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The Spectacle Blog
At NRO a few days ago, Kathryn Lopez had this to say about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie:
“I am in the begging-a-man-who-said-he’d-rather-commit-suicide-than-run-for-president-is-pathetic camp myself.”
No insults intended to some of the people in the conservative movement whom I greatly admire and who are among the “Desperately Seeking Christie” hoardes, but Kathryn has a point. In fact, there’s an even bigger point to make: The entire American Idol mentality gripping the right these days is pathetic. The text-message attention span is pathetic. The failure to let time itself help vet a candidate is pathetic. The lack of patience — specifically, the patience needed to allow a new guy/gal on the scene to prove themselves through repeated actual conduct, rather than merely through strong words and a few, early, reformist stances — is pathetic. Have we lost our confidence so much that we must always chase the “new new thing” in vain hopes that this latest, newest candidate will be a savior? If so, that, too, is really pathetic.
Look, after less than two years, most of the Republican congressional class of 1994 still looked like principled reformers. By about seven years later, a disturbingly high proportion of them had proved themselves less principled (or even corrupt), careerist, compromised in the wrong ways, or politically inept.
When Buddy Roemer was elected governor in Louisiana he was seen as a great reformer, but by the end of one term he was asking his staffers to snap rubber bands against their wrists and say “cancel, cancel” to themselves every time they had a negative thought — and he came in third for re-election to a crook and a Nazi. Similar examples are legion. Two years is not enough time to judge a public official.
As for Christie, it really is a fair question how he could EVER, in this cycle, get over his “suicide before running” line or, worse, his repeated statements that he isn’t even ready — not yet experienced or knowledgeable enough — to be president. Obama would hang that around his ncek so many times that its weight would make Christie’s own girth a comparative trifle.
Meanwhile, Christie could easily find himself following the same trajectory as Fred Thompson four years ago or, to a lesser extent, Rick Perry in the past month: Enter high, then fade. Conservatives pining for him now like puppy-lovestruck teeny-boppers will soon start to balk at his global warming nonsense, perhaps his stance on immigration, surely his Second Amendment record, and some of his Cabinet appointments. Worse, they will see his inexcusable signature on what National Review called an “extraordinarily comprehensive” anti-bullying regime that is a disgusting example of nanny statism and that the New York Post said would both “outlaw” and “criminalize” childhood. And they will question his appointment to a judgeship of a Muslim (no problem) with worrisome ties to jihadist-supportive organizations (big problem). And they’ll start to remember that less than a month before he was elected, he was seen as anything cut a conservative hero; instead, he had run what until then seemed like a seriously bumbling campaign and looked to be possibly blowing a golden opportunity. This is not a man with a ton of poltiical experience or a seasoned team of operatives. And he hasn’t dealt much at all with national issues.
By the looks of things, Christie appears to be something of a gourmand. He should therefore value the adage to “serve no wine before its time.” Perhaps Christie’s national potential isn’t yet ready to be uncorked.
View all comments (16) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Quin Hillyer
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/09/30/why-christie-might-be-wise-to
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Rogue Elephant| 9.30.11 @ 1:49PM
Christie has also promised to commit economic suicide by shutting down coal plants and switching to offshore wind farms. He is an either an Obama-style environmental extremist or is soft in the head.
Plus, that's just plain stupid. We don't need four more years of stupid.
Teflon93| 9.30.11 @ 2:50PM
National Review is clearly no longer a conservative magazine.
There are plenty of legitimate conservatives in the current field one could expect the so-called flagship of the conservative movement to embrace: Bachmann, Santorum, Cain, and even Perry.
Instead, they play footsie with Romney while pushing another RINO candidacy.
It is a disgrace.
Bob| 9.30.11 @ 2:51PM
Fat-Fat-Fat-Fat-Fat-Fat-Fat-Fat
He would exceed weight restrictions on any aircraft.
martin j smith| 9.30.11 @ 3:14PM
Christei can do what he wants. But, if he comes in the race he better be prepared for Q & A and thus vetting. Then lets see who he really is.
PattyMor| 9.30.11 @ 3:32PM
Christie can run, but he can't hide. He'll be torn to shreds (figuratively) by Tea Party and other conservatives. Taking on the teachers unions does not make Christie into a conservative. Go ahead and jump into fray, and get burned as the electorate has NO stomach for RINO"S.
Occam's Tool| 9.30.11 @ 4:07PM
Some people are great Governors of New Jersey, and do that best, and may not do well if Peter -Principled.
Adlai Stevenson didn't do much harm to Illinois as Governor, after all.
Jeremy Janson | 9.30.11 @ 4:30PM
The problem though is that the vetting process doesn't really work anymore. Too many on the right-wing have shown themselves too ready to continue previous errors and stupidity in the name of "electability" and to cowardly side with whoever seems "moderate" as opposed to whoever is actually needed. Plus the minute right-wingers become convinced that someone can't win, they stop paying attention to what the actual evidence says and just stick to their emotional impulse. The result is that we don't vet for quality presidents anymore, just mossy toast candidates like Romney who seem like whatever existed before (Bush, in this case) and don't bring anything to the table.
Simon Templar| 9.30.11 @ 4:47PM
Odd, is it not that there seems to be big monied establishment republicans pushing Christie to run because they are not satisfied with current candidates? Now, we have Huckabee being approached as well by a group.
One thing does seem clear, however, and that is establishment progressive Republicans do not want a real conservative in the whitehouse.
Oldefarte| 9.30.11 @ 5:12PM
Quin's point is outstanding as usual, I have a slightly different take [same church, just different pew]. IMHO, this country is in desperate need of administrative/managerial experience, and the presidency is essentially a job requiring same in spades. Just look at the present occupant of the oval office, who has never managed/administered anything in his entire adult lifetime [and would not do so adequately, since his socialistic philosophy is completely opposite of our capitalistic country needs]. Who are the Republican candidates with adequate/proven/longterm administrative/managerial qualifications? I'd say Ginguich, Cain, Romney, and Perry [who all have demonstrated such qualities within either governorships or provate businesses]. We simply cannot afford to allow the inexperience and political socialism of the current office holder to continue for four more years, since he will completely destroy this country if allowed to remain in office. We need proven/demonstrated/stated capitalistic managerial abilities to right our economic/financial ship before it sinks and we all drown in the process!!!!!!!!!
Quartermaster| 9.30.11 @ 7:07PM
The Rep establishment wants a progressive because that is in the real Republican tradition. Conservatism, with an exception for a short period after Hoover, and recently, starting with Goldwater, is foreign to the party. The Dems used to be the conservative party, but their best were slaughtered in the war of northern aggression and the survivors fell to the same level as the Reps to survive politically.
There is no conservative party, and the establishment Reps would rather lose than tolerate a conservative. That's the reason for the Christie cries and why Rethuglicans are approaching Huckabee, and are pushing Romney. Those are their kinda guys.
Frankly, with what I am seeing, I will not be surprised to see Obama re-elected. You can thank the Rethuglicans for it too.
Note: Rethuglicans are the country club RINOs who are trying to stay in charge of the GOP.
Maxwell| 10.1.11 @ 12:27AM
Quartermaster, I am afraid that I will have to agree with you about Barry getting re-elected. If you Google 'the five things conservatives hate about Chris Christie' Google will return a list from New York magazine. CC is VERY anti gun, for MMGW, open borders (we have plenty of un documented here in Princeton & are a 'safe' city), you get the idea.
If Mittens or Chris Christie is the GOP ticket head, I'll just have to pass. Open a can of North East Republican, out comes a Democrat as I say.
Oldefarte| 10.1.11 @ 1:24PM
You are entirely incorrect and misguided. The current socialisitic occupant of the WH can thank the STUPIDS of this nation for his employment, since they were the ones who were brainwashed by his Hope & Change BS. Republicans did not elect him, and to state this is beyond ignorance and is pure stupidity. The liberal/progressive political machine [orchestrated by the Kennedys, the Pilosis, the Reids, the Gores, the Edwards, the Schumers, the Rangels, the Boxers, the Lees, the labor unions, academia, Hollywood etc all manipulated the STUPIDS into believing their message of THE MESSIAH. The Bush Administration's major mistake after 9/11/01 was in traditionally sending our military to fight a hopeless war in the ME [Vietnam style] and our citizens grew weary/tired of seeing the deaths/injuries etc from same over an extended period of time [these land wars are never won, because the enemy can drag out same to their own advantage;the enemy knows that America will soon grow tired of protracted foreign military engagements]. The Democrats used this disatisfaction to their political advantage by producing a teleprompted propagandist to believe the BS of his worded garbage, and America bought it STUPIDLY. In the last three years, the predictable result of 11/4/08 has come to pass [or as Wright would say, THE CHICKENS HAVE COME HOME TO ROOST]. If this country is to survive, the Republican candidate must be voted for, even if it be Romney, Christie etc [the more moderate of their candidates], since even they would represent a dedication to CAPITALISM [upon which this country is based and which is necessary for its economic survival], and therefore contrary to the SOCIALISM that is currently prevelent/dominent within the Democratic Party and its policies. If you believe that the current president represents traditional America, then you have not grown up in the country that I've lived in for 65 years. Also if you somehow believe that some nut-job libertarian senile Republican somehow represents survival for this country, then you're mentally sick [since there's no difference between the expressions of libertarianism and the socialism of the current regime]!!!!!!!!!!!!
Richard Baker| 9.30.11 @ 9:04PM
This nonsense about Christie's weight is juvenile. Sounds more like an elementary school recess taunt than anything else. Christie will never be President because his stand on various issues, as mentioned above, make him not a great deal different than the furball in the White House. One could only imagine what else he believes in that's just as absurd. As Governor of New Jersey he may be in his proper fit as a politician regardless of what Ann Coulter, who I agree with 99.9% of the time, believes.
Nite| 9.30.11 @ 10:09PM
Christie seems to be a good governor and is perfect for a liberal state. However, the conservatives and evangelicals would simply stay home in the election. I would not vote for him. We already have a liberal in the WH and see how that turned out.
martin j smith| 10.1.11 @ 1:38PM
I am not supporting any candidate in particular right now. They all need more exposure. There are some that seem to give the impression that if Christie get in-thats it-its all over. Or whoever. That attitude must be corrected by US. We must show these folks that this is not going to be 2008.
You had your chance with a moderate and you blew it. Vote with your eyes open. For me it will be each individual candidates performance,statements, managing adversity, the media and each other plus calling out the Socialists and Obama that will count. What will really make a difference is calling out the Socialists as being uncivil in discourse including class warfare and if violence ensues calling them out for incitement. Finally--the best candidate should be capable of explaining to the voters the choice they face: Socialist versus Free Enterprise
Europe versus America. Lets see what happens eh ?
yisong| 10.25.11 @ 8:47PM
Slewing bearing is also called slewing bearing, some people called: rotary support, swing support.