Liberal Group Takes Aim at Christie for Snowstorm Response
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in recent days has had to do some damage control to tamp down criticism over the slow pace of his city's Christmas weekend blizzard clean up. Now a liberal group is aiming to put New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a rising GOP star, on the defense as well.
Christie already took some heat this week from New Jersey Democrats for vacationing at Disney World while his constituents were digging out of the snow. Today, the group Progressive Change Campaign Committee launched a "Where's Christie?" website to highlight what it calls the governor's pattern of absenteeism. In addition to the Disney World trip, the site highlights a series of dates on which Christie was in other states stumping for Republicans, rather than governing in New Jersey.
PCCC is purchasing online ads in New Jersey to promote the site and e-mailed its 19,000 New Jersey-based members, asking them to promote the site.
"Partying with Mickey Mouse while serious incidents are happening back home isn't leadership. This is just the latest time that Christie has left the state at a critical moment -- putting his own interests above New Jersey's," the e-mail says. "Together, we'll show that when New Jersey was losing billions in federal education funding and suffering a massive transportation shut-down, Christie was hopping around the country campaigning for Republican candidates instead of putting his state first.
Christie has become a prime target for liberals, as speculation has mounted over his national political ambitions. The governor has earned praise for his straight-talking style, though a recent Quinnipiac poll shows his job approval rating down five points from last month.
