Chris Christie presidential campaign, 2016/Federalism
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 Chris Christie |
Governor of New Jersey (2010-2018) U.S. Attorney for New Jersey (2002-2008) |
 Republican candidate: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Judiciary
- Chris Christie denied supporting Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court on January 10, 2016. In July 2009, it was reported he said, “After watching and listening to Judge Sotomayor’s performance at the confirmation hearings this week, I am confident that she is qualified for the position of Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.” Christie told CBS “I didn’t voice support for Sonia Sotomayor,” when asked about the comment.[1]
- On August 20, 2015, Christie pledged that his first nominee to the Supreme Court would not be a graduate of Harvard Law School or Yale Law School. “You need folks who have real life experiences, who have had real struggles, and who have made a difference in their communities in ways that are different than just going to an Ivy League school,” Christie said.[2]
- In 2010, Christie made the unprecedented move of refusing to reappoint a justice to the New Jersey Supreme Court. He replaced Justice John Wallace, the only African American justice on the court at the time, with Anne Patterson.[3] Christie and other Republicans had previously criticized the court for "judicial activism" and "legislating from the bench." Christie's decision angered many Democrats, but Christie explained, "I expressed over and over again my significant concern regarding the direction of the Supreme Court over the last nearly 30 years, that there were not the appropriate constitutional balances being struck by the court, that the court over the course of this time, in my view, had inappropriately encroached on both the executive and legislative function, and that if elected governor, I would take steps through the decisions I made regarding the court to bring back an appropriate constitutional balance to the court."[4]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Speaking of the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Chris Christie said in September 2015, “[W]hat I would do with this woman is to move her to another job where this is not an objection for her. Because you have to follow the law. And the law has to be these licenses have to be issued. If she has a religious objection, we should move her to another job inside the government.”[5]
- The archbishop of Newark, John J. Myers, condemned Christie’s administration for barring the archdiocese from selling headstones and private mausoleums at Catholic cemeteries. Myers and lawyers from the Institute for Justice called the law “unconstitutional” and “one of the most egregious examples of economic protectionism anywhere in the country.”[6]
- In response to a question at a town hall meeting in 2014, Christie stated that campaign contributions should be unlimited, with the stipulation that information about the donation must be disclosed and posted to the Internet within 48 hours of the donation.[7] Christie gave an example, saying, "If somebody wants to write me a $100,000 check to my campaign, great. Forty-eight hours later, everybody who has access to the internet will know that Mr. Smith gave the $100,000. And if all of sudden, I start talking in a way after that's really favorable to Mr. Smith's business, well then you're going to know that my price was $100,000."[8]
- In 2010, Christie proposed an ethics reform plan that altered campaign finance law in New Jersey. Among other things, the legislation sought to "make labor unions subject to the same contribution requirements which apply to other entities doing business with the state" and to restrict the process of "wheeling," which was defined as moving "political contributions from committee to committee, allowing political parties, particularly at the local level, to mask the sources of their money."[9][10]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- On April 1, 2015, Chris Christie defended Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who received significant criticism for Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "Well, we should not have a situation where people perceive that anybody will be denied service. But, I can tell you this, I know Mike Pence, and he's got nothing but love in his heart for people and I just do not believe that in any way Mike Pence would intend for anything that happen in his state on his watch to be discriminatory towards any person. And so, my guess is that he'll fix the problem and move on. Because that's the kind of guy he is. I will tell you, amongst the governors, there is nobody that I've met amongst the governors who is more sincere in his faith and in his love for people than Mike Pence. So, I just don't believe any of this stuff is true and to the extent that something needs to be fixed to clarify that no one will be denied service for discriminatory reasons, I'm sure that's exactly what Mike will do."[11]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Chris Christie pocket vetoed a bill requiring gun sellers to carry at least one smart gun. “Having the legislature pass more than 100 bills in such a hasty and scrambled way, praying for them to be rubber stamped, is never a good formula for effectively doing public business,” Joelle Farrell, a spokeswoman for Christie, said of his decision not to sign the bill.[12] [13]
- On January 16, 2016, when asked by a voter if he supports universal background checks to purchase a gun, Christie said, "I don't support background checks for every gun sale. There's a lot of gun sales that shouldn't have to require background checks. Family members selling to other family members or friends. I don't know why those folks need to have a background check. Criminals don't go through background checks.” When asked about the “private sales loophole,” Christie said, "Listen, I don't believe that that's what's causing gun violence in this country. I don't believe putting the government more and more in between the American people and their Second Amendment rights is going to make this country safer."[14]
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Christie discussed how he would protect the Second Amendment: “See, here's the thing. I don't think the founders put the Second Amendment as number two by accident. I don't think they dropped all the amendments into a hat and picked them out of a hat. I think they made the Second Amendment the second amendment because they thought it was just that important. The fact is in New Jersey, what we have done is to make it easier now to get a conceal and carry permit. We have made it easier to do that, not harder. And the way we've done it properly through regulatory action, not buy signing unconstitutional executive orders. This guy is a petulant child. That's what he is.”[15]
- During an interview on FOX News’ Sean Hannity on January 6, 2016, Christie explained why he had shifted from supporting an “assault weapons” ban in 1995 to loosening gun regulations in 2015. He said, “Listen, in 1995, Sean, I was 32 years old and I've changed my mind. The biggest reason that I changed my mind was my seven years as a federal prosecutor. What I learned in those seven years was we that were spending much too much time talking about gun laws against law abiding citizens and not nearly enough time about enforcing the gun laws strongly against criminals.”[16]
- When asked on January 3, 2016, if his previous support of 10 gun control bills in 2013 indicated he has flipped his position on the issue, Christie responded, “I haven’t changed my tune... In fact, I signed the bill that bans guns for people on the terror watch list. As president, I would make sure that the terror watch list was actually accurate. But I think most Americans believe that if you’re on the terror watch list you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun. But I also have vetoed the .50 caliber rifle ban. I’ve also vetoed a statewide ID system. I’ve also vetoed a reduction in the magazine ban. And I’ve also pardoned six different folks so far who have been caught up, very unfairly in my view, in New Jersey’s gun laws. So listen, the approach I’m going to take is to protect Second Amendment rights, but also to make sure that I make decisions that are in the best interest of the people of New Jersey.”[17]
- On December 23, 2015, Christie pardoned U.S. Marine Sgt. Joshua Velez of Massachusetts, who was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of hollow point bullets while in New Jersey. NJ.com reported, “In August, at a campaign stop in Iowa, the governor had vowed to pardon those out-of-state residents who became unwittingly ensnared in New Jersey's tough gun transport laws, and he soon made good on the promise.”[18]
- Christie said on December 21, 2015, that he was “proud to wholeheartedly embrace” a set of findings produced by the New Jersey Firearm Purchase and Permitting Study Commission that recommend the state “broaden...the statutory requirement that an applicant must demonstrate a 'justifiable need' to carry a handgun." Christie said, "New Jersey citizens should be permitted to defend themselves and not encounter unlawful delays and impediments.”[19]
- According to the USA Today, Christie’s stance on banning “assault weapons” has changed since he entered politics in 1993 when he promised “to keep restrictions on assault weapons in place.” Recently, he called President Obama’s effort "to restrict access to assault weapons...absurd.” Christie addressed his change of opinion during an interview on December 6, 2015. He said, “Well first of all that was 22 years ago, John. And yeah, I’ve grown up a bit and changed my view and been educated on it. And really, my views changed once I became a prosecutor. When I became a prosecutor, and saw that what the real problem here is, is that we need to give the tools to law enforcement to go on the streets and take criminals off the streets.’’[20]
- After the 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colo., Christie accused Democratic lawmakers of "grandstanding," or politicizing the tragedy in order to pass stricter gun legislation. Christie elaborated, "People were just killed over the weekend... Can we take a deep breath before politicians start sending out press releases? Can we allow the people to be mourned appropriately by their families before you have opportunistic politicians out there trying to make political points in an election year?"[21] Christie mentioned that he believed New Jersey had enough gun laws. He also spoke out against "right-to-carry reciprocity," saying that the federal government should not interfere with state gun laws.[21]
- During his 2009 gubernatorial campaign, Christie pledged to support "strict and aggressive enforcement" of New Jersey gun laws.[22]
- In 2013, Christie's administration chose to defend preexisting laws in New Jersey that required citizens to demonstrate "justifiable need" in order to carry handguns. The state Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the law, which argued that the law was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and that the state's definition of "justifiable need" was too strict. Richard Pantano, for example, carried thousands of dollars in cash every day, but was denied a permit to carry because he had not received any violent threats.[23]
- In 2013, Christie vetoed a ban on Barrett .50 caliber semi-automatic rifles, although he had previously indicated that he supported the ban.[24] In 2014, Christie vetoed a bill reducing firearm magazine capacities from 15 to 10 rounds.[25]
- In 2013, Christie signed into law 10 bills that added further restrictions to New Jersey's already strict gun laws. The laws included "banning the purchase of handguns by people on a federal watch list of potential terrorism suspects, stepping up penalties on some firearms violations and exempting gun records from the state's open public records law."[26]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On December 3, 2015, at Republican Jewish Coalition’s presidential forum, Chris Christie accused critics of the National Security Agency’s surveillance program of engaging in a “false debate” for political “theater.” He said, “The idea that anything that was going on during the eight years of the Bush administration was either illegal or extra-constitutional is absolutely false. This is the debate for theater. This is a debate to raise money, to cut their little speeches from Capitol Hill, put it on the Internet, and then raise money by scaring people into thinking the government’s listening to your phone calls or reading your emails.”[27]
Crime and justice
- At the eighth Republican presidential primary debate on February 6, 2016, Chris Christie discussed the regulation of drugs and drug rehabilitation: "We are working with the folks in New Hampshire in their legislature right now to show them how we're helping to solve this problem in New Jersey. Not just for this campaign -- three years ago, I proposed a law that we signed into effect, which said that anyone who was a non-violent, non-dealing, first-time drug offender no longer goes to prison in New Jersey. They go to mandatory, in-patient drug treatment. What has happened is, crime has gone down 20 percent in those years. The prison population has gone down 10 percent. We've now closed the state prison -- closed a state prison, and we're turning it into a drug rehabilitation facility, so people can get the tools they need. Listen, everyone out there knows this in New Hampshire. This is a disease. It's not a moral failing, it's a disease. And we need to get people the treatment they need. And let me tell you why. Because I'm pro-life. And I'm pro-life not just for the nine months in the womb, I'm pro-life for when they get out and it's a lot more complicated. Sixteen-year-old, heroin-addicted drug girl on the floor of the county lockup, I'm pro-life for her life. The 42-year-old lawyer who is taking Oxycontin and can't get out of bed and support his family -- I'm pro-life for his life. Everyone [sic] of those lives is an individual gift from God. And the last thing is this. These efforts we've taken over the last three years, 2015 in New Jersey, for the first time in four years, drug overdose deaths have gone down, not up. I'll bring the same solutions to the country."[28]
- During his State of the State address on January 12, 2016, Christie unveiled plans to help battle drug addiction. He said that “a closing state prison will be transformed into a drug abuse treatment facility for prison inmates.” He said, “The victims of addiction deserve treatment, whether they’re in the community or they are incarcerated. Next year, [the prison] will re-open for its new mission. We are doing this because every life, every life, is a precious gift from God.” He also announced that $1.7 million will be allocated for “the expansion of the state’s recovery coach program” and $100 million will be allocated to “increase access to mental health care and substance abuse treatments.” He said, “For someone going through a mental health crisis, they’re going to get better care in a treatment facility, not in a prison. If we can help people get access to coordinated care, not just for their physical conditions, but for their mental health, addiction issues or both, we can deliver more effective treatment and lower the long-term cost to the state.”[29]
- While visiting a drug treatment center in Florida on December 7, 2015, Christie outlined his plan to combat substance abuse. He said, “First, you have to change the mindset of prosecutors. Sometimes justice means prosecuting and sometimes it doesn’t.” Second, Christie argued that money saved from sending more addicts to drug courts than prison could be used to fund drug treatment programs. He said ultimately people in the U.S. need “to think differently about this in our country. It’s also how we talk about it and treat each other.”[30]
| "Chris Christie's plea to New Hampshire voters that America reevaluate it's approach to drugs.," November 4, 2015. |
- A video of Christie published November 4, 2015, appealing to New Hampshire voters for America to reevaluate it's approach to drugs and how addiction has touched his life went viral with 3 million views. “Christie isn't the first candidate to talk about treatment rather than incarceration -- his fellow Republican Rand Paul has long decried the disproportionate jailing of black drug offenders. Christie's just the first to get so much attention. It's become a safe topic now that the scourge is devastating the middle class,” wrote Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg View.[31]
- In his 2014 New Jersey State of State Address, Christie said that violent criminals should be kept in jail until trial. Previously, the New Jersey Constitution had provided the right to bail. The governor advocated for a constitutional amendment to change that provision.[32] In the 2014 general election, voters approved a measure to deny bail to "defendants who are considered a danger, a flight risk or a threat to obstruct justice."[33] The amendment was set to go into effect in 2017.[33]
- In the 2014 State of the State Address, Christie said that non-violent drug offenders should be given "treatment, not imprisonment."[34]
- In 2011, State Senator Robert Singer (R) introduced a bill to reinstate the death penalty. At the time, Christie said he would sign the bill if it got to his desk.[35]
Black Lives Matter movement
- During a campaign event in New Hampshire on January 5, 2016, Chris Christie discussed the Black Lives Matter movement and the race riots in the 1960s when a voter asked: “How would a President Christie make sure that Black Lives Matter activists ‘stay peaceful’ and not begin the sort of riots that ‘destroyed cities’ in the 1960s?” Christie said that the “circumstances today are certainly different than in the 1960s” and noted that the riots were in response to “a completely racist enforcement of the law, especially in our southern states” and the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He continued, “Justice has to be more than a word, everybody, justice has to become a way of life in our country. The attorney general, law enforcement officers and elected officials across the country have to be reminded that the perception of justice is almost important as justice itself.”[36]
- Christie said on November 11, 2015, that he had no intention to meet with Black Lives Matter activists. “When a movement like that calls for the murder of police officers...no President of the United States should dignify a group like that by saying anything positive about them, and no candidate for president, like Hillary Clinton, should give them any credibility by meeting with them, as she's done. … I want the Black Lives Matter people to understand: Don't call me for a meeting. You're not getting one,” he said.[37]
- In an interview with CBS’ John Dickerson, October 25, 2015, Chris Christie criticized President Obama for “encourag[ing]” the Black Lives Matter movement and the “murder of police.” Christie said, “The problem is this, there's lawlessness in this country. The president encourages this lawlessness. He encourages it. He does not support the police, he doesn't back up the police, he justifies Black Lives Matter. … I don't believe that movement should be calling for the murder of police officers." When Dickerson said that Black Lives Matter activists were not advocating for that, Christie responded, “Sure, they are. They've been chanting in the streets for the murder of police officers."[38]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Chris + Christie + Government
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ BuzzFeed, "Chris Christie Says He Didn’t Support Sonia Sotomayor’s Confirmation (He Did)," January 10, 2016
- ↑ CBS News, "Chris Christie makes a Supreme Court promise," August 20, 2015
- ↑ NJ.com, "Gov. Chris Christie draws sharp criticism on decision to not reappoint N.J. Supreme Court Justice Wallace," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ Philly.com, “Christie acts to replace only black N.J. justice He nominated Anne M. Patterson to the high court.," May 4, 2010
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Chris Christie: Get Kim Davis another government job ‘because you have to follow the law’," September 8, 2015
- ↑ NJ.com, "In suit against state, Newark archbishop and attorneys blast 'egregious,' 'unconstitutional' law," July 21, 2015
- ↑ NJ.com, “A Chris Christie reversal on campaign finance limits: Editorial," April 17, 2014
- ↑ NJ.com, "Chris Christie calls for unlimited campaign donations with 48-hour reporting period," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey, “Governor Christie Proposes Rigorous Ethics Reforms Package," September 8, 2010
- ↑ New York Times, "New Jersey Governor Unveils Ethics Reforms," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ NJ.com, "Christie breaks silence on Indiana 'religious freedom' law," accessed April 15, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Chris Christie refuses to sign bill to roll back controversial smart gun law," January 19, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "Christie vetoes controversial smart gun bill," January 19, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "Christie just said what about universal background checks for guns?" January 16, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "6th Republican debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," January 14, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "Christie concedes 'I've changed my mind' on guns," January 7, 2016
- ↑ Breitbart, "Fox News: Chris Christie Signed 10 Gun Control Bills In 2013," January 3, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "Christie issues 6th gun pardon of 2015, this one for a Marine recruiter in N.H.," December 23, 2015
- ↑ NJ.com, "Christie appointed gun commission calls for loosening concealed carry law," December 21, 2015
- ↑ USA Today, "10 things to know about Chris Christie and gun control," December 8, 2015
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 NJ.com, “Gov. Christie says N.J. has enough gun laws, smacks down 'grandstanding,'" July 23, 2012
- ↑ NJ.com, “Chris Christie promises change to a 'broken' state in campaign kickoff," February 4, 2009
- ↑ NJ.com, “N.J. handgun law heads to state's top court," August 2, 2013
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Chris Christie Vetoes Proposed .50-Caliber Rifle Ban He Once Supported," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Chris Christie vetoes bill to decrease capacity of gun magazines," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ Huffington Post, “Chris Christie Signs Gun Control Legislation In New Jersey," August 8, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Chris Christie hopes nation will ‘sober’ up, bring back NSA phone snooping," December 3, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Transcript of the New Hampshire GOP debate, annotated," February 6, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Chris Christie Announces Closing New Jersey Prison to Become Drug Treatment Facility," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Palm Beach Post, Chris Christie lays out three-part drug-addiction plan in Boca Raton," December 7, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg View, "Chris Christie's Empathy Goes Viral," November 4, 2015
- ↑ On the Issues, “Chris Christie in 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 NJ.com, "Election Day 2014: Voters approve bail reform measure," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ On the Issues, “Chris Christie in 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ CBS New York, "NJ Sen. Still Wants Death Penalty; Christie Would Sign," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Chris Christie Differentiates Black Lives Matter From 1960s Unrest," January 5, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "Christie bashes Clinton as he draws bigger Iowa crowds," November 11, 2015
- ↑ Face The Nation, "Chris Christie: Some Black Lives Matter followers call for killing cops," October 25, 2015
