Pete, I second your desire to see if a Reagan- / Thatcher- like showdown with the state employees' unions over the civil service reform. I think it would be a defining symbolic moment for Christie and send notice to both entrenched interests as well as the electorate that he is indeed serious about fighting for the ordinary taxpayer in NJ.

Without such a stark message to confirm that we are indeed in uncharted territory, union bosses no matter how nervous at the moment will revert to their tried-and-tested playbook for prior difficult periods: lay low, stall and hope that they can hold out until the electorate loses focus (as it inevitably will).