Chris Christie

Future Potential Presidential Nomination Conflict In Several States For 2016

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It is never too early to think ahead about the Presidential Election of 2016, and as pundits start debating and arguing about potential candidacies for President, it turns out that several states could witness a battle for the nomination among their own office holders, as witness the following:

New York–Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand–all Democrats

Florida—Former Governor Jeb Bush, Governor Rick Scott, and Senator Marco Rubio–all Republicans.

Virginia—Governor Bob McDonnell, Republican, and Senator Mark Warner, Democrat.

Massachusetts—Governor Deval Patrick and Senator Elizabeth Warren–both Democrats.

New Jersey—Governor Chris Christie, Republican, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Democrat,

Wisconsin—Governor Scott Walker and Congressman Paul Ryan–both Republicans.

Texas—Governor Rick Perry and Senator Ted Cruz–both Republicans, and Julian Castro Mayor of San Antonio, Democrat

The question is whether if Hillary Clinton ran for President, would Governor Cuomo or Senator Gillibrand challenge her? But also, if Governor Cuomo ran for President, in the absence of Clinton, would Senator Gillibrand also contend?

Also, if former Governor Jeb Bush ran, would Governor Scott or Senator Rubio do the same? Or it could be put another way–would Jeb Bush run if Senator Rubio announced for President, since he has already taken the first step toward running by visiting Iowa, the first caucus state in 2016?

Also, if either Governor Patrick or Senator Warren ran, would the other run?

Also, if either Governor Perry or Senator Cruz ran, would the other enter the race?

And if either Governor Walker or Congressman Ryan announced, would the other run?

The Virginia, New Jersey and Texas cases, with office holders of both parties possible nominees, is more likely to occur, although the odds of Cory Booker or Julian Castro running in New Jersey and Texas likely will be based on Booker defeating Chris Christie in next year’s gubernatorial race, and Castro running for statewide office and winning, such as for Governor or Senator in 2014.

The Virginia rivalry between Republican Governor Bob McDonnell and Democratic former Governor and now Senator Mark Warner is a more likely reality.

There certainly are a lot of possibilities emerging, with the political “junkies” having a feast of speculation!

Two Issues On Each Side Of Presidential Campaign Will Decide The Election

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As we look back on the Presidential campaign of 2012, it is clear that the election being decided within hours will be based on two issues that affected each side, and occurring within the past two months.

If Mitt Romney wins, it will be because of:

The attack on the Libyan Consulate in Benghazi,which has caused grief for President Obama.

The lackadaisical performance of Barack Obama in the first Presidential debate.

If Barack Obama wins, it will be because of:

Romney’s “47 Percent” speech in Boca Raton, Florida, revealed in September.

Hurricane Sandy last week, and Obama’s reaction to it, including the “bromance” of Obama with Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and the Romney campaign’s criticism of Christie.

Much will be written about the campaign, but these factors, arising in the last two months, will be seen as key factors in what occurs!

Mitt Romney Shows His True Character, With His Campaign Criticizing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

Ronald 1 Comment

Mitt Romney’s campaign is rapidly imploding, and Romney’s spokesman is now criticizing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for praising President Barack Obama for his quick response to Hurricane Sandy, including touring the area of devastation with Christie.

Rupert Murdoch and other conservatives are already laying the base for blaming Romney’s defeat on Christie, and Romney aides are claiming that Christie is annoyed that he was bypassed for Vice President.

This whole event just demonstrates further how Romney is not fit to be our President, since he does not give a damn for the “47 percent”, and for the Northeast, since he knows he will not be gaining their electoral support on Tuesday. The fact that Christie is doing what he needs to do for his state does not seem to cross Romney’s selfish, mean spirited personality, but it is clear that he is not the proper person to lead us into the future!

Final US Senate Projections: Democrats Gain One Seat, Should Have A Margin Of 54-46

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This author has stated in the past couple of weeks that the US Senate would stay Democratic, and that seems more certain now than ever.

With any gain by Mitt Romney in polls stopped by Hurricane Sandy and the working of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie with President Barack Obama, it seems likely that the Democrats will win what was predicted before, a one seat gain. In some states, the popularity of the Democratic Senate candidate might actually carry Obama over the top, rather than the other way around.

So here are my final projections:

The Republicans have ten seats up for election, and will keep six–but lose in Arizona, with Democrat Richard Carmona defeating Republican Jeff Flake; in Indiana, with Democrat Joe Donnelly defeating Republican Richard Mourdock; in Maine, with Independent Angus King defeating his two opponents in the major parties; and in Massachusetts, where Democrat Elizabeth Warren will defeat Scott Brown.

The Democrats have 23 seats up for reelection, and should keep eleven without any trouble, leaving 12 up for play, and are likely to win five others that are in contention—Bill Nelson in Florida; Debbie Stebanow in Michigan; Claire McCaskill in Missouri; Jon Tester in Montana; and Sherrod Brown in Ohio.

That leaves seven seats which will definitely have a new Senator–and Virginia should see Democrat Tim Kaine defeat Republican George Allen; Democrat Chris Murphy win over Republican Linda McMahon in Connecticut; Democrat Tammy Baldwin defeat Republican Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin; and Democrat Mazie Hirono defeat Republican Linda Lingle in Hawaii.

However, three other Democratic seats will probably be lost, regrettably—including Democrat Bob Kerrey losing to Republican Deb Fischer, a Tea Party favorite in Nebraska; Democrat Martin Heinrich losing to Republican Heather Wilson in New Mexico; and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp losing to Republican Rick Berg in North Dakota.

So this all adds up to four seats taken from the Republicans, but three seats taken from the Democrats, so that adds up to a Senate of:

54 Democrats (including Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine)
46 Republicans

So therefore a ONE SEAT gain by the Democrats!

Obama Aided Greatly By Events Of The Past Week: Colin Powell, Chris Christie, Michael Bloomberg

Ronald 1 Comment

Barack Obama is closing out his Presidential campaign with some fortunate developments and an image of dealing with the crisis of Hurricane Sandy in a very effective manner.

First, he received the endorsement of Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who despite working for George W. Bush, has kept his credibility and his stature as a great American.

Then, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who had been a key backer of Mitt Romney, put politics aside, worked with President Obama on hurricane relief, and highly praised Obama, who he finally got to know well, and the two men bonded. Christie is still a Romney backer, but showed bipartisanship and statesmanship, which is sorely needed.

And today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, after first planning not to endorse any candidate for President, changed his mind, and gave his support to Obama because of his stand on abortion rights, gay rights, and climate change. In the process, the former Republican, and former Democrat, now an Independent mayor, criticized Mitt Romney for having abandoned all of his earlier moderate principles, including support of his own RomneyCare in Massachusetts, once it became ObamaCare.

The tragedy of a natural disaster helped to lead to the second and third events, and the support of both Powell and Bloomberg, and the growing friendship and relationship between Obama and Christie, are developments that give hope for a better future, if Obama can be reelected, and these steps help to bring that desired result next Tuesday!

And the criticism of the right wing on radio, Fox News, and in print is something to be totally ignored, as their hate and divisiveness needs to be totally repudiated by sane, intelligent, open minded people! Good riddance, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, and the rest of the hate mongers who earn millions dividing America, instead of uniting it!

Republicans Have Lost Credibility: Barack Obama Has Proved He Has Competence And Empathy, Winning Factors For Presidential Race

Ronald 2 Comments

The Republican Party has been arguing for four years that President Barack Obama is incompetent, and that he does not care about the American people.

It has been a false argument from Day One, but the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Obama is an extremely competent, courageous leader, who can relate to the crises in ordinary people’s lives, something that George W. Bush displayed that he had no ability to do the same, as in Hurricane Katrina; and something that Mitt Romney has proved throughout the Presidential campaign that he even lacks the gene to care, and to relate to people who are not wealthy and part of his “one percent” class!

Barack Obama has now proved, except for the hate mongers and racists, that he is as able to relate to us, the common folk, as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman demonstrated regularly!

Like them, he will be elected in difficult times, and with many polls saying he is not favored, to another term as President, with the American people demanding that the opposition start realizing that we all insist on COOPERATION and UNITY, on the scale that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is, courageously, demonstrating to his credit!

Crisis Leadership: FEMA, Mitt Romney, And Partisanship Displayed

Ronald 5 Comments

This disastrous Hurricane Sandy has demonstrated already the difference in leadership of President Barack Obama and his Republican Presidential opponent, Mitt Romney.

Obama has conducted himself fabulously, and has been praised by Republican Governor Chris Christie for his leadership in the crisis. He has demonstrated a steady, calm, cool hand, as he always has in every tough moment of his Presidency, including the operation to eliminate Osama Bin Laden.

Meanwhile, we are reminded that Mitt Romney has advocated getting rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and farming its operations back to the state and local governments, and even promoting privatizing its activities. He constantly said this during the Republican primary campaign, as he rushed to please the far right wing of his Republican Party.

Now he is caught in a bind, and has avoided direct comment about the situation caused by Hurricane Sandy.

But he has also, this quickly, shown partisanship, instead of bipartisanship, by calling and consulting with Republican Governors Chris Christie of New Jersey, and Bob Mc’Donnell of Virginia, but NOT calling and consulting with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, and Delaware Governor Jack Markell, all Democrats.

This is evidence, and not good, that shows that Mitt Romney would NOT be a good crisis President, and would play political games, similar to what George W. Bush did with Hurricane Katrina, and the Democratic Mayor and Democratic Governor of Louisiana, and thus giving a bad image to FEMA, which had been effective before Bush, and is again under Obama!

FEMA can be effective IF we have the right crisis President, and the proper people put into the agency to operate it efficiently. And if there is a need to fund more money for FEMA, by raising taxes, so be it, as we cannot afford to leave the management of a natural or man made disaster to 50 state governors alone, and certainly NOT to private companies, whose only purpose is to maximize profits at the expense of their employees and the general public!

The Unsung Public Employees Prove Themselves Again: Time To Stop Trashing Them!

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The massive human and property tragedy of Hurricane Sandy has proved once again how much we depend upon, and yet overlook, the sacrifices of public employees.

When one sees the sacrifices, hard work, and dedication of New York fire fighters, police officers, nurses, paramedics and others, who are working non stop in the crisis presented by the hurricane, it reminds us of September 11.

And this is multiplied by the similar sacrifices of public employees all over the Northeast, not just New York City.

And yet, we have politicians, particularly Republicans, who love to trash and dismiss the importance of public employees, and do not wish to pay them properly and give them appropriate benefits, as with the “Bully” governors, including Chris Christie of New Jersey, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, and others of their ilk!

These unsung public employees deserve our respect and thanks, and politicians who use them as a whipping boy need to be repudiated, including Mitt Romney, who has no regard for workers in general, and public employees in particular!

Chris Christie Raises The Ante For Mitt Romney, Creating A Massive Problem Bound To Lead To Disappointment!

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New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie loves to be bombastic, to be loud and outspoken, to the point that he loses all credibility to any sane observer!

Christie’s claim that Mitt Romney is going to have such an outstanding performance in Wednesday night’s first Presidential debate puts such a massive burden on the former Massachusetts Governor. Christie’s statement that the whole nature of the Presidential campaign will be totally different by Thursday morning is totally preposterous!

Even if Romney does well in the debate, it is not going to, overnight, transform anything, as Romney must not just do well for one period of 90 minutes, but he and his running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, must perform well in the remaining three debates, and stop making blunders and miscues that undermine the campaign!

So far, the Romney-Ryan campaign has been one massive disaster after another, and Romney is running behind in all of the swing states, and many people have already started to participate in early voting.

To believe that one debate will transform the election is to believe in the tooth fairy, and Christie’s mouth is going to make him look foolish, and undermine any plans for the New Jersey Governor to run for President in the future.

Being a braggart, a loudmouth, a egotist, an obnoxious person who loves to get in your face, is not a set of personality characteristics that propels someone into serious consideration for President, and just imagine a President Christie dealing with foreign leaders and Congressional leaders in the same bombastic manner that he uses now!

Christie will be harmed by his overly optimistic assertions, and that is to the good, as imagining a President Christie in the future is literally to be embarrassed and apologetic for his outrageous bully nature, and his behavior fits him better for a wrestling match or a boxing match than a responsible leader of a state government, or the American government!

Republicans Starting To Panic In Congressional Races After Romney’s “47 Percent” Comments

Ronald 1 Comment

The effects of Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” comments, secretly taped in May at a fundraiser in Boca Raton, Florida, are starting to be seen in Congressional races throughout the nation.

Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown; Connecticut Senate candidate Linda McMahon and others are repudiating what he said, with Brown pointing out that his family needed “public assistance” when he was young.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, not on the ballot this year, was highly critical of Romney, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he wished to represent “all” people in his state, not just those who voted for him.

Conservative columnist Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal and Bill Kristol in the Weekly Standard were very harsh on Romney, saying that veterans and senior citizens, part of the 47 percent who do not now pay federal income taxes, are part of the Romney supporters, and that Romney should be able to win with the difficult economic conditions in the nation, but is running a horrible campaign.

Polls in many Senate races show the Democrats likely to win some GOP seats and retain many of their own this November, even though two thirds of the seats coming up are presently held by Democrats, and it was thought that the Republicans would gain seats and the majority in the Senate.

Much more about the Senate races will be covered and analyzed by this author over the next few weeks, but Romney is, seemingly, self destructing, further proved when running mate Paul Ryan said Romney had been “inarticulate” in what he had said!