During hour-long program, governor also spoke on range of topics, including budget cuts
Channel Thirteen anchor and Star-Ledger columnist Steve Adubato talks with NJ. Gov Chris Christie in a live call-in program. The governor gave rapid-fire answers on a range of topics and a during his appearance on "Christie: On the Line."
Gov. Chris Christie said tonight the state is "nowhere near ready" to implement its new law permitting medical marijuana, and needs another six months to a year to sort it out.
He also criticized the Obama administration’s response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, saying the federal government and oil giant BP are guilty of "incompetence."
And he did not rule out joining other states in filing a lawsuit against the president’s health care overhaul, despite crediting the reforms with allowing New Jersey to restore funding for seniors’ prescription drugs.
Christie spoke to individual New Jerseyans concerned about specific cuts in his $29.3 billion budget proposal, including to after-school programs and public colleges and universities. He had the same answer: the cuts are "painful," but the state is "going broke."
He declared the issue of raising taxes on millionaires to restore senior programs "over," saying Democrats in the Legislature lack the votes from Republican colleagues to override his veto. Despite that fight, Christie gave a "very high degree of probability" a budget compromise will be ready by the June 30 deadline.
"When the sun comes up on the morning of July 1, New Jersey’s government will be open," Christie said.
The freshman Republican said he is "unmoved" by his recent slide in public opinion polls, saying his numbers "pretty darn good" for a nasty budget and spat with the state’s powerful teachers union.
A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released this week found a 10 percent increase in his disapproval ratings from two months ago, with 44 percent of voters approving of the way Christie is doing his job and 42 percent disapproving.
Democratic State Committee Chairman John Wisniewski tonight released a statement calling on Christie to "stop the hypocrisy' on the health care legislation.
"Since the bovernor still isn’t convinced that health care reform shouldn’t be overturned, is he going to turn down the $141 million coming to the state for the high risk insurance pool and the roughly $45 million that he is using to restore his original cuts to PAAD?,” Wisniewski's statement said. "It’s time for Governor Christie to stop the hypocrisy and do what’s best for New Jersey, not what’s best for his national conservative reputation.”
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