I can’t for the life of me understand why some misguided or plain silly GOP establishment types are going gaga for New Jersey Gov Chris Christie.
Yeah, he’s doing a good job for the people of New Jersey because he’s fiscally conservative.
But, the same can be said about New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, but is Bloomberg a true conservative in all matters? Not when he wants to control the salt contents in food.
Such is the case with Chris Christie, he’s Democrat-lite with a bigger mouth and a record that conservatives would quickly dismiss once they see his warts.
5 things conservatives will hate about Chris Christie
New York Magazine
1. Illegal Immigration
The biggest chink in Rick Perry's armor so far has been his record on illegal immigration — specifically, the legislation he passed as governor to allow illegal immigrants to pay the in-state tuition rate when attending state colleges and universities. It's this policy that has led many Republicans to question whether Perry really gets illegal immigration at all. But Chris Christie is hardly the ally that illegal-immigration foes are looking for. In 2010, Christie told Politico that America needs to come up with a "clear path to citizenship." He didn't say "for illegal immigrants," but since America already has a clear path to citizenship for legal immigrants, that's what he meant. This is an entirely reasonable and mainstream position, but in much of the GOP, they call it "amnesty."
Christie's opponents could also point to the time he insisted that being in the country illegally is not a crime but an "administrative matter." He's right — simply overstaying your visa, for example, can get you deported but can't land you in jail. But to impassioned illegal-immigration warriors, we're not sure the nuance will be appreciated.
Then there's Christie's record on illegal immigration as a U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, the job he held before he became governor. Back in 2008, Bill Tucker, a producer on Lou Dobbs's now-deceased CNN show, could only find thirteen illegal-immigration cases prosecuted by Christie's office between 2002 and 2007. Tucker compared that to the U.S. Attorney's office in Kansas, which, despite a much smaller population, prosecuted 597 cases in the same time period. "This man is an utter embarrassment," Dobbs wailed.
2. Gun Control
In an October 2009 appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show, Christie voiced support for some gun-control laws:
HANNITY: Are there any issues where you are, quote, moderate to left as a Republican?
CHRISTIE: Listen, I favor some of the gun-control measures we have in New Jersey.
HANNITY: Bad idea.
CHRISTIE: Listen, we have a densely-populated state, and there's a big hand gun problem in New Jersey. Now, I don't support all the things that the governor supports by a long stretch. But I think on guns — certain gun control issues, looking at it from a law-enforcement perspective, seeing how many police officers were killed, we have an illegal gun problem in New Jersey.
HANNITY: Should every — should every citizen in the state be allowed to get a licensed weapon if they want one?
CHRISTIE: In New Jersey, that's not going to happen, Sean.
HANNITY: Why?
CHRISTIE: Listen, the Democratic legislature we have, there's no way those type of things — listen, at the end of the day, what I support are common sense laws that will allow people to protect themselves, but I also am very concerned about the safety of our police officers on the streets, very concerned. And I want to make sure that we don't have an abundance of guns out there.
Again, most people believe in having some "common sense" gun-control laws. But when politicians say "common sense gun-control laws," conservatives hear "seize all weapons and ban hunting and make everyone eat tofu." Compare Christie's even-handedness on guns to Perry, who literally goes jogging with a laser-sighted pistol in case he needs to shoot any coyotes. When Perry was asked earlier this month whether the supports gun control, he responded, "I am actually for gun control. Use both hands."
More here
Tactically, if Christie were to enter the race it can be good news for Rick Perry because Christie would compete for Mitt Romney voters.
Memeorandum
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