Chris Christie: The Enigma
by Henry Graebe
Governor Christie had been a breath of fresh air following New Jersey’s long line of failed leadership, from James Florio to Jim McGreevey to Jon Corzine, and his approval ratings are no mistake (an astonishing 74%). Unlike his predecessors, there have been no stories of corruption, no testimonies before Congress, and he has not been embarrassed by failing to avoid a government shutdown. The state is proud to have a governor in the national spotlight finally making headlines for the right reasons.
Well, most of the time.
Governor Christie has done a lot of good for my state, like capping the highest property taxes in the country. But many of the accomplishments have been offset by some of his recent decisions. He portrayed himself as a cost-cutting fiscal hawk but then proceeded to strangely advocate for the pork-filled Sandy Relief Bill (the lack of actual Sandy relief has been well-documented). His willingness to accept the expansion of Medicaid is not a head-scratcher. Governor Christie stated “we have an opportunity to ensure that an even greater number of New Jerseyans who are at or near the poverty line will have access to critical health services beginning in January 2014.” In a week that is dominated by talks of the sequester cuts (peanuts compared to the list of entitlements that are bankrupting the nation) this is not time to expand dependency on the federal government.
This is not the fiscal leader the country is hungry for and is exactly why, if he decides to throw his hat in the ring for 2016, he will probably join the likes of Mitt Romney and John McCain as yet another big government Republican who receives a less-than-enthusiastic voter turnout.
His moderate policies are relative to New Jersey’s politics and thus tolerable only within the Garden State. But they are not well received outside it. His noticeable and understandable snub from CPAC is not a coincidence. In fact, it speaks volumes of how far outside the mainstream his conservative brand actually is. By his latest act, he may have placed the final nail in his national stage coffin. Though his decisions are popular and supported in New Jersey, that is precisely where his political future will remain.
Henry Graebe is the Campaigns Manager at FreedomWorks.
Follow him on Twitter @HenryGraebe