New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who has virtually declared war on the state’s labor unions, is known for having an antagonizing style of politics, with some of his most infamous moments including telling a teacher to quit when she talked about how his politicking was hurting the reputation of educators in the state.
Christie’s latest foray into bullying rhetoric came yesterday, where he asked a group of reporters to “take the bat out” on a 76-year old female legislator Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D) because she has the temerity to collect a pension in addition to her part-time salary as a legislator:
Governor Christie told reporters Wednesday to “take the bat” to 76-year-old Sen. Loretta Weinberg for collecting a taxpayer-funded pension while making $49,000 a year as a legislator. […]
“I mean, can you guys please take the bat out on her for once?” Christie said to a crowd of reporters at a State House news conference. “Here’s a woman who knows she did it, yet she comes to you and is pining … ‘Oh! My goodness! How awful this is! What a double standard!’ But she’s the queen of double standard.”
Asked about Christie’s comment, Weinberg replied, “The guy’s a little over the line. I’ll continue criticizing him on the issues I think I should criticize him on.”
NorthJersey.com notes that Weinberg, a widow, lost much of her savings in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which is why she applied for retirement benefits to supplement her part-time legislator’s income. The site also notes that on “Tuesday, an Eagleton Institute of Politics poll showed 53 percent of Democrats and 16 percent of Republicans found Christie to be a ‘bully.’ In an August survey, 35 percent of Democrats and 10 percent of Republicans had described the governor as such.”