Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who built a political brand around unfiltered frank talk aimed at political opponents and constituents alike, is starting a think tank centered on something unexpected: Civility in politics.
"Unfortunately our politics have gotten so ugly and divisive in the country that people are not having civilized conversations," Christie told NJ Advance Media, which broke the news.
The nonprofit and nonpartisan Christie Institute of Public Policy, based at Christie's law office in Morristown, N.J., will fund research into public policy solutions, finance scholarships for law students interested in public office and public policy, and present a quarterly lecture series moderated by Christie himself.
His first guest is the governor from across the aisle and across the river -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with whom Christie worked when he was in office, most memorably in raising tolls and blocking reforms at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The event will be held at Christie’s alma mater, Seton Hall Law School.
Bill Palatucci, Christie's former law partner and a long-time adviser, friend and fundraiser, said national and perhaps international political leaders would be among the future lecturers at the Christie Institute.
"We've got big issues and big problems facing our country and the world, frankly," said Palatucci, who will serve as chairman of the board. "And how do we work together in a bipartisan fashion to address those and make progress? That's the purpose of the institute."
New Jerseyans will remember Christie from some of his memorably aggressive YouTube moments: Calling a Navy Seal an "idiot" at a town hall meeting, castigating a teacher at another town hall meeting and telling a heckler to "sit down and shut up."
But people should look past the brash style that made Christie a national name, Palatucci said, and remember his policy successes with a legislature that was run by Democrats for his eight years in office. Or more recently that he chaired President Donald Trump's bipartisan opioid commission, which made recommendations that became law.
"People should have confidence the Institute of Public Policy is of real substance," Palatucci said.
This article has been updated to clarify Seton Hall Law School's involvement with the Christie Institute.