Well Chris Christie has finally made official what
many of us had known, or had long suspected, was coming. And that would be that he has now declared
himself to be a candidate for president in 2016. And while all of his rhetoric sounded pretty
good, it was really all nothing more than we’ve all heard may times before, by
many others only to hear the tune change, and rather drastically, once the
office sought has been safely secured.
Where I once was a fan of Mr. Christie, I am no longer. I’ve moved on, so to speak, to those who do
more than simply call themselves a conservative.
And so it was just yesterday that those choosing to
tune in got to watch Christie as he returned to his alma mater to formally
announce his 2016 presidential bid, embracing his blunt-talking persona as he
strives to stand out from what has now become a rather crowded GOP field. It was from the podium there at Livingston
High School, standing with his wife and children that, in sounding rather
reminiscent of Barry’s declaration that it was he who we had been waiting for,
Christie said, “I mean what I say and I say what I mean, and that’s what America
needs right now.”
At times, Christie, who delivered his remarks while
standing in front of a large American flag and without a teleprompter, sharply
criticized both Republicans and Democrats alike. He said, “Both parties have failed our
country,” he said, declaring he is “out to change the world.” He went on to say, "We need to have
strength and decision-making and authority back in the Oval Office.” And then he added, “And that is why today I
am proud to announce my candidacy for the Republican nomination for president
of the United States of America."
Christie spent much of his 20-minute speech reintroducing
himself to a national audience that’s seen him fade from favor among the GOP
faithful, yours truly included. Days
earlier, he launched a website under the campaign slogan, "Telling It Like
It Is." Christie slammed the
persistent bickering in Washington, saying, “compromise is now a dirty word,”
and also took aim at Barry “Almighty's” disastrous foreign policy record. He said Barry's "second mate, Hillary
Clinton" should not be allowed to take charge after years of "weak
and feckless foreign policy."
Once considered an early front-runner, Christie and
his camp hope to rebuild momentum as the race for the White House gets under
way. The "Bridgegate" scandal set his national profile back, but his
team is still looking for an opening among a diverse cast of GOP primary
candidates. Christie is one of four
current governors in the mix on the GOP side. He joins Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, who
announced his candidacy last week, as well as expected candidates Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Their announcements are expected in July.
Christie said Americans are filled with anxiety
because “they look to Washington, D.C., and they see not only a government that
doesn’t work anymore, it doesn’t even talk to each other anymore. It doesn’t even pretend to work anymore. We have a president in the Oval Office who
ignores Congress, and a Congress who ignores the president.” But Christie strikes me as being too much
like those whom we now have in Congress on the GOP side who have been far too
accommodating, especially since taking control of Congress, giving him much if
what he has wanted.
More recently, though, Christie has dealt with a
lengthy criminal investigation over his staff’s involvement in a politically
motivated bridge closure. Christie has
maintained he was not involved in the matter.
Now look, let me be very clear about something, my opinion of Christie
as a candidate notwithstanding. This
supposed scandal involving the closing of some bridge pales in comparison when
held against what has become nothing short of a laundry list of scandals that
surround not only this president but also the number one Democrat presidential
contender for 2016.
Let me be right up front here regarding the reason
why I feel the way I do about Mr. Christie and his decision to run for
president. While I am not usually one of
those folks who typically holds a grudge, it’s in the case of Mr. Christie that
I’m willing to make an exception.
Because to this day I feel that he deserted Mitt Romney at what was a
very critical time on the 2012 campaign and when you combine that with what appeared
to be a real bro-mance between him and Barry as recently as 2013, there is
simply no way in Hell that I can ever see myself voting for him for president.
Christie may be a lot of things, but what he is not
is a conservative. At least not in the
truest sense of the word, but in the sense that it’s his kind of conservative
that we seem to already have too many of in Washington. He’s one of those who many of us refer to as
being a RINO, and one who confidently brandishes the moniker of conservative
during the campaign and then, once safely elected, conveniently comes down with
a case of political amnesia. He is
simply not one who can be trusted, and the fact is we already have an
over-abundance of his kind of conservative.
At this point in time, and I honestly don’t see
myself changing my mind about him. There
are others in this current group of 14 whom I view as being far more
conservative and far more trustworthy. As far as I’m concerned out of the current
batch its Christie, Bush, Rubio, Pataki and Graham who can be immediately
discounted. Nor am I fan of John Kasich
who is apparently getting ready to throw his hat into the rapidly expanding
ring. And to be honest, despite some of
his recent comments, I’m not a fan of Mike Huckabee. We need to be very selective this time.
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