Only in politics can someone be punished for doing the right thing. Okay, maybe not only in politics, but politicians seem to hold the longest grudges.
Take the kerfuffle between Governor Chris Christie and the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Christie had the gall, the gall, to actually cooperate with President Obama on their response to Superstorm Sandy. Not only did he refuse to stonewall the President at every angle when a lethal storm was devastating New Jersey, he dared to lambast the Republican leadership when they delayed emergency funding for Sandy victims.
CPAC may have come up with some excuses for not inviting him, but all that hot air won’t melt away the cold truth forming the core of their ire. They think Christie made them lose the election because he “cozied up” to Obama, when what the governor was actually doing was reminding the country that when Republicans and Democrats actually work together, they get shit done.
And it’s nice, tight shit too, like the kind horses make. Not that splatastic cow shit that Congress has been slinging about for years.
There’s a reason why Obama’s core campaign message of compromise struck a chord with the American public: people are sick of the childish us versus them mentality. The our-way-or-the-highway model politics is not what Americans want anymore. But it’s what we’re getting because extremists on both sides continue to dominate our national political dialogue.
Democrats can be just as petty, but they at least cater to moderates by inserting compromise rhetoric into their campaigns–something I imagine Christie would do very well if the Republican party lets him do it. If the organizers of CPAC had a lick of sense, they would acknowledge that sentiment and give Christie a chance to woo their base.
But I guess putting a hole in their right foot before election season has even begun was far too irresistible.
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