Post by mariata112 on Dec 4, 2012 20:47:34 GMT -5
The Wrong Words for the Party
The strategy of the Republican political party during the last couple of weeks leading up to the 2012 presidential election was to demonize President Obama and his political party, the Democrats. The Republicans were amidst a tyranny of consensus; the crisis to them was that Obama must not be reelected. The Republican Party was taking every opportunity they had to exclaim Obama’s faults. All the members of the party were expected to speak the rhetoric of consensus; Obama was a failure as President. The Republicans did not foresee that a natural disaster could cause the President to be praised by one of their own.
On Wednesday October 31, an unlikely pair appeared in New Jersey to assess the devastating damage brought about by super storm Sandy. President Obama and the Republican Governor Chris Christie were on the same side. Christie is one of Mitt Romney’s key supporters and was even the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention in August. As if being seen hugging the Democratic President was not enough, to the horror of the Republicans, Christie praised Obama. At a news conference on October 31st Christie stated, "I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state and the people of our state". With those simple words Christie placed himself outside the tyranny of consensus. When the Governor praised Obama, he (Christie) did not speak the Republican Party’s rhetoric of consensus. Their rhetoric was that nothing positive could be said about Obama. However, Christie broke this in order to praise the man who was helping his (Christie’s) people. Christie did not follow the rules of insulting the President but praised him for his action with the New Jersey people. When Christie did this he received much criticism from his fellow Republicans. However, Christie did not back down, he fulfilled his duty to the New Jersey people. Christie not backing down from what he said is similar to Rebecca Nurse not backing down on her principles in The Crucible. Rebecca had the option to confess to witchcraft to save her life. She did not confess because she was not a witch and she would not give into the consensus. Christie and Rebecca Nurse refused to give into the consensus and stayed adamant in what they knew was right.
With their stance not to give in, both Rebecca and Christie could lose something valuable. Even though Christie did not lose his life like Rebecca for not speaking the rhetoric of consensus, he was intensely scrutinized. Many people believed that Christie was a key reason why Romney lost the election. Members of the Republican Party publically attacked Christie before and after Election Day. They questioned his loyalty to the party and the reasons for his actions. Governor Chris Christie put himself outside of the tyranny of consensus of his political party in order to help his disaster stricken state.
Word count 492
Works Cited
Portnoy, Jenna. "Christie again deflects criticism of his praise of Obama following Hurricane Sandy." Star Ledger 14 Nov. 2012: n. pag. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/chrsitie_again_deflects_critic.html>.
Rizzo, Salvador. "Sandy brings Gov. Christie, Obama together as an unlikely team." Star Ledger 1 Nov. 2012: n. pag. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/sandy_brings_gov_christie_obam.html>.
The strategy of the Republican political party during the last couple of weeks leading up to the 2012 presidential election was to demonize President Obama and his political party, the Democrats. The Republicans were amidst a tyranny of consensus; the crisis to them was that Obama must not be reelected. The Republican Party was taking every opportunity they had to exclaim Obama’s faults. All the members of the party were expected to speak the rhetoric of consensus; Obama was a failure as President. The Republicans did not foresee that a natural disaster could cause the President to be praised by one of their own.
On Wednesday October 31, an unlikely pair appeared in New Jersey to assess the devastating damage brought about by super storm Sandy. President Obama and the Republican Governor Chris Christie were on the same side. Christie is one of Mitt Romney’s key supporters and was even the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention in August. As if being seen hugging the Democratic President was not enough, to the horror of the Republicans, Christie praised Obama. At a news conference on October 31st Christie stated, "I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state and the people of our state". With those simple words Christie placed himself outside the tyranny of consensus. When the Governor praised Obama, he (Christie) did not speak the Republican Party’s rhetoric of consensus. Their rhetoric was that nothing positive could be said about Obama. However, Christie broke this in order to praise the man who was helping his (Christie’s) people. Christie did not follow the rules of insulting the President but praised him for his action with the New Jersey people. When Christie did this he received much criticism from his fellow Republicans. However, Christie did not back down, he fulfilled his duty to the New Jersey people. Christie not backing down from what he said is similar to Rebecca Nurse not backing down on her principles in The Crucible. Rebecca had the option to confess to witchcraft to save her life. She did not confess because she was not a witch and she would not give into the consensus. Christie and Rebecca Nurse refused to give into the consensus and stayed adamant in what they knew was right.
With their stance not to give in, both Rebecca and Christie could lose something valuable. Even though Christie did not lose his life like Rebecca for not speaking the rhetoric of consensus, he was intensely scrutinized. Many people believed that Christie was a key reason why Romney lost the election. Members of the Republican Party publically attacked Christie before and after Election Day. They questioned his loyalty to the party and the reasons for his actions. Governor Chris Christie put himself outside of the tyranny of consensus of his political party in order to help his disaster stricken state.
Word count 492
Works Cited
Portnoy, Jenna. "Christie again deflects criticism of his praise of Obama following Hurricane Sandy." Star Ledger 14 Nov. 2012: n. pag. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/chrsitie_again_deflects_critic.html>.
Rizzo, Salvador. "Sandy brings Gov. Christie, Obama together as an unlikely team." Star Ledger 1 Nov. 2012: n. pag. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/sandy_brings_gov_christie_obam.html>.