The Christie Issue

Chris Christie is in a very peculiar spot in American politics.  The New Jersey governor is a noted Republican.  He spouts many ideas that are quintessentially Republican, yet his actions prove themselves to be a betrayal of modern day Republicans.  Now one might be inclined to believe Christie is not a Republican because of some of the things he does, like compromising with Democrats, high-fiving President Obama, and accepting government funds to help his state due to hurricane Sandy's damage.  All these things, when looked through the prism of modern day Republicans -the ones that have fooled other Republicans into voting for them -can be viewed as a betrayal of the party.

But is Christie really the traitor here?  Is the New Jersey governor a traitor for asking the government for some help to fix his state when a natural disaster destroyed most of the shore?  I mean is that not what an elected official is supposed to do for his constituents?  Isn't it his job to represent the people of New Jersey and make a case for them and what they need?  Is he supposed to worry about what the likes of Rush Limbaugh and the knuckleheads at Fox News think, while his citizens are struggling to stay afloat?  is Christie a traitor for compromising with Democrats?  How do you govern any given entity if you cannot work with the people you disagree with?  If all you do is work with people who agree with you it is unlikely that you will unearth anything important to history.  If you only work with those that are just like you, you will always have the same solution to every problem, and no one will think outside of the box.  Republicans like to pick on Christie because they view him as a traitor, but I dare say it is these modern day Tea Party Republicans that are the traitors.  It is these few voices of dissent who are stalling progress in the Unites States.

A lot of talk will continue to go on about Christie's presidential hopes.  I for one have a hard time looking seriously at Republicans as leaders.  Very few, if any of them have shown that they can lead while in congress.  When it comes to Christie, I think a lot of people in this country would love to see him detach himself away from the modern day Republicans, or at least create a coalition of Republicans with enough backbone and organizational strength not to be afraid of the Tea Party Republicans.  When an elected official decides they would rather do nothing than to compromise, it is time for them to step away from public office and become a consultant.  As a politician, your primary role is to serve the people who voted for you.  More and more politicians need to go back to the basics of public life.  This is not supposed to be a career.  It is supposed to be a service you render to the public, because they entrust you with all their hopes about the future.

It will be easy for people to paint Chris Christie as a weak Republican because of the work he has done in office with Democrats.  But the truth of the matter is that Christie is doing exactly what he was elected to do. He is representing New Jersey to the max.  Christie is an example for other politicians.  It is a real shame that he feels he belongs in the Republican party, because the party of today is quickly endangering the party's future.