Playing with house money-

Playing with house money – that’s the phrase Chris Christie used at the Committee of Seventy breakfast today to describe the freedom he thinks he has in governing the Garden State.

Christie figures nothing he does is going to make him beloved among Democrats who traditionally dominate the state, so he might as well go for broke and do what  he thinks he has to.

“It’s put up or shut up time for Republicans,” Christie added. “We’ve been given a probationary lease on life in Washington D.C. by getting the House of Representatives, and you know, if we don’t do what we said we were going to do, we’re going to be sent to the Wilderness for a very long time.”

That comes courtesy of our own Elizabeth Fiedler. You can see her coverage of the event on Newsworks, and you can hear more of Christie’s remarks in the audio clip above.

 Also, kudos to the Committee of Seventy for not holding the breakfast the Wednesday after the election this year. For reporters who work into the wee hours covering returns, it was hard to get to.