Showing posts with label Chris Christie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Christie. Show all posts

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Chris Christie Has Sold His Soul


I can't say I've ever liked Gov. Mike Huckabee. If I had any respect for him, it was tossed away when he and Rick Santorum went to Trump's rally during the primetime GOP debate. Mike & Rick, already on the return road to irrelevance, turned themselves into Trump's bumbling henchmen.

Chris Christie was something different. He is still the governor of New Jersey. He was very influential of the Republican Governors Association in 2014 and helped get a few Republican governors get elected. Now he has thrown his career away, and for what? I think Commentary's Noah Rothman said it best:
"Standing beside Donald Trump and endorsing the most unfit man to seek the presidency in my lifetime for the highest office in the land, Christie’s base careerism and disregard for the nation were exposed. Gone was the prosecutor who had ruthlessly fought corruption in New Jersey. In his place was a man defending Trump’s handling of the scam operation Trump University, which pitilessly bilked thousands out of their savings. Gone was the man who had scolded conservatives for indulging to bigotry by presuming an American Muslim jurist had to be an advocate for Sharia Law. Instead, there stood a figure linking arms with a demagogue who had proposed banning any Muslim entry into the United States – a proposal Christie had called “ridiculous” – and who dubiously cites the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 as constitutional precedent. Gone was the “straight talker” who “tells it like it is.” In his place is a man endorsing a serial compulsive liar who seems constitutionally incapable of honesty about himself, his record, or his beliefs, and who tells outrageous and slanderous lies about the heroes of his country and of his party. Gone was the conservative reformer who promised the necessary overhaul of the country’s entitlement programs. Instead, the diminutive figure debasing himself in the shadow of a reality television star now defends the unsustainable status quo in perpetuity and with no regard for fiscal realities. 
"For another few fleeting moments in the intoxicating light of the cable news cameras, Chris Christie has sacrificed every principle for which he once stood. Christie will spend the remainder of the campaign season aggressively compromising his integrity and shouting down anyone who refuses to abide the intolerable stench of hypocrisy that now accompanies his presence. This is a man who pounded the table when the facts were with him. Imagine the spectacle we will be forced to witness now that they’re not."

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

BetFair's 2016 GOP Presidential Candidate Watch

I'm glad BetFair exists. It gives us a little better idea where candidates may stand, as people put money on nominees. So how does it look right now?

1. Jeb Bush - 3.35 (12-5)
2. Marco Rubio - 7.8 (7-1)
3. Rand Paul - 8.2 (7-1)
4. Mitt Romney - 8.8 (8-1)
5. Scott Walker - 10.5 (9-1)
6. Chris Christie - 11 (10-1)
7. Ted Cruz - 15.5 (14-1)
8. Rick Perry - 18 (17-1)
9. Mike Huckabee - 21 (20-1)
10. Paul Ryan - 29 (27-1)

Next five:
Bobby Jindal, Mike Pence, Susana Martinez, Ben Carson, Rick Santorum

I gave my gut feeling on this topic a couple days ago, so it's nice to see confirmation on a lot of the positioning. It's been interesting to watch the Tea Party 4 (Paul, Rubio, Cruz, Lee) go four different directions. Lee's the only one clearly not running for president. Paul and Rubio have been tempering their responses to various issues, while Cruz is content to flamethrow. So far, the approaches by Paul and Rubio have been more effective.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's having a good showing early. He may find running too tempting a proposition to pass up.

Friday, July 6, 2012

GOP VP InTrade Watch - 7/6/12

From Intrade as of 7/6/12:

1. Rob Portman - 31%
2. Tim Pawlenty - 18.4%
3. Marco Rubio - 9.9%
4. Bobby Jindal - 6.3%
5. John Thune - 5.2%
6. Paul Ryan - 4.5%
7. Condoleeza Rice - 3.5%
8. Kelly Ayotte - 3%
9. Chris Christie - 2.5%
10. Cathy McMorris Rogers - 2.3%


There's a clear first and second place.  I think Rubio's stock has taken a hit with the is-he-or-isn't-he story of his vetting.  He just seems too young.  He might help with some Latino voters, and he'd be a stark contrast in a debate with Joe Biden, but he looks like he's 32.  Too young, I say.

Portman and Pawlenty is a battle between vanilla and white bread.  The Romney camapign thus far seem to be a taking a Hippocratic path in vice-presidential consideration.  First, let the nomination do no harm.  Portman should help clinch Ohio, a swing state, but then what?  Also, Pawlenty, who in hind-sight dropped out of the presidential race too early, may be able to help in the north, but really, it's so early.

I don't think Jindal's going to get it for similar reason to Rubio.  Nice, ethnic, but too young.  Thune and Ryan also seem like safe guys to partner with Romney.  Rice would be risky but interesting.  Risky in that she bridges back to the Bush Administration, but interesting in that she could help shore up Romney's foreign cred, and Rice is one of the few Bush Admin people who still has decent approval ratings.  Plus in politics, symbolism matters.  History-making matters.  She could be not only the first female vice-president but the first black female in either of the top two posts in the nation.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

GOP InTrade Watch

As of September 29.

It's been about six weeks since I last checked these numbers, which was right after the Iowa debate.

1. (1) Mitt Romney - 47.9%
2. (2) Rick Perry - 23.9%
3. (9) Chris Christie - 8.5%
4. (-) Herman Cain - 5.4%
5. (3) Sarah Palin - 4.5%
6. (4) Jon Huntsman - 4.0%
7. (10) Newt Gingrich - 2.9%
8. (7) Ron Paul - 2.5%
9. (6) Michelle Bachmann - 2.0%
10. (-) Mike Huckabee - 2.0%
-- Rick Santorum - 1.0%
-- Gary Johnson - 0.6%

Out of top 10: Tim Pawlenty, Rudy Guiliani

Six weeks ago, Romney and Perry were neck-and-neck. A couple more debates, and Romney's blown open a wide lead.

It's still amusing to me that two of the top five aren't running for president. Oh, Palin can tease. My hunch though is that there's a section of GOP donors who believe all she'd do is syphon votes from Perry and assure Romney's win, whereas Christie would syphon voters from both and could possibly win the nomination, providing he's a better debater than Perry.

Bachmann's fall after winning the Ames straw poll has been remarkable. "Wow, that was a fast implosion," said Howard Dean.

Santorum and now Johnson are wasting our time. I'd love it if the next debate was whittled down to seven. Or six.

Friday, March 18, 2011

InTrade Watch on GOP 2012 Nominee

InTrade's changed their look.

1. (1) Mitt Romney - 24.6%
2. (4) Tim Pawlenty - 18.1%
3. (2) Mitch Daniels - 10.2%
4. (3) Sarah Palin - 6.2%
5. (5) Mike Huckabee - 6%
6. (7) Newt Gingrich - 5.7%
7. (10) Michelle Bachmann - 4.3%
8. (9) Haley Barbour - 4.2%
9. (6) Jon Huntsman - 4%
10. (-) Chris Christie - 2.8%

Rising: Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Chris Christie
Falling: Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Jon Huntsman, John Thune (8)

Thune officially declared he wouldn't run for president, so he's dropped off. Christie has said repeatedly he won't run, but he still lands in the top ten with many a conservative hoping the New Jersey governor will change his mind.

There seem to be three camps right now. Camp #1 is for Mitt. Safe, front-runner, he's been vetted, he's good on the economy. Camp #2 is for the anti-Mitt, looking for someone with more charisma but still decent credentials, and right now their hopes seem to be with Tim Pawlenty. Camp #3 is the Tea Party, and as Palin's stock falls, Bachmann's rises.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

InTrade Watch on 2012 GOP Presidential Hopefuls - 1/11

The latest InTrade poll on the Republican nominee for president in 2012, based on Bid%.

1. (1) Mitt Romney - 21%
2. (2) Sarah Palin - 13%
3. (3) John Thune - 11.7%
4. (6) Tim Pawlenty - 8.8%
5. (4) Mike Huckabee - 8.4%
6. (5) Mitch Daniels - 7.9%
7. (9) Newt Gingrich - 4.2%
8. (8) Mike Pence - 3.1%
9. (7) Haley Barbour - 2%
10. (-) Chris Christie - 1.8%

Rising: Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels
Falling: Sarah Palin, Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush (10)

Sarah Palin has taken a hit in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting. She was at 19% last month.

Tim Pawlenty is pacing himself nicely, about what Huckabee was doing in 2007.

There are seem to be many Republicans who are positioning themselves for 2016, assuming the GOP nominee loses in 2012. They include Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Jon Huntsman, Bobby Jindal and Rick Perry.

A recent Iowa caucus poll had their top five as:

Mike Huckabee - 24%
Mitt Romney - 19%
Sarah Palin - 11%
Newt Gingrich - 8%
Tim Pawlenty - 4%