Saturday’s shooting in Tucson won’t stop Republican N.J. Gov. Chris Christie from holding public events and meeting with constituents, Christie said at his first townhall meeting of 2011.
“There are some who would say, ‘don’t come out and do this anymore,’ that ‘it’s it too dangerous,'” Christie said Thursday. “We cannot play to the lowest common denominator and we cannot play to fear.”
Christie spoke in response to Tucson’s “Congress on Your Corner” shooting that ended with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition, more than a dozen injured, and six dead. Christie told a packed audience that it’s still important to have townhall meetings and public gatherings so elected officials and constituents can have engage in a dialogue and have honest conversations about any differing views they may have.
“You’ll see there are people here today that have opinions that are opposite of mine,” Christie said. “I’m happy to listen to those and respond to them. If someone wants to yell and scream at me, I’m going to yell and scream back.”
Christie added that it’s crucial for politicians to interact and maintain a presence with constituents because becoming an isolated elected official could have consequences.
“The biggest risk you run as an elected official, especially as a governor, is to become isolated,” Christie said.