the rix mix

On Tuesday, when Jerseyans show how "conservative" we are by reelecting Christie, we will also pass - probably by a large margin - a raise in the minimum wage tied to annual cost-of-living hike, the kind of law everyone on the right from Chamber of Commerce to Randians detest. Also, we forced Christie to abandon efforts to block marriage equality because he knew a growing majority of Jerseyans favored it, might decide to vote against him if he kept making ugly noises over it, & it was absurd for him to suggest the matter belonged on the ballot, attracting into the state next year millions of dollars of anti-marriage equality money from groups & persons also opposing Christie's presidential aspirations. Christie is winning because he embraced President Obama after Hurricane Sandy, who carried this state twice easily, & some idiot Repugs blamed the hug in part for Romney's defeat. We're a bunch of contrarians.

 Unless Chrstie's win tomorrow results in Repugs winning the state legislature, media analysts will have to see it as a singular victory for an individual.  People outside Jersey often have difficulty understanding that we aren't an especially ideologically partisan state - the point of going into politics here has always been to steer money (especially Fed money)  in one's own direction, one's own town or district,  with ideology a distant second - but rather one where we cling to our many strange, often baffling traditions & prejudices.

Labels: New Jersey politics