Christie Forms Institute to Bring Back Civility to Politics

I was drawn to an Associated Press story that appeared in The Trentonian under the headline “Chris Christie Forms Institute to talk politics.” The article indicated that our former Governor “is forming a think tank to discuss ways to bring civility back to politics.” According to Christie, politics “have gotten so ugly and divisive in the country that people are not having civilized conversation.”

I have to admit that at first, I thought the story was a spoof, or a too obvious example of not real or fake news. A quick check revealed that it is true. According to a headline in The Star Ledger “Christie is back, with an eye on civility.” The Christie Institute of Public Policy (CIPP), to be based at Seton Hall University, will focus on non-partisan conversation and research on national and international issues.

It is beyond hypocrisy for Christie, whose tenure was replete with conduct that was rude, obnoxious, abusive, and combative to now pontificate about the need to bring civility back to politics.

It takes a special person to have the chutzpah to issue a clarion call for civility when your tenure as Governor was over and over again characterized by an inability to control your temper. The Governor’s targets included average citizens, a Navy SEAL, judges, journalists, teachers, union officials, association heads, state legislators and a diverse array of political opponents.

Governor Christie didn’t become a Youtube sensation because of his civility. He earned it because of the many examples of him shouting, defaming and insulting others, using profanity, threatening bodily harm and going-off the deep end. Here are just a few examples of Chris Christie being a bully: telling a heckler to “sit down and shut up”; calling a Navy Seal an “idiot” and then “jerk”; telling the State House press “to take the bat out on Senator Weinberger’’; referring to Assemblyman Reed Gusciora as “numb nuts”; using the terms “quack” and “lunatic” to describe those who disagree with him, labeling a New York Post reporter a “dope”; throwing a water bottle at a staff member in anger; and getting into a brouhaha with a constituent on the boardwalk and chasing him while holding onto an ice cream cone.

And I didn’t even mention that he oversaw an administration in which his staff thought it was acceptable to shut down the George Washington Bridge as revenge against a local Democratic Mayor that opted not to endorse him. His closest aides thought the Governor would be fine with this kind of ruthless vengeful abuse of power. Also, let us forget that the plan’s acknowledged mastermind, David Wildstein, who was appointed by Governor Christie to his $150,000 patronage position at the Port Authority, indicated that he told the Governor in advance of the plan, but could provide no evidence of this.

Here are three books that should make the civility institute’s reading list:

The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. This 1,000+ page tome is mandatory reading for anyone who needs to understand how power corrupts certain people. Both Robert Moses and Chris Christie were in-your face bullies who employed pugilistic governing styles.

Soft Corruption by William E. Schuluter. This is what ethics guru, Bill Shuluter, wrote about why soft corruption means higher-cost for government: “A recent example of a political maneuver, costly to the public, was seen in an effort of Chris Christie to rack up an overwhelming majority in 2013 reelection. U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg had died in office in June, and the most logical timing for the special election to fill his seat was Election Day in November. Instead, by gubernatorial decree, Christie advanced the date of the special U.S. Senate election in the fall of 2013 by three weeks ahead of the regular election date, when he would be on the ballot. This meant that the large number of voters who would be drawn to the polls to vote for the very popular Democrat, Cory Booker, for the U.S. Senate would not be voting at the same time for governor. This stratagem helped Christie achieve an astonishing 22 percent majority win over his Democratic opponent. But the separate election cost the state and extra $12 million.”

The Best Job in Politics Exploring How Governors Succeed as Policy Leaders by Dr. Alan Rosenthal. Dr. Rosenthal, who passed away in 2013, was considered the “conscience” of our nation’s state legislatures, said this about Chris Christie political legacy: “Chris Christie does not mirror his contemporaries or his predecessors. Unlike them, he doesn’t pay much attention to the care and feeding of legislators. Indeed he has shown contempt for the legislature and its members. He seems to have gone out of his way to alienate Democratic leaders in the legislature, as well as their core constituencies. His approach, as described by one journalist, has been “unrelentingly brutal.” Christie has campaigned for his agenda around the state, attacking Democratic legislature for obstructionism. In contrast to the overwhelming majority of governors examined here, he has done almost everything possible to lose friends and make enemies.”

It appears that Seton Hall was blindsided by Christie’s announcement and in a statement a few days after his announcement they said: “The full scope of the relationship between the two organizations remains under discussion, and we will share those detail when they become final.” I guess it finally dawned on someone at Seton Hall that civility and Chris Christie is an oxymoron.