Christie attacks media in return to national stage

OXON HILL, Maryland (AP):

Returning to the national stage for the first time since scandal erupted in his home state, a tough-talking New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said Thursday that Republicans must "take on" the media directly as the GOP works to improve its image ahead of the mid-term elections.

The Republican governor ignored his administration's recent troubles, but he flashed the fighting spirit that has largely defined his political career in a speech to conservative activists gathered in suburban Washington, earning a standing ovation after a 15-minute speech in which he declared, "We have to stop letting the media define who we are and what we stand for."

"The fact is, we've got to take these guys on directly," Christie said at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a three-day event in suburban Washington that attracts thousands of conservative activists, opinion leaders, and a host of prospective Republican presidential candidates.

He later called on party leaders and tea party leaders alike to "start talking about what we're for and not what we're against".

Back in spotlight

It was an aggressive message from a usually outspoken governor who has avoided the national spotlight since a political retribution scandal erupted in January.

Christie's remarks come as dual investigations in New Jersey threaten to drag on for months. Authorities are looking into twin scandals - an alleged plot to manufacture traffic jams as political retribution by Christie loyalists and alleged threats by two members of his Cabinet to hold up a riverfront city's storm recovery funds unless its mayor approved a favoured redevelopment project.