Chris Christie Is An Interesting Choice For Governor Jack Dalrymple

Tweet

Written By:
Rob Port

Oct 1, 2012
11:55am

Earlier today I posted about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie coming to Fargo to rally for Republicans. Governor Jack Dalrymple, specifically, is taking credit for organizing the visit from the conservative star.

“Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley and I are both personally acquainted with Governor Christie and we are delighted he’s willing to visit us here in Fargo,” Governor Jack Dalrymple said in a press release put out by the NDGOP. “Heading into the last four weeks of the campaign, his visit illustrates how important our elections are, and more importantly, the strength of all our Republican candidates across North Dakota. This is a great opportunity to rally our supporters and build enthusiasm toward Election Day, November 6th.”

What’s interesting about the choice, as some union operatives in the state have been grumbling, is that Christie rose to national prominence on the back of his high-profile take downs of the public worker unions in New Jersey. Specifically Christie’s showdowns with the state’s teacher unions have become the stuff of YouTube and political blog legend (case in point).

So why is Dalrymple, who enjoys the endorsement of the North Dakota Education Association (the state’s teacher union) and was part of former Governor Hoeven’s administration which turned pandering to public worker unions into an art form, celebrating the arrival of a national political figure that is best known for being the enemy of teachers unions?

It’s an interesting dynamic, to be sure. I wonder if the NDEA will be re-considering their endorsement. Probably not. A Chris Christie rally is a fleeting thing. Dalrymple’s support for lavish public worker/teacher pay, and opposition to pension reform, is much more concrete.