Gov. Chris Christie in Washington, DC: He Came, He Saw, He Conquered; What's Next?

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is clearly just getting started in his public service. Whether he runs for the Presidency in 2012 or not, he will be a part of the American political landscape for many years to come. Governor Chris Christie came to Washington, DC and shook the house. He continues to conquer hearts. The question many of us are now asking is what's next? This man is more than a breath of fresh air.

P>WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic online) - The last time Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey came to Washington, DC to give a speech, it was also a barnburner. However, it did not generate the same kind of Press response as did his address at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on February 16, 2011. On May 3, 2010 he was the keynote speaker at the American Federation of Children National Policy Summit Dinner. Just as he did on Wednesday evening at AEI, he surprised observers with his candor - and his refreshing willingness to shake up the "same old/same old" approach to politics and public policy. This man is a breath of fresh air in a political climate filled with the stench of the stale.

At the Federation of Children National Policy Summit Dinner he strongly endorsed parental choice in education or what is often called school choice.I prefer the former because it speaks of who should make such a choice, parents.He told those gathered for the Summit: "Parents and children deserve a choice. Parents and children, who are being failed by a public school system whose costs are exorbitant, and whose results are insulting, deserve a choice.  And you know we don't have to look far around the country from where we are right now to know that voucher programs and experiments in school choice are working that they're producing results.  "

He spoke of the success of school choice in DC, before the administration threatened to defund the Opportunity Scholarship program. "You know here in D.C... those in that program are now reading 19 months ahead of their colleagues who are outside that program.  This isn't a coincidence. We know that it's not a coincidence.  We know that there (are) over five million children trapped in over ten thousand failing public schools around America - and I use the word trapped - and I use it directly.  They are trapped by an educational bureaucracy.  They are trapped by a selfish, self-interested, greedy, school union that  cares more about putting money in their own pockets and in the pockets of members than they care about educating our most vulnerable and needy children around the country. "

It is these kind of plain spoken, straightforward and brutally honest  statements which not only show courage- for which the Governor should be commended - but also - and sadly - present an accurate assessment of the experience of too many children and parents. The Governor has called for a voucher system in New Jersey which will allow all parents the same choice that he and his wife had; to choose where to send their children to school from among the full array of options, public, private, charter, private or parochial. This is part of the reason why the folks currently running the Teachers Union in New Jersey, NOT the teachers, are so upset with him. Parental choice will open up that choice to all schools, including public schools. The competition it would bring to the public sector would promote excellence.

Governor Christie is a practicing Catholic. He and his wife have chosen to send their children to Catholic Schools. They can also afford to do so. However, he is mindful of the basic injustice involved when other parents are trapped by a system which does not allow them to do what is best for their children. He was equally frank in addressing this reality in that speech, "A single mother in Newark working two jobs to keep a roof over her child's head should have no less ability to make that choice than my wife and I had."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms the right of parents to choose a school for their children, "As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators.Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise. "(CCC#2229)

Then there were those words he spoke on Monday, January 24, 2011, delivered in person, outside of the Statehouse in the State which he governs, on the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade and Doe v Bolton decisions which unleashed the evil of abortion on demand by judicial fiat. He spoke to hundreds gathered in the bitter winter cold to give a voice to our youngest neighbors in the first home of the whole human race and said "What I encourage all of you to do is what I will continue to do, which is to speak calmly and clearly and forthrightly for the idea that this is an issue whose time has come."

He explained how the truth concerning the fundamental human right to life became so clear to him when his wife, Mary Pat Christie became pregnant with their daughter Sarah, who is now 14. "We must all stand up for what our Declaration of Independence tells us we must stand up for. The first of those principles was life. Our founders said that we should stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, (and) without life, there cannot be liberty, nor the pursuit of happiness. If you continue to remain true to that document, you need to continue to speak out strongly and clearly on this issue." 

So, when this plain spoken, refreshingly candid man from New Jersey spoke at AEI and took on the lack of courage among politicians in both parties in facing the pending economic collapse in this country, I was not a bit surprised. He offered the kind of "one liners" which the Press loves in an age that has less and less tolerance for demagoguery. He said "Here's the truth that nobody's talking about. You're gonna have to raise the retirement age for social security. Whoa, I just said it, and I'm still standing here. I did not vaporize into the carpeting." Of course, that is not all that this gutsy man from Jersey said. His entire speech can, and should, be read here: 

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He shared several of his experiences since taking the Governor's office with the manner which continues to appeal to people like me, a former Democrat from Dorchester, Massachusetts, from a blue collar family. I was jettisoned from that Party when they failed to hear the cry of children in the womb.How can any Party claim to care about the poor when they hide the intrinsic evil of killing children in the womb behind a claim to some alleged "right" to do so? Back then, I was drawn to another plain spoken Republican named Ronald Reagan. Today, I find few in either Party who have the same effect on me. There is a certain former Senator from Pennsylvania named Rick Santorum and this Governor from New Jersey.

The first story concerned his encounter with the status quo politicians in the State Government. "I decided to call them down early on and advise them that the place was under new management. And what I said to them was listen, if you guys want to pass an income tax increase, you can. That's fine, I'm going to veto it. And if you want to close down the government because of that, that's fine. But I want to tell you something - I'm not moving any cot into this office to sleep in here. If you close down the government I'm getting into those black SUVs with the troopers and going to the governor's residence. I'm going to go upstairs, I'm going to open a beer, I'm going to order a pizza, I'm going to watch the Mets. And when you decide to reopen the government, give me a call and I'll come back. But don't think I'm sleeping on some cot. Take a look at me, you think I'm sleeping on a cot? Not happening."

Then there was his encounter with the firefighters. "As I walked into the room and was introduced. I was booed lustily. I made my way up to the stage, they booed some more. I got to the microphone, they booed some more. So I said, come on you can do better than that, and they did! They did. And then I said to them - I took away the prepared notes I had for the speech - I actually took them off of the podium, crumpled them up and threw them on the ground, so they could see that I would. And I said, here's the deal: I understand you're angry, and I understand you're frustrated, and I understand you feel deceived and betrayed. And the reason you feel all the things is because you have been deceived and you have been betrayed."

"And for twenty years, governors have come into this room and lied to you. Promised you benefits that they had no way of paying for, making promises they knew they couldn't keep, and just hoping that they wouldn't be the man or women left holding the bag. I understand why you feel angry and betrayed and deceived by those people. Here's what I don't understand. Why are you booing the first guy who came in here and told you the truth? See, there is no political advantage to me coming into that room and telling the truth. The way we used to think about politics and unfortunately the way I fear they're thinking about politics still in Washington DC.

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"See, the old playbook says lie, deceive, obfuscate and make it to the next election. You know, there's a study that says by 2020, New Jersey is one of eleven states whose pension could be bankrupt. And when I told a friend of mine about that study, he said to me, well wait. By 2020, you won't be governor. What the hell do you care? That's the way politics has been practiced in our country for too long and practiced in New Jersey for too long. So I said to those firefighters, you may hate me now. But fifteen years from now, when you have a pension to collect because of what I did, you'll be looking for my address on the internet so you can send me a thank you note."

This Governor from New Jersey is clearly just getting started in his public service. Whether he runs for the Presidency in 2012 or not, he will be a part of the American political landscape for many years to come.  Governor Chris Christie came to Washington, DC on February 16, 2011 and shook the house. He continues to conquer hearts. The question many of us are asking now is what's next? This man is more than just a breath of fresh air.

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