© 2012 TexasDarlin/TDBlog
UPDATE 11/8/2012: Rasmussen reports that 12% made up their minds during the final week.
Dear Governor Christie,
Here’s why you have no future in the Republican party:
Would Obama have won without you? Perhaps. But why did you bend over backwards (or should I say “lean FORWARD!”) to help? I see that you got defensive when asked that question Monday:
‘I said to him, “Listen, Mitt, if this storm hits the way I think it’s going to, I’m off the campaign trail from here to Election Day.”
Everyone understands that Hurricane Sandy has been an epic disaster for your state. As any decent governor would, you took charge of things in the storm’s wake and part of that duty is to get federal aid. Fair enough. A written statement expressing your thanks would have been appropriate. But you opted instead for an exuberant, slobbering display of public adoration for the President, gushing like a giddy teenager: “Barack called me three times, even at midnight during the hurricane! What a bi-partisan leader! He is such a great president for doing his job!” (I’m paraphrasing you here).
And you didn’t stop. There you were at every turn hailing Obama’s leadership. At some point I said to my husband, “What the Hell is he doing, trying to get Obama re-elected?” When I heard that Obama was heading to your state for a post-hurricane tour, I cringed, imagining the sympathetic pics of you two standing in an ankle-deep puddle surveying destroyed homes and comforting shaken residents. Worse, you showed up on the front page in a bear hug. Ugh.
When reporters implied that your actions might be hurting Gov. Romney and asked you whether Mitt would also be touring the hurricane damage, you snapped. “I don’t care about the campaign. My people are suffering and the President responded!” (Again, I’m paraphrasing).
That’s when something in my gut twisted. Now I’m a nobody. I’m just an ordinary woman living an ordinary life in a (thankfully) red state far away from New Jersey. But I’ve been observing campaigns as a hobby since 2007 and I can spot a political opportunist when one is doing a tap dance in front of my eyes. Surely you, Mr. Governor, as a seasoned and sophisticated elected official, knew that the President’s intention was to use you as a prop. You would know this because for the past four years he has failed to exhibit leadership in times of crisis (Exhibit One: going to bed then to Vegas during a terrorist attack that killed four diplomats in Benghazi). You would know this because he’s never shown the least interest in being bi-partisan (Exhibit Two: 3 days after his first election, Obama scoffed at outreach by minority Congressional leaders, declaring that “elections have consequences… and I won.”).
And you also knew, as a leading GOP supporter of Gov. Romney, that Obama desperately needed a boost as Hurricane Sandy was bearing down on the East coast. You knew that — eight days out from arguably the most consequential election in American history — Gov. Romney was beating Obama in the national polls by about five points. Yet when the President called asking for a photo op televised tour, you eagerly obliged. The nation, meanwhile, noticed that Mayor Bloomberg refrained from politicizing Sandy, telling Obama in no uncertain terms that he needed to stay away so that officials could focus on relief and recovery.
By its giant nature, Hurricane Sandy dwarfed candidate coverage. As the challenger, Gov. Romney could only ride that out. Obama, on the other hand, greedily grabbed the opportunity to finally look presidential. Not only did you assist him, you choreographed the dance. It’s not apparent whether you acted out of naiveté and sheer emotion, or were driven by a much more machiavellian motive. I suspect the latter. But none of the possible explanations indicate leadership traits that we look for in a governor or president. Unfortunately you are no Mitt Romney.
Perhaps you were thinking of your own re-election bid next year, or your 2016 presidential aspirations. In any case, your behavior was treasonous not only to the GOP party on the eve of such a crucial election, but treasonous to your country. You helped deprive us of a true leader during a time of crisis.
As stated, certainly you could have expressed your appreciation quietly and moved on. You could have reserved the effusive compliments for Nov. 7th.
Now that the election is over, along with Obama’s use for you, I genuinely hope that the hurricane victims in New Jersey — your constituents — get whatever aid he promised. Based on information that the mainstream media have succeeded in burying, the assistance itself is catastrophic. Some are now saying that the governmental response is even worse than Katrina. Obama never has to campaign again so who do you think will be blamed for the failures? That would be you, sir. It’s getting crowded under the Obama bus, might be a tight squeeze for you, but I’m sure he’ll find room.
Mr. Governor: In boosting Obama for your own selfish reasons, you screwed the United States of America. And soon you will see that, in giving him a boost, you also benefited your foe Cory Booker. Your political career in New Jersey and nationally is over. May joblessness be less harsh for you than your 15 million unemployed fellow citizens. And may you find solace in the Democratic party.
Sincerely,
T.D., Austin, Texas
And may I just add that, up until the hurricane, I was a very big fan of Gov. Christie.
Nice. True. Having a hard time with words now…. still not much to say yet after watching my Country buy the BS once again. Glad you have some words left.