On Tuesday, Chris Christie will be inaugurated for his second term as New Jersey Governor. Of course, the past few weeks have been a political disaster for Christie, as it seems he is bouncing from one controversy or scandal to another. With his involvement in Bridgegate becoming more apparent, not to mention the possibility that he used Sandy relief funds as leverage, the Governor has had a rough go of it lately.
Perhaps it would be appropriate, then, to at least mention these events in his inaugural address. Maybe mention them in passing, since they are the elephant in the room. At this point, it is the only thing people are thinking about when it comes to you. It appears that Christie will instead practice a little willful ignorance. Per his camp, Christie does not plan on mentioning anything related to the recent scandals that have popped up.
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Instead, Christie plans on going with a more generalized speech that will show that he is focused on bipartisanship and that he presents a different vision than that of Washington politicians. Below is a short excerpt from the speech:
“One of the lessons that I have learned most acutely over the last four years is that New Jersey can really be one state. This election has taught us that the ways we divide each other — by race, by class, by ethnicity, by wealth, by political party — is neither permanent nor necessary. Our dreams are the same: a good job, a great education for our children, safe streets in our neighborhood and core values which give our lives real meaning. Those dreams are not unique to any one group in our state.
We cannot fall victim to the attitude of Washington, D.C. The attitude that says I am always right and you are always wrong. The attitude that puts everyone into a box they are not permitted to leave. The attitude that puts political wins ahead of policy agreements.”
Basically, Christie is hoping that with this inauguration, he can press a reset button and everything will go away. He will still be a front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2016. His popularity in New Jersey will still be high. Bridegate and misuse of Sandy relief funds will just fade away. If he just puts his fingers in his ears and shouts loudly, it will all be over soon.
Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
