As Chris Christie faced a devastating weekend of Bridgegate accusations, staff resignations and Super Bowl-related boos, some in the media, such as CNN’s Candy Crowley, openly wondered whether Christie should resign his new position as Republican Governor’s Association Chair. Political talk show host Mark Thompson of the Sirius Progress satellite radio channel recently went a step further, stating that, if Christie resigns as Governor of New Jersey, the Bridgegate investigations that are hounding him could go away, preserving Christie’s ability to run for President. The premise of Thompson’s theory, apparently, is that the voters have a short memory and won’t be thinking about Bridgegate in 2015 and 2016 should Christie toss his hat into the ring.
Ah, but Messaging Maxim #3 is “There’s an Invention Called Video.” Specifically, the Internet is a giant time machine that preserves politicians’ public statements and negative stories on video and audio, to be used against them later. Not only can users play these clips back and share them with ease with up to millions of people, but the politicians’ rivals often access those clips to make killer negative ads. One of the best and most successful examples in recent years was an ad by Democrat Jerry Brown against Republican candidate Meg Whitman in the 2010 California Governor’s race, and which guest-starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.
While evidence and testimony are still coming in regarding Bridgegate, and we don’t have a crystal ball that sees a year or two into the future, we already have plenty of video evidence that shows Chris Christie to be a bully. That is not likely to endear Christie to middle-of-the-road and Independent voters in 2016. If some of the more recent Christie statements further show Christie to be a liar regarding his role in Bridgegate, then it’s difficult to see how resigning as Governor and/or RGA Chair now will be of much help.
[Photo by Bob Jagendorf, used under Creative Commons license. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobjagendorf/7160289160/] – See more at: https://messagingmatters.com/2014/01/20/chris-christies-american-hustle/#sthash.xSVhMVGP.dpuf
