Christie linked the Supreme Court to his other political nemeses: Democrats, who he said will want to raise taxes to find the $500 million, and the teachers union, which resists his education proposals.
In that sense, experts said, even though he got what he called an "invoice" on Tuesday, he also got a little political gift. The decision "provides kind of a fall guy for his inability to do everything he wants to do in terms of property taxes," said Brigid Harrison, a Montclair State University political scientist.
The governor has railed against the court since his campaign, but the narrative sharpened Tuesday in an effort to convince New Jerseyans that he needs to change both the makeup of the court and the educational system.
Even though more than $20,000 is spent per student in Camden, he said, "we're seeing failure factory after failure factory . . . turn out children who cannot get a job, who often cannot read above the fourth-grade level, and you, you, are paying for that."
"And the Supreme Court just said to you, 'How about you pay some more?' "
In another move that experts said was politically calculated, Christie is putting the onus on the Legislature to decide where the $500 million will come from before the fiscal 2012 budget is due on June 30. In a year when all 120 legislative seats are up for election, that makes it seem as if the Democrats who control the Legislature are spending more money.
"It's smart for Christie to throw that to the Legislature, because the Legislature has got to make a choice now," said Peter Woolley, a pollster and professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. "Are they going to find this money without raising taxes, or are they going to use this as a reason for raising taxes?"
