Christie needs help to succeed

Rush Limbaugh was quoted as saying when President Barack Obama was inaugurated, "So I shamelessly say, no, I want him to fail ... " to prove that conservatives are right, and that the far left is wrong.

No one, not the most liberal or most partisan Democrat, should wish failure on Gov.-elect Chris Christie.

The stakes New Jersey's future are just too important to root for ideological or political advantage over a more economically vibrant state.

Republican Christie won a victory Tuesday over incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine that was bigger than the 4 percent point spread. Christie won a near-majority of voters in a three-way race, in a state with a huge Democratic Party advantage. He was outspent by the wealthy incumbent, and dogged by independent Chris Daggett.

Christie won in Gloucester County by three percentage points, held down Corzine's lead in even more Democrat-leaning Camden County, and rolled up unprecedented 2-1 margins in the typically Republican Central Jersey shore counties, which had been trending more "blue" in recent statewide contests.

Both Democrats and Republicans need to see this as a wake-up call. Republicans, because better-quality candidates could have scored more down-the-ballot victories Tuesday. Democrats, because they'll still call the shots in the Legislature and need to adapt to what the voters said about taxes, tolls and state spending.

Good showings by Republicans, even where they didn't win, are a positive development because New Jersey is now more competitive politically. A pair of incumbent Democrat Gloucester County freeholders barely kept their seats. The legislative delegation in the three districts that include Gloucester County will get its first Republican in five years.

"Starting tomorrow, we are going to pick Trenton up, and we are going to turn it upside down," Christie announced during his victory speech.

Yet, if Christie's win was a wholesale call for change, voters sent a whole lot of incumbent Assembly Democrats marching back to Trenton in January. Based on Election Night results, the Democrats lost just one seat, the open 4th District one held by Sandra Love. It switched to Republican Dominick DiCicco of Franklin Township.

The Democrats' Assembly majority and their ongoing leadership in the state Senate can do considerable damage for partisan purposes while a Democrat governor inclined to sign their bills is still in office. Corzine, gracious in defeat, has pledged not to make life difficult for Christie.

The problems facing our state, starting with a recurring annual deficit that has been pegged recently at $8 billion, are numerous. Christie has told the voters little about how he plans to close that gap for good, but he deserves the chance and the support to try.

If a Democrat-majority Legislature thinks like Limbaugh, it will be part of the problem, and not any part of the solution. New Jersey needs Chris Christie to succeed, not fail.