One of my "Rules" for dealing with a certain type of boss is "The Worst You Can Be is Right." This precept applies a thousand-fold to the Tunnel-killing; Bridge-Stopping Bully of New Jersey, Chris Christie (or as David Brooks would call him the Burkean Bully.
Andrew Prokop at Vox lets us in on yet another example of Christie's fact-free bluster and intimidation tactics.
For 30 years, David Rosen has been the budget director for New Jersey's Office of Legislative Services -- a nonpartisan agency that is the state counterpart of the CBO. Doing his job, Rosen reported that Christie's projections would come up $145 million short in 2012 and $392 million short the following year.
Christie went after Rosen immediately, calling his office partisan and saying "they shouldn't be given any credibility."
Weeks later, Christie went further, going after Rosen personally in what the Star-Ledger called "a fiery 20-minute tirade." He called Rosen, widely respected among legislators of both parties for years, a "Dr. Kevorkian of the numbers" and asked, "Why would anybody with a functioning brain believe this guy? … How often do you have to be wrong to finally be dismissed?" Christie went on: "It should be humiliating to him. Nobody in this state believes David Rosen, anymore, nobody. And nobody should. He's so wrong, for so long, that his credibility is now gone."
You'd think Rosen was someone
really horrible, like a teacher.
Of course Christie was wrong and Rosen was right:
Rosen had said that revenue for the 2012 fiscal year would fall $145 million short of Christie's estimates, and it actually fell $275 million short. For the two fiscal years ending in June 2013, Rosen predicted a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall, and this also turned out to be right on.
Paul
Krugman's blog alerted me to this story. As usual, the Prof gets it right:
Can we say that someone who tries to browbeat anyone daring to question rosy scenarios is someone who should never, ever be allowed near higher office? And can we also say that there’s something very wrong with pundits who failed to see the obvious about this guy?
He's talkin' to you, Joe Scar, Mika and all you other bully fanboys and fangirls.