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 #12, 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.