Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Chris Christie for VP?
Listening to conservative talk show host John Batchelor last night. His guest suggested Romney would name Jersey gov Chris Christie as VP candidate, putting Jersey into play for Repugs.
I see lots of problems with that. First, Jersey has not been polled for a Romney/Christie ticket, so it's not known what effect his candidacy would have in a state that is otherwise safe for President Obama.* I think the idea is that Jersey could be pulled into the Repug column without large campaign ad buys in the expensive New York City media market. Christie isn't "popular" in Jersey in the sense of being admired, doing a great job (he's doing o.k. in the approval ratings, but Obama stays a few points ahead). He's "popular" in the sense of being a national political celebrity, a rarity in Jersey politics. He entertains. But there are other problems:
Christie is not much of a Tea Party / Christian Right guy. He endorsed Romney early & enthusiastically. He's urbane, he likes cities. As Governor, he needs Federal dollars & programs, lots of them. I haven't heard him complain about too much money flowing here from Washington DC. Of conservative "moral values" he prefers not discussing them in detail. He vetoed the Democratic-passed marriage equality law without rancor or preachiness, no sermon about the War on Christians. He said he would do it & he did. But he worked with Garden State Equality, the major Jersey LGBT rights organization, on writing & passing strong anti-bullying legislation. He's a Catholic but has nothing positive to say about Rick Santorum, & has no special relationship that I can detect with Jersey's Catholic Bishops.
If this sounds like I like him, Christie is one of the few prominent Repugs I wish was Democratic, with no change in his bulldog personality. I don't care about his weight, but he ought to have his suits tailored better, especially his baggy pants. Is he up to the rigors of a two-month, non-stop national presidential campaign?
It would help Christie to be the running mate on a losing ticket. He has his eyes on 2016. He believes he'll be re-elected Gov next year & in an excellent position to hit the campaign trail in 2015. Romney's advisers may conclude Christie isn't quite the VP candidate they need. Yeah, Christie is a big-talking guy who "takes it to the unions" blah blah. But he's more interested in working on behalf of the corporations, one percenters, the polluters, the usual fat cat Repug beneficiaries, the quiet deals, not for placard-waving geeks from Oklahoma. Sometimes he gets into trouble not just for what he says, but for who he says it to: veterans, senior citizens, teachers, who ask him questions at his town meetings & get rudely shouted at from the podium. I cannot see Christie taking up the Repugs' outrageous anti-women meme so Romney can get off those issues, which have hurt him deeply with women voters. Christie needs their votes to be re-elected next year.
* There was a poll in Feb. Without Christie as his running mate, Obama leads Romney 49 percent to 39 percent. With Christie, Obama’s margin over Romney narrows to 49 percent to 43 percent.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
I see lots of problems with that. First, Jersey has not been polled for a Romney/Christie ticket, so it's not known what effect his candidacy would have in a state that is otherwise safe for President Obama.* I think the idea is that Jersey could be pulled into the Repug column without large campaign ad buys in the expensive New York City media market. Christie isn't "popular" in Jersey in the sense of being admired, doing a great job (he's doing o.k. in the approval ratings, but Obama stays a few points ahead). He's "popular" in the sense of being a national political celebrity, a rarity in Jersey politics. He entertains. But there are other problems:
Christie is not much of a Tea Party / Christian Right guy. He endorsed Romney early & enthusiastically. He's urbane, he likes cities. As Governor, he needs Federal dollars & programs, lots of them. I haven't heard him complain about too much money flowing here from Washington DC. Of conservative "moral values" he prefers not discussing them in detail. He vetoed the Democratic-passed marriage equality law without rancor or preachiness, no sermon about the War on Christians. He said he would do it & he did. But he worked with Garden State Equality, the major Jersey LGBT rights organization, on writing & passing strong anti-bullying legislation. He's a Catholic but has nothing positive to say about Rick Santorum, & has no special relationship that I can detect with Jersey's Catholic Bishops.
If this sounds like I like him, Christie is one of the few prominent Repugs I wish was Democratic, with no change in his bulldog personality. I don't care about his weight, but he ought to have his suits tailored better, especially his baggy pants. Is he up to the rigors of a two-month, non-stop national presidential campaign?
It would help Christie to be the running mate on a losing ticket. He has his eyes on 2016. He believes he'll be re-elected Gov next year & in an excellent position to hit the campaign trail in 2015. Romney's advisers may conclude Christie isn't quite the VP candidate they need. Yeah, Christie is a big-talking guy who "takes it to the unions" blah blah. But he's more interested in working on behalf of the corporations, one percenters, the polluters, the usual fat cat Repug beneficiaries, the quiet deals, not for placard-waving geeks from Oklahoma. Sometimes he gets into trouble not just for what he says, but for who he says it to: veterans, senior citizens, teachers, who ask him questions at his town meetings & get rudely shouted at from the podium. I cannot see Christie taking up the Repugs' outrageous anti-women meme so Romney can get off those issues, which have hurt him deeply with women voters. Christie needs their votes to be re-elected next year.
* There was a poll in Feb. Without Christie as his running mate, Obama leads Romney 49 percent to 39 percent. With Christie, Obama’s margin over Romney narrows to 49 percent to 43 percent.
Labels: New Jersey politics, THE election
