The fact that Christie appointed a fellow Republican who calls himself a 'conservative' Republican is something I don't like about filling Senate seats until a special election. This is not a new opinion but I have always felt that a Governor should appoint a member of the party of the Senator who has died or left office early. Don't think it is right for either Party to tip the balance in the Senate when the people voted in a person from a particular party.
If a Democrat did this in a Republican, I would say exactly the same thing. They are ignoring the voters but that is nothing new for Governors in today's world. Republicans in Congress and as Governors seem to do that a lot today. Just ask people in States where their Governors turned down hundreds of millions of dollars to set up healthcare exchanges. Today's Republican Governors do what ALEC/Koch Brothers and other wealthy donors tell them to do for the most part and don't care about ordinary citizens.
In this case, New Jersey is a blue state with a GOP Governor who appoints his former aide and now NJ's Attorney General to the position. That gives Christie a chance to get another cronie in the AG's office prior to the election this fall.
Attorney General of New Jersey Named as Interim Senator
By MARC SANTORA and KATE ZERNIKEPublished: June 6, 2013
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey on Thursday appointed Jeffrey S. Chiesa, the state’s attorney general, to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Frank R. Lautenberg.
The announcement comes as Democrats and Republicans across the state scramble to line up support, raise money and secure enough signatures ahead of the deadline on Monday to compete in the August primary.
Mr. Chiesa, a Republican, does not plan to seek the seat himself, Mr. Christie said, opening up the field for others in the party.
The governor, who earlier this week said a special election would be held in October to fill the seat, made his announcement at an afternoon news conference in Trenton.
“It was unexpected for sure,” Mr. Chiesa said. He declined to detail his views on specific policy issues, including immigration, saying only that he wanted to be sure the nation’s borders were secure. He described himself as a “conservative Republican.”
“I need to learn about the issues before I can make any meaningful judgments,” he said.
Excerpt: Read More at the NY TimesWill Democrats get organized in New Jersey and pay Christie back for shoving it in their faces by appointing a GOP Conservative to fill the term of Sen Lautenberg (D-NJ) who just died? Special election for Senate is in October so not to conflict with Christie's reelection in November. Maybe it is time for Democrats to realize in New Jersey that they need to start turning out big numbers in these elections and not sit on their hands for whatever reason.
Christie IMHO is counting on Democrats turning out in big numbers for the special election for Senate and not turning out to vote in the Governor's race. I think he has made the wrong call because he has infuriated the Democrats in New Jersey with this choice of his former aide and now AG to the Senate. This could be the straw that broke the camel's back on Christie as Governor of New Jersey.
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