OPINION:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used to have a political career, a support base and the respect and admiration from frustrated Republicans everywhere who were fighting the good fight but being thwarted by bully-type Democrats, thuggish union members and a complicit far-left media.
And then he went to the beach. And there, the last remnants of his political capital roasted and burned. What a fall from grace.
Who can forget the widely watched video of Christie taking on the teacher unions, putting the arrogance of an educator in its rightful place? That was back in 2010, but it was an eye-opening moment for the political world, one that set Christie’s mouth as a shining example of bold, brash Republican righteousness.
A taste: “New Jersey has some of the best schools in the nation and this administration has done nothing but lambast us,” said one teacher, to Christie during the 2010 town hall.
She went on a bit, criticizing Christie for his leadership and ultimately blaming his administration for her looming inability to pay her bills. And Christie’s response?
Classic. He began by respectfully denying that he’s lambasted the teachers. And when she smirked?
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“If what you want to do is put on a show and giggle every time I talk, I have no interest in answering your question,” he said, telling her to “sit down” if she didn’t want to be respectful.
That was the Christie that Ann Coulter wanted for president — that the conservative base in America cheered.
It’s been a long journey from that moment for Christie, one that saw his golden political star tarnish with a bridge-closing scandal, a couple too-cozy moments with Barack Obama, a failed presidential run in 2016 and finally, a bungled position with the incoming President Donald Trump administration that saw him replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.
All that’s recoverable, though. Time would’ve given Christie another chance in the political world — another opportunity for high-ranking public service.
But this beach trip, caught on camera, is an optic that’s going to be tough to survive.
Christie’s state is in the throes of a budget battle and government shutdown, with blame by Democrats being cast on Republicans — on the governor’s mansion, particularly — and by Republicans, on the Democrats — on the liberal leadership, particularly. As part of the shutdown, public beaches were closed over the weekend. And families were being turned away.
But not so Christie and his family.
The Star-Ledger of New Jersey captured on camera Christie and his sizable family kicked back in beach chairs on the white sand, nary another soul in sight.
The images were bad enough — long stretches of sandy white Island Beach State Park beach, all to the Christie family’s own selves.
Then Christie, asked for explanation — asked to explain why he’s at the beach when nobody else can go — said this: “That’s just the way it goes. Run for governor and you can have a residence.”
His reference was to the fact that New Jersey governors have access to an official retreat at the state park.
But for Christie, it was an Obama moment. It’s like Obama blithely announcing the ISIS murder of American journalist James Foley, before jaunting off for a round of golf.
“As soon as the cameras went off, Mr. Obama headed to his favorite golf course on Martha’s Vineyard, where he is on vacation, seemingly able to put the savagery out of his mind,” The New York Times wrote in 2014. “He spent the rest of the afternoon on the links even as a firestorm of criticism erupted over what many saw as a callous indifference to the slaughter he had just condemned.”
Callous and tone-deaf. Those are words no politician wants affixed to his or her character.
Yet this is what Christie brings to mind with his beach trip. Another word? Elitist.
The rest of the state residents be danged — Christie and his family are going to the beach, by gosh. And for those who have a problem with it? Well, they can simply run for governor one day themselves, as Christie puts it.
Social media exploded, of course.
“Sure @ChrisChristie. Let’s shut down NJ during one of the busiest tourist weekends,” wrote one on Twitter. “Thanks from all of us at the Shore.”
Christie’s lost the public relations battle. The images of his family basking on the beach, while the rest of the state is shut out, is a gift to political opponents. Don’t look for Christie’s political career to last much past his governor term. The pictures speaking loudly and with one quick glance, show all that’s wrong with today’s arrogant government; all that’s wrong with today’s entitlement-minded politicians.
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