Conn. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Credit: Brian Pounds/Connecticut Post
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Credit: Mel Evans/File Photo.
The ongoing back-and-forth between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and New Jersey’s Republican Gov. Chris Christie took another turn on Sunday in the pages of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Inquirer’s Trenton bureau reporter Matt Katz examined the tongue-lashings that the Garden State’s brazen governor has given to his colleagues, a style that is unlike many other governors in history, who usually keep their critiques of other state leaders to themselves.
Speaking for the Malloy office, top aide Roy Occhiogrosso said Malloy has only spoken about Christie to respond to questions. According to Occhiogrosso, Malloy is not looking to be a celebrity like his counterpart in New Jersey is. Katz wrote in the article:
“The difference between the two men, [Occhiogrosso] added, is stylistic as much as political. Unlike Christie, he said, Malloy holds town-hall meetings that are not filmed.
‘He’s not doing what Gov. Christie is doing. He’s not going out to yell at people, put a YouTube clip online, and become famous,’ Occhiogrosso said. ‘He’s going out to listen to people.’
Christie’s staff says the governor is not simply taking partisan shots at Democrats like Malloy, Illinois’ Gov. Pat Quinn and Maryland’s Gov. Martin O’Malley. Spokesman Michael Drewniak told the Inquirer that the debate over fiscal responsibility is non-partisan, citing Christie’s praise of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, as an example.
Nonetheless, the sniping by Christie at Malloy and his colleagues, Democratic or otherwise, is unusual, according to experts. Univ. of Illinois professor Larry Sabato said in the article that these types of attacks are “just not done.”
“The governors, as a group, are very different from Congress. They view each other as colleagues. Unless they run for president against each other, they’re not really competitors,” Sabato said in the article.