Chris Christie: Blacks' Voting Rights Should Have Been Decided By Southern White Voters

Maybe Oprah needs to have another sit down with Chris Christie?

Chris Christie has vowed to veto any gay marriage bill that passes his desk—causing him political headaches since it looks like he may have to put that vow to the test. Also giving the roly-poly governor of New Jersey headaches? A comment he made earlier this week suggesting white Southerners should have been allowed to vote civil rights gains for blacks during the 1960s. Let's just say some people respectfully disagree with the presumed 2016 GOP presidential candidate.

See, as part of his push to have New Jersey voters vote on gay marriage in a referendum (so that he doesn't have to be on the record vetoing or not vetoing gay marriage) Christie said: "The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South." But would they have?

Newark mayor Cory Booker, to name just one of a chorus of Christie critics, certainly didn't agree with the sentiment. "I shudder to think what would have happened if the civil rights gains, heroically established by courageous lawmakers in the 1960s, were instead conveniently left up to popular votes in our 50 states," he said.

But Christie isn't backing down, even if he is changing his wording. At another presser he told reporters, "My point is, they’re trying to say the only way to deal with a civil rights issue is through legislation, and my point is that in a state like this, the fact of the matter is their own polling [which shows 52 percent support for gay marriage] belies that position."

And yet the point remains that, as Assemblyman John Wisiewski puts it, "Rosa Parks didn’t get to the front of the bus through a ballot question and Jim Crow laws weren’t repealed by public referendum."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Garth Johnston in News on January 27, 2012 10:22 AM

Comments [rss]

tellthetruth

Once again, a white man in a big position in a suit does not always know what he is taking about.

tellthetruth

I cannot believe that Oprah let this slob say what he said and did not take his refreshments from him. Especially since she is over 50 and from Mississippi. Any Black person over the age of 50 and from anywhere in the South knows that White people would have voted 100 percent to keep Black people in slavery. They were just pure evil towards Black people in the 50s and 60s. The slob cannot erase history.

dogbertt

Why is he wearing a tent?

Spuds McCorpuck

Chris Christie's comment just speaks to the fact that he does not know how a Republic works.
http://paranoidpolitico.blogsp...

captwasabi

Ah, liberals. Every time I hear a chorus of liberal progressives advocating for no-name calling and an end to bullying I have to but arrive at a forum wherein an overweight Republican is being discussed in order to see how utterly vacant your meaningless platitudes are.

Thank you so very, very much for reminding me why I left the liberal left in the first place.

I got sick of the hypocrisy and utter lack of integrity.

Just so we're clear, making fun of overweight people it wrong.
Making fun of overweight Republicans is totally ok.

Queue pedantic and pathetic progressive liberal rationalization.

kenorasis

Yes, internet forums are a great place to prove your point about people generally -- because whatever your point is, you can prove it. And if you can't prove it with the available content, just create a sock puppet and create the evidence yourself. It's wonderful! It should be allowed in court...

Mordicai

I'm with you in saying that the weight mockery is out of place. That being said, some jerks on a website calling a guy fat? Is why you stopped being liberal? I mean-- this guy is saying that he thinks having a civil war to stop SLAVERY was a bad idea. I'm just saying...if you are looking for "mean things people said," I think "I am a legislator discussing equality & civil rights & I think letting people vote on who gets freedom is a great idea, & by the way I definitely am including a cryptoracist commentary just so you know I mean it!" versus "I am an anonymous troll on the internet namecalling" isn't a balanced comparison.

ANGRYGOD11

On further reflection, maybe he isn't stupid. Maybe he is just a gutless political coward who would prefer to pass the buck to "the people" than take a stand detrimental to his political future. He is well aware NY's legislature and the governor legally changed things and is too gutless to lead or block.
NJ is not a referendum friendly state, like California.

Mordicai

Good ole "Stupid...or Evil...or Both!"

theonlyseven

No, he is not stupid if the thinks that by passing the buck to the voters he can give the impression he has no hand in what eventually goes down. But he is VERY stupid if he doesn't realize that any rational person will see right through that ploy. Also, he must be aware that recent polls show the majority of NJ voters approve of gay marriage.

randomtransplant

Would Christie want the 4.2 million multi-racial American Children, a 50% increase in only 10 years, to have been BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK BY LAW?!
(
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03... )To be clear, Christie wants OTHER PEOPLE DECIDING IF YOU CAN GET MARRIED OR NOT with this referendum. In a "melting pot" state like New Jersey.I went to a mixed-race wedding in Jersey just this last August. Christie wants STRANGERS to have the power to decide if my brother in law has the right to marry whom he wants.

He wants my gay cousin, a 25 year old man, a damn mature good man, who takes two afternoons out of his week to watch my nephew - He wants my cousin, a citizen of New Jersey, not to be able to marry.

Fuck this fucking fat fuck. Blood runs alot deeper than politics.

Makes me want to pull a Bleeding Kansas and register to vote in Jersey just to keep him out of office.

BrassMonkeyBallz

just looking at that picture makes me have indigestion.

ANGRYGOD11

Christe is stupider than I thought. The violence that happened in the civil rights era is nothing compared to what happened in other nearby areas where minorities were legally discriminated by the majority. Or maybe the idiot never hear of violence in Quebec or southern Mexico.

LtWorf

Putting the question up to the people doesn't make whatever answer they give right, or wrong. Referendums are probably the most useless form of any democratic process I have ever seen. You elect representatives to make the supposedly wise decisions for the people, even the decisions that don't exactly jive with the electorate. This is why state government in California is in such Gridlock.

If we used his logic, civil rights would've been granted to black Americans in the south probably in the 80's. Its the Tyranny of the Majority as most people wanted to keep the status quo. This is about what's right and whats wrong.

This is not a full Democracy but Constitutional Republic. Its about time Christie learns that.

"Tim Osman"

A lot of people need to learn that this country was founded as and is a constitutional republic and democracy is not how most levels of government function

TrollyMcTrollington

Aw, fuck it, let's just go back to a monarchy. Voting is annoying anyway.

Mordicai

WHO

RULES

BARTERTOWN?

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

Fat fuck is a fat fuck.
He still can't lose any weight, no will power at all, might as well wire his jaw shut, kill 2 birds with one stone.

Elizabeth Stockwell

Asshole. He's only doing this so he can preserve a chance to run for his party in 2016, say he was against Marriage equality and "blame" the people of New Jersey. Asshole.

felixthecat

So this fat fuck ignore the will of the people in bear hunts and permitted white inbreed trash to kill baby bears. This fat fuck ignore the will of the people in budget cuts and yet he wants civil rights voted on? HELLO FAT FUCK. Read the Constitution fat fuck. Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness applies to ALL. No vote needed. Just undo the unconsitutinional discriminatory laws.