In Concord, Christie tells it like it is

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knows he has a reputation for being a little blunt, is a little prone to confrontation and a little infamous for saying things that might “make you shake your heads.”

That’s fine by him.

Christie told a crowd at last night’s Concord and Merrimack County GOP Lincoln-Reagan Dinner that he wants to be known as a politician who tells it like it is.

“I had one of your leaders say to me today, ‘We don’t want some kinder, gentler Chris Christie – we want the real Chris Christie,’ ” the New Jersey governor and potential presidential candidate said. “Well, there’s only one Chris Christie, everybody. This is it. And there should be some comfort for you in that, I hope.”

The point Christie tried to hit home again and again in his speech: Politicians shouldn’t campaign one way and govern another. You may not agree with him on everything, Christie said, but at least you’ll know where he stands.

“If we hold our candidates to public office to that standard” of agreeing 100 percent of the time, Christie said, “let me tell you what you’re going to get: liars.”

Yesterday’s event marked Christie’s first visit back in New Hampshire this year, but he spent plenty of time and resources on the state’s recent gubernatorial race. The Republican Governors Association, which Christie leads, poured $3 million into Walt Havenstein’s campaign to unseat Gov. Maggie Hassan, and Christie tagged along on the campaign trail several times leading up to the election.

Even though the results didn’t work out in his favor, Christie used the speech last night to argue that – in light of the budget proposals Hassan put forth last week – New Hampshire would have been better off with Havenstein in the corner office.

Christie took a jab at Hassan’s proposal to introduce keno as a potential revenue source, among other things, and accused her of being disingenuous by not talking more about her vision for the budget during the campaign.

Her tenure should be a “cautionary tale” to all residents, Christie warned.

“She will use this platform as a way to try to increase her own visibility and run for the next job,” said Christie, who acknowledged that he’s weighing a run for president multiple times during his speech last night. “Let’s be careful. We’ve got enough of those types in Washington, D.C., already. We don’t need you to send any more there. New Jersey is more than filling your quota. So let’s watch very carefully.”

The last line got laughs in the room, but Christie’s comments about Hassan went over less smoothly with the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

“It’s more than a little surprising that the governor of New Jersey, who is traveling out of state to run for higher office, would make such ridiculous attacks,” Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement.

Hassan’s office did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

With more than 250 tickets sold, last night’s Lincoln-Reagan dinner with Christie was the largest since the event started three years ago. The event serves as a fundraiser to support local Republican causes.

Concord Republican City Committee Chairwoman Kerry Marsh said she was encouraged by the interest shown in last night’s event.

“Even though Concord’s a little more blue than we want it to be,” Marsh said, “we seem to find Republicans here and in the county to put on these events that allow voters to interact with presidentials.”



(Casey McDermott can be reached at 369-3306 or cmcdermott@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @caseymcdermott.)