Gov. Christie's poll numbers drop after N.J. budget address

[ProSense]

Gov. Christie's poll numbers drop after N.J. budget address

By Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie’s poll numbers have taken a hit since his budget address two weeks ago, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this morning.

Voters are split on whether they have a favorable or unfavorable impression of Christie, with 46 percent viewing him favorably and 44 percent unfavorably. That’s down significantly from December, when 49 percent of voters saw Christie favorably and 39 percent had an unfavorable impression.

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Forty-eight percent of voters said they are displeased with the governor’s proposed budget, while 45 percent said they are pleased.

When asked to rate Christie’s job performance, 14 percent said excellent, 28 percent said good, 30 percent said fair and 26 percent said poor. Fourteen percent graded him with an A, 24 percent gave him a B, 26 percent gave him a C, 15 percent gave him a D and 19 percent failed him with an F.

President Obama fares better than Christie among Garden State voters, with 57 percent viewing him favorably to 36 percent unfavorably.

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This isn't going to help: Governor Christie called New Jersey police and firefighters greedy..."

[ClarkUSA]

1. He'll never ever see a second term. The union households who voted GOP won't do it again...

... for a long time. Ditto for WI, OH, FL and MI.

Fool me once... although I must admit, any union member who voted Republican was a fool to start with.

[tabbycat31]

4. agree

However, I don't know who we will run against him. The candidate I always thought would be our next governor I am now having 2nd thoughts on because I don't think he has the support of labor.

After being at the Trenton rally a few weeks ago, no Democrat will win without labor.

[karynnj]

17. I think ANY Democrat against Christie will have union support

It could matter in the primary, but if he is a good enough candidate - and is not anti-union, I doubt there's a problem if he wins the nomination.

[Vicar In A Tutu]

8. They are. Big, stupid, moronic idiots.

That's the thing. There exists a cornucopia of imbeciles who think that cutting spending to the bone is a really good idea, but then they end up REALLY FUCKING HATING IT when it actually happens. If they learned from it, that would be fine, but they never do. The GOP cut spending to a needlessly large degree, they hate the GOP and vote Dem. The GOP then frame the Dems as kooky socialist deviants who want to spend ALL YOUR TAX MONEY on really extraneous things like, uhh, healthcare and public services. Fool me once, fool me twice, three times, four times, five times, six hundred times and so on and so forth. Ridiculous.

I have no sympathy for people who vote for cuts and then find their quality of life diminished. Indeed, if they've been fooled - I'll be charitable and say more than once - they DESERVE that. unlike the people who refused to buy the Republican crap. If anything, these people should take it upon themselves to live even closer to the knuckle and donate a percentage of their wages to people who are not as moronic and unscrupulous as them. I just can't get over why they think that paying a little bit less tax on their relatively (to the millionaires and billionaires and GOP overlords) shitty wage is going to outweight the benefits of decent healthcare and strong public services. Or if they're not paying less tax then all they have to show for their folly is that less of their money is going to potentially help other people! I cannot wrap my head around it...it's incredible how self defeating these cretins are.

[CreekDog]

9. Children, the disabled and impoverished often did not vote for cuts

and don't deserve them.

your bloviating to the contrary notwithstanding.

:eyes:

[Vicar In A Tutu]

10. You're right, of course.

Naturally,my frustration of those across the globe (it's by no means a uniquely American thing in the current climate) who voted for the conservative savagery doesn't include unwitting family members who are now collateral, but the crux of the matter is that there are a lot of people who knew the right-wing agenda and happily voted for it, and voted for it out of pure greed, only to now turn around and complain. What did they expect? Time and time again.

[CreekDog]

19. thanks for clarifying

:hi:

[calimary]

20. The key lesson I hope EVERYONE learns from this is: NEVER, repeat, NEVER trust the GOP.

If this isn't enough to convince the thickest blockheads, I don't know what will - unless it's allowed to continue to the point where we're literally thrown back to the Dark Ages. America in the New Feudalism Age.

[JackBeck]

21. Please stop acting like you are the expert on everything.

Especially when it comes to local government in the state I live in. It's insulting if you don't live here, but if you do, you should be embarrassed at how little you know about NJ politics.

Your post shows a complete naiveté when it comes to the machine politics of the way the party bosses in NJ work. There's a constant battle between North and South. Norcross and Sweeney are now in control of our tepidly lead Democratic legislature, which massively sucks for us liberals in North Jersey.

Senate President Steve Sweeney (D), an Ironworker union man, was completely MIA during the rallies two weeks ago in Trenton. Yet he has been working behind the scenes with the Christie administration to reduce union benefits.

Hmm...

http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2011/03/03/news/doc4d6f1d336fedb190524678.txt

You should temper your language when accusing people of being foolish for voting the way they do.

After lobbying Sweeney for almost a year, I stood face to face with him the day of the marriage equality vote in early 2010.

Sweeney was about to be appointed Senate President over Dick Codey, one of NJ's most supportive LGBT allies. Sweeney's cop out was to say that he wasn't going to be the vote that would have opened the floodgates to the rest of the votes we needed for marriage equality. He told us he supported our community, but since he was from South Jersey, he couldn't be the one who let marriage equality happen.

When it came to vote on our bill... Sweeney as the President elect...did not even cast a vote. He abstained.

This. Was. A. Democrat. In. New Jersey. As much as people want to make fun of New jersey, we're actually one of the more progressive states in the country, yet we can't even get a Democratically controlled legislature (with Republican allies) to pass marriage equality.

Historically, unions and the LGBT community have had an amazingly supportive relationship.

You seem to be the expert of NJ politics...why are the union Democrats in power such heartless bastards when it comes to equality? New Jersey is one of those states that should have be a no brainer.

[tilsammans]

28. THANK YOU . . .

. . . for speaking so eloquently and knowledgeably for ALL New Jerseyans.

[butterfly77]

2. What happened...

did he hurt his teabagging base's feelings. I thought the teabaggers got what they wanted,must be hitting in their pocketbooks a little too,hard.

Did they really think that they were something special,maybe he should have taken them to Disneyworld...

[karynnj]

18. The "tea bagging base" is pretty small in Nj - he was the moderate in the NJ primary

and completely vague when running for election. He won because someone convinced the unpopular Corzine that a nasty campaign would help him - it didn't.

[flamingdem]

3. And to think he is the repuke's best shot!! nt

[lunatica]

5. Gee. It looks like voters aren't as stupid as GOP governors thought

And before anyone says anything remember that these Republican Governors didn't run on what they're doing now.

[bigdarryl]

6. If you listen to the media you would think this guy's ratings are in the 70's

That previous poll that had him at 53 percent was bullshit from the begin with NJ polling is notoriously bad in this state

[tabbycat31]

13. agree 100%.

And my mom has drank the media's Kool Aid about him. Luckily she can't vote for the guy.

[CTyankee]

7. Gov. Tub O'Shit looks and sounds mean as hell. He reeks of BULLY

in the school yard. While that may please some on the hard right, most New Jerseyites are not hard right. He'll wear out his welcome real fast with his current schtick...

[RBInMaine]

11. Christie is a BULLY of a FUCKING ASSHAT ! So good. Piss on him !

[jenmito]

12. We gotta get this info. to Morning Joe and all the Christie worshippers there. n/t

[louslobbs]

14. They'll just ignore it and continue with their Koch brother written script

They've all got theirs, they care not about the rest of us or what we think. No compassion from that side and they don't exactly like facts or use them in their alleged arguments.
LOU

[jenmito]

16. I'm sure you're right...

sadly.

[tallahasseedem]

15. I'll be doing all I can...

to ensure he doesn't get a second term.

[vaberella]

22. Is N.J. a blue state? Cause it looks rather red right now. n/t

[karynnj]

24. Where do you get that from the OP?

Obama's numbers are far better than Christie's.

NJ has had many moderate Republican Governors in the past, including Kean and Whitman. Christie ran as a moderate - and Steve Lonigan, the RW Republican against him STILL has radio ads against some positions where he thinks Christie, not just moderate, but liberal - as in supporting NJ's inclusion in a regional cap and trade. The significance of that - it has taken a year for most NJ people to see how reactionary Christie is.

Also consider that these numbers happened while Christie has had almost adoring media - including a NYT cover story!

[vaberella]

25. No, it has nothing to do with the OP's post. It was a question. n/t

[RobinA]

26. Christie Running as Moderate

I am confused by this statement. I am no NJ politics expert, but I am from the Philadelphia area so I absorbed a certain amount of Christie press at election time. He NEVER impressed me as a moderate. Didn't he run on a tax-cutting, budget-cutting platform? He also always struck me as a bully, even before he got in office. I'm a bit surprised he hasn't turned out to be more like Walker. Basically, it seems from across the river that, arguably, running his mouth is his biggest accomplishment.

[karynnj]

29. He was very vague on what he would do

He was able to appear moderate in the primaries because Steve Lonigan was an out and out right winger - and Christie was pushed as being more in the Kean mold. In the general election, Christie never gave any details to what he would cut or how much. There was a third party guy who had incredibly detailed plans and Corzine, of course, had the record of what ha had done. The campaign was as non-issue oriented as any I have ever seen. In fact, in wealthy Morris County, the biggest issue was that Corzine "took away" the property tax rebate for all making above $75,000. That and Corzine, who is not a bully, was made to look mean and petty through some of his commercials. )

As to Christie being a bully - he is and always has been, which is why the Republicans in Morris County shoved him off the Freeholder board after one term.

One difference between WI and NJ, is that both halves of the NJ legislature are controlled by the Democrats - with pretty good majorities. As seen, Walker is one Senator from a supermajority in the Senate and complete control of the assembly. Christie HAS done whatever he could given that.

[JCMach1]

23. The question is when will the media get their nose out of his ass

[hay rick]

27. The media have been putting lipstick on Christie lately but

a pig is a pig is a pig.

A litany of his liabilities here: http://bluejersey.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=17194

His most recent dust-up here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=167x4839