Today is my birthday! Speaking of cake, it's an ideal day to talk about Chris Christie, lame joke! Back in 2010 Christopher Christie entered American political consciousness when he rode the anti democratic wave of that year into the governor's mansion in New Jersey.
A republican running what is a solidly democratic state. With that situation in mind come some issue, how could he draw from the increasingly extremist base of the GOP while maintaining enough moderate credentials for a second term?
Christie achieved that easily, he balanced the budget (allegedly) so that burnished his credibility with the Tea Party wing of the GOP. He appointed a Muslim judge, when there was an uproar from the extreme right, he actually called a press conference and defended his appointee pointing that people should not be judged on the basis of their religious and gave testimony of the character of his nominee. That situation in the eyes of New Jersey and liberals everywhere told them that Christie was not of the Scott Walker Bobby Jindal breed of New Republican party. He became a media darling.
Being a national figure always has it plus and minuses. The biggest of all pluses was that his name was immediately thrust in the bin with potential 2012 candidates. He was mentioned as a moderate who had Tea Party love and who could play well in the general public. He was the only really viable candidate aside from Mitt Romney, the only other even remotely presentable in that cycle was John Huntsman who was just too unknown. This bring us to the minus, which was his weight. Governor Christie is very overweight so that question of how healthy he was and how that would affect his ability to run the country. Late night show host were handed ready made jokes and had he run, they would have had a field day and probably harmed his prospects. Christie, ever the cunning politician saw that and decided to not run for the presidency, he instead endorsed Romney early on. He has now had a surgery to deal with his weight problems.
The end of the conservatives love affair with Christie came as the campaign of 2012 was ending. Hurricane Sandy happened, New Jersey was affected badly and federal help was badly needed. While conservatives in the House and Senate were debating if the spending in building should be offset by cuts in government spending elsewhere, the Obama administration cut red tape and offered help with no strings attached. Christie was effusive in his praise, he went on all networks and praised the president to high heavens. That began an negative image from him to the Tea Party loyalists and when Romney lost, some of them were quick enough to pin the blame on him (see Ann Coulter). He was not responsible for the Romney loss but nevertheless it hurt him incredibly with the base of the party. While his favorable ratings with the general population increased due to his show of bipartisanship. However, the party base in this case the Tea Party is always needed to win primaries, so the popular Christie was in a conundrum as the nation moved from the election.
With his actions during Sandy, Christie's second term was assured, so he had to think of ways to appease the ever hard right Tea Party. New Jersey's legislature, dominated in both houses by democrats passed a bill legalizing gay marriage in New Jersey. Christie of course as a republican governor could not sign the legislation into law so he vetoed it and asked that it to be put on the ballot so that people of New Jersey would make that decision. Gay marriage is popular enough to pass as a measure on the ballot and Christie was thinking of his base as no republican governor would be able to win primaries having signed gay marriage legislation into law. New Jersey gay right activist filed a suit in New Jersey courts and won, gay marriage was declared legal and the first weddings were held today. Christie was going to originally appeal in the state's Supreme Court but he eventually saw that as fruitless and now his administration will comply with the ruling.
With his opposition to gay marriage, Christie has stymied at least the opposition or borderline hatred that a chunk of the Tea Party seemed to bear against him and his 2016 prospects. He has made strides in dealing with his weight. With a second term all but guaranteed, he will have a platform from which to make his voice heard. But will that be enough to propel him to the general election of 2016? However with the Ann Coulters of the world after him and the liberals displeased with his stance on gay marriage will he make it? Can he survive rather valid attacks from both sides? Only time will tell, but Chris Christie sure will be an interesting one to watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment