My governor can beat up your governor

Governors have always taken ideas from each other, whether it’s a breakthrough in education policy or a clever way to promote the arts.

But as Weingart suggests, they increasingly see themselves as playing on different teams. Republicans want to shrink the state and empower employers, while Democrats are committed to investing in human capital and infrastructure.

Their philosophical disagreements are spilling over across each other’s borders. Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland took a shot at New Jersey’s Chris Christie last year on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” saying that the Garden State’s bond rating had been downgraded on the Republican’s watch.

Christie countered by that O’Malley is “not that smart, he’s not that good, but he is flippant, so I give him credit for that.”

Christie also took a shot at Dannel Malloy of Connecticut for raising taxes. Malloy in turn Christie for not properly funding his state’s pension obligations.

“You’ve got a case where there have been different paths taken in different states,” says Andrew Doba, Malloy’s communication director. “When you’re talking about these things, it’s natural to compare yourself to other states.”