Chris Christie Pulls an Alinsky on Rand Paul
A few days prior to the 2012 presidential election, in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie gave Obama a long, drawn-out hug and silently nodded his head in agreement to every word spoken by the always-opportunistic president. Since that day, the twosome has been setting the standard for bipartisan solidarity.
Effusively calling Obama's response to the storm "wonderful," "excellent" and "outstanding," Christie addressed concerns over how his actions might impact the outcome of the election:
I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested. I have a job to do in New Jersey that is much bigger than presidential politics. If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don't know me.
At the time, those words were likely music to Obama's amply-sized auricles. Since then, rapport between the two has persisted. At the Governor's Ball Christie was even given a seat of honor and got to clink champagne glasses with the captivating Michelle Obama, who actually agreed to share dining space with a chubby New Jerseyan who looks nothing like Jon Bon Jovi.
Either way, it must be mutually-shared moral authority that is the primary force behind the Chris/Barry relationship. Apparently, having personal experience with super-storms and terrorism, Christie, together with Obama -- who understands everything about everything -- both possess the moral authority to stomp all over the U.S. Constitution.
Now, with the IRS thugs having to lay low for a while, Obama the community organizer needs a dependable agent to work on behalf of the 2014 election. And who better than a man that proved his mettle in 2012? That's why, based on the governor's pugnacious conduct toward those in his own political party, it appears Chris Christie may have been recruited into the Obama "Rules for Radicals" gang.
Obama must have guaranteed Christie a new amusement park in Seaside Heights, because lately the Garden State governor has been the pure embodiment of Alinsky rule #13, which says, "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." What's making the whole thing so suspicious is Governor Christie's verbal rancor is mostly being directed toward a specific political adversary of the president, the outspoken Tea Party favorite, Rand Paul.
The dust-up started at the Republican Governors' Summit in Aspen, Colorado when, for no apparent reason, Christie singled out and pounced on Senator Rand Paul. Addressing opponents to Obama's snoop-and-spy policies, the New Jersey governor went on to personalize his attack by suggesting the Kentuckian is "dangerous" because he opposes the Obama Administration's overreaching government surveillance programs. Christie also accused the senator and those like him of failing to understand the dangers of terrorism.
Implying that concern over government abuse of surveillance is "esoteric," and sounding like he was reading straight off Obama's teleprompter, Chris Christie said:
This strain of libertarianism that's going through parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought. You can name any number of people and (Paul is) one of them.
For context, the late Saul Alinsky stressed that "In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and 'frozen.'" That is exactly the approach Barack Obama built his political career upon and appears to be what Chris Christie attempted to do to Rand Paul on Obama's behalf.
Respectfully responding to the "esoteric...dangerous" remarks, the senator suggested Christ-O-Bama get a "new dictionary" if he believes Constitutional fidelity is "esoteric" and "dangerous."
Senator Paul accused Christie of being "sad and cheap" for using the "cloak of 9/11 victims" to shield his unconstitutional position, and of having a "give me, give me, give me all the money" approach to fiscal issues in Washington. More recently, Paul also criticized Christie's über-dependence on federal funds.
In classic Alinsky style, the Jersey governor fired back by portraying the fiscally conservative Tea Party activist as a "big-spending Washington establishment figure."
At a press conference announcing monetary grants for homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy, Christie said:
Maybe [Paul] should start cutting the pork barrel spending he brings home to Kentucky? But I doubt he will, because most Washington politicians only care about bringing home the bacon so that they can get reelected.
This is Crispy Bacon Christie talkin' here! He's the one who sold out his party for federal assistance to rebuild gambling casinos. Paul responded to the governor's pork comment by saying, "Oh, you start trashing my state. Now he's really going to be in trouble. Don't start trashing Kentucky, buddy."
Paul pointed out that he did not "choose this fight with the governor." That is correct Mr. Senator, you did not; the choice to pick a fight was probably made higher up on the food chain, and has rolled down to you via Barack Obama's portly political pawn.
Tough guy Chris Christie is aiding and abetting Alinsky acolyte Obama by accomplishing a key Alinsky objective, which is to "zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack," so that "all the 'others' come out of the woodwork...[and] become visible by their support of the target [.]"
In filial loyalty to his bipartisan buddy, new Alinskyite recruit Chris Christie appears more than willing to tag-team with Obama and entice "all the others" to step forward in Paul's defense. In other words, in fear of losing control of the Senate, Barack Obama is employing Chris Christie to wage an attack that hopefully will tease conservative senators out of hiding to rush to Rand Paul's defense. That way, the president can "target...freeze and attack" Paul's defenders too.
Having a RINO governor as an ally helps the president broaden the attack by "acting decisively ... [on]... the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other." With Christie on the devil's side, Obama hopes to find and neutralize every political threat in time to lock down the House in 2014.
Jeannie hosts a blog at www.jeannie-ology.com