Chris Christie began his much-awaited remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington recently with an anecdote that seemed to portend some tough talk for his fellow Republicans.In his early days as governor of New Jersey, Christie recalled, a looming fiscal crisis forced him to confront the state's powerful public employee unions, who enjoyed benefits so generous they were bankrupting the state. Christie had to trim pensions and benefits to put New Jersey on a sound fiscal footing.Obviously, the unions were unhappy. They booed when Christie met them face-to-face.