Does anyone really care what Chris Christie thinks about what’s going on in Washington? It would seem to me that he should perhaps focus more on the goings on in his own state. Because any delusions of grandeur that he might have once had about running for president in 2016 have all but evaporated. Oh, he can run, I suppose, but his chances of actually getting elected are about the same as Marco Rubio’s. That would be slim and none, with slim having just left town. Part of that stems from his rather skewed perception of things that has the Republicans being entirely to blame for what is going on Washington right now.
The rotund Mr. Christie made that point quite apparent what he implied on Thursday that "responsible Republican leaders" would not allow the government to shut down. Appearing on a Communist Broadcasting System, better known as CBS, morning show, Christie spewed, "That, by definition, is a failure. You’ve gotta work it out." Now of course the New Jersey blimp didn't bother to name any GOP politicians, but his remarks did come just a day after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz finished a 21-hour speech on the Senate floor advocating for the defunding of Obamacare. Christie is one of the GOP governors onboard with Obamacare.
Christie, who I can only assume must view himself as being one of those "responsible leaders", said, "I think there's got to be a solution other than that." Going on to say, "I don't think we should be doing that." Adding, "I think it's always irresponsible if you’re running the government to be advocating for shutting it down." Christie’s a boob. Apparently he’s incapable of recognizing the seriousness of our situation here, which in my mind, disqualifies him from ever being considered as a successor to Barry "Almighty". We now have accumulated $17 Trillion worth of debt. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
The disagreement over a funding bill, as those who have been paying attention know, has focused primarily on Barry’s unaffordable Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, which begins enrollment early next week. House Republicans pushed through a provision in the temporary spending plan to defund Obamacare. ‘Dingy Harry’ Reid has said he'll strip the defunding language before bringing the continuing resolution to a vote in the Senate, producing clean legislation amenable to the Democratic majority, which would then be sent back to the House for final passage, just days before the deadline.
And those Republican leaders, whom Christie identifies as being irresponsible, have said they'll reject the temporary spending plan the Senate is expected to pass. Christie noted in the interview he doesn't hear "responsible Republican leaders advocating for a shutdown of the government", a clear swipe at the Tea Party conservative wing of the GOP. I guess I’m a little curious regarding who it is that Christie might not think is a "responsible Republican leader." Am I to assume that Christie views ‘Dingy’ Harry’s use of sleazy tactics as being something that would make him a responsible leader? Whoops, another disqualifier for 2016.
I mean, we know that after some pretty public clashes, Christie has a rather low opinion of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. But I’d side with Paul any time before choosing to stand with Christie. But Christie still says that he thinks lawmakers will come to an agreement to avoid a shutdown. "I'm confident they will," Christie said. "Because I don't think anybody wants to go down that road." Well gee, where would we be without the brilliant political insight of Chris Christie? This guy should stick to New Jersey politics and steer clear of what’s going on in Washington. We really don’t need any more RINO’s mucking things up!
Besides, and I could be wrong here, but from my point of view, the rotund one from Jersey just might want to focus a bit more of his time and energy on the fact that New Jersey is now experiencing a rather significant shortage of doctors. In fact, it’s projected that by 2020 the Garden State will be about 3,000 primary care physicians short of what is needed to give optimal health care. And, dare I say, it is an issue that is sure to become much more of a problem that is, and in no small way, directly related to what’s now being discussed in Washington. Many doctors are choosing to retire early to escape having to deal with Obamacare.
There are other reasons, of course, for why are doctors fleeing the Garden State According to Deborah Briggs, the President and CEO of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, New Jersey loses nearly 70% of the doctors it educates to other states. This is well below the national average of a 48% retention rate. In other words, in 2013 New Jersey only kept about 34% of the doctors who were educated and trained in the state. The Council of Teaching Hospitals and a nationwide study done by Merritt Hawkins, says New Jersey is just not competitive when it comes to keeping doctors in state. You’d think Christie could do something about that!
The top five reasons for physicians leaving are: 1) Better salary offered outside of New Jersey; 2) Cost of living in New Jersey; 3) Better job/practice opportunities in desired locations outside of New Jersey; 4) Taxes in New Jersey; 5) Affordable Housing. Now a couple of Assemblywomen, doing what Christie should be doing, recently gathered doctors, residents, hospital managers, and specialist at Jersey Shore Medical Center to discuss New Jersey’s doctor drain. The room was filled with 40 or so doctors who also added malpractice insurance issues to the list, explaining that it’s just too expensive to start a practice there.
The bottom line here is, at least as far as I’m concerned, rather than working to insert his rather substantial girth wherever he can manage, in an effort to gain more name recognition for himself, he might want to find time to focus more of his attention on what some would say is a burgeoning crisis right there in his home state, that being the previously mentioned shortage of doctors. There are actions he could take as governor that might entice doctors to remain in New Jersey rather than make a mad dash for the border as soon as they are able. But nope, he’d rather harangue the Tea Party Republicans in Congress. Good job Chris!
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