Another Truth Challenged Republican

For a state to lose a $400 million federal grant during these tight economic times is a kick in the pants. New Jersey lost out on a Department of Education grant because it gave the wrong numbers on its application. When news broke of New Jersey's bo-bo, the Governor, Chris Christie, a Republican, at first announced that he would man up, hold a press conference, and accept responsibility for the mistake. But, then, the heat was put on him for blowing 400 million, and the jokes went around questioning his ability to fill out an application, and the governor decided to blame Obama.

This is a tried and proven Republican tactic: The Blame Obama ploy. Iif the sun doesn't rise on as scheduled, or if a Repub gets out of bed, trips over his own shoe, falls on his butt, or wakes in the morning and bumps his head on the bed post, it's Blame Obama time! --because Obama should have warn him about the bed post and about the shoe.

Governor Christie's then, since fired, state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, also a Republican, told TMP, that the governor said to him that he (the governor) was going to hold a press conference and "go on the offensive and make it about Obama not accepting the revisions to the state's application. Mr. Schundler said he said, "Governor, stop right there."

Mr. Schundler said that he made it "crystal clear" to Christie that he never tried to provide the additional information to the federal officials specifically because he knew it was against the rules.

Schundler says he told Christie it would have been impossible for them to provide the federal officials with the correct budget information. "None of us have it in our head, we didn't have it on paper, so don't say that," Schundler recalled telling the Governor.

Christie then held a press conference in which he blamed the Obama administration for not allowing the officials to fix the error, and said that Schundler had tried to provide data to the officials during his meeting on Aug. 11.

"He just went out there and said the very thing I told him explicitly not to say," Schundler said. "I don't know that he said it intentionally, but he let loose. It's incomprehensible to me that he didn't understand what I said to him."

Schundler was in a meeting at the time of the press conference, but read the transcript of Christie's remarks on Wednesday afternoon. He recalled saying, "oh damn" when he read what the Governor had said.

"I suspect that he didn't know that the whole [presentation to federal officials] was being videotaped," Schundler said. He said he thought that telling the Governor not to say what he planned to say because it wasn't true should have been enough. He added that he didn't think he should have to tell Christie, "'I also don't think you should say this when there's videotape that's going to contradict you.'"

Ah! The Videotape! When the video tape surfaced proving the Christie's statements blaming the Obama Administration were false,. Mr. Christie needed a scapegoat. He threw his good ole buddy Mr Schundler under the bus, and then back the bus up, and ran him over again. He fired Mr. Schundler claiming that it is all Mr. Schundler's fault, that Mr.Schundler mislead him, blah, blah,blah.