New Jersey natives, enthusiasts, and others who have roots to the state are watching this one very closely.
The heightened scrutiny into the Christie administration’s dealings is starting to take a toll on the Republican governor, according to MSNBC. "Once considered a frontrunning contender for the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination, Christie is now trailing in polls behind other GOP hopefuls. According to a Washington Post/ABC poll out Thursday, Democrat Hillary Clinton crushes Christie’s standing in a hypothetical 2016 match-up by over 20 points." And in an article called, No Smoking Guns Yet, But the Noose Is Tightening Around Chris Christie, Mother Jones reports that :
The New York Times is pretty clearly expending a lot of resources on the various Chris Christie scandals. So far they haven't produced any smoking guns, but they're sure digging up some stuff that doesn't look good for Team Christie. First up is a look at the Christie political team, which was apparently obsessed with winning votes in Democratic-leaning towns.This wasn't because the votes themselves were all that critical to Christie's 2012 reelection campaign, but because winning in these places "would validate the governor’s argument that he would be the most broadly appealing Republican choice for president in 2016." Further, this is just in from Salon:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s administration has strenuously denied Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegations that she was told her city would only receive Sandy relief funds after she approved a private development supported by Christie. Zimmer has stuck by her story, however, and has met with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. While there’s no definitive proof yet of Zimmer’s claim, two recent reports paint a picture of an administration that was always extremely interested in the Hoboken development sitting at the heart of the dispute.In addition, Ron Fournier of the National Journal just posted this piece: Why I Was Wrong About Chris Christie: He wasn't so smart or post-partisan, and may pay the price as a presidential hopeful.
A year ago, I wrote: "The smartest move in politics today is to move against Washington and the two major parties. And the smartest man in politics may be Chris Christie." I take it back. At the time, the New Jersey governor had channeled the public's disgust with political dysfunction, chastising House Republican leaders for refusing to allow a vote on a Hurricane Sandy relief bill. Christie said the game-playing that derailed the relief bill showed "why the American people hate Congress." He accused his own party's leadership for "selfishness," "duplicity," and moral failure. His approval rating topped 70 percent. Now his numbers are dropping, because he wasn't so smart. Rather than stay true to his post-partisan image, Christie ran a hyper-political governor's office that focused relentlessly on a big re-election win to position him for a 2016 presidential race. In this zero-sum gain culture, Christie enabled (if not directly ordered) an infamous abuse of power: the closure of traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge in a fit of political retribution.Phillip Rucker and Scott Clement of the Washington Post wrote:
Christie has benefited from the perception that he has unique appeal among independents and some Democrats, a reputation the governor burnished with his 2013 reelection in his strongly Democratic state. But that image has been tarnished, the survey finds. More Democrats now view Christie unfavorably than favorably, with independents divided. Republicans, meanwhile, have a lukewarm opinion, with 43 percent viewing him favorably and 33 percent unfavorably. Overall, 35 percent of Americans see him favorably and 40 percent unfavorably.
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