Christie's 'Jersey Comeback' is a big lie

Voters kicked out Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Englewood, after he ran from a fight with Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, one of the most conservative members of Congress.

The New Jersey economy isn't marching forward, as Governor Christie has asserted for months at press conferences and in TV ads. 

It is marching backward, settling in 47th place in the nation, according to a Page 1 story in The Record today.

On top of that, a "non-partisan state legislative budget analyst" says the state faces a $1.4 billion tax-collection shortfall through next June, The Record reported. 

Millionaires love him

What the media haven't been reporting since Christie unveiled his "New Jersey Comeback" is that the GOP bully has been touting the economic gains of his wealthy supporters -- from small-business owners who refuse to hire more workers to multimillionaires like Publisher Stephen A. Borg.

They have prospered from Christie's tax breaks for businesses and his stubborn refusal to tax millionaires or even raise the low gasoline tax, and would get even richer if the governor can ram through a 10% income-tax cut.

Screwing middle class

The middle class taxpayer? He would save only $80 in the first year -- or just enough to buy a bag of organic groceries at Whole Foods Market.

In other A-1 news, readers get to say good riddance to Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Englewood, who went down in flames in Tuesday's 9th District primary election battle against Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson.

No 5th District story

But residents of Hackensack, Teaneck, Fair Lawn and other 5th District towns couldn't find any reporting about the Democratic primary beyond a table with vote totals, giving the race to Teaneck Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen over Jason Castle, who was endorsed by The Record (A-9).

Only the candidates' last names appear in the table.

Rabbi has no shame

A full quarter of A-9 is wasted on Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of Englewood, the publicity monger who gives a bad names to Jews all over North Jersey.

Boteach doesn't have a ghost of a chance to defeat Pascrell in the November election, so why is so much space devoted to him and why is there no reporting about the 5th District Democratic primary?

Locals are yokels

In Local, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza lead the section with the first Hackensack news since Saturday.

But there is nothing from Englewood beyond election results, and nothing about Gussen's primary election victory.

Thousands of readers live in the huge 5th District, which runs along the New York State border through Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties, and down along the Delaware.

So, where is the story?

What were Sykes and Sforza doing Tuesday night, wolfing down two or three of the traditional election-night pizzas in the Woodland Park newsroom before going home early with stomach aches?