Don't believe the hype. Chris Christie is a true right-winger [View all]
Chris Christie is no moderate
Don't believe the hype. Despite a CPAC snub and hostility from conservatives, Chris Christie is a true right-winger
BY STEVE KORNACKI
Chris Christie’s reputation as a moderate – even by the standards of today’s Republican Party – is vastly overrated. This is a key point to keep in mind this week, with the news that organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference have snubbed the New Jersey governor.
The official explanation from Al Cardenas, the conference’s chief organizer: “CPAC is like the all-star game for professional athletes; you get invited when you have had an outstanding year.” Christie, apparently thanks to his loud public criticism of House Republicans when they delayed passage of a Sandy relief package, was deemed to have had a sub-par year.
The prevailing interpretation is that, as Nate Silver put it, this is “an ominous sign” for Christie as he positions himself for a potential run for the 2016 Republican nomination. The logic is understandable: The invisible primary has already begun, the terms of debate within the party are being set, and judgments are being formed by key opinion leaders. Christie, the thinking goes, has been exposed for holding views that are out-of-step with the conservative movement on the issues it most cares about – and the CPAC snub is a sign that the right is getting ready to write him off.
But I don’t think that’s quite what’s going on here, or that Christie faces anything like the intraparty peril that many are now suggesting.
more
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/chris_christies_premature_obituary/
= new reply since forum marked as read
