Christie warns of N.J. Democrats ‘coming for your wallet’

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Speaking Monday morning at a breakfast event in Whippany hosted by the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Chris Christie warned business leaders that, if history repeats itself, New Jersey will likely select a Democrat for governor next year.“If the history is a guide, after eight years of one party, the state, because of its demographics and the pendulum, tends to want to swing back to the other side,” Christie said.

But Christie said that, with 18 months still left in his tenure, the policies of his administration that he says have been successful are already “under assault” by Democrats looking to constitutionally mandate pension payments and increase spending across the board.

“They’re not going to cut spending, everybody; you know it and I know it,” Christie said of Democrats eager to retake the governor’s office. “They’re coming for your wallet.”

In similar fashion to other recent speeches he’s given to members of the business community, Christie attempted to rally the audience in the name of pro-business policies and elected officials.

“It’s time to pick a fight, everybody,” Christie said.

Christie said that, while Democrats are already strategizing for 2017 and one, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Goldman Sachs executive Phil Murphy, has formally launched his campaign, there needs to also be a mobilizing effort on the other side of the aisle to call attention to Republican policies.

“We better start making the argument now so that people pay attention,” Christie said.

Referencing Murphy, a Christie critic who officially began his gubernatorial run last month, the governor unfavorably compared him to his predecessor, Gov. Jon Corzine, who also had a background at Goldman Sachs.

“Just what we need,” Christie said sarcastically. “Another multimillionaire Goldman Sachs executive. Because that worked so well the first time.”

Again dwelling on the state’s electoral history, Christie noted that in “one of the bluest states in the country,” no Democrat in New Jersey has served a full two terms since Gov. Brendan Byrne left office in 1982.

“It’s because their policies stink,” Christie said.

Christie briefly discussed the bipartisan Transportation Trust Fund deal struck last week by the Senate, saying he’s not entirely pleased with the proposed 23-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase.

And while the legislation is intended to coincide with other measures aimed at cutting taxes in other departments in order to make it more palatable to the wider Legislature, Christie said the compromise efforts are “not nearly enough for my taste, and that’s a discussion I’m sure we’ll be having in Trenton.”

Christie said he’ll look for “tax fairness” in the measure, adding that “if it’s not tax fairness, I’m not signing it.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s dead on arrival.

“Is it a proposal worthy of consideration?” Christie said. “Of course it is.”