Declaring he has run out of patience, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lashed out at Democratic State Senate President Stephen Sweeney on Feb. 5, 2013, over Sweeney’s refusal to move forward with two State Supreme Court nominees submitted by Christie back in Dec. of 2012.
Christie nominated Board of Public Utilities President Robert Hanna and Superior Court Judge David Baumann after Christie’s last two nominees were rejected. Democratic Party leaders were unhappy that Christie would not reappoint Justice John Wallace Jr., the Supreme Court's only African American who was popular among the Democratic Party.
Christie unleashed his harshest criticism of Sweeny thus far, calling him a “dictator and obstructionist in chief. It is his fault and it is his decision” Christie said.
“The senate president has left two extraordinary well qualified men, who by the way they have all voted to confirm before; Judge Baumann was nominated by Governor Corzine to a seat on the bench and was confirmed by a democratic state senate and Bob Hanna who was confirmed to be the president of the BPU. It’s been 60 days since the nomination, what’s his excuse for not giving them a hearing? The fact that he has not done it yet is an insult to the people of this state.”
Christie added that Sweeney “should stop taking his salary if he is not going to do his job. So do your job and give these guys hearings.”
Don’t look for Sweeney to come to his senses anytime soon, this is an election year and the senate president and the democrats are going to make anything and everything tough for Christie, whether it’s the right thing to do or not. This is not about doing the right thing; this is New Jersey politics at its worst, where the people are the real losers.
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