Gov. Christie Criticized For Vacationing During State's Natural Disaster

Christie Left For Florida Hours Before Acting Governor Declared State Of Emergency. From the New York Daily News:

Critics are blasting the Republican governor's decision to remain on his Sunshine State vacation while New Jersey residents grapple with the aftermath of a devastating blizzard.

To make matters worse, Christie's Lieutant Governor Kim Guadagno is vacationing in Mexico, leaving Senate President Stephen Sweeny -- a Democrat -- in charge.

“We clearly made a mistake if we created the office lieutenant governor and wasted money if the lieutenant governor is not going to be here when the governor is out of state,” New Jersey Democrat Sen. Raymond Lesniak told New Jersey's Star Ledger. “It's being handled very well by Sen. Sweeney, but you have to really question the purpose of the office.”

Guadagno is the state's first lieutenant governor. She was in Mexico when the blizzard hit.

Christie left for vacation on Sunday -- the same day Sweeney declared a state of emergency in New Jersey -- with his wife and four children. He is expected to return on Thursday. [New York Daily News, 12/28/2010]

WSJ.Com: Christie Facing “Political Storm” After Vacation. The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog reported that Christie “may not have quelled the political storm over his Florida vacation during last week's blizzard.” The piece went on to report that Christie defended himself, saying he was doing in Florida what he would have been doing had he remained in New Jersey -- directing the response via telephone. [Washington Wire 12/31/10]

Gloucester County Times: “Communications Experts” Slam Christie's Decision To Stay In Florida. The Gloucester County Times reported:

Mounds of criticism for Gov. Chris Christie piled up as he remained in Disney World on a family vacation while New Jersey grappled with one of the worst blizzards in decades.

When he got back on Friday, Christie scoffed at his critics, saying his administration deserved an “A” for its response and it wasn't the state's fault local roads didn't get plowed and people were trapped in their homes for days.

Christie said he wouldn't have come home to drive a plow or shovel people out himself just to make it seem he was on the case. He also said leadership was selecting a strong cabinet to get the job done in his absence.

But communications experts who have advised governors during times of crisis say there is a lot Christie could have done differently to reassure the public and prevent what has become an international flap. And, in general, they give him bad reviews for the way he responded last week.

Most important, he could have returned sooner, said Bob Mann, who served as communications director to Louisiana's former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco during Hurricane Katrina.

“It boggles the mind that a governor would abandon his state in the midst of a natural disaster,” said Mann, who is now a political communications professor at Louisiana State University. “He was in Disney World for crying out loud, of all places. That's the worst image that you could possibly have.” [Gloucester County Times, 1/2/11]

Local Officials Criticize State Response To Blizzard. From the Ashbury Park Press:

Elected officials from Ocean Township in Monmouth County to Brick in Ocean County said their jobs were made more difficult because the state hadn't cleared routes 18, 36, 35, 66 and 71.

Christie blamed them, taking particular aim at Brick Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis, who was critical of the administration's snow removal efforts.

Regarding clean-up efforts, Acropolis was quoted as saying “This is going to be the new picture of New Jersey government.”

The mayors should buck up, Christie said, “and take responsibility that they didn't do their jobs.” [Ashbury Park Press, 12/31/2010]

“So What's He Supposed To Do?”: Right Wing Defends Christie's Vacation

Fox Nation: "'Buck Up!' Christie Smacks Down Snow Carpers." The website Fox Nation ran video of a Chris Christie press conference in which he attacked those who had criticized his decision under the headline "'Buck Up!' Christie Smacks Down Snow Carpers." [Fox Nation, 1/2/11]

Gray And Buguiere: “I Don't See What The Big Deal Is.” From the January 3 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

STU BURGUIERE: Well I was worried about him, with this huge snow storm going on, I was very concerned over vacation about the President because he was right in the middle of it. Well -

PAT GRAY: Well he wasn't. He was in Hawaii.

BURGUIERE: Well yes, I mean, sure there was a, you know, a gigantic blizzard uh - you know - and uh, you know, sort of a big issue again. Again, his slice is also a big issue.

GRAY: It is. And I'm glad he was able to work on that in Hawaii, where it was not snowing. And do you notice the same thing wasn't said about Obama as was said about Chris Christie. Chris Christie went to Florida for a few days to Disney World. Took his family on vacation.

BURGUIERE: Okay. What a jerk

GRAY: For five days. Five days in New Jersey. While yes, New Jersey had a snow storm. So what's he supposed to do? Stop the vacation and come back? Is he going to be out plowing the street himself? No!

[...]

BURGUIERE: So Chris Christie is getting all this flak for not being in the state and he handled it in his usual Chris Christie way.

[...]

GRAY: Okay, so what's the difference between, between the response to Chris Christie being out of the state during the snow storm and Barack Obama being out of the country? Well, OK, he was in Hawaii, he's technically in the country. But he's off on the islands, and no one is complaining about him being gone during all this.

BURGUIERE: No, of course not. I can tell you exactly what difference is. It's an R and a D, that's the difference.

[...]

BURGUIERE: There's a lot, there's a lot of snow. And some of its melted off because it's been in the forties or whatever the last few days, but yeah it was a disaster, it was really -- it was really bad. But is that anything that Chris Christie can take care of -- uh, cannot take care of in Florida? What are you doing to do, what are you going to do here as opposed to being there when you promised your family the vacation. It's not like he's out with the snowplows and a shovel.

[...]

GRAY: If he's unreachable like, I don't know, he's in Argentina or something, OK we have an issue. But if he's at Disney World taking calls on his cell phone on line for Space Mountain, I don't see what the big deal is.

[The Glenn Beck Program, 1/3/11]

Big Journalism: "...Meanwhile, President Obama Is In Hawaii." Ron Futrell of BigJournalism.com criticized the media for “blast[ing]” Christie for remaining on vacation during the storm, but not President Obama:

The same media that blasted George W. Bush every time there was a wildfire out west, is giving full cover for Obama who is either body surfing in the bay or lining up a 15 foot putt while Americans from the mid-west to the east coast are slip sliding away and hoping they can dig out by spring.

[...]

Hey, where's Kanye West saying Obama doesn't care about East Coasters? The media already missed the floods in Nashville and gave Dear Leader a pass on that, I think we can conclude there is a double-standard here. Huh, imagine that? Activist old media treating a Republican President one way, their Democrat President another way. Who would've thunk it?

Okay, fast forward to today, where is Obama during “2010 America Climate Change Disaster?” They don't have time to get that in, but ABC did have time to blast New Jersey Governor Chris Christie whom they said was with his family in Florida.

“Christie was nowhere to be found. Christie a rising star in the Republican Party was at Disneyworld,” said Sharon Alfonse during a story on the “Politics of Snow” Tuesday morning. Obama was not mentioned during the story. Not even to say he had a tee time or was eating fast food in 80 degree sunshine. [Big Journalism, 1/2/11]