Christie's Coup

The governor gave his “State of the State” address today. It was a constitutional moment, really, because in the presence of all three state governmental branches, and millions of witnesses via TV and Web, the dully elected chief executive of the state undertook his legal obligation to inform the citizenry of, well, how the state was doing.

He apologized for “Bridgegate.” He took responsibility for it (whatever that meant). He vowed to tackle pension reform, oppose greedy teachers and extend the school day and the school year. He apologized some more.

But Christie had a surprise, because he made a statement so shocking, so clearly reflective of the kind of politician he is, that it was hard for anyone with even a passing knowledge of history to ignore it. He didn’t resign, because he doesn’t have to. He’s really not a governor any more. He’s something else, something more, something extra-constitutional. 

How do we know this? Chris Christie got up the nerve to tell the people of New Jersey, in front of all their elected leaders, that his straightforward obedience to and enforcement of the Constitutions of the United States and State of New Jersey were in the past. For future purposes, any official investigations of his office will only be cooperated with if he deems them “appropriate.”

Yes, you read that right. The governor of the state of New Jersey, an office that in a modern sense was created by the latest constitution of 1947, has declared that he will only obey laws that are “appropriate.” Investigative committees, grand juries, search warrants, subpoenas, Federal attorneys, Congressional committees, the FBI, the IRS and the U.S. Congress be damned. If Christie doesn’t think that he’s being dealt with fairly, he’ll just ignore these annoying practices and institutions. He’ll just press on, saving us all from whatever forces he thinks he’s warring with.

This is an extremely serious development. Never, in the history of this state, has its Chief Executive formally stated that he will choose what laws to enforce and follow. And this statement follows hard on the evidence, the clear proof that members in high places in his administration have committed very serious crimes. Crimes that have led to inconvenience for hundreds of thousands of citizens, yes, but also property loss, national security risks, injury and death. Then there is the issue of Christie’s phone call to the New York State governor in the midst of the early weeks of the investigation, a potential obstruction of justice and/or an attempt to intimidate witnesses. And on and on…

Which investigations, investigatory bodies and practices will he reject? Which ones will be to his liking? Will his opinion be based on law or on his own personality? The bottom line is that from a legal standpoint, these questions no longer matter, because he’s not acting like a legally-elected official who intends to exercise his power within the very real and defined limits of the law.

He’s acting like…a dictator.