Christie Won’t Run for President, Associates Say
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER AND MICHAEL D. SHEAR
11:36 a.m. | Updated Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has decided not to seek the presidency, according to two associates.
Mr. Christie is scheduled to announce his decision at a news conference in the state capital at 1 p.m. But one adviser to the governor and another person who spoke to him directly said Tuesday morning that the governor would not pursue the Republican nomination.
The decision ends a late flurry of indecision on the part of Mr. Christie, who had been encouraged by a growing number of Republican donors and activists who had hoped he would add his name to the field of candidates vying to challenge President Obama.
UPDATE I: TPM uncovers more troubling facts about Gov. Chris Christie.
The GOP is looking for another heart throb to take them to electoral victory prom--they've changed their minds on political sweethearts more often than a pre-teen at a Justin Beiber concert.
Their newest honey love is Chris Christie, the formidable governor of New Jersey. So I did some research on his positions on key issues, and found that if he does enter the GOP popularity contest, as did Bachmann and Perry, Christies is sure to be left holding a bag of empty fries in a fast-food parking lot, just like the others were.
Governor Christie is a centrist--NOT a far right politician.
Chris Christie on Gun Control:
Christie supports strict and aggressive enforcement of the state’s current gun laws. He strongly supported the assault weapons ban enacted during the Clinton administration. In a campaign flyer circulated during his 1995 campaign, he attacked his opponents support for repealing the ban.
Chris Christie supports the assault weapons ban and all current gun laws. He opposes attempts to permit conceal and carry laws in New Jersey – hardly the NRA position.
Chris Christie on Illegal Immigration:
“Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime,” Christie told more than 60 residents and town officials. “The whole phrase of ‘illegal immigrant’ connotes that the person, by just being here, is committing a crime.”
“Don’t let people make you believe that that’s a crime that the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be doing something about,” he added of entering the country illegally. “It is not.”
Gov. Christie's position on abortion:
Q: Would you sign the abortion pledge going around the Republican field?
A: I haven't seen the abortion pledge, I don't know what it says.
Q: Only pro-life people working for you; a promise to back anything that coincides with the life agenda; defunding public payments for abortion across the board.
A: Here's my position on it. My name's the name on the ballot. I am pro-life, I believe in exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. That's my position, take it or leave it. --Source: Interview on NBC "Meet the Press" , Jun 26, 2011
Civil Unions for same-sex couples
Homosexuals are born that way; they're not sinners
Q: Is homosexuality a sin?
A: Well, my religion says it's a sin. But for me, I've always believed that people are born with the predisposition to be homosexual. And so I think if someone is born that way it's very difficult to say then that's a sin. But I understand that my Church says that but for me personally I don't look at someone who is homosexual as a sinner.
Q: You support civil unions. You don't support gay marriage. Can you see a situation where you would change your mind about that?
A: I don't think so. I believe marriage is an institution between one man and one woman. I think it's special and unique in society and I think we can have civil unions that help to give the same type of legal rights to same-sex couples that marriage gives them but I just think marriage is a special connotation. I couldn't change my mind on that but I am in favor of making sure that homosexual couples have the same type of legal rights that heterosexual couples have. --Source: Interview on CNN "Piers Morgan Tonight" , Jun 15, 2011
Jersey shore for tourism instead of offshore drilling
Governor Christie has expressed his strong opposition to off-shore drilling in New Jersey, as well as drilling off the coast of other nearby states that could negatively impact the state's 130 miles of coastline and multi-billion dollar tourism industry. He has also opposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities off of the New Jersey coast and has also restored beach replenishment funding to its full level. --Source: Governor's press release, "Shore Protection Initiatives" , Aug 11, 2011
We ARE the leader in Libya; we MUST be the world's police
Q: Does American have to be the world's policemen? Would you like to see a spreading of that load going forward where America's not the go-to country? For military support, for helping out with despotic regimes and so on?
A: Well, America's always got to be the leader in that regard.
Q: Does it have to be?
A: I think it does.
A: I mean, look at Libya and the way Pres. Obama dealt with that. You know, he quite deliberately decided America wasn't going to be the leader.
A: But we really are. Let's face it, we are. He's calling the shots. and we all know that. And so let's not be kidding because they call it something different. America's taken the responsibility. Now, do I think there has to be shared sacrifice among other nations in the world who want a stable and secure world? Absolutely, there has to be. But I don't think that America can ever abdicate its leadership role in the world because of who we are & where we've come from. We are the symbol for the world for freedom & liberty.
--Source: Interview on CNN "Piers Morgan Tonight" , Jun 15, 2011
And finally, Gov. Christie's big problem--his weight. The rightwing blogsphere has been relentless about Mrs. Obama's derrier--ignoring the fact that there isn't an ounce of blubbering fat on her body. Just look at her arms and legs and chin--then look at Christie's chin--all six of them. Christie has a huge weight problem and that matters when people are looking at him as a presidential candidate. Eugene Robinson explains why:
"Chris Christie needs to find some way to lose weight. Like everyone else, elected officials perform best when they are in optimal health. Christie obviously is not.
You could argue that this is none of my business, but I disagree. Christie’s problem with weight ceased being a private matter when he stepped into the public arena — and it’s not something you can fail to notice. Obesity is a national epidemic whose costs are measured not just in dollars and cents but also in lives. Christie’s weight is as legitimate an issue as the smoking habit that President Obama says he has finally kicked.
On rare occasions, Christie speaks candidly about his weight. “I’m really struggling, been struggling for a long time with it,” he told CNN’s Piers Morgan in June. “And I know that it would be better for my kids if I got it more under control, and so I do feel a sense of guilt at times about that.”
Six weeks later, the New Jersey governor was briefly hospitalized for asthma — a condition that he has had for most of his life. Researchers say that many respiratory problems, including asthma, are worsened by obesity.
[skip]
The NIH estimates that nearly 34 percent of U.S. adults can be classified as “obese,” meaning they have a body mass index of more than 30. By this standard, a man who stands 5-foot-11 — Christie’s reported height — would be obese if his weight reached 215 pounds. While Christie does not disclose his weight, it appears to exceed the 286 pounds that would place him among the 5.7 percent of American adults whom NIH classifies as “extremely obese.”
You could argue that this is none of my business, but I disagree. Christie’s problem with weight ceased being a private matter when he stepped into the public arena — and it’s not something you can fail to notice. Obesity is a national epidemic whose costs are measured not just in dollars and cents but also in lives. Christie’s weight is as legitimate an issue as the smoking habit that President Obama says he has finally kicked.
On rare occasions, Christie speaks candidly about his weight. “I’m really struggling, been struggling for a long time with it,” he told CNN’s Piers Morgan in June. “And I know that it would be better for my kids if I got it more under control, and so I do feel a sense of guilt at times about that.”
Six weeks later, the New Jersey governor was briefly hospitalized for asthma — a condition that he has had for most of his life. Researchers say that many respiratory problems, including asthma, are worsened by obesity.
[skip]
The NIH estimates that nearly 34 percent of U.S. adults can be classified as “obese,” meaning they have a body mass index of more than 30. By this standard, a man who stands 5-foot-11 — Christie’s reported height — would be obese if his weight reached 215 pounds. While Christie does not disclose his weight, it appears to exceed the 286 pounds that would place him among the 5.7 percent of American adults whom NIH classifies as “extremely obese.”
22 comments:
He accepts the reality of global warming, too (though he has his own ideas about what to do about it), and probably evolution as well. Definitely not right for the science-hating theocratic right.
His weight is relevant because it's a health issue. If he were the nominee, this factor would add to the attention given to his VP choice, just as McCain's age did. So if he tried to placate the nutbars by choosing one of them as a running mate, he'd seriously damage himself politically -- as McCain did.
When I found out about Christie's stances on various issues, I knew he'd have a huge problem making it out of the primaries. If the tea bagger element of the GOP is diminished by the time 2016 rolls around, he'll stand a better chance of winning.
but he's fat enough to get the walmart and the trailer park vote.
Please, folks. Let's not criticize the Governor for having a weight problem. There are decent and honest people everywhere who are self-conscious about their weight, and there is no need to turn appearance into a measure of a person's worth.
My criticism of Chris Christie is that he is an overly aggressive verbal abuser who is all too quick to demolish his critics with belligerence and bombast. I cannot trust bullies, narcissists and verbal abusers, and CC is one of them.
(O)CT(O),
I don't criticize Mr. Christie simply because he has a weight problem. I take him at his word where he says himself that his weight is a problem he needs to get under control.
Everyone knows that obesity impacts one's overall health, and it's especially not good for someone who suffers from asthma, as does Christie.
A member of my family who was very dear to me died much too young. He was 350 lbs. And at one time was a slender, fit, US Marine.
His obesity and all the damage it does to a person is what eventually killed him.
We were only 3 months apart in age.
What a terrific opening! Snarky and sarcastic - just the way I like it.
I would be very surprised if he tosses his hat into the ring. As Tom Degan says, he's "ethically challenged" and is probably smart enough to know that every aspect of his past will be examined with a microscope. He's also verbally abusive, but I think a lot of the Tea Party goons like that - especially the women. However, can you imagine that kind of "fuck you" attitude when visiting and negotiating with foreign heads of state?
I agree that he will lose his appeal to the Right Wing as soon as they quit drooling and really take a look at his stand on certain issues. Let's not forget his defense of Muslims either.
Like you and Infidel, his weight is an issue. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he is diabetic. That alone should not preclude him from running, but given his weight he's even a bigger candidate for a heart attack or a stroke.
Sharing.
I think he has a huge problem with his moderate stance on issues important to teabaggers, and I believe it will keep him from running. But for me it's not his weight or his Republican-ism, it's his rude, crude, big mouth bully attitude that turns off alot of people. He really makes me quite ill just watching him beat up on his constituents. I wonder how he treats his wife??
Having had weight issues in the past I see Octo's point. Politics is a nasty game though. the right blasted Clinton for eating Big Macs. Screw em. Christie is fat. Might as well use it.
Of course the righties working for a different righty will be using it also so what the heck.
Yes, these guys SEEM fine, but then they go and say something reasonable or betray some shard of sanity, and they're sunk. Doubleplus unpersons. Outta there!
I agree with the commenter who alludes to CC's "blowhard" problem -- I don't mind the guy's bluntness, but at times that quality slides over into something frankly unpleasant. The woman who commented on his kids going to private school, for example, wasn't being offensive but was asking a legitimate question about the governor's support or lack of support for public education. Yet he treated her with anger and contempt. Not an appropriate attitude for a public servant, in my view.
"The woman who commented on his kids going to private school, for example ..."
Thank you. This is precisely the example I had in mind about verbal abuse, but couldn't recall the exact incident.
Perhaps the woman did not phrase her remark as precisely as she should have. Perhaps what she meant to say was: "You can afford to send your kids to a private school, but I can't, and I am concerned about the quality of MY kids education after your budget cuts."
A more astute person would have understood the woman's concern - would have understood the implications of privilege versus unequal educational opportunity. A kinder person would not have attacked her as viciously as Christie did.
Another example now comes to mind - an interview with a teacher who said that she was purchasing classroom supplies out of her own pocket because her school could no longer afford them. Again, the hothead Governor laced into her.
This is not leadership. This is a man with an anger management problem who unfairly lashes out at people ... good people, people who care about their kids, and care about the jobs they do even to the extent of paying for supplies themselves.
Christie may not be a teabagger but he shares at least one trait in common with them (which I believe is also the source of his popularity within GOP ranks) ... the amount of anger and bombast he brings into our public life. There is no place for this. I find it destructive and offensive.
Octo... it seems as if the best way to deal with problems is yell loudly and decisively at them, or about them.
This simple act, shows you are passionate, and really really want to fix the problem. Also, you need to do it right away, that shows your core convictions.
To stop, think, pause, and reflect, before calmly discussing something just exposes you as a left winged elitist, the antithesis of Governor Christie.
Dave,
Conviction or theatrics? Or perhaps this possibility? Please note the palpable presentation of rage.
Extreme authoritarian personalities also believe in using corporal punishment on children. More than a strap or a spanking, they believe in subjecting children to humiliation - breaking their will. And if they can treat children this way, they can also treat constituents in the same manner. Get my drift?
Apparently, he's not running.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/chris-christie-not-running-for-president-in-2012-source-says/2011/10/04/gIQAGdIvKL_blog.html
I cannot trust bullies, narcissists and verbal abusers,
Reward your friends and punish your enemies. If they bring a knife to the fight,you bring a gun or as Hoffa Jr(thug lite) said we are the president's army.
Anon, troll.
This is the actual Hoffa quote which you and FAUX NOOZ don't have the honesty to refer to in full:
"President Obama this is your army. We are ready to march. And President Obama we want one thing: jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. That what we're going to tell him. He's going to be - and when he sees what we're doing here he will be inspired. But he needs help and you know what? Everybody here's got to vote. If we go back and we keep the eye on the prize, let's take these son of a bitches out and give America back to America where we belong!
Any half brain can see that his taking out the sons of bitches means voting out of office. But, as I said, that require at least half of a brain.
Now Hoffa's rhetoric isn't even in the same league as your buds in the Tea Party. Breitbart for example:
"Conservative media provocateur Andrew Breitbart, speaking to a Tea Party crowd of over 60 people in Lexington, Ma. on Friday, got a little bit carried away with his own patter. He told the crowd that he sometimes thinks to himself, “Fire the first shot” in a hypothetical civil war with liberals, explaining that “We outnumber them in this country, and we have the guns.”
Although Brietbart told the crowd “I’m not kidding,”
Shaw, I think the telling line in the Christie story was one I saw reported by the AP and Jamie Gangel of NBC.
It said "GOP voices complained that Christie wasn't conservative enough on issues like immigration or gun rights, and they even took note of the governor's hefty stature."
While some malcontents have attacked progressives and left for supposedly saying Christie is too fat to be president, they have an inability to realize he was not right wing enough to be supported by even his own party for the presidency.
It's not the dems that are yelling Yikes! and saying this stuff, it's the GOP shooting their own!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44772917/ns/politics-decision_2012/#.TotCBHLh_To
Thanks for the link, Dave. As Infidel753 pointed out, in addition to Christie's left to moderate positions on immigration, gun control, and civil unions, Christie is also a believer in climate change, and not a blind Muslim hater.
Those are all positions NOT favored by the TPers of the GOP.
Lastly, the malcontents of the world are too wrapped up in their hatred to notice that is is Gov. Christie who has real issues with weight control, and not the FLOTUS.
But people like that are too dishonest to admit the real reasons for their dislike of Mrs. Obama.
PS. Just read the other day that TP darling, Rick Perry, MANDATED physical activity for all Texas school children. MANDATED.
I wonder how long it will be before the malcontents on the right heads explode over Perry's overstepping what is a parent's responsibility? Remember how they howled about Mrs. Obamas "Let's Move" program and about how she encouraged kids to eat healthy?
She never mandated any of that. She led by example and giving talks about healthy eating and exercise.
So the GOP-TP's favorite, Gov. Perry, MANDATED vaccinations for children and MANDATED physical exercise!
But Michelle Obama inteferes with parent's responsibility!!!?
And let's not forget that the probable nominee, Mitt Romney, gave us the blueprint for Obamacare!!!
Shaw, they were all for reasonableness, before they were against it...
The nerve of those guys intruding on the rights of parents to neglect their kids!
Chris Christie - the Republican's GREAT WHITE NOPE !!!
(O)CT(O),
LOL!
Christie won't run, and now apparently Ms. Palin has decided that the presidency of the US is not big enough and too, you know, shackling for her.
So........ the GOP is left with Romney, Cain, and more than likely, a last minute draft Mitch Daniels Movement.
He sounds better than Bush and the two Canadians to me, and I'd rather see him as the candidate than that skinny witch who ran HP into the ground.
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