Chris Christie Talks the Talk

As Rand Paul makes conservatives and Republicans look like out-of-touch ideologues, Chris Christie is saying what we've been thinking for a long, long time. Here's an account of an exchange from a public appearance of Christie's:

Governor Christie on Tuesday told a borough teacher to find another job if she did not feel she was compensated enough as he defended his state budget cuts and promoted a plan to cap annual growth in property tax collections. . . .

Borough teacher Rita Wilson, a Kearny resident, argued that if she were paid $3 an hour for the 30 children in her class, she’d be earning $83,000, and she makes nothing near that.

"You’re getting more than that if you include the cost of your benefits," Christie interrupted.

When Wilson, who has a master’s degree, said she was not being compensated for her education and experience, Christie said:

"Well, you know then that you don’t have to do it." Some in the audience applauded.

Christie said he would not have had to impose cuts to education if the teachers union had agreed to his call for a one-year salary freeze and a 1.5 percent increase in employee benefit contributions.

"Your union said that is the greatest assault on public education in the history of the state," Christie said. "That’s why the union has no credibility, stupid statements like that."

Wow! No esoteric appeals to out-of-touch constitutional theories, no messing around with stuff that folks don't get, just to-the-point declarations of obvious fact.

How soon can we run this guy on a national ticket?