christie
Politics

Christie Making a Big Splash for New Jersey

Governor Chris Christie is officially up for reelection, for which many believe him to be the front runner. Christie’s popularity has only been expanding post-Sandy, and many believe that it will only continue to grow through the campaign season.

The Sandy relief effort shown by the Governor is said likely to  win him his second term, and recently his popularity is growing larger with New Jersey residents through his criticism of not only President Obama but his own party as well.

Christie has been speaking out against a few things that have made the GOP rethink their pride in his “blunt” personality.

The Governor sharply criticized the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, for Congress delaying voting on the Sandy relief package.

The relief package that Christie is calling for will give a $60 billion federal aid package to New Jersey to help with storm relief. Christie first condemned the Speaker of the House on January 2 in a press conference stating that the relief package should have been voted on in the fiscal cliff deal voted on January 1.

Governor Christie was quoted saying, “We respond to innocent victims of natural disasters, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans, or at least we did until last night. Last night politics was placed before hosts to serve our citizens. For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch.”

This was not the first time that Christie has brought up the impact of the political influence being an unimportant issue to him when it comes to his decisions for his state.

The criticism of the delay was something that, while many in his own party were upset about, the people of New Jersey liked what he had to say. According to the CNN article, 79 percent of New Jersey residents agreed with Christie’s criticism.

Daniel Gunderman, a junior studying communication, however finds the criticism to be attempts to further his upcoming election. “He seems to have been outspoken on Hurricane Sandy Relief funds, maybe to get a boost in morales amongst voters in the gubernatorial election, but from a House standpoint, it was a good idea to shoot down an immediate fund of countless billions to New Jersey.”

Gunderman continues, “Boehner, already in a considerable amount of heat over the fiscal cliff crisis, is anxious to save money, and to funnel out billions without proper analysis of the damage is kind of naive. It was smart to assess it and make a bill with proper increments shipped to New Jersey. And the House shouldn’t give in on a hunch or a Governor’s whim that quickly, so Christie can criticize all he wants, but ‘due process’ must take place. And to automatically give New Jersey an amount of money which exceeds their state budget is off-putting.”

While Gunderman overwhelmingly does not agree with Christie’s criticism, “I still think Christie has shown an unparalleled passion for his state and is in a comfortable position for the upcoming election.”

Citizens of New Jersey would agree that Christie’s passion for his state is proven to be unraveled. This was not the first time that he has pushed aside party politics in order to stand up for his state. During the hurricane Christie’s efforts to work with the President helped make sure New Jersey was fully taken care of during the storm.

Christie received a large amount of criticism from his party for his praise of the leadership that the President had shown during his state’s time of need.

Nicholas Waltman, a senior studying political science, thinks that Christie is “Almost guaranteed to be governor again because of Sandy and President in 2016.”

Dr. Patrick Murray of the Polling Institute, said in his article “Chris Christie=New Jersey.” He explains Christie’s popularity is nothing to be surprised by. In his article he wrote, “Before Sandy, Gov. Christie embodied the spirit and personality of New Jersey (whether or not we were willing to admit it).  After Sandy, he became New Jersey personified.”