By David Cruz
Correspondent
Gov. Chris Christie’s latest visit to the Granite State started at the Farnum Center, a drug treatment facility in Manchester. Drug courts and prison alternatives were discussed at a roundtable where after he met with the press.
“The drug war is 30+ years old now. Well intentioned at the start, but completely, in my view, a failure and ineffective,” Christie said.
But the talk soon turned to issues less popular with the governor, including the looming pension case before the state Supreme Court. Democrats and the unions say that the governor’s argument that the pension deal terms were aspirational confirmed that you can’t make a deal with this governor that will stick.
“The terms don’t change. The terms were always subject to appropriation. The fact is that anything that is not constitutionally guaranteed, and this is not constitutionally guaranteed, are subject to appropriation. That means if you have the money you can do it and if not you have to make choices, and the Legislature and I made choices in the budget and that’s the only argument that we’re making,” Christie said.
The bridge scandal that has dominated the news back home has hardly registered here where “Deflategate,” the Super Bowl ball scandal, has gotten more press. But New Jersey reporters wanted to know what the governor thought about the latest news on the bridge scandal.
“Fifteen months later, exactly what I said in January of 2014 has turned out to be — at least according to all three of the investigations that have now occurred — to be exactly what happened. I fired three people who I believed at the time based on the information I had were culpable. And 15 months later, after an internal investigation, after a very partisan legislative investigation and after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office no more than the same three people that we thought were responsible, or may be responsible, 15 months ago have been held responsible by a federal grand jury,” Christie said.
A Dartmouth College Poll suggested that voters in New Hampshire were evenly split between Christie and Hilary Clinton, which could show some Christie strength. Although a poll in Iowa earlier this week shows the governor trailing badly there.
When asked by a reporter if there was some indication that he needs to be doing something to turn things around, Christie responded saying, “No. I don’t think there’s any indication at all. I think the poll you’re talking about said 5 percent of the people in the poll said they had made up their mind, so I’m more than happy to work on the other 95 percent just fine.”
Covering his bases, the governor has a speech at a country club tonight, shakes hands at a diner tomorrow morning and wraps it all up with a town hall in a tavern tomorrow night.