If You’re Running for a Public Office, Your Fundraising Campaigns Ought to be Held in Public – Not Behind Closed Doors Like it was 1927 and Your Campaign Manager’s Name was ‘Bugsy’ Malone

Bouncing around the blogosphere, reading about how Gov. Chris Christie is off in sunny Florida this weekend, campaigning for Rick Scott, DNC Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz  – my fav Dem Watchdog is literally tailing the governor, keeping a close eye on his (mis)adventure and reporting what she sees.

Nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary is happening in front of the cameras – Scott praises Christie for manning up to the Bridgegate charges while Christie praises Scott for praising him. (I do believe that no matter what verdict is given Christie’s ego will come away from these scandals unscathed. It’s just too big and awesome to let small details like facts and evidence bring it down.)

But then, after reading at least three different accounts, I bounce over to CNN and find this little tidbit on a blog called The Political Ticker:

Christie skips town, leaving scandal behind and meeting potential donors in sunny Florida

So I read the blog post and it’s just like all the others – Christie is weathering the scandal and doing his job of campaigning for Scott and everyone’s happy. Go team Blinders-On. Oops, I mean RNC.

But third paragraph in, a fact that I’ve known from reading other accounts, for some reason, this time, flicks me on the back of the head like my mother when she wanted my attention and I was head down into a good book. So I read it again. And again:

Christie’s weekend is packed with stops in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. But it will be hard to say whether the scandal has dampened his star power, as all the meetings are closed-door.

Two things. First, why would one tout escaping a cold NJ winter by going off to Florida and then spending all one’s time in closed door meetings? Wouldn’t this be a wonderful opportunity for Christie to pimp the state for its beautiful weather? Maybe hold a fundraiser on one of Florida’s gorgeous plantation-style verandas or Arboretums? And two – why do we still even HAVE closed-door meetings for political campaign fundraising?

What is said behind closed doors that can’t be heard in public? What sort of BS excuses can Christie be offering his donors that he can’t comfortably let the rest of us in on? What promises are being made to donors that we’re not meant to know about?

There’s a reason shady deals are called shady. It’s because they aren’t made out in the open where everyone can see them. They’re cloaked in darkness to protect the greed of the deal-maker.

A public office ought not to be campaigned for behind closed doors. How many of his aides and staff is Christie bad-mouthing in order to appease the Richy riches in Florida to secure their votes and donations?

Well –  while we’re waiting for campaign reform to happen, maybe we can take solace in knowing this exact subterfuge backfired on Romney in 2012 and hope there’s another heroic guest with a hidden recorder on hand and we’ll get to hear how Christie really feels about the rest of us poor, lazy middle-classers nd his hand-picked lying staffers.

State Governor is a public office. There should be nothing CLOSED about it. Especially when money is about to change hands.