Christie: Liberty Comes From G-d, Not Government

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spent much of a town hall-style meeting last Tuesday in his state talking up what he believes makes a winning candidate and espousing the principle that rights and liberties come from G-d, not government.

The potential Republican presidential contender, who says he plans to make a decision about a run by the end of spring to early summer, traveled to Morris County for his 132nd Town Hall to sell his state budget plan.

But in response to a question about electing more Republicans in New Jersey, Christie said candidates need to be direct and blunt to win over voters.

“Victory for any candidate is up to the candidate,” he said, encouraging those in the audience to back office-seekers they believe in and who can communicate their principles in a way that’s direct and understandable to people — traits many Christie backers say are his biggest strengths.

“We better be straight, honest, direct, blunt and understandable. And it would be nice if we had some good ideas, too,” he said.

He stressed the need to elect candidates who believe in protecting individual liberties, which he said should be protected — not dictated — by government.

“Those are not given to us by the government,” he said. “Those are given by G-d and the government is supposed to be there to enforce and protect those liberties and freedoms, not to determine how we exercise them.”

In related news, Christie became the latest potential presidential candidate to confirm he’ll attend the “First-in-the-Nation Leadership Summit,” a major New Hampshire Republican event, which will be held April 17-18.

The event will be the first so-called “cattle call” of candidates in the first-in-the-nation primary state and will feature more than two dozen speakers, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Christie’s RSVP came later than most other confirmed speakers and some New Hampshire Republicans had noticed the delay.

But Michael Zona, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, said the party has been working to accommodate all the likely candidates’ schedules.

“He’s a big name here,” he said of Christie. “It’s good to have him back.”

This article appeared in print on page 34 of the April 1st, 2015 edition of Hamodia.