Flashback - Chris Christie Picked The Wrong Guy to Call A Liar
Bret Schundler, the man New Jersey's governor insulted and fired, is fighting back -- and he's got e-mails
Steve Kornacki - 2010
You can certainly understand why Chris Christie threw his education commissioner, Bret Schundler, under the bus last week. After all, it was Schundlers department that botched the states Race to the Top application, costing New Jersey five points on its application the difference between $400 million in federal money and nothing.
But Christie, the states first-year governor, didnt just fire Schundler for incompetence: He called him a liar. Loudly and repeatedly. He felt this necessary because when the news of the botched application first broke last Wednesday, Christie publicly blamed the Obama administration, claiming that Schundler had supplied the data that was missing from the application budget numbers for the years 2008 and 2009 in advance of his formal hearing with the federal Department of Education. The real blame, Christie insisted, was with Obamas army of inflexible bureaucrats.
Thats the stuff the Obama administration should answer for, he thundered. Are you guys just down there checking boxes like mindless drones, or are you thinking? When the president comes back to New Jersey, hes going to have to explain to the people of the state of New Jersey why hes depriving them of $400 million that this application earned.
This argument quickly unraveled when a videotape of Schundlers hearing was released, showing that the education commissioner and his team were blindsided by the error and unable to provide the missing data. When that tape emerged, Christie changed gears, branded Schundler a liar and fired him.
Dont lie to the governor. Thats the message, he declared.
www.salon.com/2010/09/02/chris_christie_schundler/