New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday reached out to social conservatives, saying a lack of leadership from the Obama administration and members of Congress has made the nation less safe and less fiscally sound.
Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in D.C., Mr. Christie slammed lawmakers for failing to support a straight renewal of the Patriot Act and for failing to reshape the nations’ entitlement programs in order to curb costs over the long haul.
“Leaders are not supposed to follow polls, leaders are supported to change polls,” Mr. Christie said, arguing that the nation needs elected leaders who will tell “people the truth.”
Mr. Christie has yet to enter the presidential race, but is expected to announce his candidacy sometime this month or next.
On Friday, he took a direct swipe at Sen. Rand Paul over the Kentucky Republicans’ recent 10-hour “filibuster” against the Patriot Act.
“This isn’t about politics, this is about life and death for our country and I stand with keeping America safe and make American strong, and not giving speeches on the floor of the Senate to raise money for a political campaign,” Mr. Christie said.
He also took a shot at former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has vowed to oppose attempts to reduce Social Security by cutting benefits.
“Don’t listen to people who come behind this podium and say, like one of my fellow former governors said, you can’t touch Social Security, this is a sacred trust,” Mr. Christie said. “What I say to him is, ’governor, the lying and stealing has already occurred.”
Mr. Christie is running near the middle of the pack in polls. The 52-year-old has been hurt by the political fallout from the 2013 George Washington Bridge scandal as well as the fiscal problems in his own backward, which has included several state credit-rating downgrades.
He has not been tied to the Bridgegate scandal, however, and received a political boost earlier this month when the state Supreme Court ruled in his favor in an ongoing fight with public employee unions. The court said the state is not obligated to make increased pension payments that were promised as part of an overhaul that Mr. Christie signed into law in 2011.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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