What purpose did all the Christie rumors serve? Were they done to make Romney look more moderate? More people told Fox News they knew he was running to the stage you were trying to figure out why as the following details how slim of chance Christie would have to win the nomination.
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We decided to look into Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, to see where he stood on the issues since he is the Fox flavor of the week for President. Conservatives got had once again -- have to hand it to Fox as they are very smooth at selling what they want their viewers to think. You would think the conservative news sites would be up in arms about the potential for Christie who is moderate on a lot of issues entering the race but it is crickets chirping -- same crickets chirping about how Fox slanted the Orlando debate to make Republicans look bad.
This begs to question how many sites being touted as conservative are an extension of Ailes' Fox News or Rove's Crossroads?
Pretty bad when you have to go to liberal sites to find out the truth -- they are actually willing to tell it like it is. This comes from the New Republic article, "Chris Christie, Closet Moderate? Here are some facts:
Nate Silver has an interesting post arguing that Chris Christie managed to become a darling of the conservatives without being as conservative as they think he is. He" supported the assault weapons ban and opposed concealed carry laws." He "stated explicitly that global warming was real and manmade." He "stated [in 2008] that “being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime.” He has "“no issue with same-sex couples sharing contractual rights,” i.e., civil unions, though he does oppose abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He's soft on the "ground zero" mosque (which is actually a couple of blocks away). He declined to challenge Obamacare in court. And he actually put out an Obama-friendly ad during his 2009 gubernatorial campaign.
All this really says, Silver points out, is that Christie is about as conservative as you can get away with being when you're governor of New Jersey. This is, after all, a state so liberal that you aren't even allowed to pump your own gas, lest an attendant be put out of work. But that suggests his natural rival isn't Rick Perry; it's Mitt Romney, whose problem is kind of similar. So if your reason for wanting another candidate in the race is you don't like Romney, root for Christie to get in so he and Romney can split the moderate vote and throw the nomination to Perry. But if your reason fro wanting another candidate in the race is you don't like Perry, then you should root against Christie jumping in. Silver's analysis is somewhat more nuanced than my summary here, but that I think is where it takes you.
We decided to take this one step further and go see what Silver had to say on some of the issues:
Gun Control. New Jersey, a mostly suburban state, tends to take a moderate position on gun control, and Mr. Christie has in the past as well. In 2009, Mr. Christie’s campaign rebutted a claim by his Democratic opponent, Jon Corzine, that he stood with the N.R.A. by pointing out that Mr. Christie supported the assault weapons ban and opposed concealed carry laws. A statement on Mr. Christie’s campaign Web site in 2009 said that he supported New Jersey’s existing gun control laws, which are fairly strict.
The Environment and Global Warming. During the 2009 campaign, Mr. Christie sometimes critiqued Governor Corzine’s performance on the environment from the left, and he won the endorsement of the New Jersey Environmental Foundation, the first statewide Republican candidate to do so in 30 years.
More recently, however, Mr. Christie withdrew New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program. But while so doing, he stated explicitly that global warming was real and manmade and endorsed the views of the consensus of climate scientists.
Immigration. In 2008, Mr. Christie, then a United States attorney, stated that “being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime.” The statement drew a harsh critique from CNN’s Lou Dobbs, who called for Mr. Christie’s resignation, and is a good bet to make a reappearance in one of his opponent’s campaign commercials should Mr. Christie enter the race.
Mr. Christie has received an F from NumbersUSA, an organization that favors greater restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration.
Social Issues. Mr. Christie is an opponent of both abortion rights and same-sex marriage, but his campaign Web site in 2009 stated that he had “no issue with same-sex couples sharing contractual rights,” an apparent reference to New Jersey’s existing civil unions law.
In 2010, Mr. Christie broke with other prominent Republicans by accusing his party of “overreacting” to the proposed construction of an Islamic mosque and cultural center near the ground zero site, although he also criticized President Obama’s position on the issue.
One noteworthy example is a video that Mr. Christie’s campaign released in the closing days of the 2009 campaign. It featured extended and positively framed clips of Mr. Obama, who was more popular then, and interspersed images of supporters of Mr. Christie and Mr. Obama, implying that Mr. Christie would be in the legacy of Mr. Obama’s mandate for “change.”
Most conservatives were opposed to Obama and his policies long before he took office in January 2009 but in October 2009 after he had been in office almost a year, Christie used this ad for his campaign. I thought Charlie Crist and hugging Obama was bad in FL but this blows Charlie right out of the water. This ad made my jaw drop that Christie would even consider running as a Republican. There is no way after this ad, he would get to first base even with Romney. Romney is a lot more conservative in many ways than Christie but yet Fox News is now pushing Christie. In fact I was so put off by this ad that I refused to watch the last 30 seconds. I am having a hard time believing this campaign ad came from a Republican paid for by Republican donor money.
On fiscal issues Christie is pretty conservative or we think he is -- wouldn't bet on that now either after watching this ad.
This article started out to be more about how Fox News trying to sway the Republican Presidential primary to get their candidate who will make conservatives mad and stay home then Chris Christie. That said we are appalled at anyone who wants to get him in the race as a Republican with this type of baggage. First his stance on a lot of issues conservatives will never agree, but his ad did it for me completely. I could never support someone that far left. Knew he has been praising Obama from time to time since he became Governor but this ad which I have never seen before takes the prize. If I didn't know better, I would say it was an ad for the Democrat.
Christie being for gun control and global warming is man made are non-starters out in the south and west. His comments on the mosque and illegal immigration will also strike a lot of people wrong. Once this ad gets out, his chances with conservatives are nil. He is the latest flavor of the week for Fox News and Rove so we will see where this goes.
Will conservative sites wake up on what Fox is doing or are they too deeply involved with Ailes, Fox News, and Rove? Time will tell!
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