Chuck Schumer Blasts Chris Christie, But Forgets He Works For Jersey...

Chuck Schumer is a high-profile idiot, which suits me just fine. Not sure if this latest "Schumerism" is a slip of the tongue, or the Freudian type, as he rages against Chris Christie's decision to cancel the ARC tunnel (an additional connect between NJ & NY) due to anticipated cost overruns:

Schumer, a Democrat, also called Christie’s decision to cancel that tunnel “one of the most shortsighted in New York’s history.” Schumer’s attack on Christie’s transportation priorities and call to “get this project going again” come more than two months after the governor’s final decision to end work on the cross-Hudson tunnel.

Well, perhaps Chuckie is right. The fact that Chris Christie cancelled this boondoggle does suck for New York, as they had played Jersey (and Jon Corzine) like a chump. The tunnel was projected to cost $8.7 billion, to be split three ways: between the feds, New York, and New Jersey. But with the federal payout set to max at $3B, all the funding for the cost over-runs were to be paid for by...New Jersey. With no money in the bank, Christie wisely cancelled the project.

And while the media and the Democrats (and Chuck Schumer) howled like wounded coyotes, and while the feds dispatched Ray LaHood in a laughable attempt to intimidate Chris Christie, we discover today that...Christie was right all along:

Study shows Christie right on tunnel

...Larry Higgs of the Asbury Park Press found a study done for the Federal Transit Administration. It says underestimates were everywhere from buying real estate in New York to drilling under the Hudson. “They ranged from 12 percent to a whopping 50 percent for the actual tunnel drilling,” Higgs wrote.

The original estimate was $8.7 billion but the report said in reality the price tag was more like $14 billion. Both the Hudson River tunnel and the bore through Manhattan into a deep-cavern station under 34th Street required a 48 percent to 50 percent increase in cost estimates, the review recommended.

So let's file Schumer's rant under the anger of a con man who's been unmasked, shrieking in futile rage against those who exposed him. Schumer thought he was going to get millions in tax revenue from Jersey shoppers at no cost, and now is fuming when the auditor (Christie) busted him out.

Turns out that New York doesn't have the money either:

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said earlier this week that while he supported the tunnel, the city can’t help pay for it.

Christie dismissed prospects the project would get any help from Bloomberg.

“I said if he’s really interested in the project, send me a check,” Christie said. “I have not heard anything.”

And he won't. Con men don't waste their time on the wise, they set off looking for fresh pigeons. So if Chuck Schumer comes knocking, hold onto your wallet. And if you see Chris Christie, feel free to thank him...