacks. 

Port Authority Scandal Flares Up Again For Chris Christie

The Port Authority scandals are gifts that just keep on giving:

United Airlines said on Tuesday that its chief executive, Jeff Smisek, and two other senior officials had stepped down amid a federal corruption investigation.

The airline is under investigation by the United States attorney in New Jersey over whether it had improperly sought to influence senior officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

...

 

United’s executive vice president for communications and government affairs, Nene Foxhall, and the senior vice president for corporate and government affairs, Mark R. Anderson, also resigned, the company said.

In February, federal prosecutors issued subpoenas focused on whether the former chairman of the Port Authority, David Samson, had pushed United to reinstate flights that he used to travel to and from his weekend home in South Carolina.

Ms. Foxhall and Mr. Anderson were among the United officials whose communications with the Port Authority had been subpoenaed.

...

The resignations also complicate the fortunes of Mr. Christie as he tries to resurrect his once-promising presidential bid, by underscoring the accusations of cronyism that have dogged his administration since the bridge scandal broke in early 2014. The governor has distanced himself from other figures implicated in the scandal, saying that they deceived him. But Mr. Samson, despite his resignation, has remained one of the governor’s closest advisers.

Christie's polls are in the toilet, so this news doesn't have much impact on him as presidential candidate.

But it does suggest that Samson's indictment is on the horizon - and who knows what happens then...

Chris Christie Says He'll Track Immigrants Like Fed Ex Packages

Trying to out-Trump the one and only Donald Trump, Chris Christie today:

Laconia, New Hampshire (CNN)Chris Christie said Saturday that if elected president, he will track undocumented immigrants like FedEx packages.

"I'm going to have Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, come work for the government for three months. Just come for three months to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and show these people," the New Jersey governor said at a town hall event here.

Christie added that while FedEx can track boxes, the U.S. can't track undocumented immigrants.

"You go online and at any moment, FedEx can tell you where that package is," he said. "Yet we let people come into this country with visas, and the minute they come in, we lose track of them."

Christie added, "We need to have a system that tracks you from the moment you come in and then when your time is up," he said. "However long your visa is, then we go get you and tap you on the shoulder and say, 'Excuse me, it's time to go.'"

Christie went on to say that all this talk about "anchor babies" makes the Republican Party look hostile to immigrants.

Oh, but saying you're going to track them like Fed Ex packages doesn't?

Stop Chris Christie PAC Shuts Down Because Christie's Campaign Is DOA

Love it:

The Stop Chris Christie PAC is shutting down because it says Christie is doing a better job at stopping his own campaign.

Said PAC treasurer Tom Bjorklund: “Our committee believes that Mr. Christie has already performed the service of stopping his campaign in spirit.”

Christie is in low single digits in the latest GOP primary polls.

His chance to make headlines and get some momentum going for the campaign has been diminished by the Trump circus.

It's looking pretty much over for Christie - he has to have a strong showing in New Hampshire's primary.

Given that he's not polling very well there, the chances of that happening are not too good.

You never want to bet on a 100% certainty in politics, but it's looking 99.9% certain that Chris Christie is done as a presidential contender.

Reality Punches Chris Christie In The Face

Politico reports Chris Christie's 2016 campaign for president is fading into darkness:

Chris Christie, the voluble New Jersey governor, is once again facing the possibility that he might be relegated to the junior varsity debate — and rival Republican campaigns and outside observers say his window to re-enter the top tier of presidential candidates is closing fast.

Wednesday night’s scene in New Hampshire showed the daunting challenge ahead of Christie. As CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC covered Trump’s first town hall live — breaking only to run clips of Jeb Bush attacking the real estate tycoon — Christie was gasping for air on C-SPAN. Because the governor’s dimly lit event — a town hall at a restaurant outside of Manchester — was outdoors, the few viewers watching saw the candidate gradually disappear into darkness. The next day’s headlines duly focused on the Jeb-Donald contretemps, ignoring Christie’s play for a state he has made central to his fading White House hopes.

...

Christie has become such an also-ran that the Associated Press and the New York Times recently reassigned reporters dedicated to covering Christie — Jill Colvin and Kate Zernike — to other beats.

Then there are the polls.

If current trends hold, the New Jersey governor will likely lose his spot in the primetime CNN/Reagan Library debate on Sept. 16, displaced by a surging Carly Fiorina. As of mid-day Thursday, Christie was in 11th place among GOP presidential contenders in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls — behind Trump, Bush, Ben Carson, Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz, Fiorina, Sen. Rand Paul, Gov. John Kasich, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

On Tuesday, a new CNN/ORC poll found Christie in 11th place, with only 3 percent support among registered GOP voters. (A separate POLITICO analysis of the five most recent national polls that would factor into who would appear for the main debate finds Christie tied with Kasich for 10th place. For now.)

And with Trump owning the Straight Talk vote, said former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, there’s little Christie can do to claw his way back.

Christie tried punching teachers in the face rhetorically a little while back, but that didn't help him regain any campaign momentum.

 

He's tried sharing too much information about himself (Hey, I've used birth control!), but that only freaked people out. 

Perhaps if this was an ordinary year, Christie's bluster could create one of those video moments that would go viral and get his campaign back on track.

But that's almost impossible to do with Donald Trump trolling the race, as Kean notes in the Politico piece.

 

He's got a campaign infrastructure and some money to burn, but the cash will start to dry up soon enough as donors move to other more viable candidates (it's already starting to happen) and his campaign apparatus won't save him if he starts running low money.

Christie's big on wanting to punch other people in the face, at least rhetorically.

Well, reality's punching back.

A 2016 victory, a longshot for Christie ever since BridgeGate, now seems all but impossible.

Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

Chris Christie Says Schools Without Teachers Unions Would Be "Nirvana"

We must destroy the village in order to save it:

Governor Chris Christie said that the academic achievement gap can't be fixed until after a "fundamental fight" with the teachers unions.

"We know how to fix this, but we’re not doing it," he said Wednesday afternoon during an interview with Campbell Brown, of the Partnership for Educational Justice and the74million.org, at an education summit in New Hampshire. "We’re not doing it because the teachers unions and the educational establishment, not only in New Jersey but across the country, know that fixes to that take apart the monopoly they have on education."

"And until we have that fundamental fight in this country as to who’s going to run education in this country, parents or unions, until we fix that and come to a conclusion on that, we’re not going to be able to fix the achievement gap." (He later said that schools without teachers unions would be "nirvana.")

Schools without unions would be "nirvana"?

Well, at least he's honest about wanting to destroy teachers unions.

Nice thing is, his political future is destroyed, what with Bridgegate and a few other scandals related to Port Authority funds and his cronies hanging around his neck, New Jersey an economic and quality-of-life mess, and Donald Trump stealing the outrage vote from him in the GOP primary fight.

His latest poll numbers have him dropping out of the top ten in the Republican presidential primary battle, which means he may not get an invite to the next big table GOP debate.

As I posted after Christie said he'd like to punch the teachers unions in the face, his teacher bashing isn't helping him in either approval with New Jersey voters or GOP primary voters.

When he shows up at an unvetted event, people let him have it, Bronx cheer-style.

Quite frankly, Ralph Kramden and his big mouth are done, his political career is over (he's term limited in New Jersey and his chances of getting elected president are about as good as mine) and it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

Enjoy political obscurity, Chris.

Maybe you can ask George Pataki how he deals with it when you see him on the campaign trail.

Wealthy Political Donors Are Sad Some Republican Candidates Are Running Away From Common Core

Some Common Core shills seem unaware that Common Core is about as popular as Ebola these days with a good segment of the population.

Take the editorial boards at the Washington Post and NY Times, both of whom recently wrote up glowing assessments (yeah, I'm using that word on purpose) to talk about the wonders of Common Core and the ancillary tests that go with them and tow warn about the dangers of opposition to the Core (and the tests).

In reading the Washington Post editorial, you'd think it was still 2011 and Common Core opposition was "fringe" instead of increasing by the year.

It's not just clueless newspaper editorial board shills who don't get what's happening with Common Core with the general populace.

The Wall Street Journal today has a piece that says wealthy GOP donors are getting bummed out that Republican presidential candidates are trashing the Common Core.

The Journal reports that wealthy donors are sticking by the Core and pulling support away from candidates like Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker who initially supported the Core but now oppose it.

Candidates who continue to support Common Core are getting love - and dollars - from the Wall Street Common Core-lovers:

Mr. Bush’s approach is drawing a section of donors who have previously backed education accountability efforts in New York and New Jersey. Daniel Loeb, a New York City hedge-fund manager who encouraged Mr. Christie to run for president in 2012, has given $2,700 to Mr. Bush’s campaign, according to the Bush campaign’s financial disclosure. New Jersey education-minded donors that have given to Mr. Bush include Rick Rieder, of BlackRock Capital, Joseph Amato of Neuberger Berman, and Richard Pechter, the past chairman of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the filing shows.

In July, a fundraiser for Mr. Bush was co-hosted by Mr. Lilley and David Tepper, a billionaire hedge-fund manager who helped cofound the Better Education for Kids organization in New Jersey. Members of the organization that advocates for high education standards have donated to Mr. Christie previously.

Alan Fournier, founder of Pennant Capital Management and co-founder of the New Jersey education organization, gave at least $14,400 to past Christie campaigns, records show. Mr. Fournier gave $50,000 to a super PAC supporting Mr. Bush, disclosure reports show. Mr. Tepper has also given $250,000 to the pro-Bush group, Right to Rise.

Mr. Lilley said his support for Mr. Bush is separate from his official role with Better Education for Kids. A spokesman for Mr. Tepper declined to comment. Mr. Fournier didn’t respond to a request for comment.

So even as opposition to Common Core continues to mount around the country, our "betters" - wealthy Wall Street and hedge fund donors, the newspaper editorial boards that shill for them, and at least two GOP presidential candidates - continue to support it.

As a sidenote, some of those donors backing Bush also back Andrew Cuomo, another lover of Common Core and Common Core testing.

Until the politicians who support the Core are made to pay a political price for that support, we're going to continue to see the political establishment push it.

Christie, Jindal and Walker made political calculations that they would pay a political price for continued support of the Core in a GOP presidential primary race and dropped their support it, with Jindal the strongest in opposition.

There are a whole host of reasons why Christie is losing the backing of donors that have nothing to do with education - he has plummeted in polls (indeed, he may not even qualify for the top ten in the next GOP debate), Bridgegate and other scandals hang around his neck further weighing him down and New Jersey's poor financial health and quality of life have made him a target of barbs from other candidates.

But as the money starts to dry up from CCSS-supporting donors, Christie may start to wonder if he made the wrong calculation in turning rhetorically against the Common Core.

Ironic thing is, since New Jersey still gives the Common Core tests, even though Christie claims he's against the Core, the practical effect is that CCSS will still be taught in schools to ready students for the state tests.

So Christie has the worst of both worlds with the Core - he's really not dropped support for Common Core in effect, since the state tests are still CCSS-tied and schools will have to teach it, but since he's talking trash about CCSS, he's losing some wealthy donors over it.

Jindal was never really a top tier candidate, so I'm not sure his opposition to the Core matters in the GOP money race one way or the other.

Walker, on the other hand, was top tier but has seen his brand and poll numbers drop since Donald Trump entered the race.

He's the guy to watch to see what happens as a result of his "turning" against the Core (I put "turning" in quotes because like Christie, his opposition is more rhetorical than practical in consequence.)

Does Walker pay a political consequence - i.e., have trouble raising money from wealthy donors - because of his turning on the Core?

I'm skeptical that Common Core will be a big reason why Walker has potential money problems, given how the rest of his politics cohabits quite well with the GOP donor base.

If Walker has money problems in the future, it will more likely be due to his poor debate performances and rote campaign stump appearances that give him the reputation of being overly calculated and unable to generate real excitement for his candidacy.

In any case, the Journal piece goes to show that the politics around Common Core remain dicey even for Republicans, where opposition to Common Core is strongest.

The base hates Common Core but the moneyed classes love it and that dichotomy has got even Jeb Bush twisting himself in circles trying to please both.

Beating Up On Teachers Isn't Helping Chris Christie: He's At Record Lows In Latest Poll

From IBTimes:

Only 30 percent of registered voters in New Jersey hold a favorable opinion of Gov. Chris Christie -- a candidate for the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination -- according to a new poll conducted by the Rutgers University. The Rutgers-Eagleton poll was conducted prior to Christie qualifying as a participant in Fox News’ first Republican primary debate to be held Thursday.

“Asked to justify their negative assessments, 18 percent cite his character, attitude, and image as reasons for their unfavorable feelings; another 10 percent use such terms as untrustworthy, deceitful, and liar,” the Rutgers Institute of Politics said, in report outlining the findings of the poll.

...


According to the report, which also compiled previous polls, between June and August, the number of New Jersey voters who said their “general impression” of Christie -- who announced his candidacy on June 30 -- was favorable fell by nearly 10 percent. Over the past year, his favorability rating has fallen by almost 20 percent.

Christie’s overall job approval rating as governor has also shown a similar decline over the past year. Between August 2014 and August 2015, the percentage of people who disapproved of his work as governor increased to 59 percent from an earlier 39 percent.

In the good old glory days, Christie used to hold town hall meetings and have fights with union members and teachers, have his staff tape those fights and then put them up on You Tube.

Those You Tube moments were part of his initial national fame and helped gin up the idea that Christie had potential as a national political figure.

But the glory days are long gone - the Bridgegate scandal, along with the misery New Jersey residents live with daily in Chris Christie's economically-challenged, infrastructurally-decrepit state have ensured their demise.

That doesn't mean Christie hasn't tried to bring back the glory days, of course - just last week he said on ABC News he'd love to punch the national teachers union in the face.

That remark engendered much outrage among teachers and their families, which is not exactly a constituency Christie is interested in.

But if he thought that remark would win him some friends among other constituencies, well, he was wrong.

Not only have his poll numbers in Jersey continued to crater, his approval on particular issues have continued to fall to new lows as well - including on education:

Christie fared no better on individual issues, reaching a new low over his work on Superstorm Sandy recovery -- with only 46 percent approving of his work, down from his April 2013 peak of 87 percent. Additionally, Christie -- who recently said that the American Federation of Teachers, a national teachers’ union, deserved a “punch in the face” -- has also fallen to new lows over his work on education and schools in the state. His approval rating on the issue has fallen more than 10 percent over the past year, with 58 percent disapproving of his work.

He's down 41 percentage points on education in the last two years and three months.

That's a pretty big fall.

In a previous Rutgers-Eagleton poll, 69% of New Jersey voters said Christie wasn't suited to be president because of his temperament.

In a Monmouth poll, 57% of New Jersey voters wanted Christie to resign.

Coming on the heels of 61,000 booing him at Monmouth Park last week, these poll numbers should give Christie a good feel for how much people despise him and the job he is doing as governor.

And if he thinks beating up on teachers is going to help him bring back some of the glory days, he is sadly mistaken.

Something Truly Terrifying: Chris Christie's Fear-Mongering Over Terrorism

I know many people were focused on the Donald Trump moments from the FOX GOP debate last night, and, given the entertainment value inherent in many of them, I can understand that.

But I found this exchange between Chris Christie and Rand Paul the most electrifying of the night:




That "Get a warrant!" response from Rand Paul to Christie resonated with me.

I'm sick of these politicians fear-mongering, using 9/11 and terrorism to subsume more and more power into the government to control and record every aspect of our existence.

Paul followed that "Get a warrant!" response to Christie with this:

.@ChrisChristie's disregard for the Constitution sets a dangerous precedent & ignores wisdom of our Founding Fathers. http://t.co/U2WCdnkJ1V

— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 7, 2015

.@ChrisChristie will fear monger and violate your Constitutional rights. And for what? pic.twitter.com/jSDompb6h3

— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 7, 2015

We can fight terrorism and protect the Bill of Rights.

— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 7, 2015

Indeed we can fight terrorism and protect the Bill of Rights.

In fact, what would be the point of "fighting terrorism" if we have to shred our Constitutional rights to do it?

Christie's wrapping himself in the Twin Towers and 9/11 last night was lame, his attack on Paul backfired (as it gave Paul a chance to launch the "Obama/hug" line) and the exchange over the Fourth Amendment and NSA surveillance between Christie and Paul just one more reminder of what an authoritarian bully Chris Christie is and what a disaster he would be as president.

Want to hear something truly terrifying - imagine Chris Christie with the power to indiscriminately spy on every American without a warrant.

Cuomo Gets Christie Treatment, Booed At Billy Joel Concert (Updated With Video)

Andrew Cuomo introduced his pal, Billy Joel, at the last ever concert at Nassau Coliseum tonight.

It didn't go well:

Cuomo was booed at tonight's Billy Joel concert at Nassau Coliseum, per several tweets https://t.co/jf1uv4eyPq

— Thomas Kaplan (@thomaskaplan) August 5, 2015

Cuomo getting booed hard core #BillyJoelConcert

— Danielle Chasworth (@dchasworth) August 5, 2015

Andrew Cuomo intro-ed before Billy Joel show at the Coliseum. Is roundly and loudly booed.

— Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikLAT) August 5, 2015

"@johnasbury: .@NYGovCuomo greeted with massive boos to introduce Billy Joel #LILovesBillyJoel" Cuomo and Christie booed on home turf.

— Sherrill, Kenneth (@KenSherrill) August 5, 2015

Here's the video of the massive booing:


Maybe Cuomo and Christie can do some joint appearances like they did over Ebola and we can have a massive two state boo fest.

That would be an excellent way for these two disgraces to provide some real public service.

Chris Christie, Giving Too Much Info, Says He Wraps The Little Christie For Protection

Nothing to say about this except "Huh?"

The Christie camp has been using the hashtag #TellingItLikeItIs to promote the New Jersey governor’s campaign on Twitter. And that’s exactly what he was doing at a town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire Tuesday morning when he explained to a diner full of voters, “I’m a Catholic, but I’ve used birth control, and not just the rhythm method.”

...


Near the two-hour mark of the event, a man cited three Bible verses to raise arguments in support of environmental conservation and ending wars abroad. Christie launched into a discussion of how religion is separate from politics, and how Americans have the right to practice their faith as they choose.


“We should all acquit ourselves in a way that we believe is consistent with the teachings that we follow, if we follow certain teachings from a religious perspective,” Christie said. “That’s what I’ll always continue to try to do. Me for instance, I’m a Catholic, but I’ve used birth control, and not just the rhythm method, ok. So, you know, my church has a teaching against birth control. Does that make me an awful Catholic because I believed and practiced that function during part of my life? I don’t think so.”

There were a few laughs, but capturing the mood best was a man in front of Christie who put his palm to his forehead in dismay just after the candidate said “rhythm method.”

You know he's floundering when he's doing rhythm method/birth control jokes and supporters are slapping their foreheads with their palms.

Here's the video:
 



The comments at Politico are great - here's a sampling:

He hasn't seen Little Christie in years.

...

Way too much information.......thanks......Wife on top for Safety.....

...

Where is the brain bleach...

 ...

"Ok baby, now rub this KFC extra crispy all over you..oh yeah, so hot.."

 ...

The new feminine side of Governor Fatso? Next he'll be telling us he's had an abortion.

...

Good, then make sure that women have control over their bodies and not the government and have access to legal, safe, birth control that includes abortion.

...

Having your gut panis completely cover your genetalia is NOT a recognized form of birth control, but seeing you in baseball pants might be.

...

Once you've seen that picture, it cannot be unseen. Word to the wise.

...

I just googled it. My God.

...

The Madam requires condoms to keep her girls safe.

...

No, that's okay Politico. I didn't feel like eating today any ways.

From 61,000 booing him on Sunday to a collective America looking for the "brain bleach" to wipe away the image conjured up by his sharing his birth control use.

Heckuva week, Chris.

Randi Weingarten: Christie's A Bully With Anger Management Issues

AFT President Randi Weingarten, presumably one of the recipients of the "punch in the face" Candidate Chris Christie wants to give to national teachers unions, released the following statement about Christie:

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten reacted to Christie after the Republican governor said over the weekend the group deserves a punch in the face. The union leader criticized Christie for promoting a culture of violence.

"Chris Christie has issues—from reneging on his promise to fix pensions to his state's fiscal standing facing near junk bond status. But the biggest issue is he's a bully and has anger management problems," Weingarten said in a statement.

 "That he would threaten to punch teachers in the face — mostly women seeking to help children meet their potential and achieve their dreams — promotes a culture of violence and underscores why he lacks the temperament and emotional skills to be president, or serve in any leadership capacity," she said. "It's a sad day in the life of our nation to see a candidate threaten violence to gain political favor."

Weingarten doesn't use the word "misogynist" in her statement, but clearly that sentiment is there:  "That he would threaten to punch teachers in the face — mostly women seeking to help children meet their potential and achieve their dreams — promotes a culture of violence."

And indeed, he does seem to take a certain glee in blowing up on women, as this infamous incident from 2013 with the attendant photo shows:

Yesterday, the NJEA called for Christie to resign as governor.

57% of New Jersey residents were in agreement with that sentiment as measured by a July Monmouth poll.

Personally I think the more Christie tries to relieve the Glory Days of his early governorship where he beat up on teachers and union members weekly in his infamous town hall videos, the better.

This stuff isn't helping him in the 2016 GOP Presidential Primary, not with Donald Trump have superseded Christie's old act with a much more outrageous (and new) act of his own.

The teacher-bashing just speaks to where Christie stands these days politically post-BridgeGate - trying to live in the old "Glory Days" while the rest of the political world has moved past him.

His teacher-bashing misogyny act doesn't play well anymore - not in New Jersey with voters (where he got booed by 61,000 yesterday - twice) and not in the GOP primary where he lags at the bottom of the race as a political has-been.

But what else can a governor from a state with an economy in the toilet, an infrastructure in tatters, and an electorate furious at him do but try and relive the old days?

Chris Christie Tries To Relive His "Glory Days" By Bashing Teachers

The uproar of Candidate Christie's comments about the national teachers union continues:

The head of New Jersey's largest teachers' union called on Gov. Chris Christie to resign Sunday after the governor suggested the group's national counterparts deserve a punch in the face.

Wendell Steinhauer, president of the New Jersey Education Association, said in a statement Christie "should resign as governor immediately" after the Republican presidential hopeful assailed teacher unions for putting the interests of adults ahead of students.

"Chris Christie's instinct is always to threaten, bully and intimidate instead of build consensus and show true leadership," Steinhauer said.

"That's not news in New Jersey, where voters overwhelmingly reject his immature and inappropriate behavior as well as his failed policies and lack of leadership," he said. "It is clear from polling that voters in the rest of the country also reject his rhetoric and his behavior."

Christie's happy about all this attention, that's for sure.

He finally broke through the 24/7 Trump coverage with something outrageous that got him some headlines, outrage on social media, and attention from one of his favorite adversaries, the NJEA.

He's built a career on this sort of thing but Donald Trump stole his thunder by saying even more outrageous things and getting almost all the media coverage in the GOP primary story.

So Christie had a good morning yesterday, from his perspective, by saying he'd like to punch the national teachers union in the face.

No matter - right after that, he got booed long, loud and hard in two separate choruses by 61,000 horse racing fans at Monmouth Park yesterday.

That booing - which the Asbury Park Press described as a "bombarding" and NJ.com described as "merciless" - reminded him how people in his state feel about him (where he has a 58% disapproval rating and 57% saying he should resign) and how his fellow Republicans feel about him in the GOP primary, where he will just barely make the Thursday FOX News debate cut with 3.2% support.

Christie's a very unpopular governor in a state with one of the worst economies in the nation and an aging infrastructure that Christie has made much worse through negligence and inaction.

Christie has overseen the near destruction of the state pension system and nine debt downgrades for the state.

Yesterday Christie tried to relive his "Glory Days" by going back to the teacher-bashing and union-bashing schtick he used early on in his administration to great acclaim and rode all the way to a 2013 re-election.

But those glory days are long gone and now Christie's left with the mess he's made in New Jersey, the hostility a majority in the state feel for him and the disdain GOP primary goers have for him.

As Bruce Springsteen, Christie's hero, once sang "Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye Glory days, glory days..."

They're over, Chris, they're over.

Chris Christie Booed "Mercilessly" By 61,000 People At Horse Race

Chris Christie said on TV today that he'd like to punch the teachers union in the face because "they are the single most destructive force in public education in America."

Christie then "got his" later in the day:

OCEANPORT — It was one long happy celebration at Monmouth Park for the great American Pharoah's latest victory. At least, that is, until Gov. Chris Christie stepped into the Winner's Circle to present the trophy.

And then, the record crowd of 60,983 booed.

Long.

Loud.

Sustained.

Maybe he should have hung around Bill Murray.

The cheering resumed as trainer Bob Baffert and owner Ahmed Zayat address the crowd and talking about their famous horse. Then Christie's name was mentioned again, and the booing started anew. 

So not even the popular Triple Crown winner, which went off as such a heavy favorite that a $2 bet won 20 cents, could improve the popularity of the Republican presidential candidate in his home state.

Lots of tweets about the booing, but here's my favorite:

Just won $85 and booed the shit out of Chris Christie #SundayFunday #AmericanPharoah

— Mike Deej (@mikedeej97) August 2, 2015

These days, Christie's popularity is somewhere between gonorrhea and jock itch.

The Daily News wrote the following about Christie in an editorial today:

Five years have passed since New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie killed a plan to build an additional passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson between his state and New York. He has done exactly nothing since then to face the most dire transportation crisis looming over the region.

Actually, that’s not true. Christie did divert $1.8 billion that the Port Authority had properly targeted for building the tunnel into improperly funding roadway repairs, including to the Pulaski Skyway.

Mr. Fiscally Prudent Republican Presidential Contender just didn’t have the bucks to cover the basics out of his own treasury.

Christie’s disastrous short-sightedness and financial mismanagement now threaten Jersey commuters with years of hell, and his state with a crippling economic blow that would be felt up and down the East Coast, including in New York.

And he thinks he has a shot at the White House?

Christie can replay old favorites and continue to beat up on teachers.

But that show isn't playing much anymore.

People in New Jersey despise him - he enjoys 36% job approval these days and 57% of New Jersey residents say he should resign.

Republicans who are polled about the primary despise him - he pulls in about 3% support.

And even the editorial boards at neo-liberal papers like the Daily News and the Newark Star-Ledger aren't buying his show anymore

Here's some advice from a teacher to Candidate Christie:

Have fun running for president, Chris, because that show will be over soon enough (most likely after you crash and burn in New Hampshire), and then its back to Jersey for a little hometown serenading.

You got a preview today.