New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) begged reporters Wednesday to "take the bat" to a 76-year-old lawmaker for collecting a pension and a paycheck.
Democratic state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a widow, said she was forced to begin collecting her pension after her financial advisor invested all her savings in Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme.
"After a major financial setback resulting from my so-called 'Financial Advisor' investing all my money (including my IRA) with a man I never heard of (read: Bernie Madoff) a colleague suggested that I would most likely qualify for my pension," Weinberg wrote in a blog post.
"Though I never went in to public service to make money, I am grateful for this income at this time of my life, because of the situation Bernie Madoff created for me," she said.
Christie became livid at Weinberg when she was quoted by The Star-Ledger as saying he was guilty of double standards. At the time, Christie had not yet spoken out against Essex County Executive Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. for receiving a pension from the same job where he was also receiving a paycheck.
"That's just gamesmanship," Christie said at a press conference. "As you can see from folks like Loretta Weinberg, who by the way, if you guys don't give Loretta Weinberg the hypocrisy award..."
"I mean can you guys please take the bat out on her for once?" he asked reporters. "The hypocrisy meter has got to tilt on her."
Christie, who is known for his trademark rants, also recently told a teacher to quit after she criticized his attacks on the teachers union.
