How things can change in just 90 days.
90 days ago, the MFM, the Democrats, and the GOP Establishment stood as one in their hatred of the heretic, Senator Ted Cruz, for both standing against Obamacare and exposing his party leadership’s Kabuki Theater “opposition” to it.
90 days ago, Mr. Chris Christie, coming off his re-election victory, was being figuratively lauded with laurel wreaths and rose petals. He was the darling of the GOP Establishment, who all but proclaimed, “You tea baggers — with your crazy ideas about fiscal responsibility and your weird fetish for following the Constitution — may not like him, but you’ll get in line because Christie is popular!”
Now, Senator Ted Cruz looks prescient because Obamacare has proven every bit the disaster he warned about and more; and he looks principled for standing up to the leadership of his own party. Mr. Chris Christie, on the other hand, looks like an arrogant, bullying schmuck. And the GOP Establishment look like fools … well, even greater fools than usual… for rallying around a pro-Amnesty, pro-gun control, Obama-hugging schmuck as the savior of their party.
Hubris. gentlemen, look it up.
And, by the way, this is no way justifies the MFM feeding frenzy around Mr. Christie. Over 300 people were killed by weapons supplied by Mr. Obama’s administration to Mexican drug gangs; the media yawn. Four Americans were brutally murdered, denied assistance as the president stood by and did nothing, then lied about it for weeks afterward; and this is treated as a punchline. But Mr. Chris Christie (may have) inconvenienced some commuters by closing some lanes on a bridge and its the Scandal of the Century.
Mr. Chris Christie may protest that it’s unfair for him to be tarred with this scandal, and he may be correct in that. But in politics, perception is what matters. He did not object to the perception that he was an unstoppable electoral juggernaut that prevailed three months ago. Live by it, die by it.
He is an arrogant, bullying schmuck, but that isn’t a disqualifier for being President — it can even be a desirable trait. He’s also unequivocally the best governor New Jersey has had in the past decade. We have a very shallow gene pool. True he is very anti-gun for a Republican, but he’s still holding the line against a pro-confiscation state Legislature that makes the Reichstag look like the ACLU. There is a palpable fear in the state of what will happen when he’s gone.
If he makes it to the White House, and I am nowhere near smart enough to predict that one way or the other, I imagine he will evoke the same emotions as a President: Not what anyone would have wanted, but far, far, far better than any alternative.
In the beginning I thought that Christie would have made a ballsy president, and even be able to straighten the horrible mess that Obama will be leaving behind. But, over the course of his governorship he has shown his true colors and I think has taken himself out of the running. The bridgegate issue has all but sunk him – seems even the moderate/establishment republican money is drying up. Good!
Don’t know V if you wanted this thread to develop into a wish list, but for what I have read, seen and heard, Scott Walker would make an awesome conservative/republican president. Have always liked the president to come from the ranks of the state governors – make for better managers. Adding a Ted Cruz or a solid female republican to the ticket may help beat the “Wicked Witch of the East.”
I do not think our Constitutional Republic would be able to survive 8 years of “Sir” Hillary after 8 of Obama. Not to be over wrought with hyperbole, but this may be our one best opportunity to stop the socialistic onslaught in 2014 & 2016.
Most of the Republican critics of Gov. Christie don’t understand the dynamics of NJ politics. Other than the Liberal MSM, really few people actually in NJ consider the GW Bridge matter a “scandal”…more like an elegant execution of political payback.
The frothing-at-the-mouth of the “liberal” press and MSNBC just demonstrates how much they want to eliminate him as competition for St. Hillarybeast in 2016. All the incompetent, illegal, extra-legal and extra-judicial actions of The Won…and the Fourth Estate and the DOJ are worked-up into a frothing lather about two lanes of a bridge being closed??
I certainly don’t know about N.J. politics, but outside N.J., payback is usually considered unseemly, even when done by one’s own party.
The bridge fiasco, in and of itself, is not a big deal–unless you were a citizen trying to get to work, a student on a school bus, or an elderly lady in need of prompt medical attention. But the smallness of it and its cruelty to random people speak poorly of whoever planned it (and I actually assume it wasn’t Christie until proven otherwise).
That said, I loved Christie when he took on the unions but nothing else he has done really makes me dream of him as our president. And the MSM will turn on him, just as they turned on McCain, and they will destroy him.
Two words: Scott Walker.
Other than the Liberal MSM, really few people actually in NJ consider the GW Bridge matter a “scandal”…more like an elegant execution of political payback.
How does NJ-style political payback play in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina?
Or NYC for that matter.
@Polly, I agree that we shouldn’t count Mr Christie out just yet. Sure he’s bloody and the hounds are on him. If they rip him to shreds, so be it (Herman Cain comes to mind), but if he lives he may be unstoppable (Dr Carson hasn’t even broken his stride yet). That’s why they fear him (Christie).
@mixitup, I don’t know a whole lot about Mr Walker, though I’ve liked everything I’ve heard so far. More interestingly, I have a rather, umm, liberal cousin who grew up in Wisconsin. Whenever I mention Scott Walker, he starts twitching and frothing. That’s usually a good sign.
I hate to say it but Scott Walker’s biggest problem could be that he isn’t very “pretty,” nor does he seem to have much charisma. Neither of those matter a whit in governance but both matter a lot in getting votes.
I donated to him during the attempt to recall him and I’d happily vote for him if he were our candidate, so maybe I’m just underestimating the rest of the voting public.
It’s going to take Hillary and Christie’s positions on issues being layed out in black and white for my poor benighted father to realize that the two of them aren’t that different. Of course, he would probably still rationalize it as, “Yeah, but at least he’s better than her on 10% of issues! That’s good, right?”
I would happily vote for Cruz, Walker, or Paul (the son, not the father). All three of them have the advantage of political vindication on their side. Of course, the media would probably paint Cruz as “that lunatic who read ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ to Congress,” Walker as a modern-day robber baron, and Rand Paul already has enough problems with the specter of his father looming over him. Ron Paul may be right on some things, even a lot of things, but some of the things he’s said make me want to slug him.