One has to wonder. What would any of these teachers think if one of their students presented these kinds of statements as essays for their own classes? Perhaps the level of their comments reflects on the actual state of the kind of education being offered by those who teach in Jersey’s public schools. If this is the case, I wonder why Christie is resisting doing more than asking them to accept a one-year wage freeze.

One has to pause to remind the New Jersey liberals that Christie managed to win in a campaign against Jon Corzine, the multi-millionaire Democratic liberal former governor, despite the fact he spent a great deal of his own fortune on his campaign. And so in a liberal state, the conservative Christie won a majority of the state’s voters, who seemed to understand what so many of the liberals simply cannot comprehend: that the state of New Jersey is on the verge of going the way of California, and that if the collapse is to be averted, drastic measures have to be taken. The conservative New Jersey blogger Matt Rooney writes, “Dire circumstances and public opinion have Democrats over a barrel. The uncomfortable truth is that many Democrats do know better.”

If they really do, as Rooney thinks is the case, they are successfully hiding it. I think that in fact, they believe the figures and analysis offered are not accurate, and are false data put up by right-wing Republicans to scare the public. Just take a look at any issue of New Jersey Policy Perspective to see what I mean. These people simply live in a different world, in which all issues will be settled and social equality achieved by huge increases in the minimum wage, taxes on the “rich,” and higher pay for teachers who have to give nothing up to gain a raise.

In  tomorrow’s blog, I will continue with discussing how best to reach the public with solid conservative ideas — which is what the good folks at National Affairs are actually doing.

For those who live in the New York City area, an important forum is taking place at St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, in Brooklyn from 6:30-8:00 pm, including complimentary food and drinks.  Called “Independent Voices on the Middle East,” it features Lee Smith, author of The Strong Horse: Power Politics and the Clash of Arab Civilization; Ibn Warraq, author of Virgins? What Virgins? And other Essays; Paul Berman, author of The Flight of the Intellectuals; and Judith Miller, Adjunct Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. It is moderated by Fred Siegel, contributing editor of The City Journal.