QoTD: Get a Muzzle or Jump the Shark Edition

by: Rosi Efthim

Wed Dec 08, 2010 at 07:56:00 PM EST

The article discusses one of Christie's "YouTube moments" (as his staff calls them), and how he treated a member of his audience at a "Town Hall" in Parsippany. From Christie's confrontational style needs more limits:

And an incident like this, as minor as it is, should matter to New Jerseyans, because it suggests that Christie may be losing perspective on how to properly apply his power as governor. And that's dangerous.

This seems to be the week that Chris Christie jumped the shark. We're thankful it isn't just us calling him out for this crap. For a while there, it was awfully lonely trying to keep a jaundiced eye on this guy while the GOP faithful outside New Jersey hoisted him up as King, and the GOP inside New Jersey were giddy with the power he's throwing around.

The tipping point was the latest "Town Hall" in his home county of Morris, where he had his security bring a teacher half his size, who says he's a registered Republican, up to the stage where Christie waved his finger in the guy's face and gave him what for until he was done, then had security escort him off the stage and away before the guy could respond. Quite a show. Star Ledger wrote Christie's bully act getting old. Salon wrote Is New Jersey growing bored with shouty Chris Christie? (they'd already written Chris Christie loves yelling at people and called him "New Jersey cartoon"). Fred Snowflack, who covers Morris politics more than any other reporter, wrote Christie may need a boxing ring next time. And there's more. And there's going to be more.

Look, I was tired of Chris Christie before he was inaugurated. We've spent quite a lot of time here watching him carefully, so none of this is a surprise to us - or to you. But partisan politics aside, this behavior has got to stop. Time for the bad boy to grow up.