In a new article by Murray Waas, many Republicans said they supported Gov. Christie's role in leading the RGA, but the support was contingent on the Bridgegate scandal. In Texas, the feeling wasn't the same as there wasn't the slightest trace of support for the New Jersey governor when he came to town.
You know you're in trouble when Paul Abbott runs as fast and as far as he can before your arrival, and that's what happened Thursday during embattled Chris Christie's fundraising event in Texas.
Indeed, Christie’s chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, with its network-building, chit-gathering capacity, was one of the reasons some installed him as an early favorite for the GOP nomination, following his smashing reelection victory last November.
But that, of course, was before the George Washington Bridge scandal drove Christie’s White House ambitions into a ditch.
The governor was in Texas on Thursday to raise money for the RGA, and the nature of his visit demonstrated everything that need be said about the current state of his political dis-union. The events in Dallas and Fort Worth were held behind closed doors, with no press coverage allowed. The state’s presumptive GOP gubernatorial nominee, Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott, chose to be elsewhere during Christie’s visit, as did outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Perry.
The Texas jaunt follows a Christie trip last month to Florida, where Republican Gov. Rick Scott, locked in a tough reelection fight, sneaked into a similar fundraiser through a back entrance rather than having his picture taken alongside New Jersey’s scandal-stricken governor. Out of sight, as it were, if not out of mind.
Christie's road trip has gotten off to a terrible start and he's heading to Chicago next:
On Tuesday, Christie heads to Chicago for multiple RGA events. He’ll also speak at the Economic Club of Chicago, where he’s expected to take questions in person for the first time in a month. After that, he’ll address the National Republican Senatorial Committee retreat in New York City. Then the governor attends the bipartisan National Governors Association meeting in Washington. In early March, Christie delivers a speech at the American Enterprise Institute’s annual World Forum in Georgia.
In between those trips, Christie is slated to deliver a budget address to the state, the Newark Star-Ledger notes. Late last month, the newspaper’s editorial board wrote that Christie should resign from his post as head of the RGA, given all that is on his plate in his home state.
Next week is a big deal now for the governor and we'll see if Republicans flock or flee his arrival.
How things can change in a heartbeat in politics! On August 12, the Governor was basking in his successful reelection, the Super Bowl was on its way and he was just appointed as the head of the powerful RGA committee. Flash forward to the present and Chris Christie is battling for his political life.
