Category: Chris Christie

#GOPDebate Feedback: Women In Combat Is A Progressive Position

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by Smitty

The GOP debate in New Hampshire was relatively well done, once everyone got onto the stage. The one curve ball is the topic of this blog post. Sorry, Governor Christie, there is no “natural right” to serve in the military, and the overall swellness of any individual aspiration to serve is not a basis for policy or military strategy.

The proper basis for any actual veteran (that is, non-careerist, brown-lipstick-wearing senior brass tools in the Pentagon) is this: combat power of the military unit.

Had we shred #1 of intellectual honesty, we’d do a cost/benefit analysis of our decades of experience with co-ed units, and locate the sweet spot of “co-edfication” and combat effectiveness, and be willing to admit that we may very well have sacrificed the ability to win a war on the altar of Political Correctness.

Which, by the way, is not to take anything away from any of the really excellent ladies with whom I (genuinely) enjoyed serving. They rock. The point is simply that their overall rockingness is not the proper question, and, sadly, nothing short of abject ruin will trigger an honest appraisal.

War is The Evil That Men Do. I shall go to my grave unpersuaded that War Is More Awesome When Women Are Part Of The Team.

Does Christie Add Desirable Gravitas To The Republican Governor’s Association?

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by Smitty

It sure is the case that outgoing disgrace Bob McDonnell did not. The surprise $1B transportation bill a year ago still hasn’t been clearly explained, but it led into the ominous ethics cloud over McDonnell. That cloud was among the minor factors that hampered Ken Cuccinelli’s efforts last November. So Ken is an interesting person to have on Crossfire, to see how far under the bus Ken is willing/capable of tossing Chris Christie.

That turns out to be pretty far. “It makes sense for him to step aside.” Yes; yes, it does. Myra Adams at the Daily Beast:

As a long-time loyal Republican and political observer, I always have my antenna up about how the political crisis of the day/week/month is unfolding and if there will be any long-term implications for my party and our nation.
So it is through this lens that I ask the question, should New Jersey Governor Chris Christie step down as chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA)?
Over the weekend this question started to reverberate throughout the media pundit class. However, it is one about which the average voter could give a hoot—most likely because the average voter has no idea what the RGA is or even does.

I mostly notice the RGA as a source of great ads which heretofore has not seemed to suffer the Vichy GOP taint of the NRSC or NRCC.

Looking down the road, though, the RGA is the kind of place where we might hope for leadership to support the Convention of States. Can Mr. Bridge-over-troubled-water Christie be expected to do more than crush reform efforts? While his carpet bombings of union thugs are not without their amusements, Christie has never seemed more than a Ruling Class tool in the finest John McCain/Mitt Romney tradition, capable of delivering enough platitudes to win the GOP nomination, and then deliver a shocked face and a concession when, unexpectedly, the Democrat wins.

Conservatives are more hungry for reform than cheeseburgers, GOP. Put Scott Walker or Bobby Jindal in at the RGA, and turn up the heat on DC. That is, if the RGA is still worth more than a date with Wendy Davis.

MSNBC: Trolls Under a Bridge

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Let’s start with this: I don’t give a damn about Chris Christie. Didn’t give a damn about him before “BridgeGate,” and don’t give a damn about him now. Nevertheless, influential people in the Acela Corridor feel otherwise, and the attempt by the liberal media to take down a Republican is always newsworthy, whether or not the Republican is anybody I give a damn about. And Jennifer Rubin — who predictably has a fangirl crush on her Acela Republican pinup idol — devastates the media’s takedown effort on Governor Fat Boy:

The bridge scandal started out as a test for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). Now it has become a test for the media. MSNBC, which long ago stopped being a news outlet in the sense of going out to find facts and is largely indistinguishable from Democratic Party talking points, has been going 24/7 since the bridge story broke. No surprise. But then Saturday MSNBC decided to throw even the pretense of journalism overboard.

Read the whole thing, which is interesting even if you wouldn’t vote for Chris Christie under any imaginable circumstance. As bad as he is, at least he’s not a liar from Hoboken.

Ali Akbar makes the case that bloggers have had an impact here:

While big media is busy obsessing over the supposed bridge scandal with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a moderate Republican, they’re getting backlash from their viewers. So instead of 100 articles about “bridgegate,” there are now 50 articles about “bridgegate” and 51 articles of the media examining its own coverage of “bridgegate.” It’s definitional insanity! In every single poll, the public is telling the media to move on from this story. The public is so disinterested in the story,that even in this hyper-partisan climate, no one’s opinion of the Governor has changed. But the Sunday shows couldn’t get away from it all. . . .

Read the whole thing.

 

The Christie GWB Scandal Bubble

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You could tell the mainstream media had already decided on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the “designated loser” Republican presidential nominee for 2016 by the way they reacted to the George Washington Bridge scandal. To give you an idea of the saturation coverage, here’s the top of Memeorandum as of noon ET today:

Now, to an extent, this reflects the New York-centric bias of the media. If you think back to 2007-2008, the media gave excessive coverage to the GOP presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, even though everyone who knew anything about the primary process knew that Giuliani was hopelessly doomed. Ditto, Governor Fatso, but because (a) the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge were local news in the NYC media market and (b) liberal idiots think Governor Fatso is a frontrunner for the 2016 GOP nomination, the coverage of this scandal has been completely over-the-top. Here’s what the top of Memeorandum looked like as of 12:35 p.m. ET Friday:

Keep in mind, we’re still 10 months away from the 2014 mid-term elections, where Republicans will be trying to capture the Senate and strengthen their House majority, so that this early 2016 talk is just a distraction from more urgent political news. But the mindless fascination with the quadrennial “Road the White House” overwhelms everything, with Salon.com’s eminent idiot Joan Walsh volunteering to lead the lemming parade:

Christie proudly admitted Thursday that courting Democratic officeholders and winning their endorsement was part of his plan to “run up the score” and win a resounding bipartisan mandate in his race against Barbara Buono. He clearly planned to ride that reputation for crossing party lines and getting things done into the White House in 2016.
And, to be fair, there are shades of that guy, like the Christie who just backed in-state college tuition for some undocumented high school graduates. But most of the time, Christie is a teacher-shaming, Planned Parenthood defunding, crony-hiring, Koch brother-admiring right-winger. He is also a bully, despite claiming otherwise at his two-hour pity party.
Now, with reporters combing over every detail that could explain why the governor’s top aides rained vengeance down on Fort Lee, they will . . . encounter many stories that deserve a full airing. In the best-case scenario for Christie, in which nothing comes out to show he either ordered Fort Lee’s four-day traffic plague or knew about it, he will still endure national exposure as a fiercely partisan bestower of patronage and punishment. It will scare off some donors and, maybe more important, embolden rivals for the GOP establishment’s blessing — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, or Ohio’s John Kasich, or even Jeb Bush — to enter the ring.

Idiot. News flash for Joan Walsh: Scott Walker is almost certainly a “go” for the 2016 campaign, although he first must win re-election this November. As to whether he has “the GOP establishment’s blessing,” I can’t say, but Walker is a hero to many Tea Party activists who rallied to his support during the brutal 2011-2012 Wisconsin recall election fight.

The key for Walker, I believe, will be whether he can articulate a conservative position on immigration. To win over the grassroots in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida, Walker must strongly oppose the “comprehensive” amnesty plans currently being discussed by Republican leadership in Washington.

Conservatives remember the way Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 campaign melted down after his infamous “you don’t have a heart” remark in the Orlando debate. Scott Walker must avoid any confusion as to his opposition to amnesty if he wants to win in Iowa and beyond. Basically, I’d say, Walker should vet his immigration policy with Michelle Malkin and Iowa Rep. Steve King, and mark a clear line between himself and the Wall Street Journal/Chamber of Commerce open-borders lobby.

But talk about 2016 is premature. First we must fight the 2014 mid-terms, no matter what idiots like Joan Walsh say.

 


Satan Angered by New Poll Showing Santorum Ahead 34%-18% in Wisconsin

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va.
Stopped in here at McDonald’s and got online to discover that Satan’s plan to destroy America is now the top story in the country. This is why neutral objective journalist George Stephanopoulos interviewed neutral objective Mitt Romney supporter Chris Christie about the urgently relevant Satan issue today.

Stephanopoulos and Christie: What a team, huh?

Meanwhile, a new poll conducted by Marquette University shows Republican voters in Wisconsin are clearly anti-Satan:

Rick Santorum ………… 34%
Mitt Romney …………… 18%
Ron Paul ………………… 17%
Newt Gingrich …………. 12%

The poll of 424 likely Republican primary voters was conducted Feb. 16-19. Wisconsin’s GOP primary is April 3.

How did I learn about this poll? From a Rick Santorum campaign press release, which is not how neutral objective journalists like George Stephanopoulos get their news tips. Instead, they call up their friends at the Romney campaign, arrange an interview with one of Romney’s prominent supporters, and call that “news.”

Also, neutral objective journalists like George Stephanopoulos never drive to Ohio or stop at a McDonald’s in West Virginia to get lunch off the Dollar Menu and use the free WiFi.

Satan’s minions do it their way. I do it mine.
 





 
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Because RINOs Always Travel in Herds: Chris Christie Will Endorse Mitt Romney

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Remember when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was supposed to be the feisty populist conservative alternative to Mitt Romney? So much for that ridiculous nonsense, eh?

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, just one week after definitively announcing he will not run for president in the 2012 race, plans to endorse Mitt Romney for the job Tuesday afternoon, Fox News has learned.
The event is set to take place in Hanover, N.H., the site of the Republican presidential debate being held Tuesday night. The endorsement will be made in advance of the debate.
Marking a fast turnaround for Romney, the endorsement comes one week to the day since Christie called a press conference in Trenton to end once and for all the speculation that he would make a late entrance into the race.

UPDATE: Bryan Preston at PJM:

So, is Christie pulling a Crist and making a major endorsement of a moderate candidate to help him fend off more conservative challengers? That’s what it looks like.

Three words, Bryan: Follow the money.

The GOP money people in New York — Georgette Mosbacher, et al. — were the ones urging Christie to run and, when he finally said “no” for the thousandth time, they all jumped on the Romney bandwagon. A big-money RINO-lanche for Romney is the only way to stop a certain surging candidate. IYKWIMAITYD.

UPDATE II: “Moderate GOP Governor’s Club,” Michelle Malkin says. Jon Huntsman was a member of that club. Ditto Mitch Daniels. Ditto Tim Pawlenty. The kind of GOP Establishment-approved folks that the big money boys find acceptable.

Now a Memeorandum thread.

UPDATE III: Thanks to commenter Joe for reminding me of this headline from last year:

N.J.’s Christie Backs Castle in Del. Senate Race

Yeah. That explains a lot, doesn’t it? Guess that means Herman Cain is this year’s Christine O’Donnell. Even if Cain gets the GOP nomination, the Establishment insiders would rather see Obama re-elected than to let an outsider win an election.

UPDATE IV: At a press conference in Hanover, N.H., just now, Romney called Christie “a real hero” and “my friend.” Christie said: “Mitt Romney’s the man we need to lead America and we need him now.”

First question at the press conference was about the Jeffress/Perry Mormons-are-a-cult issue. Christie referenced his own decision to appoint jihadi extremists to enforce sharia law a Muslim judge.

UPDATE V: David Freddoso’s headline at the Examiner:

Huge: Christie to endorse Romney

What’s with all the fat jokes, huh? Just because the hippo endorsed the RINO . . . See? Now you’ve got me started. But anyway, I was confused by this sentence in Freddose’s column:

Could the recent success of conservatives like Christie in the North, and the possible nomination of Romney, threaten the Republican Party’s reputation as a southern party?

Yeah. Unlike my fellow Atlanta native Herman Cain, whose nomination would only reinforce that whole “southern” thing, I suppose.

UPDATE VI: Duane Lester: “Christie continues to prove doubters right.”

The Lonely Conservative: “Herman Cain Says He’ll Go After Mitt Romney in GOP Debate.”

Linked by The Guy Who Named the Blogosphere — thanks!

UPDATE VII: Ed Morrissey:

The obvious conclusion is that Romney’s worried about an inability to move upward and the continued rise and fall of the Not-Romneys in the race. . . . By getting ahead of the news cycle with a big endorsement just before tonight’s debate, it could also relieve pressure on Romney to make news by attacking Herman Cain — or possibly hint that Romney wants a knockout punch badly enough to risk engaging the conservative base’s favorite of the moment.

So it appears that everybody’s expecting a Cain-vs.-Romney donnybrook tonight and Da Tech Guy, who is in New Hampshire for the debate, says, “in my opinion the story of the day is: ‘Can Herman Cain take a punch?’ ”


CHRISTIE SAYS ‘NO’ (AGAIN)
UPDATE: ‘Now Is Not My Time’

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UPDATE 1:07 p.m. ET: “Now is not my time,” the New Jersey governor says in his press conference statement. “This is not the time to leave unfinished business. . . . Like it or not, New Jersey, you’re stuck with me.”

In response to reporters’ questions, he says, “It did not feel right” to quit a job he’d worked so hard to get.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m. ET: “I’m not prepared to make any endorsements today,” he says, by which he means, Romney hasn’t asked yet.

UPDATE 1:22 p.m. ET: “I am who I am — there’s not a lot of varnish here,” Christie says. In response to a question, he dismisses talk of himself as the GOP running mate, saying there’s nobody in America who thinks he’s temperamentally suited to being No. 2.

UPDATE 1:27 p.m. ET: Talking of his his conversations with other people who had run for president — including, by inference, the Bushes — Christie says, “No one to me endorsed the joy of running for president.” This rather confirms my suspicion that some Team Bush people (e.g., Bill Kristol) were key figures behind the Christie boomlet.

* * PREVIOUSLY (11:10 a.m. ET) * *

Robert Costa of National Review broke the story this morning.

UPDATE: The New Jersey governor has said “no” many times before, but Monday the story got out that he would make an announcement Thursday. Now there is a 1 p.m. press conference scheduled today in Trenton.

UPDATE II: Jonathan Karl of ABC News confirms:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will not run for president, according to a source with direct knowledge of the governor’s thinking.
By deciding not to run Christie is refusing the pleas of many establishment Republicans who have been urging him — even pleading with him to jump into the race. Dozens of high-level GOP donors have been paying visits to Christie since this spring in the hopes of changing his mind. . . .
On Sept. 24 sources close to the Republican governor told ABC News that “the pressure from donors and other people has intensified,” and that the “volume of calls” urging Christie to run had increased.
That was before Christie came face-to-face with some of the big-money GOP contributors who were hoping to lure him into the race during week-long fundraising tour that took him to Missouri, California and Louisiana. But it was at a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., last Tuesday where Christie heard some of the most passionate please to date. . . .

Why did pressure for Christie to run intensify Sept. 24? That was two days after Rick Perry’s meltdown in the Orlando debate, and the same day Herman Cain won the Florida straw poll.

UPDATE III: The Washington Post:

Christie was heavily courted to reconsider by large Republican donors as well as a handful of elected officials and party activists in key states.  That recruitment process picked up steam following several mediocre debate performances by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, showings that raised doubts about his ability to unite the party and beat President Obama next fall. . . .

(“Mediocre debate performances”? Like the Hindenburg had a “mediocre” landing at Lakehurst, N.J.)

The lone figure yet to announce her plans for 2012 is former Alaska governor Sarah Palin who has pushed back her timeline to make a decision from September to November.

So unless Sarah gets in, this is the final field. I’m sure Chris Crocker T.C. Lynch will be relieved.

UPDATE IV: Ed Morrissey at Hot Air:

The only way a late entry will work is with someone with high name recognition and a positive intensity among Republicans, and that’s not the position in which Christie finds himself today.

If Palin would say “no,” we could rally conservatives behind Herman Cain. If Palin would endorse Herman Cain, it would be a full-tilt boogie all the way to the nomination in Tampa. But as long as Palin is a “maybe,” there will be tens of thousands of grassroots conservatives waiting and praying for her to say “yes.”

UPDATE V: Headline of the day by Gabriel Malor at AOSHQ:

Today’s Schedule:
Chris Christie Presser at 1:00pm;
Bill Kristol Suicide at 1:05pm

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