My Thursday column compares Mitt Romney and Chris Christie and how each handled the hurricane response.
I've been extraordinarily critical of Chris Christie since he first emerged as a gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey back in 2010. In most cases, I feel that my criticism has been valid (though I sometimes regret the, shall we say, more ad hominem attacks).
After all, he entered the national spotlight as part of the midterm wave of far-right tea party candidates in 2010 and has since operated as promised with an agenda of tax cuts for the rich, tax increases on lower income residents, and extreme austerity, with significant cuts to education, $7.5 million cut from women’s clinics, cuts to healthcare for seniors and Temporary Disability Insurance, and Christie vetoed a same-sex marriage bill while taking steps to enforce the existing discriminatory law. Unemployment in New Jersey is higher than the national average -- the fourth worst in the nation -- and has gone up during Christie's first term.
As a governor, he's a mess. But he should be applauded for his actions and conduct during and after Hurricane Sandy, regardless of our disagreements with his policies.
His remarks in the immediate aftermath of the storm when he appeared on MSNBC and praised the president's response, as well as his bipartisan cooperation with the administration were, admittedly, shockingly refreshing to observe, especially considering his performance up to that point and the continuous inability for Republicans to cooperate with the president. [continued]