Chris Christie

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Christie makes good traffic jams.

Christopher James "Chris" Christie (b. 1962) is the current Republican Governor of New Jersey. He attended college at the University of Delaware and Seton Hall University School of Law before becoming a partner in a law firm.[1] In 2002 Christie was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey by George W. Bush where he earned a reputation for cracking down on corruption and later went on to become governor of the state in 2010.[1]

Despite saying that he wouldn't run, there were many Republicans who wished to see the moderate Christie run for their party's nomination for the 2012 election. Christie endorsed Mitt Romney for President, and gave the keynote speech at the Republican National Convention (the speech turned to be a plug for himself, somehow). There are rumours that he might try in 2016, though it appears wealthy donors are courting other candidates after all of the scandals that broke in 2014.[2]

Contents

[edit] Positions

[edit] The bad

Christie is pro-life and believes marriage should only be between one man and one woman,[3] vetoing a New Jersey same-sex marriage bill using the "public referendum" canard.[4] The state courts were in a wrestling match with him on this and he eventually had the decency to end his appeal.[5]

Like Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Christie believes that the way to improve public services, particularly education, is to smash the (already nearly dead) public sector unions. In this, he has an unusual ally — Stephen Sweeney, the Democratic leader of the state Senate and the head of a local ironworkers' union. So much for labor solidarity.

He supports lowering taxes farther than the record-low levels that they are now, and raising the retirement age for Social Security.[1] The intent is to help boost job growth, which is working spectacularly well given that New Jersey currently ranks 49th in job creation.

He has staunchly defended the NSA's surveillance of American citizens, invoking 9/11 as his chief argument and claiming that the (civil) libertarianism of Rand Paul et al. was "a very dangerous thought."[6]

In late 2013, a scandal erupted when his appointees to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey got several lanes on the George Washington Bridge shut down, ostensibly to punish the mayor of the town of Fort Lee (the western terminus of the bridge) for not supporting Christie during his re-election campaign.[7] It would be a surprise if Christie wasn't found to be directly involved with the closures, as he is known to be quite the hands-on govenor.[8]

He rewards his donors with blood-soaked 9/11 rubble.[9] He (along with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo) also tried cashing in on the Ebola scare by quarantining a virus-free Doctors Without Borders nurse.[10] He also wants to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, to help his rich donors.

[edit] The so-so

Christie's environmental record is mixed. On one hand, he tried to weaken the state's Department of Environmental Protection on the grounds that it was killing businesses, and withdrew the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).[11] On the other, he believes in green, renewable energy instead of offshore drilling, supporting tax credits for offshore wind farms and allowing the construction of solar arrays on farmland.[1] Yes, a Republican who believes in global warming, as hard as that may be to believe.[12]

His drug policy is also a mixed bag. While he opposes medical marijuana and the liberalization of drug laws, he does support sending non-violent offenders to rehab rather than prison.

[edit] The good

Despite being a Republican, Christie isn't disturbed by others' religions and has thus earned respect from some liberals.[13]

Christie, as a New Jerseyan and a half-Italian American, has trashed the makers of Jersey Shore and blocked them from receiving $420,000 worth of tax credits to film in the state,[14] meaning that all production costs now have to come out of MTV's pocket. Sure, this may be keeping jobs out of the state, but do you really want to have anything associated with Jersey Shore on your resumé?

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy destroying the Jersey Shore, Christie came down from Bullshit Mountain put partisan politics aside and praised Barack Obama's handling of the recovery (on Fox News, no less), to the point where some felt that he was throwing Romney, who he had previously endorsed, under the bus.[15][16] He has now been effectively declared a RINO.[17]

While he opposes gay marriage (and even then, as previously mentioned, not enough to oppose a court ruling legalizing it in the state[18]), he otherwise has a decent track record on gay rights, including supporting civil unions and making New Jersey the second state (after California) to outlaw the use of reparative therapy on minors.[19]

Christie was also one of only a handful of Republican governors to opt-in to the Medicaid provisions in the Affordable Care Act.[20]

[edit] In summary

He's an East Coast "big city" conservative cut from the same cloth as Rudy Giuliani and Ed Koch — big on national security and economic issues, but moderate-to-liberal on social issues and the environment, and while he has a reputation for being a boisterous, hot-headed "Jersey guy," in terms of his actual governance he's not nearly as confrontational as the Tea Party right. While he's still a Republican, he's one of the sane ones, which of course makes him a RINO.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 State of New Jersey: Governor Christie
  2. Wall Street Plays 2016 Dating Game as Christie Stumbles, Bloomberg
  3. On the Issues: Chris Christie
  4. N.J. governor vetoes same-sex marriage bill, CNN
  5. As Gays Wed in New Jersey, Christie Ends Court Fight, The New York Times
  6. NJ Gov. Chris Christie: Opposing NSA Surveillance Is A 'Strain Of Very Dangerous Thought'
  7. See the Wikipedia article on Fort Lee lane closure scandal.
  8. For Christie, Politics Team Kept a Focus on Two Races, The New York Times
  9. Christie Turned Twin Towers Wreckage Into “Politically Motivated Gifts”, Phillymag
  10. Chris Christie's Ebola Blunder, New York Magazine
  11. A program among all the Northeastern states (except Pennsylvania and, now, NJ) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a cap and trade program. Pennsylvania acted as an observer, as did the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. More information here
  12. Where the 2016 GOP contenders stand on climate change, Washington Post
  13. Christie on appointing a Muslim to a superior court. (Don't read the comments section if you want to maintain your faith in humanity.)
  14. Governor vetoes tax break for 'Jersey Shore', Reuters
  15. "Hurricane Sandy: Is Chris Christie Throwing Romney Under the Bus?", Yahoo! News
  16. Romney Has a Christie Problem and a FEMA Problem, The New Yorker
  17. Murdoch calls the whambulance
  18. Chris Christie gay marriage move stirs GOP, Associated Press
  19. Chris Christie signs ban on gay conversion therapy, The Huffington Post
  20. Christie: 'Proud' of expanding Medicaid but costs need better management, The Star-Ledger
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