# So, we should get used to saying "President Christie?" Yea or nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 21, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448 "2013-11-21T17:12:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/61 "2013-11-22T06:16:02Z")
I haven’t read the whole thread so apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I can tell you right now what will happen. Unless they hook the man up to an IV bottle of diazepam, it won’t be long before he mouths off and and starts pissing people off - it’s just who he is. What people don’t understand about Christie is that the very things people say they like about him are the things that, unless carefully, nay hyper-managed, will lose him any chance at the nomination - forget about the election. What you saw of him after Sandy and how he responded to the failure of Congress to release disaster relief funds is the type of thing you’re going to see on the campaign trail. People loved that shit here in NJ and you can say ‘well, that’s why he did it.’ Maybe so, but I think it goes a lot deeper. I really think that’s who he is and that it’s only going to take a couple long nights and couple reporters getting under his skin before he lets it all hang out. And as for the weight issue, with the lap band or whatever bariatric surgery he got, I really can’t see that being an issue in another year. At least for his sake I hope not. I don’t know that he’ll be exactly svelte, but hopefully he’ll have trimmed down enough that his health won’t be a concern any more. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/62 "2013-11-22T10:37:01Z")
OP is the textbook example of everything that is wrong with the American GOP, and the only chance democrats have of winning if Obama’s approval rating doesn’t come back up by 2016. **ILikeForeignLanguages** , when did you decide to be straight? Of course I chose to be gay back in 1993. The Devil came to me as a child and offered me money for my soul. I said, “No devil I will not give up my soul for money.” And then he tempted me with power and I said, “No devil I will not give up my soul for power.” And then he tempted me with a big huge throbbing dick and I said, “Hmm ok you got yourself a deal.” Seriously, get a grip. I hope you and your family continue to vote for the absolute most extreme radical republicans in the primaries that you possibly can, so that democrats will win the general election. The only reason Romney lost was because he had to tack so far to the right in the primaries that nobody could take him seriously when he went back to being a centerist for the general election. That, and that republicans as a whole are seen as backwater religious zealots who think being gay is wrong and that abortion is murder and every other loony thing they believe. But just like I told my Dad, please, vote for Santorum in the primaries. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/63 "2013-11-22T11:39:52Z")
> [@ILikeForeignLanguages](#): > > John McCain and Mitt Romney _did_\*\* distance themselves from that; they were not “far right loons;” they were moderate/liberal-republicans, and they both lost rather squarely. > When people say “far-right loon,” I assume they are referring to devout conservatives who stick to what they believe and don’t lend themselves to moderatism or liberalism in order to get votes. > About 2 or 3 million people who would have voted for Mitt Romney decided to sit out the election and not vote in 2012. The reason they gave wasn’t that he was _too_\*\* conservative, it was that he wasn’t conservative _enough_\*\*. > Some say that the far-right is sinking the GOP, and that the middle-right is the party’s only hope; however, I believe it might be the other way around. And the outcome of the elections indicates you’re wrong in this. When people have been given a choice between a conservative candidate and a moderate candidate, the majority have been voting for the moderate. The problem is too many conservatives are living in a bubble. They only know other conservatives and only listen to conservative media. They simply ignore the rest of the country and convince themselves it doesn’t exist. So they come to believe the majority of the country is conservative and every election is a surprise to them when they’re reminded they’re actually just a minority in the general electorate. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/64 "2013-11-22T12:39:47Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > I haven’t read the whole thread so apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I can tell you right now what will happen. Unless they hook the man up to an IV bottle of diazepam, it won’t be long before he mouths off and and starts pissing people off - it’s just who he is. > > What people don’t understand about Christie is that the very things people say they like about him are the things that, unless carefully, nay hyper-managed, will lose him any chance at the nomination - forget about the election. Bob Dole had a reputation for shooting his mouth off and general crankiness, but that didn’t stop him from getting the nomination in '96. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/65 "2013-11-22T15:08:12Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Bob Dole had a reputation for shooting his mouth off and general crankiness, but that didn’t stop him from getting the nomination in '96. Environment is a lot different now. 24hr news cycle (which was just starting then), multiple major news-only outlets all vying for eyeballs, social media, ubiquity of cell phone videos, etc. I would offer that every single word a candidate utters in public is recorded now (and a good many “private” ones as well - see 47%). Was that true in '96? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/66 "2013-11-22T15:22:01Z")
Christie can win the nomination but he has to run as Christie and not try the stupidity that Giuliani did of pretending to be a “True Conservative”. Christie could carry the less conservative states in the primary and win the nomination of the leading Tea Party favorite. He could potentially drag the party back towards the center with him. He would run as the candidate that could win the election and then work with the opposing party to straighten the country out. In public perception he is already \*\*believed \*\*to be a straight shooting, say what he means and willing to work with both side of the aisle. People will like this in the primary. He would win NY & NJ which would really help in the primaries and he might even carry them both in the general election. If he then went up against HRC, I would say he had a fairly good chance of being President. She is so strongly disliked that she would make a terrible nominee. I suspect Biden would fair far better 2016 despite current polls and few treat him with much respect but he is not hated. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/67 "2013-11-22T15:34:06Z")
If a country with an Anglo-Saxon core-culture can get used to saying “President Obama,” we can get used to anything. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/68 "2013-11-22T15:58:52Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > If he then went up against HRC, I would say he had a fairly good chance of being President. She is so strongly disliked that she would make a terrible nominee. That’s a good point. The people that dislike Hillary hate her so much they become slobbering balls of rage, and will vote against her even if they’re on life support. People dislike the loud mouth Christie, but not like he’s the devil. Democrats will have their work cut out for them ‘firing up the base’ with the prospects of doom and gloom of Ralph Kramden running the country. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/69 "2013-11-22T16:01:03Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > She is so strongly disliked that she would make a terrible nominee. This is not supported by the [polls](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/10/31/hillary-clintons-ratings-slip-in-new-poll/). Even after a rather severe drop recently, her positive poll numbers are larger than her negatives. She technically has a higher approval rating than Christie but this is largely due to the fact that a large percentage of the people polled don’t know who Christie is. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/70 "2013-11-22T16:06:14Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Bob Dole had a reputation for shooting his mouth off and general crankiness, but that didn’t stop him from getting the nomination in '96. But it did stop him from winning the election. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/71 "2013-11-22T16:32:05Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > This is not supported by the [polls](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/10/31/hillary-clintons-ratings-slip-in-new-poll/). Even after a rather severe drop recently, her positive poll numbers are larger than her negatives. She technically has a higher approval rating than Christie but this is largely due to the fact that a large percentage of the people polled don’t know who Christie is. I don’t think that poll shows what I was talking about. I recall polls stretching back to when she ran against Obama that showed roughly 30% of those likely to vote had a strong dislike to hate of her. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/72 "2013-11-22T16:48:45Z")
The last couple of Republican campaigns have been chocked with a host of ‘candidates’ who’s only interest was in the publicity and in branding (as others have called it) themselves. Was there ever a chance that Herman Caine or, Og forbid, ‘The Donald’ would ever get the nomination? I don’t think so and I don’t think they thought so either - they liked being presidential candidates and they liked the talk show circuit. If the R party can’t find a way for the serious candidates (For this exercise, I’m assuming Christie is serious) to be on a stage without being surrounded by a half dozen attention grabbing blowhards then they will never be able to nominate a serious candidate. When the debate is whether Obama is actually Satan or only one of his henchman, for example, or whether the gay destroys all of America or only families, it’s tough for a moderate to get a word in. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/73 "2013-11-22T16:50:48Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > The last couple of Republican campaigns have been chocked with a host of ‘candidates’ who’s only interest was in the publicity and in branding (as others have called it) themselves. Was there ever a chance that Herman Caine or, Og forbid, ‘The Donald’ would ever get the nomination? I don’t think so and I don’t think they thought so either - they liked being presidential candidates and they liked the talk show circuit. That’s going to happen this time, too. If the party was more settled those candidates wouldn’t get a lot of attention or wouldn’t convince themselves they could win. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/74 "2013-11-22T20:24:46Z")
> [@ILikeForeignLanguages](#): > > I was at a family party just recently and as the party was coming to an end, one of the last things to be brought up in discussion was politics. Just before he left to go back home, one of my family members commented that the 2016 election was currently predicted to be Chris Christie vs. Hillary Clinton, and, as it stands now, professionals say, Chris Christie would win. > What our your thoughts on this? Like or dislike? > I dislike it, personally. And the fact that Christie is not a conservative is not the sole reason I dislike it; I dislike it mostly because he has signed legislation as the governor of New Jersey that has infringed on people’s rights, and I take that as a huge red flag. You may not agree with the type of therapy he recently banned involving homosexuality, and you might even be glad he banned it, but that doesn’t mean he had any _right_\*\* to ban it, and I think this ban qualifies him as a possible future dictator, or, at the least, a path paver for a future dictator. I’m not jesting. Regardless of a politician’s political stance, be it liberal, conservative or moderate, the one thing they should always be evaluated by is their treatment of human rights track record. I know John McCain was not ultra-conservative either, but at least he hadn’t promoted any blatant human rights abuses back in 2008, so my family could comfortably and confidently cast their ballots for him, despite their more right-wing leanings. Nay. You’re new here, so you probably missed it, but I officially forbade the Republican Party from ever putting a candidate in the White House again. This was in, ummm, 2002, I think (it took a little while for it to kick in). ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/75 "2013-11-22T20:55:10Z")
> [@ILikeForeignLanguages](#): > > John McCain and Mitt Romney _did_\*\* distance themselves from that; they were not “far right loons;” they were moderate/liberal-republicans, and they both lost rather squarely. . I cannot agree. McCain was a ‘maverick’ in 2000, but had turned into a cranky old man who was slurping cranky conservative kool aid to get nominated. Romney never had any principles, moderate, conservative or otherwise. Didn’t we have some sort of chart about the ideas he both endorsed and atacked? > [@ILikeForeignLanguages](#): > > About 2 or 3 million people who would have voted for Mitt Romney decided to sit out the election and not vote in 2012. The reason they gave wasn’t that he was _too_\*\* conservative, it was that he wasn’t conservative _enough_\*\*. Is this an opinion, or do you have some data? It is difficult for me to believe that conservative voters would sit out an election because the republican wasn’t conservative ‘enough’ when the only alternate was ‘not conservative at all’. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/76 "2013-11-22T21:21:20Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > It is difficult for me to believe that conservative voters would sit out an election because the republican wasn’t conservative ‘enough’ when the only alternate was ‘not conservative at all’. I think you’re on to something there. Even the conservative/right-wing propaganda and glurge plays against the line of thought that suggests to sit the election out, with the heavy application of FUD and nostalgia for bygone days and the presentation of the Republican party/conservatism as the protector of such things. Even a less conservative Republican is still preferable and less frightening and uncertain than any Democrat to most right-leaning Republican voters. I mean, my Dad isn’t going to vote Democrat anytime soon, and in his mind, not voting is about as good as voting Democrat, and I think he’s fairly representative in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/77 "2013-11-22T21:39:04Z")
> [@ILikeForeignLanguages](#): > > I personally do not believe that people are born gay. What evidence do you have in support of that belief? > [@](#): > > The fact that offspring cannot come from a gay couple is proof enough for me that homosexuality is not a natural part of human existence. There are a large number of couples in the US who are incapable of having children. Homosexuals make up only a small percentage of them. Is homosexuality more unnatural than being post-menopausal? Why? Also, can you define how you’re using the word “natural” here? > [@](#): > > Further proof is the fact that homosexual behavior can cause sickness (AIDS). Homosexuality doesn’t cause AIDS. HIV causes AIDS. Far more heterosexuals world wide suffer from AIDS than do homosexuals. > [@](#): > > Just so I can make something clear before I wrap up this post: People like me, although we condemn homosexuality, are not hate-mongers; we don’t like being lumped with the Westboro Baptist Church, Faithful Word Baptist Church and other groups of that ilk. We believe that homosexuals are people, and we treat them as such, but that doesn’t mean we approve of their behavior. Yes, well, “hate-monger” does seem rather strong, I’ll grant you that. Although, honestly, why I should care what you _like_ is beyond me, given the attitudes you’ve already expressed about me in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/78 "2013-11-22T21:46:49Z")
“I don’t hate gay people! I just have utterly wrong beliefs about them and what they do that I use to advocate for not treating them like actual human beings!” ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/79 "2013-11-22T21:47:13Z")
What if? I love that term … 🙂 What if Christie lost the nomination for the Republican party, which I’m sure he will, and someone backed him to run for POUS as an independent? Who would he take votes from? The democrats or the republicans? Who was that man that ran as an independent in November 2000? Whoever he was kept Gore from beating out Bush in the by now famous presidential election of that year, because people said the votes he got would’ve gone to Gore. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/80 "2013-11-22T21:48:50Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > What if Christie lost the nomination for the Republican party, which I’m sure he will, and someone backed him to run for POUS as an independent? It’d be interesting, but one person wouldn’t be enough to do it. And I don’t think Christie would do it since unless he won his political career would probably be over. > [@](#): > > Who was that man that ran as an independent in November 2000? Ralph Nader. > [@](#): > > Whoever he was kept Gore from beating out Bush in the by now famous presidential election of that year, because people said the votes he got would’ve gone to Gore. They’re wrong. Nader pulled votes from Bush and Gore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448.md?page=5)