The 5 Corrupt Things About New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

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http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/5-most-corrupt-things-about-new-jersey-governor-chris-christie



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1. Handed a No-Bid Contract to Firm With Questionable Political Ties

In the wake of Sandy, Governor Christie gifted a no-bid contract to AshBritt, a Florida-based debris-removal firm with eyebrow-raising political affiliations. AshBritt's founder and chief executive, Randal Perkins, has personally contributed $218,500 to political candidates and committees since 2001, nearly all of which went to Republican causes including George W. Bush and the Florida GOP. The firm has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on high-profile Washington lobbyists, including the company founded by Haley Barbour, the former Mississippi governor whom Christie identifies as a mentor. If AshBritt's name sounds familiar, it's because it was among those criticized during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for hiring subcontractor on top of subcontractor, leading some in Congress to accuse it of inflating the cost the government had to pay in reimbursements.

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2. Betting On Casinos, Not Women's Health

Christie's economics are often remarkably arbitrary. In his first three budgets, Christie cut women's health funding claiming the state didn't have the money. Then, he somehow found the aforementioned $260 million to spend on Revel, an Atlantic City casino (which just went bankrupt). In his fourth budget, he cut women's health funding again. Once again, the governor is also a miracle worker here; you can be seen as pro-business even if the business quickly goes under and you’ve poured enormous amounts of taxpayer money down a hole.

3. Lying To Kill ARC Tunnel

Christie employed inflated cost estimates to justify canceling the ARC rail tunnel to Manhattan, which would have created thousands of both short- and long-term jobs, cleared up congestion and lessened pollution caused by commuters. The result of Christie's action was to give him credibility as a staunch fiscal conservative within the national Republican party, which was likely his ultimate objective.

4. Moderate Talk, Tea Party Walk

Christie may have strengthened his reputation as a moderate through his public embrace of President Obama days after the state was ravaged by the post-hurricane storm, but even if they turn it into a statue it won’t erase his history of advocating for some of Congress's most extremist conservatives. Steve King (IA-4), Paul Ryan (WI-1), Susan Brooks (IN-5), Ann Wagner (MO-2) and Tom Lathan (IA-3) all received Christie's endorsement. What's more, each of those Christie-approved representatives went on to vote against the Sandy relief bill…just as their radical, right-wing track-records indicated they would.