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The Truth About Christie

Chris ChristieChris Christie, ever since he won the governorship of New Jersey, has become a sort of celebrity in the political world, demonstrating that it is possible to be successful as a Republican in a liberal state. He spoke at last year’s Republican National Convention, giving a rousing speech in favor of right-wing politics. However, his actual policies and standpoints paint a rather different picture of his actual position, and as a projected 2016 presidential candidate, this is worth exploring.

First, Christie is center-left on gun control. He supports New Jersey’s gun laws, which are more stringent than the recent bills proposed on the subject in Congress. With this becoming more and more of a hot-button issue, especially in light of the aforementioned legislation and several mass-shootings, it is more important than ever for the Republican party to have a unified stance. When the leaders of the party start denying core values, we begin to get the kind of candidates that we had for president in 2008 and 2012.

Second, he expanded Medicaid in New Jersey. Again, in a time when healthcare issues are becoming central points of contention between the two parties, Republicans need to put forward a staunch opposition to creating more need for federal money to go into this sector. When even the conservatives are pushing for increased federal healthcare spending, hope for eventual retirement of these programs begins to fade. Indeed, Christie’s choices here beg the question, “What exactly are conservatives fighting for anymore?”

Sadly, the list goes on. Christie supports full equality for same-sex civil unions, however, he did veto same-sex marriage. I believe the latter action could be considered a mere political ploy to draw favor from the religious right in his state. So not only is he a leftist on this particular issue, he’s also pusillanimous. If the man can’t even admit that he wants to delete traditional marriage as a value of the right, then we should not allow him to hold any kind of sway in the party. The most important quality in a leader is commitment to principle, even if that means alienating some. Christie does not have this trait, and therefore should not be considered a leader in the Republican party.

Finally, his willingness to buddy up with Barack Obama is sickening. Being seen so much with the most liberal of all modern American political leaders would be considered political suicide for any serious conservative. Which makes one wonder who exactly Christie plans on selling himself to in the coming races. Doubtless he needs to get votes in one of the more liberal states in the union, but it would more commendable if he did so without attempting to create an alliance with outright enemies of his party.

Christie, though a well-known Republican, must either change drastically before primary season begins or he needs to make some hard choices about continuing in the party. After the biting defeats of McCain and Romney, Christie looks like one of the old guard GOP, trying to build bridges with the other side by shamelessly compromising on key issues. He has demonstrated that he can win, but will he do anything truly worthwhile, as a fiscal liberal and a social centrist, once in office is a different issue. Until he shows that he will not throw the party’s base under the bus in order to win political favor, it would be unwise and counter-productive support him.

 

 

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