I guess Christie’s chances depend on his willingness to move right during the primaries. Considering the loudest Republican response to Romney’s loss (“he wasn’t conservative enough”), I doubt the primary electorate will embrace him without that. Post-primary, the question will be how far he had to move right and how gracefully he can shed whatever it was he said.
You have to be able to move right credibly, and the smart way to do that is to emphasize where you’re conservative while glossing over where you’re not. And being more partisan than your opponents. That’s how Dean became the darling of the left despite a pretty moderate record. No one could beat Dean in GWB hatred, which is what Democratic primary voters wanted more than anything else.
I don’t know why I’m bothering, but he didn’t do that, because there is no such thing. All national parks require staffing, and he didn’t close them, the Republicans in Congress did by shutting down the government.
My apologies, adaher. I lost the proper reference.
I see a number of articles on the leaked emails. The Wall Street Journal has a very similar one, which will make it much harder to attack than the Huffington Post. And an even longer account appears on NorthJersey.com. When the WSJ gets involved every other news organization will have to follow it up.
The pettiness of the revenge and the fact that it affected schoolchildren is what’s making it linger. And the blatantness of the emails are too delicious to ignore.
Try2B Comprehensive, that’s why this minor incident is more telling than ALEC. Backroom influence is impossible to bring across in a campaign. The displays must be public. Congress is public. ALEC is not.
Don’t be ridiculous. Obama was the cause of the shutdown. Ted Cruz said so.
There was some information leaked in early November about why Romney rejected Christie (described here). I didn’t follow it too closely, and looking back, the supposed ‘scandal’ was a Justice Department investigation into his overspending with travel on a trip.
The Democratic Party did have a chance to find dirt on him in both elections, but there’s really nothing like the trial a candidate goes through when running for President. Not only are there better resources and higher stakes, but the bar for the hypothetical wrongdoing is much lower.
In the end, though, I think Christie’s main problem is the same thing that makes him a popular governor: as you said, he’s careless about what comes out of his mouth. This makes him seem human and relatable, but it also makes for a campaign like a ticking time bomb. For his opponent, it’s only a matter of waiting until he puts his foot in his mouth.
I’m shocked (honestly) to see that Christie’s office apparently was involved in creating bridge traffic jam.
Silly me. I thought ALEC meant “A lesser-evil candidate.”
I think Christie is unfit for office, and I’m not alone. There is absolutely no doubt that Christie staffers planned to make mischief and then rejoiced in it, even dismissing the affected school kids as children of parents who vote the wrong way. This is a shocking abuse of power and they put people in real danger with no qualms. Time for a recall.
Yeah, you don’t mess with commuter traffic in the Greater New York City area. That’s their third rail (no subway pun intended).
Such a strange and stupid scandal. It’s almost cartoon-villain like… “if you don’t endorse me, I’m going to… snarl your town’s traffic!”
Weird, buffoonish stuff.
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Christie trying to mess with traffic should increase his favorables with liberals… after all, liberals love it when the government gets involved with their lives!
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And a Liberal plan to get people to use mass transit more.
Particularly because his election wasn’t in any real doubt, and that endorsement meant nothing.
Good point, but Christie is not going to be the best Obama hater in the field.
Well, the traffic jam story has picked up legs. Now that WSJ has it, both the NYT and WP have picked it up.
I have doubts about it’s ability to really hurt Christie, but it could help establish a narrative that he doesn’t want and force him on some defense.
Two realities.
Jonathon, CNN is carrying it too, and I disagree. I think he’s sunk as a Presidential candidate. It’s not too abstract for the average voter to care about or comprehend, it’s blatant, and impossible defend beyond “I had no idea my direct reports were taking it upon themselves to behave in this way”.
I disagree. We’ve all been in traffic jams and can relate to those who were victimized by Christie’s boorish, vindictive behavior. That he would do this and make people suffer in the way that we all have is something that is going to stick. It defies credibility that the Deputy Chief of Staff is going to do this on her own. If she gets subpoenaed by the legislature and if she doesn’t fall on her sword for Christie, that cinches it. He’s done. As he might be by now anyway.
He is claiming now that he had no idea this was going on. Any chance this excuse passes the smell test?