New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the next incarnation of a GOP frontrunning presidential candidate who is anything but hard-line on principle, told activists and GOP operatives at a Republican National Committee luncheon on Thursday that his “job was to win.” Christie pontificated:
We are not a debating society. We are a political operation that needs to win. My job is to win. I believe my job is to win. Our job is not to be college professors.
Christie has already criticized Rand Paul, saying Paul’s libertarinan positions were dangerous. At Thursday’s luncheon, he took a swipe at Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who recently said, “We’ve got to stop being the stupid party. It’s time for a new Republican Party that talks like adults.” Christie responded:
I’m not going to be one of these people who goes and calls our party stupid. We need to stop navel gazing. There’s nothing wrong with our principles. We need to focus on winning again. There’s too much at stake for this to be an academic exercise. We need to win and govern with authority and courage.”
ABCNews offered the usual litany of supporters for a “moderate” candidate, as well as stating, “The speech was very well-received, according to people leaving the luncheon.” They reported one RNC member bought Christie’s pitch, saying:
I think this is very clearly a speech he was using to give the party a choice between two or even three visions of where the party ought to go. Is this a party that exists to win elections or is it a party that exists, as he said, to debate esoteric policy?… I think Gov. Christie is trying to appeal to … the silent majority of people who aren’t actively involved in the party, per se, who vote every four years, who want commonsense solutions … and that’s an appealing message.
Mississippi GOP Chairman Joe Nosef was also lulled into a sense of security, saying Christie’s speech was:
one of the best political speeches I have ever heard, and I think I’ve gotten to the point where it takes a lot to impress me in a luncheon speech . . . It was an optimistic road map, really, of how Republicans can not only win elections but govern. I think his distinction is the fact that he is in a blue state that he’s governed successfully, looks like he is going to be re-elected and all the different coalitions he talked about. It seems like almost everything as a national party we need to do, he’s been able to do it.
Haven’t we heard this all before from the GOP? McCain in 2008, Romney in 2012, and now Christie were foisted on conservatives with the mantra that they were and are electable. They want to “win.”
The GOP should recognize that slippery candidates like the aforementioned three receive glowing mentions in the press only because they are not true to conservative principles, and the press savages them once they are nominated. When Christie says he “wants to win,” instead of “wants to remain true to conservative principles,” every true conservative should flinch and tell the GOP establishment exactly what they can do with their “electable” candidates.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.