Christie Is An Authoritarian (Part 7)

“Language matters – it is a window into attitude” ~~~ Gov. Chris Christie

Gov. Christie (press conference at Union Beach firehouse – 2/5/13)

Since his first Inaugural, I’ve written that Gov. Christie exhibits tendencies that former President Nixon’s White House Counsel and Watergate nemesis John Dean described as “authoritarian” – a “conservative without conscience“, see:

• Christie’s Authoritarian Shock Doctrine for NJ’s Environment
• Vindictive Abuse of Power Is Governor Christie’s MO
• Christie Junta Again Defies Legislative Oversight of Sandy Recovery
• Reflections on a Highlands Massacre
• Christie Princeton Speech – A Dangerous Demagogue
• “This is what we call self-mobilization of society”

I guess you can say that I have a strong opinion on the matter! (and this was all before his Pinelands hardball and retaliatory Pinelands Purge!)

Anyway, today, I was struck by this quote from the Star Ledger’s Auditor column, which reveals Christie’s true authoritarian belief system – and how openly her reveals it:

“Economies go up and down. Unemployment rates go up and down. GDP goes up and down. And yes, leadership can play a role in making sure that either goes in the right direction or wrong direction. But ultimately, the greatest moments in American history, in my opinion, have been determined when the true heart and soul of the American people has been embodied in our leaders.”

Note how objective conditions and facts and public policy don’t matter.

Note how, in rejecting objective reality, Christie appeals to and invokes “the true heart and soul of the American people” – he might as well have pulled a Dr. Strangelove and appealed to the “volk” and “the Homeland”.

Note how that “true heart and soul” – like material objective conditions and public policy – don’t matter either, but only to the degree that they are expressed and “embodied in our leaders”.

Got it?

Real leaders channel the “true heart and soul” of the people, who are only effective to the degree that the leader leads them.

That kind of “leader” worship could have sprung from the lips of Hitler.

As even the Gov. himself has said, words do matter.