Chris Christie for President?

Get ready, America. Here comes Chris Christie.

I started writing this blog back in November after Christie was re-elected Governor. It was delayed because the hard-drive on my laptop had to be replaced and that took a few weeks to get accomplished. Then, information about an issue involving the George Washington Bridge and one of Christie’s political allies hit the local papers. I included that and was ready to publish the blog just before Christmas, but it didn’t seem to be an appropriate holiday subject. So I delayed it again. Now, information has surfaced linking Christie’s office to the scandal involving the bridge; so I’ve added a little more. To keep things clear, I’m breaking it down into 3 parts.

Part 1: Chris Christie, Governor

On November 5, Christie won re-election as Governor of New Jersey by a wide margin (61% - 38%). The popular wisdom seems to be that this puts him in a great position to run for President in 2016. The high percentage of votes that he received, his high profile around the country and his claim that he has worked across the aisle with Democrats in NJ paints a rosy picture of his chances of winning at least the Republican nomination, if not the Presidency itself.

I don’t get it. If you look at the details behind the headlines, you get a different picture. Look at the endorsement he received from the Star Ledger Editorial Board (the largest New Jersey newspaper). Although the Board endorsed Christie, the endorsement pointed out many problems it saw with his performance as Governor. These included: continued growth of property taxes, his hostility to low-income families, the downgrading of the State’s credit rating, his removing two Supreme Court justices with no good cause. It also stated that he has been “a catastrophe on the environment”, draining money from the clean energy fund and moving away from efforts to address climate change. One of the things that helped his approval rating among New Jerseyans is his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. But the Star Ledger Editorial Board stated that he has a mixed record in that area. In the endorsement, the Board says that he is “better at politics than he is at governing” and “Our view is that Christie is overrated.”

So, why endorse him? Basically, the Board determined that he was a better choice than his Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono.  She is a State senator and was the only Democrat willing to take a chance running against Christie. Even though the Board agreed with her on a number of issues, it felt that she was too supportive of unions and would stand in the way of some reforms that have been put in place during Christie’s first term. One of the big problems that Buono faced was lack of any significant support from the State Democratic party. In fact, 50 elected officials who are Democrats endorsed Christie. From what I can gather, Buono has for a while been out of favor with the majority of Democrats in the NJ legislature. In her campaign, she emphasized that her priorities were to govern in a way that would benefit the working people of New Jersey.

In addition to the items listed above, I would point out that Christie: vetoed a minimum wage hike, cut funding for women’s health services and opposed the extension of a tax on millionaires. Also, fearing that Democrats might turn out in large numbers to vote for Democrat Cory Booker in a special election to fill Frank Lautenberg’s seat, Christie ordered the special election not be held on the regular Election Day in November, when NJ voters were voting for Governor. Instead, it was held in October and on a Wednesday. Holding this special election cost the taxpayers at least $12 million dollars (Christie’s estimate), and maybe up to $24 million dollars (estimates from other sources). This ploy most likely helped increase Christie’s margin of victory in the November election. In evaluating the strength of his victory in that election, we should note that the election set a record for the lowest turnout of NJ voters in a general election (only 38% of registered voters turned out).

Finally, Christie touts himself as a straight-talker. But some would call him a bully. This article by Richard Eskow on Huffington Post, provides a number of examples about his bullying behavior. The incident that I recall most vividly is one where Christie responds to a question from a reporter about his confrontational tone. Here's a YouTube video of the incident. The thing that strikes me most about the video is the reaction of the young man standing behind Christie to his right. I assume he is a Christie aide. He snickers and laughs at Christie’s response to the reporter. I found his reaction very disrespectful and demeaning to the reporter, who was asking a legitimate question. I think that’s the thing that bothers me the most about Christie – his lack of respect for people who have opinions differing from his.

Part 2: The Bridge Scandal

That was going to be the end of my comments. But, a situation involving the entrance to the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, NJ, broke into the news. Apparently, a high school buddy of Christie’s, whom he appointed to the NY/NJ Port Authority, ordered the entrance to the bridge from Fort Lee cut from 3 lanes to 1 in early September. The result was a massive traffic jam in Fort Lee. The lane shutdown went on for 4 days. Allegedly, this was done for a traffic study, but later disclosures showed that explanation to be questionable. Christie’s pal resigned from the Port Authority and later his boss also resigned. One alleged cause for the shutdown of the 2 lanes is that the Democratic Mayor of Fort Lee was asked to endorse Christie for the November election and declined to do so. Two weeks later, the lane shutdown occurred. (The story has been reported in the Wall Street Journal and Rachel Maddow has done a number of segments about this situation on her show on MSNBC.) I’m not suggesting that Christie had anything directly to do with this situation. But, I think that indirectly his bullying behavior may influence those who work with him and support him. This column by Tom Moran in the Star Ledger includes some related comments about the two officials who resigned.

Part 3: Link to the Governor’s Office

At this point, the story has gone national. Over the last week, emails have indicated that Bridget Anne Kelly, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, was involved in orchestrating the closure of the 2 lanes on the bridge. According to a Star Ledger article, an email from her to David Wildstein, who ordered the closures, states: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Wildstein replies: “Got it.” Chris Christie has apologized to the citizens of NJ and Fort Lee, asserting that he was not aware of any of these activities of his staff. He has fired Kelly, the Deputy Chief of Staff. David Wildstein has pleaded the Fifth Amendment in his testimony before a NJ Senate committee investigating the situation. Loretta Weinberg, the Democratic leader in the State Senate, said on the Rachel Maddow Show on Jan. 9 that it seems that Christie “has created a culture that somehow made many of the people who work for him think this kind of behavior is appropriate.” (This relates to my comments at the end of the last paragraph in Part 2 above.) Here’s a recent story in the Star Ledger about this culture and actions Christie has taken in the past in retaliation against others.

Final Thoughts:

At this point the Bridgegate story has gone national and you may have seen in your local media. I’m hoping Christie does not win the presidency. His “straight-talking” (or bullying) behavior may play well in New Jersey. But I can’t imagine it being an asset in the presidency. I believe diplomacy is a vital trait for a president to have and I don’t see him doing well in that area.