NJ legislators defend Horizon against the 'Budget Bully'

The opposition is building. The governor is fighting hard to pull off what we're referring to as the #HorizonRaid but there are NJ legislators that are fighting just as hard to put a stop to it.

He's looking to gut the legally required reserves of NJ's largest health insurance company Horizon by taking $300 million for his pet projects. He's got his lackey, Senate President Steve Sweeney on board and he's using the threat of his line-item veto to bully lawmakers into going along. The plan was working fine until ... enter Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and some breakaway GOP senators tired of the governor's dismissive attitude toward business and middle and working class taxpayers.

The Horizon bill is separate from the budget, but the governor's tactics now have a budget that was negotiated and accepted by most on both sides of the aisle in jeopardy. Speaker Prieto joined me on the air this AM along with several Republicans, Senators Kip Bateman and Beck, along with former Democratic candidate for governor, AssemblymanJohn Wisniewski, to state their opposition.

Prieto is under tremendous pressure to capitulate and let the deal move forward. He explained to me that he believes he's on the "right side of history" and won't back down. Way to go, Mr. Speaker. It's rare to find a politician in Trenton who will stand up to the pressure of the bullies like Christie and Sweeney. But the middle and working class may have just found an unlikely hero in the New Jersey Assembly Speaker. The governor is trying to sell the idea that it's the speaker who will be responsible if the government shuts down for failing to pass a budget today.

We know the truth, governor. You bullied your way through the past few years and political cowards like Sweeney bowed to you for scraps off the table. But like the schoolyard bully, all you need is one person with a backbone to stand up and fight back. Thanks to the Assembly speaker, that's exactly what's happening now. #StandWithPrieto

NJ legislators defend Horizon against the ‘Budget Bully’