Christie hitting the road again

The Chris Christie Road Show began its fall tour last week with a new set list but the same swagger.

Following on his successful 2010-11 trek, when he repeatedly called for an overhaul of public employees' health and pension benefits, Gov. Christie now is pushing a package of ethics proposals that he introduced more than a year ago.

As he did in town halls before a summer hiatus, the former prosecutor identifies his adversaries and tells his adoring audiences in plain-spoken, aggressive, and occasionally funny ways why those foes are wrong, lazy, and/or blatantly incompetent.

His opponents could be identified last week by where Christie chose to visit. First up, on Monday, was Union Township, home of Joseph Cryan (D., Union) - perhaps Christie's most consistent critic in the Assembly. On Wednesday, the governor went to Sayreville, hometown of Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D., Middlesex), chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Through the ethics-focused town halls, Christie is able to accomplish his immediate political mission - supporting Republican legislative candidates - while pursuing a heroic goal that he says has been thwarted by a recalcitrant Democratic Legislature.

In November, when every seat is up for election, Christie hopes to pick up more Republicans, or at least prevent Democrats from achieving a veto-proof majority.

At the town halls, the governor kept with tradition and walked into theater-in-the-round set-ups after the presentation of a brief pro-Christie video. He exited to "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen.

And in between he got ovations on topics such as pay-to-play reform.

"I know it's really hard for many of you to believe we have any ethics problems to be dealt with in New Jersey," Christie cracked in Union Township.

Referring to the Legislature, whose members are mostly tending to their reelection campaigns these days, he said acidly: "How about come back one day to vote on ethics reform?"

The Democratic response also was election-oriented, with a series of news releases that accused Christie of ignoring the issue voters really care about: Jobs.

"They're theater more than anything else," Wisniewski said of the town halls, to which members of Republican groups get advance notice.

"This is not grassroots New Jersey coming out to meet the governor. This is a set stage performance to help burnish Gov. Christie's appeal on a national stage," Wisniewski said.