- The Washington Times - Tuesday, July 15, 2014

A conservative group is welcoming New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to Iowa this week by accusing him of supporting “liberal” judges in the Garden State — as it looks to raise questions about whether conservatives can trust the Republican to ahead of a possible 2016 presidential run.

The Judicial Crisis Network (JCN) said it was spending $75,000 on two online ads — one 15 seconds long and another 90 seconds — that say Mr. Christie has missed a number of chances to change the “liberal” makeup of the New Jersey Supreme Court and has worked with Democrats.

“Over and over, Chris Christie said he would fix it, remake the court with judges who respect the rule of law. Over and over, he broke his promise,” the narrator says in the 90-second online spot. “Christie has had five openings on the New Jersey Supreme Court, enough to build a new majority. But the court remains liberal.”

Mr. Christie is scheduled to be in Iowa, which will kick off the nomination process in 2016 with the caucuses, later this week for a series of fundraisers.

The ads blame the New Jersey Supreme Court for issuing opinions that have hurt businesses and scared away jobs and says its “lawless rulings” led to the “the highest property taxes in the country.”

The JCN has had Mr. Christie in its crosshairs before.

Last month, the group launched a preemptive strike against Mr. Christie ahead of his address at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in Washington. It warned in a press release that Mr. Christie nominated two judges to the New Jersey Supreme Court, who publicly campaigned for same-sex marriage, and re-nominated another after he authored the “breathtakingly activist opinion that brought same sex marriage to New Jersey.”

Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of JCN, said the next president could have the chance to point upwards of three justices to the Supreme Court and Mr. Christie would be the wrong man for the job.

“Conservatives can’t possibly trust Chris Christie on this important issue, since he has failed to take it seriously enough as governor,” she said.

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.

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