After two weeks of “considering,” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is expected to announce that he’s not running for president. It’s odd that he even has to announce he’s not running. Christie has been adamant for months he’s not running for president. It’s too late for him to get in the race and I’m not even sure there’s a path to the nomination with Mitt Romney in the race. There’s certainly a lot to like about Christie, but he’s more liberal than Mitt Romney.
Where does that leave the race? There are two choices. It’s Romney versus Anti-Romney. Over the past month Romney’s support has remained the same and the Anti-Romney canidate has been represented by Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and now Herman Cain. Perry has crashed since the last debate because he’s too liberal on immigration and the HPV vaccine. Can Mitt Romney become the nominee just because there’s no viable alternative? That appears to be Romney’s path to the nomination.
The next two weeks will be big for Rick Perry as conservatives realize that the Mitt Romney nomination is inevitable if conservatives do not rally around a candidate. Michele Bachmann has already faded out. I’m not sure Herman Cain has staying power.
Perry Surging: The first poll after the Perry announcement has him up big in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. For the moment this is probably his high water mark. A candidate is never as good as they are the moment they jump in the race. Perry has already put his foot in his mouth and there’s a lot of campaigning to do before Super Tuesday. Also, there are rumblings that Paul Ryan and Chris Christie are thinking about joining Perry in the race. I’m sure Romney is hoping that is true, but it’s getting late for anyone to get in now.
Even the Clouds are Racist: How can anyone take MSNBC seriously? Ed Schultz took to the airwaves claiming that Rick Perry was making veiled racist remarks about President Obama by saying there’s a “black cloud hanging over America.” Schultz edited the video in the worst possible way, but it’s still clear that Perry is talking about the national debt and not the President.
Killer TV: Watching TV can lead to a shorter life. At least that’s what researchers say. One hour of TV can shorten the average lifespan by 22 minutes. I am always leery of studies like this because I’m not convinced it’s accurate. How long before those in favor of the nanny state start advocating for the abolition of TV?
History tells us that the President almost always wins a standoff with Congress. The President has the bully pulpit. President Obama has wielded this power with three press conferences in three weeks. Obama is also aided by a press that is unwilling to point out his hypocrisy and the fact that he has no plan. Obama is the king of nebulous rhetoric. Pay no attention to what he says because the true measure of the man are his actions.
Back in December President Obama refused to raise taxes and in the past he’s on record as saying, “You don’t raise taxes in a recession.” Obama’s obsession with raising taxes would be bewildering if you believed he had the nation’s best interests in mind. Obama fanatics love to cite the President’s “intelligence,” but his current position is sickest form of cynical politics. The President’s position is political. He has chosen his political future over the nation’s economy. New Jersey Governor Chris Cristie’s characterization of the “old playbook” is the embodiment of Obama.
The 2008 Obama campaign slogan was hope and change, but the President’s true mantra is to lie, deceive, obfuscate, make it to the next election. President Obama’s position is to appease the left. They have become disillusioned with some of Obama’s policies, but nothing fires up the base up more than tax increases. Obama also hopes to splinter the GOP and blame Bush for the economy. If he’s able to get tax increases he hopes it would crush the GOP. He is far from a brilliant tactician because this move would seal his fate as a horrible one term president.
Obama will not be running against the House GOP in 2012. He’ll most likely be running against a Washington “outsider” who will point out that Obama raised taxes during the worst recession in a generation. The President can blame Bush until he’s blue in the face but raising taxes now is dumb. Obama will be the President who faced an entitlement crisis and shrugged. The President decided it was more important to increase entitlements, spending, and taxes.
The only thing that can rescue Obama’s presidency is luck. How much more can he have left? So many people on the left cited Obama as the arrival of a new kind of politician. I know most liberals have their blinders on and can’t admit to themselves what is happening. He’s the worst kind of politician. All of his promises were lies. Liberals, you’ve been had. For the first time in Obama’s life he’ll have to run on his record. President Obama’s record is debt, taxes, war, new entitlements, and a bad economy.
Will he or won't he?
If you want to seriously run for President, time is running out. Last night CNN held a presidential debate in New Hampshire. There are about a million things more entertaining than watching a faux debate 17 months before election day. Read Club Soda’s post and check out Hot Air’s winners and losers for a recap.
I won’t go into a candidate analysis until the field is set. However, things are getting closer to having a complete field. It’s possible that someone could jump in late, but it’s not likely to change the race. The campaign infrastructure is being built right now. Plus, the Romney, Pawlenty and Bachmann campaigns will be raising money over the next six months to gear up for Iowa and New Hampshire. That’s a difficult head start to overcome.
There are four top tier candidates who could declare right now: Chris Christie, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Paul Ryan. I don’t think Palin will run this time around; however, she might have a tremendous influence on who gets the nomination if she chooses to endorse a candidate. Paul Ryan and Chris Christie are adamant that they’re not running and it doesn’t appear that they will change their minds. Ryan could still potentially be a great running mate for the eventually nominee. That leaves Texas governor Rick Perry.
Supposedly Rick Perry is “thinking” about running for president. Great, so am I. So is Donald Trump. If Perry is serious he’ll have to make a decision soon for all the reasons I listed above. Perry isn’t a friend of the GOP establishment. Normally that would be a huge problem, but this would likely a huge plus for his potential candidacy. People don’t want Bush 3.0. The fact that Karl Rove and George Bush aren’t on board the Perry Train is a plus. However, Perry can’t wait three months to get in the race.
The country is need of real leadership. A half-hearted attempt at running for president isn’t going to cut it.
Here are a few deranged tweets about Rick Perry. Enjoy!
There you have it. Rick Perry is “pure evil.” Is it really surprising that the Associated Press is still floating this picture around? Kathryn Scags’ Twitter profile says that she’s an Atheist, and a recovering Catholic. Apparently Atheists are experts on what is evil. Who knew?
Here is a quote by President Obama from January 10, 2010:
“We’re not going to be able to do anything about any of these entitlements if what we do is characterize whatever proposals are put out there as, ‘Well, you know, that’s — the other party’s being irresponsible. The other party is trying to hurt our senior citizens. That the other party is doing X, Y, Z.”
And, here is a quote from President Obama’s speech yesterday:
“One vision has been championed by Republicans in the House of Representatives and embraced by several of their party’s presidential candidates…This is a vision that says up to 50 million Americans have to lose their health insurance in order for us to reduce the deficit. And who are those 50 million Americans? Many are someone’s grandparents who wouldn’t be able afford nursing home care without Medicaid. Many are poor children. Some are middle-class families who have children with autism or Down’s syndrome. Some are kids with disabilities so severe that they require 24-hour care. These are the Americans we’d be telling to fend for themselves.”
It’s quite apparent that by almost any conceivable measure President Obama has increased the partisanship in Washington. His 2008 election promises were a deception and his speech yesterday was a disgrace to the office.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie quite astutely pointed out a few weeks ago what is so readily apparent about today’s politician in Washington.
“The old playbook says lie, deceive, obfuscate, make it to the next election … What game is being played down here is irresponsible and dangerous.”
Instead of looking at our financial problems in an honest way the President has decided to lie. He doesn’t have a logical plan to offer. It’s obvious that the Democrats don’t have any idea what to do other than raise taxes and cut defense. Doing both will not solve the problem. At this point the Democrats are the problem
I haven’t analyzed New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s political positions enough to formulate an opinion. However, the GOP field for 2012 is weak on enthusiasm and there’s a huge buzz about Christie right now. The biggest part of the appeal is that Christie is speaking frankly about the problems the nation is facing. What sets Christie apart is that he is not tiptoeing around our problems.
If Christie decided to run it will likely take a groundswell of support. He’s been adamant that he is not going to run. I admire the fact that he wants to finish the job, but the call of the White House may end up being too much.
Bill Palatucci, often described as Christie’s “political godfather,” said that not forming such a fundraising committee would be “leaving money on the table.”
The comments came in an interview with the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill, N.J., published Sunday. Palatucci, Christie’s former law partner, made the remarks even as he tried throwing cold water on the notion that the governor — who’s gotten acclaim from national Republicans — is taking steps designed toward a presidential run.
“If reporters would look for a second below the surface, they’d see I’ve never been to Iowa,” Palatucci said, adding that another adviser, Mike DuHaime, “has not been to New Hampshire. There have been no lawyers hired to advise or investigate a presidential run.”
This will be a bigger story as we approach the end of the year. Christie will ultimately have to make a decision by October/November if he wants to make a serious run. Typically that would be too late, but there’s no consensus favorite going into the nomination process. This race is wide open.
If we’re ever going to put a halt to the ballooning and unsustainable growth of the federal government, we need someone who’s willing to throw their weight around, both literally and figuratively. The time for lightweight, reach-across-the-aisle, wussie boys, a.k.a., Lindsey Graham, et al, is over. The time for fat guys who like to rumble is officially here.
My favorite fat guy who fits the bill is New Jersey governor Chris Christie. He has the two traits I most admire in a politician: Fat slobbery and big bullying. When tolerant lefties like Ed Schulz, who are busy elevating the political dialogue, can do no better than call someone names (“He’s a cold-hearted fat slob,” for instance), we’ve found a winner.
I run into self-proclaimed “liberals” who spout this meme about Christie in its various forms: “He’s a big, fat bully,” or, “He’s a mean, fat guy,” or “He’s a big jerk,” and so on. Then, when asked to defend their defamation they basically repeat themselves but put the words in a different order. But facts and critical thinking have never been the strong suit of the progressive mindset. It’s all about “feelings” and “fairness” and other ludicrous, unattainable and irrational notions. When in doubt, call someone ugly names or ask people to pray for their death. Then, turn right around and wail and cry about incivility and the lack of “tolerance” in the public discourse.
That’s exactly what the left has attempted to do to Christie. When the governor defends his policies with straight talk, they turn him into a hideous monster brow beating old ladies and saintly teachers who are all about the children (and their pensions, free health care, time off and tenure).
What they fail to mention is that he’s simply being honest. It’s terribly frustrating when people say they want politicians to be forthright and transparent, but when they actually are they’re portrayed as mean spirited bullies (cue violins and tears). No wonder there are so few politicians we can trust. What honest person would want to put up with that nonsense?
Fortunately, Chris Christie has and does put up with it, and he dishes it right back. However, when Christie dishes, he simply states the facts. The crap he has to put up with, on the other hand, truly is mean-spirited and distasteful. Check out this video where Christie discusses the tone of the political discourse in New Jersey and decide for yourself who’s really the bully and who’s really on the side of the people…
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBaVvLmoE38
My biggest disappoint about the current Obama administration isn’t the president’s policies. I’m a conservative libertarian. It wasn’t likely I was going to agree with much the President had to offer. When Obama ran for office he branded himself as a new kind of politician. The kind of politician that would shoot straight with the American people. I hoped that Obama would rise to the occasion and embrace honesty. He has fallen pitifully short.
There’s nothing new about Obama. He’s the prototypical politician. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie summed up what I feel in a speech yesterday.
The old playbook says lie, deceive, obfuscate, make it to the next election … What game is being played down here is irresponsible and dangerous.
I’m not sure if Christie is a new kind of politician either, but his statement is correct. Obama has taken to the airwaves to lie about his budget. That’s the nicest way of putting it. The President’s number one priority is to get reelected. He could care less what it takes to achieve that goal. Lying about the budget is a means to an end. Here’s the President’s statement.
“My budget freezes spending for five years, and what that does is it solves the short-term problem by saying, we’re not going to spend any more money than we’re taking in.”
Obama’s claims are insulting to any knowledgeable person. The White House’s own budget tables make it clear that in every year of the President’s budget, the federal government would spend more than it takes in. This isn’t a petty disagreement, it’s the transparent facts.
I realize tackling the fiscal problems this nation faces isn’t going to be popular. Reforming entitlements is going to be a very difficult situation. People are going to have to sacrifice. The federal government can’t deliver on its promise. However, the President seems to be living in denial and unfortunately many on the left are as well.
For the United States to climb out of this hole it’s going to take real leadership. Right now there’s not an abundance of courage in Washington.
Here is what adult leadership is supposed to sound like. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie sounds like he gets it. This sounds like a breath of fresh air compared to what’s coming out of Washington. Is Christie 2012 too soon? Before Obama became President I would have said yes, but basically anyone is qualified for the White House now.
I saw this video a couple of days ago and I haven’t had time to post it. It’s too early to tell if New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie will be successful, but I do like his frank tone.
Christie’s rhetoric sounds great but we’ll see if he means business. So far he’s saying and doing all the right things. The fiscal decisions we’re facing aren’t going to be popular. The reason government spending is so high is because politicians are adept at creating programs that are popular. The first politician that’s serious about reducing our spending will be labeled anti-elderly, anti-education and anti-military. It’s going to take a special kind of person to lead us out of this mess.
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