I can’t match Sheldon Adelson or the Koch Brothers, but I
contribute some money to political candidates I would like to see elected. I’ve
given to local and state wide candidates like Aimee Belgard and Marie Corfield, and to
out-of-state contenders like Dan
Maffei, who is running against a tea party candidate in my former home town
of Syracuse, and to Claire McCaskill,
the Blue Dog Democrat who is running against extremist Todd “Legitimate Rape”
Akin.
And I’ve also given to Chris Christie’s political campaign.
This may sound odd, but it isn’t.
You see, I’m a New Jersey taxpayer, and some of the money I
send to Trenton goes to Christie’s political activities. I’m referring to his
so-called “town hall” meetings, the 90th one of which was held this
week. I’ve been to two of them myself, and have seen a few of the hundreds of
YouTube videos which I am also paying for. These are all political events, not
a “listening tour” and not geared to keeping voters informed.
Recent press reports reveal that the cost of Christie’s
executive office has risen about 14%. While (I hope) much of this is for
legitimate state business, the governor is bilking the taxpayer while
simultaneously demanding other departments to do more with less. Part of this
increase is the staff that arranges and runs his so-called “town hall” meetings
and his entourage of videographers who produce his state-funded political ads.
Certainly, the governor should stay in touch with the
populace. But the present format does not do that. It only serves as a forum
for his political agenda and for rants that are inappropriate for a chief
executive but get him on the news. If the governor wants to hold a political
rally, that’s fine – but it should be paid for by the Republican Party, not by
me. If only the mainstream media would call him out on this misappropriation of
taxpayer funds.
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