Curious Populism

The NJ Gov Christie/teachers episode shows a curious new side to politics today.

First of all, Christie knew the entire time that the money was gonna come anyway, no matter what he did. And in what I would think would be seen as "normal" in such a case, a Governor would make a big show of DEMANDING!!! Washington send money to save these teachers' jobs, and then he'd be lauded throughout Jersey as a hero for saving thousands of jobs. Throw in a few "the nobility of teachers" speeches, and there ya go.

Instead, thanks to some seemingly perverse strain of populism that demands "not me!!!", Christie was seen as a hero for demanding Washington NOT send the money. I feel we're in a strange state of affairs when jettisoning thousands of school teachers from their jobs is the more popular move. It’s one thing for a Governor to have to say “hey, here’s a shit sandwich;” it’s another for him to decide it’d be the politically popular thing to say.