Decision Time for Chris Christie
October 4, 2011 No CommentsJamie Davidson
College of Arts and Science
Class of 2015
Remember the Republican’s first political romance of the election season? Seizing the mantle of birther-in-chief, Donald Trump rose to the top of the Republican primary polls for a few short-lived weeks in April. Then, the long form birth certificate came out, meaning the Donald’s big birther bet had backfired disastrously. Worse, just a few days later, the object of Mr. Trump’s mockery, President Obama, ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden, the most hated man of our generation. Coupled with all this was the renewal of “The Apprentice” by NBC, meaning Trump no longer needed to continue his publicity tour (at least for now).
So Trump was out but the majority of Republicans were still looking for an alternative to front runner Mitt Romney. Along came three-term congresswoman and tea party favorite, Michelle Bachmann, a woman who came to prominence after asking the media to investigate anti-American activity in Congress. An Iowa native, Bachmann used her social conservative credentials to top the polls in her home state and rise to second place nationwide. Bachmann even won the coveted Iowa straw poll on August 13th . The only problem was that same day, Rick Perry announced his Presidential bid in South Carolina.
Rick Perry was deemed by many as the perfect candidate to unite the Republican Party. An early Tea Party supporter, Rick Perry also had strong ties to the Republican establishment from his years as head of the Republican Governor’s Association. Having just hosted a huge prayer rally in Houston, Perry’s social conservative credentials were impeccable. His refusal to touch a $6.5 Billion rainy day fund and implementation of massive cuts to education to balance the Texas budget made him a fiscal conservative’s dream candidate. Perry, a 3-term governor of Texas, was deemed more electable than Congresswoman Bachmann and he successfully swept her base out from under her. Perry was the new party front runner but had yet to participate in any debates. That would soon change.
Contrary to what you’d expect, each of Perry’s debate performances was worse than the previous one. Perry was hit hard by Mitt Romney for his comments in his book Fed Up, where he compares Social Security to a Ponzi scheme. Michelle Bachmann scored a big blow when she accused Perry’s mandating of the HPV vaccine for girls in Texas of being “crony capitalism,” because Merck’s lobbyist at the time was Perry’s former chief of staff. The worst attacks aimed at Perry may have been over his immigration policy. Under Perry’s governorship, Texas passed a law giving children of illegal immigrants in-state tuition, with the precondition that they apply for legal status. Although Perry’s record, which includes cracking down on amnesty and denying illegal immigrants’ drivers licenses, is in no way liberal, Republicans seized at the opportunity to go to Perry’s right on the issue. Mitt Romney, someone who is usually on Perry’s left on almost everything, delighted at the opportunity to attack Perry from the right and suddenly turned into a hard-liner on immigration.
All this said, Perry still hovers around the top of the GOP polls and could still win the nomination. His missteps, however, have caused some in the Republican electorate to look outside the current crop of candidates for their savior. First it was Trump, then Bachmann, then Perry and now, maybe Chris Christie. Christie, the first-term governor of New Jersey currently considering a Presidential bid, has risen to Republican stardom through his blunt approach to government spending, union rights and, well, basically everything. Some Republicans believe that Christie’s tough, aggressive nature can appeal to angry tea party activists as well as wealthy Republican donors. In fact, Christie has been promised support by many of the wealthy GOP donors in the New York tri-state area and has the backing of the influential billionaire Koch brothers. Once again, some in the GOP think they have found their perfect candidate but a look into Christie’s record reveals some red flags.
Christie may face some of his biggest challenges with social conservatives. Although Chris Christie is against gay marriage, he is in favor of civil unions and even told Piers Morgan that he doesn’t believe that homosexuality is a sin since that’s the way God made gay people. He also appointed and vehemently defended a Muslim state judge, calling accusations that the judge would adhere to Sharia law “crazy.” Christie also believes in climate change, something many conservatives are skeptical about. Finally, Christie advocates comprehensive immigration reform, something that most Republicans have been hesitant to support in the last few years.
None of these issues are necessarily deal breakers for a Christie candidacy and if he chooses to run, Christie will have a decent shot at winning the nomination. The candidacies of Rick Perry and to a lesser extent Trump and Bachmann, prove, however, that a candidate who seems like the GOP’s white knight on the sidelines will always have some chinks in their armor exposed once the full glare of the campaign spotlight is on them. Before making his decision, Christie would be well-served to listen to the advice of John McCain, who said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” last Sunday, “The swimming pool looks a lot better until you jump right in. The water may not be quite as warm as you think.”
Election 2012, News