Vetting Chris Christie: Maybe a C+

When you take into consideration New Jersey’s political history, Chris Christie is probably one of the best things to happen to the state in 50 years. Gotta love the guy for his chutzpa alone. But that is a long, long way from saying that he would be good for America as its 45th president.

In the first place, let’s be honest, if the man gains another half-pound they’ll officially designate him a zip code. Secondly, we don’t know where he stands on a plethora of issues.

Let’s look at a few:

Gun control: “Listen, we have a densely populated state, and there’s a big handgun problem in New Jersey,” Christie said to Sean Hannity. “Now, I don’t support all the things that the governor supports by a long stretch. But I think on guns — certain gun control issues, looking at it from a law-enforcement perspective, seeing how many police officers were killed; we have an illegal gun problem in New Jersey.”

Immigration: Although he is vague on the subject, he sounds like pre-border hawk John McCain, in other words liberal on immigration reform; he is against Arizona SB 1070. Here is how he skirts the issue: “What I support is making sure that the federal government [plays] each and every one of its roles: Securing the border, enforcing immigration laws, and having an orderly process — whatever that process is — for people to gain citizenship.” He added: “It’s a very easy issue to demagogue and I’m just not going to participate in that.”

Islamist terrorism: Room for concern here. You have to go some to be more liberal than the U.S. government on Muslim extremism, but Christie just may be. When the feds attempted to deport Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Qatanani, Christie stepped to his aid. We’re not passing judgment yet, but the Governor sounds about as clueless on Islam as Puffy Combs.

In addition to all of these unknowns, Christie may also be a “greenie,” although he is vague on energy, as well. The next GOP nominee will have to be strong on a domestic energy policy after four years of Obama’s budget busting green energy insanity.

So, is Christie the right-wing firebrand his supporters claim? Probably not.

If you are, say, a Tucker Carlson, Chris Christie may be your election night dream date, but we tend to agree with the Governor when he says he is not ready for the presidency. Chris Christie is obviously Chris Christie’s biggest—no pun intended—fan, but he may not be the big gun many Republicans think. He has been lauded as a surgeon on spending, but what choice has he had?

Or as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin recently observed:

“He has no choice but to cut budgets because he’s broke, his state is broke,” Palin said recently. “What courage really is, is, in the face of having a surplus, when you have an opportunity to spend, spend, spend other people’s money, that you still choose to rein in government, to let the private sector soar. That’s real courage.”

CPAC Has Lost Its Relevance

CPAC, as Sarah Palin has quite possibly already figured out, has become irrelevant.

The very fact that Donald Trump would be overwhelmingly booed for stating a known fact, and that said “known fact” could go on to win the CPAC straw poll, proves this very salient point.

Ron Paul cannot corner 10 percent of the primary vote, much less win a general election outside of his own district. Donald Trumps kinda gets that; the CPAC crowd didn’t.

Andrew Breitbart tried to hip up the event this year by throwing a 1980s-style bash for newly embraced “gay conservatives,” but in the end the convention had Media Matters scrounging for Republicans to slam.

No, instead of conservative heavy hitters like Palin, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh, we get Mitch Daniels, who’s main claim to fame other than the fact that he’s a big-spending Republican, is something called Healthy Indiana. Sound like a old Twilight Zone episode? It should, it’s just about as spooky as ObamaCare.

This, by the way, is the Mitch Daniels who as OMB director quite literally spent us out of houses and homes. And this is George Will’s answer to the Great Palin Threat of 2012?

You’re a bad man, Mitch Daniels, a bad, bad man! I’m gonna wish you into the cornfield!

And will someone please explain how “expanding” the GOP base by alienating the very conservatives who made it what it is today is supposed to garner the big win in 2012?

After the truly remarkable election of last November it is bewildering how many in the leadership of the Republican Party, as well as one of the primere conservative forums in the nation, can be so incredibly disengaged with mainstream conservative thought.

The conservative movement is not about being hip or politically correct; it is about, smaller government, strong national defense and traditional values.

We are not discounting keynote speaker Allen West or Michele Bachmann, both of whom gave stellar performances, but they could not make up for what was noticeably missing.

The loss the Heritage Foundation, Media Research Center, Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America at CPAC this year is significant. By pandering to a small socially liberal minority the organization may have created a rift within the GOP that could bring about a withering defeat in 2012.

Frankly, the Republican Party still has the big governement fingerprints of the old guard all over its agenda, and it must change now. CPAC has lost touch with it core message.

If the GOP is to be the party of the twenty-first century it will have to sort out exactly what it wants to be. Is it to be a big moderate tent, or will it again be the Party of Reagan that deftly brought in moderates without embracing their ideas?

If CPAC is to regain its relevance it must do the same.

Palin Taps Campaign Chief for 2012

I’m not going to begin to second-guess Sarah Palin here, but selecting Michael Glassner as the new head of Sarah PAC seems a bizarre choice. Especially in light of the fact that Glassner’s name is attached to two of the most disastrous presidential bids in modern GOP history: Robert Dole in 1996 and John McCain in 2008.

The 2008 campaign was particularly perplexing for yours truly because I tried repeatedly to get access to the McCain website during the 2008 campaign and never succeeded. They reset my password 20 times before I gave up. That—and this was only halfway into the campaign—was when I knew McCain was too disorganized to win.

As usual the left-stream media will have a field day with this.

Still, I am convinced that this woman marches to the beat of a different drum, which is most likely her political appeal in the first place. Snubbing CPAC four years in a row would probably be suicide for any other conservative on the planet yet the American Conservative Union, who sponsor the event, can’t seem to get enough of her.

Both Politico and Slate see Glassner’s hiring as a first step in a 2012 run, but, frankly, these guys are always quoting each other. What is clear now was clear last week; the Governor is thinking about running.

Glassner was the McCain senior vice presidential advisor for McCain 2008, which is all the more disturbing, since Palin had to sneak a call in the middle of the night just to speak with Bill O’Reilly. She did not appear on the O’Reilly Factor during the campaign.

Who knows, maybe the guy has been looking for a racehorse all these years and has finally found one who can really run. Hey, it’ll work out.

Ya gotta love the mainstream coverage of all this, though.

ABC News is already putting a negative spin on the idea that Palin may be gearing up for 2012, reporting that CPAC attendees don’t miss her at the conference. Which of course is why CPAC hired a Palin impersonator.

Yahoo was the most encouraging. Recent speeches such as those at the Safari Club International convention and the Young America’s Foundation centennial celebration of Ronald Reagan show Palin can still command a room. She received standing ovations at both places.

Gee, ya think?

I like Jimmy McMillan’s take on Sarah best.