Christie's latest nonsense and lies, an update | Editorial

Gov. Chris Christie makes so many outrageous statements these days it's hard to keep track. But let's look at two fresh ones, to stay abreast.

The gem was his criticism of the Assembly for not doing enough work. This from a guy who is spending more than half his time out of the state, and would be fired from any private sector job.

"The state Assembly hasn't been to work since June," the governor huffed. "It's really interesting all this attention about the time I'm spending outside the state."

A few facts: Legislators in New Jersey work part-time, and only part of the year, as in most states. So it makes perfect sense to take off the months before an election. Republicans did this, too, when they were in control.

And if the governor needs them to act, he can call a special session. Christie hasn't done that.

"Then he'd be calling himself in, too," says Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson).

Plus, the Legislature has piled up a stack of important bills on the governor's desk that he hasn't acted on, like the Atlantic City rescue package. Prieto puts the number at 72 bills.

If the Assembly wants revenge for this insult, here's a suggestion: Pass a bill that cuts the governor's salary in half. Pay him only for the work he does.

Christie's second jaw-dropper came Monday when he blasted a mass e-mail packed with familiar lies about his record on the state budget.

It's remarkable that he even goes there, given that New Jersey has the nation's second-lowest bond rating, behind Illinois, and that it has dropped on Christie's watch a record nine times.

Remember, Christie has line-item veto power, so Democrats can't spend a dime without his approval. He is steering this ship, and it's headed for the rocks.

His claim is that he closed a $13 billion deficit during his first six months in office. Let's take a look.

The budget this year is $33.8 billion, an 8 percent increase since Christie took office.

So where did he cut $13 billion? The short answer is that he didn't. This is a trick.

Each year, the Office of Legislative Services estimates what it would cost to fully fund every program on the books. That never happens, but the exercise gives the Legislature a rough idea of how much it must cut.

Christie's trick is to pretend that inflated number represents actual spending. So his budget, by comparison, seems frugal.

The truth is that this built-in shortfall has barely budged on his watch. It was $10.7 billion the year he swore his oath; it's $10.2 billion now.

The governor knows this. It's been pointed out to him over and over.

But he also knows he can get away with it on national TV, or at town hall meetings in New Hampshire and Iowa.

This is a character issue, in the end. This governor lies like the rest of us brush our teeth, as a matter of routine.