The Jersey Jet Set

Christie is friends with a lobbyist? Why, I never would have guessed...

CINCINNATI — Gov. Chris Christie has been traveling the country, aiding like-minded GOP candidates, offering his support, endorsement and even a little of the newfound political stardust he is enjoying.

But the folks who may well have benefited the most from Christie’s most recent sojourn — to Ohio — could be Hess, Harrah’s, Pfizer, PSE&G and the many other companies represented by Trenton power lobbyist Roger Bodman, who last week accompanied the governor on his 20-hour trip to the Republican bastion of Cincinnati.

A senior partner with Public Strategies Impact who describes himself on the firm’s website as an "icon" of New Jersey lobbying, Bodman was a ranking official in Gov. Tom Kean’s administration and a key adviser to Kean. Bodman explained that his travel with Christie was the result of nothing more than Bodman’s own long-standing friendship with the man Christie was stumping for, Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich. 

And when Christie's rich buddies get caught, it's time to serve the fine whine:

Palatucci defended Bodman’s presence on the Ohio trip. 

"He wasn’t coming on as ‘Roger the lobbyist,’ he was coming as ‘Roger the friend," Palatucci said. "I was sitting there. There was no lobbying going on. There was no business being conducted." 

No, of course not - "Roger the icon" made sure that "Roger the lobbyist" stayed in the back of the private jet, far away from "Chris the tool of corporate interests."

Oh, you didn't know about the private jet?

Christie left New Jersey on a chartered jet Monday and attended a private fundraiser in a wealthy Cincinnati enclave before returning downtown for the night. The following day, Christie headlined an event with Kasich, a former congressman and Fox News personality, and then returned to New Jersey to announce education reform proposals.

I guess "Roger the friend" and "Chris the reformer" worked out the details of how they were going to screw teachers out of their promised pensions and slash their pay by 8.5% while they were putting their feet up in the Gulfstream.

Because the state's biggest problem is obviously teacher greed:

The state teachers union said--they had a rally in Trenton against me. 35,000 people came from the teachers. You know what that rally was? The "me first" rally. "Pay me my raise first. Pay me my free health benefits first. Pay me my pension first. And everybody else in New Jersey, get to the back of the line." Well, you know what? I'm not going to sit by and allow that to go unnoticed, so we'll shine a bright light on it, and we'll see how the people react. But I think we are seeing how the people of New Jersey are reacting, and that's how you make it politically palatable in other states in the country. Just shine a bright light on greed and self-interest. (emphasis mine)

Oh, I think you are definitely on to something there, Chris. I think we need a really, really bright light shining on greed and self-interest, don't you?

Lovey, tell Chris to cut teacher benefits another 10%, will you?