.@GovChristie He-Man Woman Haters Club

Greetings from Orlando! Home of the NEA RA 2015! 

While many of us were down here preparing for the Representative Assembly, on Tuesday, the Essex Co. Education Association organized a protest rally outside Gov. Christie's POTUS campaign kickoff at Livingston High School. Since then, the 'other' #TellingItLikeItIs campaign has been flooding Twitter and Facebook with memes and stories of life under Emperor Gov. Christie. This one caught my attention:






















While his record on the economy, jobs and the environment is atrocious, Gov. Christie has forged his reputation on verbally abusing voters—especially women. 

"Something may be going down tonight, but it ain't jobs, sweetheart."

Here's the video: 



Straight out of central casting: 

Rude, crude, sexist, dumb oaf, in a bar, beer in hand, surrounded by back-slapping good 'ole boys. Half-time's over, now back to the game. So he grabs a frazzled waitress and pulls her onto his lap. 

"More wings, sweetie. Make 'em hot, like you."

Laughs, guffaws and cat calls from his buddies as the waitress pries herself out of his grip and scurries away, clearly embarrassed.

In some way, shape or form, this happens every day in every city in America. It's one thing when some random jerk does it; it's quite another when the sitting governor of your state does it. But what's more disturbing is when this behavior gets a favorable reaction from the crowd. Writing for The Washington Post, Matt Katz reported:

The comment shocked some pundits who thought it was sexist. But I was in the crowd, and that line got more applause than any other. 

Welcome to the age of pro wrestling politics.

I'm sure it had something to do with Mormon Mitt Romney taking a pass on him for his VPOTUS candidate. But I don't understand why any woman in NJ could vote for Christie for a second term and endorse this behavior.  

But Gov. Christie is an equal opportunity offender. Just look at what he's said about some NJ female elected officials (additional reporting at Blue Jersey):

• Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg deserves to be beaten with a baseball bat.
• (Then) Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver lies.
• Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (then Assemblywoman) is responsible for someone's murder.
• Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle is a jerk.

Something tells me that more than a few therapists around the Garden State would love to get him on their couch for a few sessions. 

If you're a Baby Boomer like me, you no doubt know this classic Little Rascals episode:




Like Spanky, Gov. Christie has issues with women and leads with an iron fist. Like Alfalfa, the GOP does his bidding even though they don't always agree with him, lest the sergeant at arms (Christie's wrath) rain down on them. While Spanky fills Darla's sandwiches with soap, Christie fills women's lives with more struggles. Whether it's vetoing Planned Parenthood funding or equal pay for women or slashing school funding or launching a full-out assault on teachers—the majority of whom are women—Christie has made it clear that if you're a woman without deep pockets and a big checkbook, he really has no use for you.  

As I sit in a convention center with approximately 9,000 other education professionals from all across the country, the majority of whom are women, as we listen to a moving tribute to the victims of the terrorist shooting at the AME Church, as we debate and discuss issues of institutional racism, marriage equality, voting rights and others concerning social justice, as our leaders—all minorities, all women: President Lily Eskelsen (Latina), Vice President Becky Pringle and Secretary Treasurer Princess Moss (African Americans)—give impassioned speeches about personal empowerment, standing up for our students and our profession, I wonder what the 2017 RA would look like should Christie be elected president. And I shudder.

Elections have consequences. Women should never have to suffer the consequences of Gov. Christie's policies again. 

Register to vote and do it!