Chris Christie, You’re a Bigot
Somewhere in the Clinton household, Hillary is giddily laughing, knocking back a celebratory martini, knowing that her biggest opponent for the 2016 presidential race, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, has essentially destroyed all his political credibility in the now disgustingly overexposed “Bridgegate” scandal. You don’t have to be any sort of poli-sci genius to figure that one out.
That’s why Christie’s actions on Monday to veto a bill that would allow transgender individuals to change their gender on birth certificates can only leave the LGBT community with one conclusion: Christie is truly a bigot.
Sure, it’s not over until the fat lady (or, um, should we say fat man) sings, but given the deep upheaval in his administration, it is fair to say that Christie has almost no chance of winning the Republican nomination for 2016. To be frank, it would not come as a surprise if he doesn’t finish his term as governor given the alleged “Bridgegate” accusations.
So, what does this have to do with the transgender bill Christie vetoed on Monday?
It’s pretty simple: With all bets off on Christie’s presidential ambitions, he doesn’t have to impress the right-wingers with a perpetual “hate the LGBT community” agenda.
That is, unless he is truly homophobic and transphobic.
Christie’s record on LGBT issues speaks for itself. In 2012, Christie vetoed a bill that passed overwhelmingly in the New Jersey legislature to legalize gay marriage in the state. He called the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the repeal of DOMA a “bad decision.” As late as September 2013, after a judge’s ruling that the state should allow same-sex marriage, Christie appealed, taking the case all the way to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
All political ambitions aside, actions speak louder than words. Christie’s decision on Monday to veto the transgender bill shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the obvious and overt homophobic actions of the governor. It’s one more drop in the overflowing bucket that demonstrates just how unfit Christie is to be a political leader.
And to Hillary: I’ll drink to that.