NJ Watchdog: Christie shoots from hip but wounds credibility

Chris Christie has never been one to mince words. The New Jersey governor says what he thinks, but it’s not clear if he thought about what he said.

Last week, Christie interrupted his run for the White House long enough to criticize legislators for not paying enough attention to state business. Last month, he warned Hillary Clinton that he plans to grill her about emails in a debate, overlooking his own legal issues. Finally, the portly governor ordered the leader of the New Jersey National Guard to lose weight.

Let’s take it from the top. Christie last week blasted the New Jersey Assembly for not focusing on legislative matters.

“The fact is they don’t want to interrupt their precious campaign time for a minute,” he told a breakfast meeting of business leaders in Hanover.

Later that morning, the governor boarded a plane to Iowa in pursuit of his presidential ambitions. So far this year, Christie has traveled out-of-state on at least 145 days. Yet to hear him tell it, he’s the only one minding the Statehouse.

“I’m the Maytag repairman,” said Christie. “Sit in my office in Trenton, all alone.”

The New Jersey governor likes to shoot from the hip – but those shots often ricochet back to wound his credibility.

While most of the Assembly’s 80 members seek re-election in November, they can generally be found in their legislative districts. Meanwhile, Christie is fixated on New Hampshire, where he plans to hold 100 town meetings before the February primary.

To add injury to insult, New Jersey taxpayers have spent more than $1.3 million for the travel costs of the state police troopers who accompany Christie on his trips away from the Garden State.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/240912/christie-credibility/.