NJ gov. in hospital, but 'fine and in charge'

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI, 

SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Blunt-talking Gov. Chris Christie, who someRepublicans have been trying to persuade to run for president, wastaken to a hospital Thursday after he had difficulty breathing.

The48-year-old governor was driven to Somerset Medical Center by his statepolice security detail out of an "abundance of caution," said Christiespokesman, Michael Drewniak. Christie suffers from asthma and allindications are the governor will be OK, Drewniak said.

MariaComella, Christie's deputy chief of staff, told The Associated Pressthat Christie is "fine and in charge." Close friend and adviser BillPalatucci said Christie was "getting tests and working from thehospital."
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno was in her office at the Statehouse.

Christieattended an education conference and a congressional fundraiser in Iowaon Monday, where he again told reporters he was not running forpresident

The governor, who took office 18 months ago, has longstruggled with his weight, which he said he started putting on afterhigh school when he stopped playing organized sports.

He's tried dozens of diets over the years with varying success and has shed some pounds in recent months.
Hisweight came up during his 2009 campaign against Democrat incumbent JonCorzine, who ran an ad accusing Christie of "throwing his weightaround" to get out of traffic citations while he was U.S. attorney.Christie confronted the ads head on, telling Corzine to "man up and sayI'm fat."

The married father of four was named the state's topfederal law enforcement officer after playing an important role inPresident George W. Bush's 2000 campaign in the state.

He soongained national exposure by overseeing two major terrorism convictionsand the convictions of dozens of public officials on corruption charges.

In2007, Corzine was seriously injured in a car accident on the GardenState Parkway. Corzine's femur bone was broken in two places and hesustained a broken sternum, six broken ribs on each side, a headlaceration and a minor fracture on a lower vertebrae.

Gov. Chris Christie Deserves a Second Bite at the Apple on Global Warming

By Kevin Mooney

Thanks to Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, the Regional Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI) that imposes Kyoto-Treaty type restrictions on energy use in the Northeast may now be in the early stages of unraveling. This is a huge victory for taxpayers and the free market. Even though, federal level “cap and trade” schemes have been held at bay over the past two years, environmental pressure groups have successfully arranged state level regulatory agreements in cooperation with compliant government officials.

This process began with the Global Warming Solutions Act Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) signed into law almost four years ago on Sept. 26, 2006. A state ballot proposition that would have blocked implementation of the law failed last year. However, Susana Martinez, the new Republican governor of New Mexico, has made it clear that she will resist anti-energy measures like “cap and trade.” The actions of Martinez in combination with that of Gov. Christie strongly suggest that anti-regulatory efforts are beginning and are gaining momentum.

However, Marc Morano, who runs the Climate Depot site, a former staff member to Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), has argued that opposition to “cap and trade” on the basis of economics alone is insufficient. Environmental schemes will not be uprooted until after the “junk science” underpinning alarmist claims has been exposed and discredited, he has said. That is why Gov. Christie’s mixed messages have been a point of consternation to many on the right.

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Is Gov. Chris Christie of N.J. Now a Global Warming Alarmist?

By Kevin Mooney

After expressing skepticism toward the concept of man-made global warming at a town hall meeting in Toms River, New Jersey last year, Gov. Chris Christie appears to have shifted over into the alarmist camp.

This has become a sore-point for free-market conservatives who have held out hope Gov. Christie may yet emerge as a GOP savior in the 2012 presidential race. On the scientific side of the equation, he is sending out mixed messages. On the economic side, he has delivered.

At a press conference in Trenton earlier this month, Gov. Christie announced that he would withdraw New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which requires participating states to cut their emissions by 10 percent come 2018. The program did not have any appreciable impact on the environment and only serves to burden state residents with higher costs, Christie pointed out in his public comments.

“RGGI does nothing more than tax electricity, tax our citizens, tax our businesses, with no discernible or measurable impact upon our environment,” Christie said. “So, we will withdraw from RGGI in an orderly fashion by year’s end. This also corresponds with the end of the first compliance period when compliance entities must true up, match their allowances to their emissions. By giving them this notice we are confident that the market and the participants will be able to adjust to our withdrawal from RGGI.”
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