To the Editor:
How sad is it that Gov. Christie is not a Trenton insider like Sen. Menendez and Sen. Lautenberg? If only Jon Corzine had won the election, then all the money needed to complete the A.R.C. Tunnel would be coming in by the wheel barrel full. And Barack Obama would be patting himself on the back for saving six million jobs and completing the greatest public works project since the pyramids!
But alas, here comes poor misguided Gov. Christie. How dare he refuse to take on the bill for billions of unfunded cost overruns? How could he think that putting New Jersey taxpayers on the hook for a few more billion could possibly be the wrong thing to do? After all, this is New Jersey!
Maybe Lautenberg and Menendez should have been doing what they were elected to do, namely getting money from the federal government to support projects in the state in which they hold office. But I guess now they can use this issue to stab Gov. Christie in the back again for refusing to negotiate a position. Sen. Menendez and Sen. Lautenberg should certainly be aware of the frustration that N.J. taxpayers are feeling, and should support Gov. Christie’s position on this tunnel instead of trying to make political points with their left wing cronies in Washington! They seem to have forgotten that they work for us and not Barack Obama! If there even was a shovel ready project, this certainly is it! Washington has seen fit to subsidize projects in other states in which the state has only put up 20 percent of the cost. So with 600 billion dollars of stimulus money still sitting in Washington, why has the Trans. Sec. Ray La Hood refused to give New Jersey all the money it might need to cover any cost overruns?
This entire decision on the Fed’s behalf stinks of partisan politics, with no regard for jobs or the good of the region. Our senators have been in Washington way too long. These guys are hitching their wagon to a horse with four broken legs. Next election cycle let’s really make a change! Remember, an educated constituency is a politician’s worst nightmare!
RICHARD SCHMIDT