The newest flavor of the month in all the chaos of finding a potentially suitable GOP nominee to take down President Obama seems to be New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Chris Christie (flickr image By Marissa Babin)
But for those of us who follow politics carefully, upon hearing the clamor for Governor Christie to run because he is such a Conservative, a collective "What" could be heard echoing across the entire political spectrum.
Christie may be a lot of things, but a Conservative he is not. I would classify the man as a moderate at best, leaning toward the progressive.
The base of the GOP, who are generally the most active in the early primary states, would certainly take exception with Governor Christie's positions on some of their most important issues. This radical group of potential voters had short courtships with Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry. But when those who are adored by the Tea Party take center stage, they seem to dissolve into nothingness right before our eyes.
Governor Christie has not been scrutinized, as of yet, and his only limelight performance was at the sacred shrine, the Reagan Library. He did the usual obligatory Obama-bashing that the GOP cannot get enough of, but he was unable to quench their thirst for a potentially viable opponent to the President, as he refused to make a commitment to the crowd by agreeing to jump into the abyss as a candidate. If he does throw his hat into the Republican Party ring, I am sure that many on the far-right will be totally turned off by his record.
One position that the base would not tolerate which Christie has openly supported is that illegal immigrants should be afforded a clear path to citizenship. Christie told the "Politico' that being in this country illegally is not a crime. But the GOPer base views his position as amnesty. Oops!
Christie also has been outspoken when it comes to gun ownership rights, a topic that has always been considered untouchable by Republicans. The Governor does not believe it is a good idea for everyone to be walking around in our cities toting guns. Oh-oh!
Christie is also not that big of an Obama-hater. The governor actually supports the President's "Race to the Top' federal education program because, as was reported in "New York Magazine,' he applied for its funds and is considered by Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, to be an ally and leader on the issue. Oh-no!
Governor Christie has also proven himself not to be a Muslim-hater, which seems to be a pre-requisite for a GOP presidential hopeful. He actually said that the mosque at ground zero outrage "was being used as a political football by both parties," New York Magazine reported.
Along these same lines, the Governor actually appointed a Muslim lawyer, Sohail Mohammed, to the New Jersey Superior Court. Wouldn't the Tea Party people think that this guy would instate Sharia Law in New Jersey? I think they just might.
But probably Governor Christie's biggest flaw, at least to the Evangelical-Tea Party- base, would be that he actually believes in science. AP reports show that Governor Christie stated just last month that "Climate change is real." He went on to say that when "90 percent of the world's scientists who have studied this stating that climate change is occurring and that humans play a contributing role, its time to defer to the experts." Who knows; Christie probably even believes in evolution. Oh-my!
Let's face it, Governor Chris Christie is just too rational and reasonable to please the radical, right-wing, tea bagging-base of the Republican Party. The Governor will just never be able to stoop that low!
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