Name: Movers and Shakers: Former lawmaker now wears his 'numbnuts' insult as a point of pride
Brand: northjersey.com
SKU: northjersey-com-124
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Movers and Shakers: Former lawmaker now wears his 'numbnuts' insult as a point of pride

preview

NorthJersey.comView CommentsHis&nbsp;resume includes his day job as mayor of Trenton, but on his Twitter biography he is also the "numbnuts legislator.""People want to know what I accomplished in the Legislature,'' said Reed Gusciora, a Democrat and Mercer County Assemblyman from 1996 to 2018.&nbsp;"I still tell people that I'm the number one (Chris) Christie insult and people seem to remember that."&nbsp;Former Governor Christie's below-the-belt barb, lobbed during the debate over same-sex marriage in 2012, seems almost quaint in this era of the daily barrage of tweet smears coming from the Oval Office.But Gusciora, who was the first openly gay member of the Legislature, infuriated Christie when he suggested that Christie would have supported segregationist leaders of the past.Gusciora, who has been the target of a homophobic tirade by a city councilwoman,&nbsp;said he responded to Christie's comment that people would have preferred a referendum on civil rights than die in the violence of the Jim Crow South — a comment&nbsp;Christie said was misinterpreted and not to be taken literally."You have numbnuts like Reed Gusciora who put out a statement comparing me to George Wallace and Lester Maddox. Now, come on guys, at some point, you’ve got to be able to call B.S.&nbsp;on those kind of press releases,” Christie had said at a Statehouse news conference.Thus, a moniker was born. Despite his work on same sex-marriage, needle exchange&nbsp;and other social issues, Gusciora was given his place in modern Statehouse history. It also bolstered&nbsp;Christie's brand of crude bombast that helped him earn national recognition.Gusciora said he's on "friendly terms" with the former governor, although he wouldn't expect Christie to "invite me to a barbecue or give me a beach chair,'' a reference to the uproar over an iconic&nbsp;photo of Christie sitting on a strand of Island Beach State Park during a government shutdown in 2017. &nbsp;"But yeah, we're cordial with each other,'' he said.The New Jersey Republicans' failed attempt to persuade the to strike down Gov.&nbsp;Phil Murphy's $9.9 billion bond authorization served as another reminder of the state's debt woes.New Jersey's $44 billion in total debt&nbsp;is the fourth-highest among all U.S. states&nbsp;in the category of gross tax-supported debt, behind California, New York and Massachusetts, according to NJ Spotlight, a policy and politics website.New Jersey also ranked fourth-highest in per capita debt, behind Connecticut, Massachusetts and Hawaii. It has one of the worst bond ratings.&nbsp;And every time the issue of New Jersey's debt is revisited, we're also reminded of the mother of all bond issues. The state borrowed $2.7 billion from Wall Street in 1997, ostensibly to bolster the pension fund for public workers. But the real reason was that it helped then-Gov. Christie Whitman indirectly cover a gaping shortfall in the state budget that year without having to raise taxes or make steep cuts.Those bonds never built a bridge or a highway or a wastewater treatment plant or a college dorm — or anything of permanence. Twenty three years later, the pension fund is wallowing in red ink. And New Jersey taxpayers are still paying off the bonds, to the tune of $450 million to $500 million a year — until 2029.For subscribers:Assembly Republican leader Jon Bramnick of Westfield often grabs the microphone in legislative debates in Trenton. Now, he'll be speaking into one for a Sunday night radio show.Bramnick, who is contemplating a run for governor next year, is launching "Why People Don't Like You,''&nbsp; beginning Aug. 23 at 8 p.m. on AM 970, "the Answer,'' the Manhattan station where former Saturday Night Live actor "Jersey" Joe Piscopo, an almost-ran for governor in 2017, hosts a show weekday mornings.Bramnick, a lawyer who moonlights as a stand-up comic, billed his new show as "truth with laughs."He described it as an&nbsp;informal talk show that will explore some of the maxims and "rules" of conduct, ranging from the practical to the cornball,&nbsp;that he compiled in a book that bears the same name as the show.At the root, his advice and observation — why chewing gum is a good look only&nbsp;for left fielders on&nbsp;the New York Yankees or why it's annoying when Ivy Leaguers name drop their&nbsp;alma mater 40 years after graduating — is Bramnick's obsession with civility, or as he noted, what it takes&nbsp;"to be liked, as opposed to be an (expletive deleted)."The show will run for three months.&nbsp;Charlie Stile is New Jersey’s preeminent political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work,&nbsp;.Email:&nbsp;&nbsp;Twitter:&nbsp;&nbsp;View Comments

NorthJersey.comView CommentsHis&nbsp;resume includes his day job as mayor of Trenton, but on his Twitter biography he is also the "numbnuts legislator.""People want to know what I accomplished in the Legislature,'' said Reed Gusciora, a Democrat and Mercer County Assemblyman from 1996 to 2018.&nbsp;"I still tell people that I'm the number one (Chris) Christie insult and people seem to remember that."&nbsp;Former Governor Christie's below-the-belt barb, lobbed during the debate over same-sex marriage in 2012, seems almost quaint in this era of the daily barrage of tweet smears coming from...

Movers and Shakers: Former lawmaker now wears his 'numbnuts' insult as a point of pride

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS