OPINION:
Republicans shouldn’t reward him for damage and disloyalty
It would be a shame if the media destroyed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie just because liberals see him as some sort of potential threat to Hillary Clinton in 2016, but it would be an even bigger shame if Republicans rally around him as a presidential candidate simply because liberals don’t like him.
We are suffering through four more years of Barack Obama in part because of the way Mr. Christie embraced him and cavalierly dissed Mitt Romney in the closing weeks of the 2012 campaign.
The roadblocks he put in the Republican road to the White House then have done far more damage than the closing of a few traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge and should be kept in mind as the upcoming 2016 presidential race approaches.
Days before the 2012 election, when asked by Fox New anchor Steve Doocy if Mr. Romney may fly to New Jersey to tour the hurricane damage, Mr. Christie arrogantly dismissed his own party leader and fired back with sycophantic, adulating praise for his opponent:
“I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested . I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey. That’s much bigger than presidential politics and I could care less about any of that stuff . If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don’t know me .
“I spoke to the president three times yesterday. He called me for the last time at midnight last night asking what he could do . I said if he could expedite designating New Jersey as a major disaster area, that that would help us to get federal money and resources in here as quickly as possible to help clean up the damage here. The president was great last night. He said he would get it done.
“At 2 a.m., I got a call from [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] to answer a couple of final questions, and then he signed the declaration this morning. So, I have to give the president great credit. He’s been on the phone with me three times in the last 24 hours. He has been very attentive, and anything that I’ve asked for, he’s gotten to me, so I thank the president publicly for that. He has done, as far as I’m concerned, a great job for New Jersey.”
Hurricane Sandy gave Mr. Obama a tremendous advantage the week before the election because he had executive power to take action. Mr. Romney’s only chance to demonstrate concern was to tour the damage with Mr. Christie. Yet in that six-minute interview, Mr. Christie dismissed Mr. Romney four times, and praised Mr. Obama six times.
On whether Mr. Romney would assess the Hurricane Sandy damage with him:
1. “I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested.”
2. “I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey. That’s much bigger than presidential politics.”
3. “I could care less about any of that stuff.”
4. “If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don’t know me.”
On Mr. Obama:
1. “The president was great last night.”
2. “I have to give the president great credit.”
3. “He has been very attentive.”
4. “Anything that I’ve asked for, he’s gotten to me.”
5. “I thank the president publicly .”
6. “He has done, as far as I’m concerned, a great job for New Jersey.”
Mr. Christie was correct in that Mr. Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy was effective, but there’s an old saying: “Timing is everything.”
If Mr. Christie couldn’t “give a damn” about the future of America or the Republican Party while handling a natural disaster on the Jersey shore, then he is ill-equipped to lead the free world as president of the United States.
Perhaps Mr. Christie’s anti-Romney comments should have come as no surprise.
After all, if Mr. Romney had won in 2012, Mr. Christie could not have run for president for eight more years.
Since that day, Republicans have questioned Mr. Christie’s loyalty. Even the Drudge Report ran the headline “Which side are you on?” featuring a photo of a pivoting Mr. Christie on stage with Mr. Obama as if to suggest he couldn’t make up his mind.
Some polls suggest that Mr. Christie is the only Republican who can defeat Mrs. Clinton, and others feel that his hard-hitting, tough-guy approach is needed to compete with the bullying tactics of the left.
Mr. Christie’s ill-timed loyalty to Mr. Obama, though, shows a lack of conviction and leadership, and his disloyalty is beneath the values of chivalry and honor for which the Republican Party stands — qualities that Mr. Romney always has gallantly displayed.
Those are qualities the party should never forsake, no matter what the cost.
Jeffrey Scott Shapiro served on Mitt Romney’s presidential-election legal team in Florida.
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