OUR VIEW: GOP could learn from NJ Gov. Christie

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OUR VIEW

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Even in this hardened and calloused world of partisan politics, it’s tough not to sympathize with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who evidently is being blacklisted for his recent cordialities toward Democratic President Barack Obama.

Christie found himself in a tough spot last year, when Hurricane Sandy devastated his state just days before the presidential election.

Obama came visiting with aid in hand, and Christie not only was accepting, but perhaps gave Obama too much credit, considering the proximity to the election.

Last month, Christie criticized Republican leadership in Congress for adjourning without giving approval of a $60 billion relief package for hurricane-ravaged victims in his state.

A year ago, Christie was considered by many to be one of the Republican Party’s most viable candidates for president.

But this week, he finds himself without an invitation to next month’s Conservative Political Action Conference.

The CPAC, as it is known, is a who’s-who gathering for all of the nation’s top Republicans, and suddenly Christie is on the outside looking in.

This is precisely what’s wrong with American politics.

We are sure it did not please the nation’s top Republicans when Christie showed such great gratitude to Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Likewise, his sharp rebuke of Congress gained him no great favor, we are sure.

But Christie’s job is to look out for the people of New Jersey, and he certainly has done that. It’s important to note that he has a 74 percent approval rating in his state.

He’s a Republican, but he evidently realizes that to actually get things done, he sometimes has to work with the opposing party.

Let us repeat that for sarcastic effect: To actually get things done, he sometimes has to work with the opposing party.

Imagine the things our nation could accomplish if this crazy concept were to spread.

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