Chris Christie's Failure Shows Just How Popular He Is

Today's post was shared by Mother Jones and comes from www.motherjones.com

Former New Jersey governor Tom Kean is apparently pretty annoyed with Chris Christie, partly for personal reasons and partly because Christie failed to help any other Republicans get elected to the state legislature. The full failure of Christie's "coattails" campaign is only now being known. Christie had wanted to win the state senate, cutting ads and campaigning for key candidates. None of his challengers unseated any Democrats. The total Republican gain in the Assembly appears to be... one. That's better than 2011, when Democrats gained a seat, but even if you factor in the gerrymander that protects Democrats, Kean and other Republicans are amazed that Christie could win by 21 points and carry almost nobody along with him. OK, but isn't there another way of looking at this? It shows just how popular Christie is personally even in a state that shows no sign whatsoever of warming up to Republicans in general. That's fairly remarkable. I'll admit this a slatepitchy kind of argument to make, and I don't know if I really even believe it. Weigel is certainly right that this leaves Christie in the unenviable position of having to scrape and compromise with Democrats for the next few years, something that's unlikely to help his presidential ambitions much. If his compromises succeed, he's a sellout. If they fail, he's a guy who can't get anything done. That kind of sucks. Still! His personal brand is obviously pretty sky high. That has to count for something.

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Hearing set for N.J. SC nominee

Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com

A hearing has been scheduled for one of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s state Supreme Court nominees. According to NewsWorks, the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 17 on Judge Faustino Fernandez-Vina’s nomination to the state’s high court. Christie, whose previous attempts to fill the vacant seats on the state’s high court have failed, nominated Fernandez-Vina in August. The Cuban-born Republican has served as a judge on the New Jersey Superior Court since July 2004. “In the words of the late Sen. John Adler, Judge Fernandez-Vina had ‘the highest level of competence and he’s just the total package,’” Christie said in August. “Last year Chief Justice (Stuart) Rabner named Judge Fernandez-Vina the assignment judge of the Camden Vicinage. At that time, the chief justice said the following, ‘Judge Fernandez-Vina brings to the position of assignment judge a wealth of experience, a proven, practical approach to addressing issues, superb judgment and the respect of the bench and bar.’ Those are his words not mine.” Christie said he couldn’t agree more. “Beyond his time in public life Judge Fernandez-Vina had 22 years of private sector legal experience where he tried in excess of 100 cases and was a certified civil trial attorney certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court,” the governor said, noting...

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N.J. boosts public workers' insurance coverage for alcoholism, drug addiction

Obesity is a front page story in NJ every day as Governor Christie struggles to loose weight. While the Governor spoke in April 2013 about revising the state's workers' compensation system, he has been silent on the subject after his initial announcement. With an election quickly approaching in November he has turned to the endorsement of legislation to treat drug addiction  mental illness and obesity.  All of these efforts are strong indicators that a healthier workforce is being encouraged and will ultimately benefit the workers' compensation system by reducing pre-existing and co-existing conditions. Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from www.nj.com

Gov. Chris Christie, shown here in Asbury Park at an unrelated event today, announced that the state's health benefits plan for public workers will cover alcoholism and drug addiction the same as other mental illnesses starting next year.Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger More than 200,000 public workers in New Jersey will get enhanced insurance coverage for mental illnesses such as alcoholism and drug addiction beginning next year, Gov. Chris Christie announced today. A committee of state and union officials approved "mental health parity" on Friday for the state's second-largest health benefits plan. It means the same level of coverage now provided for a biologically-based mental illness — such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder — will apply to other types of illnesses such as alcoholism, drug addiction and eating disorders. The expansion is expected to cost "less than $5.1 million a year" and will affect more than 217,000 current and retired workers enrolled in the State Health Benefits Program, Christie's office said in a news release today. The insurance plan covers state, county and local government workers as well as employees of New Jersey's public colleges and universities, and their dependent family members. Along with that change, the committee approved "four new lower-cost health plan options" and a new "wellness program" that seeks to encourage healthier lifestyles by offering workers gift cards worth $100 to $250 per person every...

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