Chris Christie launches public policy institute in farcical attempt to elevate discourse

For all of us concerned about the erasure of civility in this country, have no fear, because there’s a new super hero on the scene. A friend asked me the other day whether I could guess which politician is launching a civility initiative. Put that way, the sure fire answer had to be President Donald Trump. Wrong, he shouted. It’s Chris Christie! “Whoa, of course!” I replied, "That makes perfect sense."

After all, Christie, the bombastic former governor of New Jersey, is certainly known for “bridging divides.” Remember “Bridgegate” — when a member of his staff and several of his political appointees colluded to create traffic jams in New Jersey by closing lanes at the main toll plaza of the George Washington Bridge. He’s also known for a long history of name-calling and bullying, which — natch — makes him the right choice to lead The Christie Institute of Public Policy, in partnership with Seton Hall University School of Law.

(Two Seton Hall officials told the New Jersey Globe on Wednesday that the university was blindsided by Christie’s premature announcement, with details yet to be finalized.)

The Bridgegate controversy has stained him for the long term

The stain to Christie’s reputation from Bridgegate helped tank his bid for the 2016 Republican nomination for president, with the former governor even citing the scandal as “a factor” in why Donald Trump skipped over him as a candidate for veep (and every other job in his “drain the swamp” administration, which has included such “winners” as former Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, who has resigned over his involvement in a 2007 plea deal for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke, the subject of multiple ethics investigations and a possible Justice Department probe for using his office for personal gain; and White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, who CNN reported “resigned after two ex-wives went public with allegations of past abuse, which he denied”).

Letter:Advice for ex-governor Christie: 'Sit down and shut up'

Let’s also be clear: Bridgegate was no one-off when it came to cementing Christie’s reputation as a bully and a boor. With news of the new institute, Twitter came roaring to life with flashbacks to many of the ex-governor’s best hits. Among those insults: “Take a bat to her,” in reference to state Sen. Loretta Weinberg in 2011, when she was 76. “Your rear end’s going to get thrown in jail, idiot,” to a former Navy SEAL. “Are you stupid? … I’m sorry for the idiot over there,” to a journalist. “Sit down and shut up,” to a protester asking the governor about the distribution of Hurricane Sandy aid. And — of course — “numb nuts” (to a gay New jersey lawmaker).

Fast-forward to last week and listen to Christie bemoan the current political landscape.

“Unfortunately, our politics have gotten so ugly and divisive in the country that people are not having civilized conversations,” he told NJ Advance Media, taking no responsibility for his role in helping to create this crisis in civility.

One local columnist voiced incredulity, writing, “Really? That's a big stretch coming from a governor who actively marketed his smash-mouth persona on YouTube and later became the staunch, stand-by-his-side defender of Donald Trump, the tweeter in chief who has plunged political discourse to new, toxic depths.”

Even with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, Christie, who maintains a “close friendship” with Trump, defended the president who threw him under the bus.

“I think the negative tone in our politics existed long before Donald Trump,” he has been quoted as saying. “You’re never going to agree with anyone 100% of the time, and I have a lot of Democrat friends who are using a lot of language that is very hot.”

If I may, Governor, let me remind you that civil discourse does not require people to agree with each other. That is actually un-American, a limit to our belief in free speech. It does, however, ask us to listen with open ears, and it does prohibit bullying and name-calling.

Last winter, I spoke with Carolyn Lukensmeyer, the former executive director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan National Institute for Civil Discourse. "Civility does not mean appeasement or avoiding important differences. It means listening and talking about those differences with respect," she told me.

Where to draw the line:I'm for civility, but what if our fellow citizens express contemptible views?

Yes, respect. In a healthy democracy, that’s just what we need. Nowhere in recent interviews with Christie does the word “respect” appear. That’s telling. But then, the governor’s past bad behavior really tells us all we need to know — that The Christie Institute of Public Policy is a poorly veiled attempt to rebrand New Jersey’s most bombastic governor as a leader who seeks “to bring people together, not drive them apart,” as he told NJ.com.

Seton Hall officials would be wise to put the kibosh on this partnership.

Cindy McCain taking steps in the right direction

Still, there’s some hope on the “civility” front. Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Republican senator, John McCain, used the one-year anniversary of his death this week to encourage Americans to be more civil.

“We’re missing John’s voice of reason right now in so many ways,” McCain told NPR, referencing her late husband’s friendships with Democrats like former Vice President Joe Biden and the late Sen.Ted Kennedy. To honor her husband’s legacy, McCain said, "it felt to me that the right thing to do was to encourage people to perform acts of civility."

In a YouTube video marking the anniversary, McCain urged people “to join together across the aisle — or whatever divides us — to make our world a better place." She asked viewers to post about their experiences using #ActsofCivility. She said, "Agree to disagree, but just be civil about it."

Now, that’s an initiative I can get behind.

Steven Petrow is the host of "The Civilist," a new podcast produced by PRI and WUNC that discusses today's toughest political and social issues. Follow him on Twitter: @stevenpetrow

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christie Institute of Public Policy seeking civility is a total joke