( CNN ) -- The name of New Jersey Gov . Chris Christie surfaced once again in the national news this week , floated by some as a possible new entrant in the ever-widening , fickle field of Republican presidential contenders . But Christie got even more attention on his own by heading straight to the `` Jersey Shore '' -- the TV show . On Monday , Christie vetoed a $ 420,000 tax break previously granted to MTV 's most popular program -- the highly viewed and just as highly derided reality series featuring Snooki , The Situation and other often inebriated free-range narcissists . In denying the show 's producers the New Jersey Economic Development Authority 's 20 % tax credit on TV shows filmed or produced in the state , Christie said it was unjustifiable `` for a project which does nothing more than perpetuate misconceptions about the state and its citizens . '' Like a rain-slicked Atlantic City boardwalk as it snakes its way to the shore , that 's some slippery ground on which Christie is treading . It 's difficult , maybe even impossible , to disagree with him on the position of being anti- '' Jersey Shore '' : Anything that slows the spread of that video virus is , almost by definition , a good thing . But what if the same logic and political tactics had been used on , say , HBO 's `` The Sopranos '' ? Even if that sort of concern amounts to fiscal responsibility , it also amounts to artistic irresponsibility . Politicians have attacked TV before , but the attention they draw rarely has them getting the last word , or being awarded the final victory . Dan Quayle vs. `` Murphy Brown '' ? The CBS sitcom won that one , handily ; the single mother about whom Quayle was so upset was , after all , a fictional TV character . George H.W . Bush , in 1992 , campaigned by promising to make American families `` a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons . '' Bart , one of the animated characters on `` The Simpsons , '' retaliated almost instantly in a quickly dubbed opening credits sequence , replying , `` We 're just like the Waltons . We 're praying for an end to the Depression , too . '' Christie , by pulling the state purse strings tighter and refusing to hand over rebate tax credit money to TV productions that make New Jersey look bad , is wielding a heavy club . Where else , after all , could `` Jersey Shore '' film its reality-show escapades ? Italy ? ( Actually , yes . They 've done just that . But MTV and `` Jersey Shore '' have n't yet gone to the original Jersey shore , nestled in the English Channel and part of the United Kingdom . Maybe next year . ) Or maybe , if CW 's `` H8R '' lasts another season ( which is doubtful ) , Christie could come on as a Snooki `` hater , '' as a nonfan did to confront the `` Jersey Shore '' standout star in this month 's season premiere , and take away her show 's tax credits on camera . But really , the biggest media storm he could generate here , and the one that would score him even stronger political points , would be to make the tax credits , or the denial of them , qualitative as well as quantitative , and thus support the arts in the most measurable way possible . Bear with me here : Christie could make it a policy to give tax rebates for the quality shows , and levy fines -- tackiness taxes , if you will -- for those that besmirch New Jersey in particular and the lively arts in general . Make good TV and movies , you get money back . Make bad TV and movies , you pay a surcharge . Under such a system , the better the TV show or movie , the higher the tax incentives . ( This works for the other arts as well : Bruce Springsteen could do whatever he wants in Jersey , which is kind of the way things are now anyway . ) Conversely , the lower a visiting TV or film production sets the crassness bar , the higher the state should set the additional taxes for filming in Jersey . That way , when something as outstanding and artistic as `` The Sopranos '' shoots on location in the Garden State , it gets a break . The `` Real Housewives of New Jersey , '' on the other hand , gets broken . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Bianculli .
David Bianculli : Gov . Chris Christie is in news for ` ` Jersey Shore '' decision . Christie denied show tax credit because it creates ` ` misperceptions '' about state . He says pols have weighed in before , but why ` ` Shore '' and not ` ` Sopranos '' ? " : Maybe new policy should be tax credits for quality films , fines for tacky ones .