Mirror, Mirror in my Hand
It turns out that Chris Christie's belief in his own self-importance is bigger than we might have thought. You might think that I'm talking about the latest investigation revealed today into the fact that he and his family starred in a commercial for New Jersey tourism, but you'd be wrong. I'm talking about revelations in a post by Steve Benen at
The Rachel Maddow Show blog.
[W]hen it comes to scrutinizing the unfolding controversy, the governor’s personal capacity for arrogance and narcissism ranks pretty low on the list of priorities. But as Christie continues to position himself as a player on the national stage, developments like these help the public get to know the politician as a person.
And in this case, what we’re learning about Chris Christie isn’t altogether flattering.
In August 2012, the New Jersey governor was tapped for an important role: Christie delivered the keynote address at the Republican National Convention. It was widely panned by everyone who watched – Christie went on (and on) celebrating himself, his background, his family, and his virtues. As Rachel noted on the air that night, “He waited 1,800 words into a 2,600 word speech to even bring [Mitt Romney] up” – and since it was supposed to be a speech about why voters should support Romney, it seemed Christie had missed the point, assuming the spotlight was all about him.
What we didn’t know until later is that Christie threatened to throw a tantrum on live television, disrupting his party’s own convention, unless RNC officials agreed to air a three-minute video special about Chris Christie before Christie’s speech. Fearing how far the governor might go, RNC organizers eventually gave in and did as Christie insisted.
Taking ‘worship of self to a whole new level’
Here's the video:
Wow! He threatened to throw a tantrum if that video wasn't shown? What was he going to do? Stomp his feet? Well, click the link and you find the title of the CBS article by Jake Miller from 2013: Christie threatened to drop "f-bomb" at 2012 GOP convention.
Gee, I wonder why none of these proud moments weren't included in the montage about Chris Christie?
And Christie was going to drop the F-bomb unless a video about him was played at the convention? Sure does make you wonder more about the denials over the Stronger Than the Storm ad. Oh, wait, it wasn't a denial, it was a blame Obama response.
Christie spokesman Colin Reed said today that “MWW was the most qualified bidder of the agencies vying for the contract.”
“The Stronger Than The Storm campaign was just one part of the first action plan approved by the Obama administration and developed with the goal of effectively communicating that the Jersey Shore was open for business during the first summer after Sandy,” Reed said in a statement. “Federal agency reviews are routine and standard operating procedure with all federally allocated resources to ensure that funds are distributed fairly. We’re confident that any review will show that the ads were a key part in helping New Jersey get back on its feet after being struck by the worst storm in state history.”
The New York Times reported in 2012 that the chief executive and president of MWW Group, Michael Kempner, was one of President Obama’s top fundraisers.
Gov. Chris Christie Faces Yet Another Controversy Over Sandy Ads
Here's the ad in question:
Oh, and something else interesting in that threatened article. Why Chris Christie wasn't chosen to be Romney's running mate:
In the end, it was money, not chemistry, that kept Christie off the GOP ticket. A "pay to play" regulation from the Securities and Exchange Commission prevented the country's largest banks from donating to candidates and elected officials from states in which big banks were located. If Christie, the governor of New Jersey, were added to the ticket, Romney's campaign would have been barred from accepting any campaign contributions from Wall Street - a critical source of cash for the GOP candidate, formerly a private equity manager.
In a phone call, Romney asked Christie whether he would be willing to resign the governorship to side-step the SEC regulation. Christie laughed and said he needed time to think about it, but eventually decided to stay put in New Jersey. "After that phone call, Romney and Christie had no further conversations about joining the ticket," Balz writes.
Even before the bridge scandal, I didn't think the brash Chris Christie would end up being the Republican nominee in 2016. But there is little doubt that Chris Christie, and his enormous ego, was planning a presidential run. But if he would have had to resign as Governor in order to join the ticket with Romney, doesn't that mean that he either has to resign as Governor to run, or not accept the same Wall Street donations himself in order to run for President? Or could he run, not accept the donations, and then once he secured the nomination well into 2016 then resign as Governor?
According to polls published today, Christie's popularity hasn't taken much of a hit nationwide since the bridge scandal broke.
Enmeshed in a growing scandal over alleged political payback, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is facing a loss of confidence at home but as yet no significant damage to his national political standing, according to a pair of opinion surveys released Monday.
But like with everything else, there are caveats.
A survey by the Pew Research Center found the public paid far more attention to last week’s cold snap than the New Jersey bridge scandal, with 44% very closely following the weather and just 16% paying close to notice to Christie’s apology and political developments in the Garden State.
The scandal is only getting started and there is quite a lot of time for people to start paying attention.