Chris Christie announces that it's Giuliani Time
by digby
So Chris Christie went full-Rudy at a GOP Governor's meeting in Colorado today and took a swipe at Rand Paul:
This strain of libertarianism that’s going through parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought. You can name any number of people and (Paul is) one of them...These esoteric, intellectual debates — I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. And they won’t, because that’s a much tougher conversation to have...The next attack that comes, that kills thousands of Americans as a result, people are going to be looking back on the people having this intellectual debate and wondering whether they put …(trails off)
Surprised? You shouldn't be. Christie's whole schtick is about being the biggest bully on the block. Hopefully, it will disabuse some he-man-loving Indies and Dems (of the Mccain swoon variety) of the idea that he's some kind of hybrid Republican. He's the real thing, all the way.
This analysis by Alec MacGillis is right on. It concludes with this:
Finally, follow the money. Christie’s big backers – the millionaires and billionaires who were urging him to run in 2012 – are from the school of conservatives who are liberal on social issues such as same-sex marriage but take a hard-line orthodoxy on tax-cutting and favor an aggressive security posture at home and abroad. The classic example of this type is Paul Singer, the hedge fund titan who helped lead the push for Christie in 2012 and who, at a 2010 fundraiser, railed on and on about “the Obama administration’s inadequate support for Israel.”
This is the realm from which Christie hails. It is why it is wrong to simply cast him as a softie moderate because he’s willing to walk on the beach with Barack Obama. On the national security front, Christie is anything but soft, and as the remarks in Aspen reflect, he’s more than willing to play rough with appeals to the emotions. Yes, the debates in Des Moines and Manchester could be fun.
That's correct. Christie is anything but a softie moderate just because he isn't a hardcore social conservative. Of course he's a national security hawk. That's how Republicans always demonstrate they have a big swinging stick and are willing to use it.
As for his millionaire donors, they may support gay marriage or other social issues, but not at the expense of having their taxes slashed or building a huge national security state that will protect their economic interests. They'll gladly put up with some rubes who care about Jesus if they'll go along with their agenda. And so will Chris Christie.
And, by the way, those same Big Money donors don't support the Democrats they support because of social issues either. They could all be gay, pro-choice crusaders but they don't sign huge checks on just that basis. So, let's not kid ourselves. Their agenda is bipartisan.
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