New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a decent man and represents the people of New Jersey well. He has improved the state in several ways and was a budding star in the Republican Party. He gave a resounding speech at the Republican National Convention that energized the support of the GOP. Gov. Christie made young and old Republicans excited about their future and the possibility of a Republican president in the White House. He fervently supported Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in his bid for the presidency. He bashed President Barack Obama on several valid points during the lead up to the election. Gov. Christie challenged Obama's jobs record, ObamaCare and the state of the economy. He pretty much stated that Obama was unfit for the job in every capacity -- that is until Hurricane Sandy came.
Hurricane Sandy not only destroyed countless homes and caused billions of dollars in damage, it destroyed the political career of one Governor Chris Christie. When Hurricane Sandy beat down on New Jersey and New York many people were left without power, food and water. Help was needed to get people from stranded homes and supplies were necessary on an extremely large scale. Gov. Chris Christie coordinated the rescue and support of millions beautifully. President Barack Obama who came in and provided the people of New Jersey with whatever they needed expedited this process. He was able to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy to help people in their dire time of need. Gov. Chris Christie is a decent man and knows where credit is due so he thanked President Obama for his help and broadcasted those feelings on national television. In this crisis Chris Christie did the right thing and didn't think about political affiliations and said Barack Obama the man, not the Democrat helped the people of New Jersey. Too bad the GOP contingent believes that political affiliations never rest, even in crisis.
So with a single interview where Governor Christie stated Barack Obama was a good man for helping the people of New Jersey and that he wasn't worried about the presidential election, he in turn committed political career suicide. The GOP will never take Christie in as their own even though he stated a truth, a necessary truth in a time of absolute crisis. The GOP is dubbing him as a "Democrat lover" and thinks he has no business in their party. One of the most widely known and successful Republican Party members is now exiled from his own party. For having a viewpoint that differed from the rest of the party he is now exiled. Even if there was a chance at him running for office under the Republican ticket he will not only have to battle his own party he would have to take the heat from the Democratic Party stating he doesn't have a leg to stand on because he's an undercover Democrat in Republican's clothing. Gov. Christie would lose creditability any way he cut it. This is all because he told an unbiased truth.
This is a sad truth in our world of politics. Your viewpoints better not divert from those of the party or you will be crucified for it. If a Democratic candidate thought that our welfare system was a joke or Republican candidate thought women should be able to choose whether they could have an abortion or not it would be the end for them. The public wants transparency and honesty from our politicians but when they get it they are berated from their peers and end their career before having a chance to make change. This makes it where politicians have to "play politics" instead of doing what they may truly believe in. They have to drive mandates for things they have no passion for and support people they don't believe in. Imagine if Pres. Obama or Gov. Romney said anything positive about outsourcing and its benefits during the lead up to the election they would have been killed by the media and political pundits all over. Or imagine if a politician came out and said he felt America had an entitlement problem, he would be thrown under the bus by their own party and pounced upon by the opposing party. Politics isn't about telling truths, it's about doing and saying things to please people and your party. To expect more out of our politicians, the culture about criticism and truths need to change. We cannot be so sensitive to someone saying something true even if it is about someone we might not agree with. A good politician will do what's best for his people not just do the things to be like unfortunately they have to tell half truths and lie in order to appease their party.