29 Aug C2 is for Chris Christie
New Jersey Governor 2010-2016; age 60.
The most famous person in world history with the initials C.C. was Christopher Columbus. The most successful politician with those initials was Calvin Coolidge, the U.S. President from 1923 to 1929. The owner of the most famous brand? Probably Coco Chanel. The best athlete was Cassius Clay (who became Muhammad Ali). And the funniest C.C. may have been Charlie Chaplin or Chevy Chase.
But this post is not about any of those people, nor does it relate to cubic centimeters, carbon copies, or any other double C except Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey and a current Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Chris Christie’s most notable superlative to date is that he has been the loudest Republican critic of Donald Trump. Neither Trumpism nor Anti-Trumpism is a real issue in the election, however, so the remainder of this post will try to describe what else Mr. Christie has to offer voters.
Positions of Chris
As another of the governors and former governors in the race – our alphabetical list already has included Asa Hutchinson and Doug Burgum – Chris Christie built a track record that demonstrates in part the nationwide causes he may attempt to advance from the White House.
The first of those is to control government spending. As part of his presidential campaign, Christie has pointed out that New Jersey eliminated an $11 billion state deficit under his leadership, without raising taxes, in part by cutting 836 programs out of the budget. We will be looking for specifics on his plans for the overburdened federal budget.
K-12 education is another topic Christie raises, along with his support for universal vouchers. Although Christie realizes that primary and secondary schools typically are run at the state and local level, he says he would use the presidential “bully pulpit” and put “strings” on federal funds with the aim of giving money to each family in a controlled account to spend on education, so that parents could “send their kid wherever they want,” he explains.
As a former U.S. Attorney himself, Christie stresses that his approach to fighting crime in America’s big cities is to appoint lead federal prosecutors state-by-state who will “go after violent crime in each of those cities.” Christie says these U.S. Attorneys will be instructed and empowered to supersede local efforts, bring federal charges, and “put them in jail” (referring to criminals).
Christie also describes himself as an unabashed supporter of Ukraine’s war efforts, and he stresses the need to stand up to Russia and China both.
Regarding social issues, Christie’s campaign for the White House has not emphasized them. As governor, he discontinued efforts previously made to ban gay marriage in New Jersey.
Like we did with the other candidates, we attach here the Ballotpedia page regarding Chris Christie, which includes links to his campaign website and social media.
Christie’s Principles
The policy positions of Governor Christie and now candidate Christie at least partially reflect some of the leadership and governmental principles this blog espouses.
In line with the other Republican candidates profiled so far, one such principle is limited government, as manifested in Christie’s case by his desire to reduce federal spending and bureaucracy. His non-emphasis on social issues, particularly his discontinuance of state efforts to prohibit gay marriage, also indicates he would not try to wield the federal government against individual freedoms.
Since he has made it one of his main campaign emphases, we cannot ignore the principles revealed by Mr. Christie taking the lead in trying to “attack” and “take down Trump.” Although political brawling does not signal the leadership principle of peace as clearly as does his support of Ukraine, an argument can be made that Christie’s willingness to be the first and most outspoken Republican critic of the former president (who he had supported in 2016) does reflect honesty, integrity, and transparency.
Our next profile will be under the letter D, for Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida.
Written by Quentin R. Wittrock, founder of Principle Based Politics.
Look for his posts each week, as this blog will explore and promote the idea of principle in politics, both as to individual elected leaders and our federal government as an institution.
Principle Based Politics does not endorse or support any particular candidate or party.
Kathy Grussing
Posted at 19:43h, 29 AugustI respectfully disagree with your view that neither Trumpism nor anti-Trumpism is a real issue in this election.
Trump completely and overwhelmingly dominates everything in the Republican party right now. One of our nation’s biggest problems is that we cannot agree on what is true and what is false. This leads to what feels like unsolvable and intense division. One of the biggest challenges to our democracy in our history is Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
I disagree with Governor Christie on many issues. But, I admire his consistent display of having the courage of his convictions. To publicly take a stand that you know is very unpopular in your party, and for which you know you will pay a heavy price (see Lynne Cheney), while running for POTUS takes courage, along with the other principles of honesty, integrity, and transparency that you mention in this post.
Admin
Posted at 20:49h, 29 AugustWhat bothers me is the candidates appearing to run on a “platform” of how much they admire or dislike Trump. One saying “I’d pardon him immediately” seems like shameless pandering to MAGA fans, and another saying “He belongs in jail” seems to be prejudging the facts to pander to another group of voters. I share your concern about how “Trump completely and overwhelmingly dominates everything in the Republican party right now.” Thanks much for your comment.
Mike Sorensen
Posted at 00:04h, 31 AugustRepublicans need to stop talking about Republicans. Focus on the current President.
Need to talk about things that are important to Republicans. Term limits, Balanced Budget Amendment, pay back SS.