Once Again, I Just Don't Get It

So $268 million in extra federal school aid is coming to NJ, and Christie is laying out his plan to distribute it:

Q: Who were the biggest winners?
A: Urban districts appeared the biggest winners in terms of dollars. The top 16 totals were all in urban districts that fell under the Abbott v. Burke school equity rulings, from Newark’s $23 million down to West New York’s $2.6 million. But it wasn’t all in the cities; other large districts also did relatively well, including Hamilton, Toms River and Freehold Regional.

Q: The biggest losers?
A: Every district received at least some money, so there are no outright losers, but the small or wealthy districts appeared to receive the smallest sums. From Avalon to Deal to Essex Fells, 25 districts received less than $10,000, barely enough to pay for a single teacher’s health benefits, let alone salary. More than 170 districts received less than $50,000, the average salary of a New Jersey teacher in 2010.

And yet these are the districts that are deep red and make up Christie's base.

Is he so sure that he's got the 'burbs in his pocket that he won't even try to send dough their way? Is he trying to bleed the 'burbs so badly they spur a tea-driven revolution?

Or is he so consumed with cultivating his national image that he isn't even thinking about a second term? Might he pull a Palin?

Maybe I'm overly cynical. Maybe he genuinely believes the money needs to go to poor districts that will not vote for him anyway.

Uh, yeah, sure...