--- title: Chris Christie CPAC Speech Courts Conservative Base for 2016 description: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivered an uncharacteristically low-key speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference this afternoon, aiming to reconnect with the Republican base amid a traffic scandal that has dented his 2016 ambitions canonical: https://time.com/14147/chris-christie-cpac-speech-2016/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-06T18:00:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:13.267Z article:section: Politics og:title: Chris Christie CPAC Speech Courts Conservative Base for 2016 og:description: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivered an uncharacteristically low-key speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference this afternoon, aiming to reconnect with the Republican base amid a traffic scandal that has dented his 2016 ambitions og:url: https://time.com/14147/chris-christie-cpac-speech-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0a6e618cc7e96c0/69868448cd804d13d8cc99e3/chris-christie-cpac-speaks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2700 og:image:height: 1519 og:image:alt: chris-christie-cpac-speaksNew Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks during the American Conservative Union Conference March 6, 2014 in National Harbor, Md. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chris Christie CPAC Speech Courts Conservative Base for 2016 twitter:description: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivered an uncharacteristically low-key speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference this afternoon, aiming to reconnect with the Republican base amid a traffic scandal that has dented his 2016 ambitions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0a6e618cc7e96c0/69868448cd804d13d8cc99e3/chris-christie-cpac-speaks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Humbled Christie Strikes Low-Key Tone at Conservative Confab > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Christie: “Our ideas are better than their ideas” [Watch (HLS stream): Christie: “Our ideas are better than their ideas”](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qWpDejbc.m3u8) (2:44)  _Published 2014-03-06. NJ Governor Chris Christie speaks during CPAC_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/) Mar 6, 2014 6:00 PM UTC  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks during the American Conservative Union Conference March 6, 2014, in National Harbor, Md. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks during the American Conservative Union Conference March 6, 2014, in National Harbor, Md. Lexey Swall—GRAIN for TIME by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/) Mar 6, 2014 6:00 PM UTC Humbled by a [scandal](http://time.com/293/chris-christie-gets-caught-in-traffic/) that has hampered his rise on the national stage, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie sought to reconnect with the Republican base on Thursday, delivering an uncharacteristically low-key speech to GOP activists that sounded traditional conservative themes. “You know I’m shy and retiring, and I don’t like to speak my mind,” Christie joked during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual confab held at a convention center on the banks of the Potomac River outside Washington. But the reference to his swaggering image seemed to invoke a figure who wasn’t there. Christie’s remarks were neither brusque nor stirring. He courted the crowd by ticking off familiar tropes, reminding skeptical conservatives of his anti-abortion bona fides and his record of taking on public-sector unions and instituting budget reforms. The Garden State governor assailed the media for bias, cast Democrats as “the party of intolerance,” and urged the GOP to define itself as the party of ideas. “Our ideas are better than their ideas,” Christie told the packed ballroom. “We have to stop letting the media define who we are and what we stand for.” Christie framed himself as a conservative who has secured a governing majority in a reliably blue state. If the GOP can win in New Jersey, he said, it can borrow the blueprint to expand the political map in coming elections. “Governors are about getting things done,” Christie said, lumping himself in with a passel of conservative executives leading blue and purple states, while distancing himself from Washington lawmakers. “Republican governors in this country have stood up and done things — not just talked about them.” Christie’s remarks, which lasted about 15 minutes, were a far cry from the all-about-me message he delivered at the 2012 Republican National Convention. His speech Thursday earned a polite reception from the crowd and was punctuated by several rounds of applause. He spoke off the cuff, using notes instead of a teleprompter. But his very attendance is a sign that the frost between Christie and his party’s base has thawed. Christie addressed the group in 2012 but did not receive an invitation to CPAC last year. The snub came just months after his public embrace of President Barack Obama in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Many Republicans believed Christie’s effusive praise of the President in the final days of Obama’s re-election campaign helped lift the President over GOP nominee Mitt Romney. Christie spent much of 2013 focused on appealing to his state’s Democrats in order to run up the score of his re-election in preparation for a 2016 presidential campaign. The reception may have reflected the media onslaught buffeting Christie, who has been under fire in recent months amid revelations that aides initiated a traffic jam in an apparent act of political retribution. The harsh spotlight from a media conservatives see as biased has earned him new affection from the right. Working a crowd that has not always been friendly to his brand of Northeast conservatism, Christie sought to mend fences. He defended the political activity of the billionaire Koch brothers, whose spending on 2014 races has become a rallying cry for vulnerable Senate Democrats. He urged conservatives to stress an economic platform that can lift Americans out of poverty. And he lambasted Obama for standing on the sidelines when Washington required leadership. “Mr. President,” he said, “what the hell are we paying you for?” ## Transcript We need to make sure that we say we are for America being a leader in the world and we are for a strong national defense, not one that allows [ SOUND ] other countries to run us over all over the world. [ SOUND ] When we say that we're pro- life and that we're proudly pro- life, that doesn't mean we're pro- life just when that human being is in the womb, we need to be pro- life when they leave the womb as well. For every step of their lives. And what's that mean? It means we have to be in favor of an educational system that's accountable, so that child, as they grow, can have a world class education. It means that we have to be in favor of a society that creates opportunity and jobs for them. Not one that has the government control what they think is good or fair in our society. And it means when those children fall victim to disease, a disease like drug rehabilitation. We need to rehabilitate those kids. Because every life is precious. Every life is precious, no matter where they are in society. You remember when they set up this whole super committee thing, right. Way back when they were trying to resolve the budget problems and all the rest. They set up a super committee. And after the super committee got nothing done. What did the White House say? The White House said the President never met with the super committee or got involved with them because he knew they were doomed for failure. Man. That's leadership, isn't it? You're the leader of the government, you see something getting ready to go off the rails, and what you decide to do is stay as far away from it as possible. Well, my question then is the same, my question now is the same question I had then. If that's your attitude Mr. President, what the Hell are we paying you for? [ SOUND ] What they're for in Washington DC is to have the leader of the Senate Democrats stand up and rail against two American entrepreneurs who have built a business, created jobs, and created wealth and philanthropy in this country. Harry Reid should get back to work and stop picking on great Americans who are creating great things in our country. We don't get to govern if we don't win. And it's not only bad when we don't get to govern, cuz we don't get to mould and change our society. What's worse, is they do. And they're doing it to us right now. So please, let us come out here, resolve not only to stand for our principles. But let's come out of this conference resolve to win elections again, that's what I intend to do for the next year and I hope you'll join me. Thank you very much. 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