Governor Christie tells lady "none of your business" where I send my kids to school...

[kentuck]

Was he right?

Is it any business of his constituency what he does? Even if his salary is paid with taxpayer dollars?

Some folks might think that anything that he does with public dollars is in the interest of the voters?

No matter, it seems like a very arrogant attitude for a public servant to have. Even if he is right that it is nobody's business, he should be more appreciative for those that are buttering his toast, in my opinion.

The bullying attitude is not something I would like to see in a presidential candidate and I'm sure all the other Republicans in the race are not going to drop out just because Christie gets in. The trend thus far is that whichever candidate is at the top of the heap gets chopped down to size...

[SpiralHawk]

1. Republicon occultism

As usual.

Republicons hide their reality in an effort to prevent Americans from knowing what scuzzbucketry they are really up to in their efforts to make America FAIL.

[FarCenter]

2. It is also a security issue

[SpiralHawk]

20. Sounds like the question was about whether his kids are in public or private school

...not specifically which school...

He could have just politely let her know whether he is a hypocrite or not...but since he's a Republicon, I guess the answer is self-evident.

[HappyMe]

3. Um, no it really isn't anybody's business

where his kids go to school. Based on the amount of nutbars out there, I think he's well within his rights to have his kids left out of any discussion.

[hamsterjill]

4. Was he right?

To some degree, yes. But he sure could have answered in a better fashion.

While I don't believe that every detail of a politician's life must be made public, I do believe that when they enter public life they realize that there will be public scrutiny. His family isn't seeking political office. He could have very easily, and politely said something like "the details of my children's whereabouts are not something that I generally make public". I do think that most politicians acknowledge where their children attend schools, but he could choose not to answer politely instead of rudely.

I do agree MOST DEFINITELY with you about the bullying attitude in this flock of Repuke candidates. It's really disgusting the way some have treated constituents. But their constituents don't seem to mind rudeness. They liken rudeness to strength.

[pintobean]

5. Telling someone "none of your business" isn't arrogant

It's protecting your privacy. Asking the question is arrogant.

[Raschel]

7. Answering "none of your business" when you're a governor is rude. Is that the best he can come up

with? I think he could have easily answered it professionally but he likes rude.

[pintobean]

13. It's not rude, it's matter-of-fact.

I really don't understand why anybody would think that's rude. 'Fuck off' would be rude.

[Fuddnik]

18. More diplomatic to say "I'd prefer not to say".

Words convey attitude, and he's got one.

[Ter]

21. Then he would come across as weak

I'd say "Go to Hell."

[Raschel]

6. Not surprising. This guy is rude and crude and represents what we DON'T want our tone to be.

He's the New Jersey Rush Limbaugh.

Remember this quote?

"Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park and get out. You’re done. It’s 4:30, you’ve maximized your tan. Get off the beach.”

Tea partier types think that rudeness and obnoxiousness are cool. Just like booing soldiers and applauding death of the infirm.

What happened to their "restoring honor to America?", or "we want our America back"?

Is that what their America is to them? Bullying, hate, rudeness?

[gratuitous]

8. And will the media similarly applaud when a Democrat says it?

I remember when Christie said that. The woman asking the question was at some kind of event where Christie was holdling forth on his views about schooling and such, so the question was germane to the discussion at hand. Christie basically was saying that if he was rich enough to send his kids to an expensive private school, it was none of anybody's business. But Christie was also saying that if you weren't wealthy enough, you and your kids were left to the tender mercies of Christie and whatever scheme he was advocating for public schools. It basically wasn't up to him to improve public schools to approach the quality of the school he sent his own kids to.

Looked at in one way, Christie was correct, if boorish. Looked at another way, Christie was just boorish, but the media all applauded the way he put the questioner in her place. I couldn't help wondering if the media would let a Democrat off the hook with a "none of your business" response to any question. Magic 8 Ball says, "No fucking way."

[11 Bravo]

9. He's also fat!

:hide:

(Well, he is.)

[Overseas]

10. So nice of everyone to be so protective of poor Republican governor Christie.

It would be so difficult for him to answer this question posed to so many other politicians. And golly, how dare those darn reporters challenge poor Christie with that question they have dared to ask so many other oppressed politicians.

How dare they challenge darling Governor Christie to just say--

>> I send my kids to public schools but don't discuss the exact locations over the air, or

>> I send my kids to Catholic schools but prefer not to disclose the name in public.

[lynne]

11. On that he sure is right. -

- His children have a right to their personal privacy. As a politician, you have to consider the security issues for his children. The information about where his children attend school could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

He might not be right on much but he is certainly right that its not her business where his children go to school.

[WI_DEM]

12. That's the kind of plain speakin' guy who should be president of these United States

NOT!!

[PRETZEL]

14. I kind of remember this a little while ago

I thought the argument was one of hypocrasy because he had been going around the rightwing talk circuit telling everyone that he sends his kids to parochial school because of the religious teaching they got there.

[NeedleCast]

15. I don't think that answer is out of line

In fact, I think it's a perfectly acceptable answer. Beyond that, why would someone want to know?

[Lurks Often]

16. He's right

as long as he pays his taxes to support the public school system, it is nobody's business where he sends his children to school. It is also nobody's business where the President sends his children to school.

The question has nothing to do with how good a job he is or is not doing as Governor

[MrDiaz]

17. can I ask my

local water meter guy where he sends his kids to school? How about cops, or firemen, or ATF or Homeland Security or ANYONE that is paid by tax dollars?

[Johonny]

19. If you are destroying public school and send yours to private

then it fucking sure is the public's business. Elected officials purposely attacking and dismantling public services the public need and use, just because they personally don't is a totally valid question and his answer was totally unacceptable.

[LynneSin]

22. I like to think of it as the Rick Santorum situation

One of the things that put the nail into the coffin of Rick Santorum's senate career was the fact that the school district were Rick owns a crappy 2-bedroom house was stuck with the bill of educating Santorum's kids and those kids were living full time in Virginia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santorum#Pennsylvania_residency_and_tuition_fee

At the time the issue arose, Santorum's five older children attended the Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School,<63> with 80 percent of tuition costs paid by the Penn Hills School District.<64> At a meeting in November 2004, the Penn Hills School District announced that it did not believe Santorum met the qualifications for residency status, because he and his family spent most of the year in Virginia. They demanded repayment of tuition costs totaling $67,000.

When news reports showed Sen. Santorum was renting his Penn Hills home, Santorum withdrew his five children from the cyber education program that Penn Hills School District paid for. That saved Penn Hills taxpayers about $38,000 a year.<65> Although Santorum said he would make other arrangements for his children's education, he insisted that he did not owe the school board any back tuition. Once the controversy surfaced, the children were withdrawn from the cyber school and were then home schooled.

Christie is a multi-millionaire (whereas the Santorums never were) so if Christie is paying for his kids educations from his money then it's not any of our business. But if the state is paying for their education, then the taxpayers have the right to know ESPECIALLY if some underfunded public school system is forced to pay for the kids to go to some expensive private school.

BTW I'm sure the right-wing would bring up the education of Chelsea Clinton and the Obama Girls, all 3 attended (or are attending) Sidwell's Friends School in DC. Now I'm not sure of Chelsea but I do believe that the Obama's pay for their daughter's school tuition. But the Clintons and Obamas both used Sidwell because it was better equiped to protect the children from intruders or other attackers (since a kidnapped child of a president would be a serious national crisis).

[Tatiana]

23. Wow... he has something in common with the great Democrat Rahm Emanuel then. n/t

[customerserviceguy]

24. Christie has raised arrogance to an art form

In fact, everybody here expects it of him. It wasn't Rick Perry's swagger that cost him support in the GOP, it was the fact that he can't seem to string words into sentences that did him in.

As to the question of what someone buys with a government salary, as long as the product or service is legal, it really is none of our business.