Gov. Chris Christie defends GOP ads attacking Democrat Hatch

By James Q. Lynch, The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - The chairman of the Republican Governors Association said television ads suggesting Gov. Terry Branstad's Democratic opponent has a conflict of interest are merely intended to give Iowans an accurate picture of the challenger's record.

'I would argue with the premise of your question,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday in Marion when asked why the RGA is running ads attacking Democratic candidate Sen. Jack Hatch.

'We have an obligation to let the people of Iowa know about the record of Gov. Terry Branstad's opponent,” Christie said.

One RGA ad, for example, shows images of Hatch peering through window blinds and bulldozers smashing homes. It raises questions about Hatch's support of eminent domain as a real estate developer and his failure to date to respond to GOP demands that he release past tax returns beyond his 2013 filings.

Hatch's campaign said the ads are 'misleading and false and have been debunked.”

'He's probably the only one who thinks it's negative,” Christie said. 'It's truthful.”

Branstad has accepted Christie's 'New Jersey-style politics as a way to survive after a term riddled with scandal,” Hatch campaign manager Grant Woodard said.

Woodard said the similarities between Branstad and Christie are striking - 'fired appointees who lied, claims they knew nothing later disproven and political retribution carried out by the executive branch.”

'Gov. Christie knows from experience when a governor is in real trouble, so it's no surprise he's in Iowa helping bail out another legally and ethically challenged career politician,” Woodard said.

However, Christie insisted the RGA is simply doing its job to 'make sure that the people of Iowa and other states where we choose to participate have a complete picture of these candidates.”

And if Hatch is unhappy with the RGA for telling the truth about his record 'he should have done something about his record before he developed it,” Christie said.