Conservative Media Turn On Governor Christie Following Romney Defeat
3:07 pm - 11/09/2012
After President Obama's re-election, conservative media figures attacked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for his praise of the president's leadership following Hurricane Sandy. Their attacks followed News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch's pre-election statement that Christie would be to blame if Obama won the election.
Fox's Dick Morris: Christie's "Fawning Promotion Of Obama's Presidential Leadership ... Made All The Difference." Fox News contributor Dick Morris wrote in a November 7 op-ed on Fox News' website that he was wrong about the model that predicted turnout would not be like 2008, but laid much of the blame for Romney's loss on Governor Christie:
But the more proximate cause of my error was that I did not take full account of the impact of hurricane Sandy and of Governor Chris Christie's bipartisan march through New Jersey arm in arm with President Obama. Not to mention Christe's fawning promotion of Obama's presidential leadership. It made all the difference. [FoxNews.com, 11/7/12]
American Spectator Calls Christie "The Gelatinous Clown" For Having "Embraced Obama As The Hero Of Hurricane Sandy." American Spectator's Robert McCain wrote that the "search for scapegoats always attends political defeat, and Republicans have no shortage of candidates for the role":
The list of fools who have brought this disaster upon us certainly also will include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the gelatinous clown who (a) hogged up a prime time spot at the Republican convention to sing his own praises; (b) embraced Obama as the hero of Hurricane Sandy; and (c) then refused to appear at campaign events in support of Romney's presidential campaign. Good luck with the remainder of your political future, governor. It is unlikely Republicans shall soon forget your perfidious betrayal. [The American Spectator, 11/7/12]
Business Insider: Fox's O'Reilly Ranted About Christie Helping Obama Win The Election. Business Insider reported that Fox News host Bill O'Reilly criticized Christie, claiming:
O'REILLY: There was Chris Christie and President Obama walking down the beach, you know, with a little "Seth in the Moon Glow" music behind them, and it just wiped the governor's campaign off the map for five days. [Business Insider, 11/6/12]
Washington Times Editor Calls On GOP To "Excommunicate Christie." In a column titled "Excommunicating Christie," Washington Times editorial page editor Brett Decker called the New Jersey governor a "Republican in Name Only (RINO)" for his "liberal record on guns, abortion, homosexual marriage and global warming." Decker also criticized Christie for his gratitude to President Obama for his assistance during and after Hurricane Sandy:
As the Obama administration was taking incoming fire for its mismanagement of emergency-relief efforts in response to Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Christie handed Mr. Obama a big gift in the form of photo-ops, public hugs and gratuitously complimentary statements about the job done by the opposing party's standard-bearer. [The Washington Times, 11/7/12]
Fox's Lou Dobbs Criticized Christie For Playing "Cute" After He Called Obama To Congratulate, And Emailed Condolences To Romney. Fox Business host Lou Dobb's tweeted: "Christie plays cute: Christie calls Obama to congratulate, emails Romney condolences."
[Twitter, 11/8/12]
Fox's Laura Ingraham: "It Would Not Surprise Me If Chris Christie At Some Point Became A Democrat." Conservative radio host and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham claimed that Chris Christie's praise of the president went to the point of "embarrassing himself." She added:
INGRAHAM: You know what, I'm just going to say this: He has a lot more in common with Obama than we thought. It's all about Chris Christie. "My Jersey Shore," "my roller coasters underwater," "my hero Bruce Springsteen," my "I have to pinch myself to go on Air Force One as the son of an Italian immigrant," or whatever he said.
[...]
Let me tell you something, Chris Christie -- it would not surprise me if Chris Christie at some point became a Democrat, doesn't surprise me one bit. It really doesn't, in the end. [The Daily Caller, 11/6/12]
[Source]
Conservatives are peeved at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a GOP favorite, for praising President Barack Obama response to Hurricane Sandy days before the election. Some rightwingers even blame Christie for boosting the president's prospects at the last minute. (Christie hugged Obama! How could he?!) Now, in the aftermath of the election, a powerhouse conservative outfit partly funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers is coming after Christie on another front, sharply questioning whether the governor will sell out conservatives in the latest battle over Obamacare.
The New Jersey legislature passed a bill on October 18 creating a state-based online health insurance marketplace; it did so because under Obamacare a state must either create its own insurance marketplace or let the federal government do it. Christie vetoed a similar state-based insurance exchange bill in May, but he said last month he wouldn't decide what to do about the new bill until after Election Day.
Enter the New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-backed conservative grassroots group. AFP-New Jersey is pressuring Christie to reject the state exchange bill and rebuff Obamacare's requirements before November 16, the date by which states must submit its health insurance plans to the federal government. Here's what AFP-New Jersey Steve Lonegan had to say about Christie in a press release zapped out two days after the election:
Barack Obama has been re-elected. Congress will not be able to repeal the law so now the burden is on the states to thwart it. That means these bureaucratic and costly exchanges must be stopped, along with the tax increases that come along with them.
Other conservative governors across the country like Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, and others have already taken a principled stand. Where is Governor Christie? Will he stand with them? Will he prevent New Jerseyans from having their health care choices controlled by federal bureaucrats? Will he allow our state’s struggling businesses to be hammered by Obamacare's tax penalties with unemployment hovering around 10 percent? Or will he continue to go along to get along with Barack Obama?
AFP-New Jersey seems suspicious about Christie. And that last line, of course, is a jab at Christie's buddying up with Obama during Sandy's aftermath. AFP-NJ is urging its supporters to lean on Christie by calling his office and signing an online petition demanding Christie say no to Obamacare.
This preemptive chastising of Christie is an odd turn in the Koch-Christie tale. The Koch brothers have long been fans of the governor. On June 26, 2011, as Mother Jones first reported, Christie delivered the keynote speech at Charles and David Koch's ultra-exclusive seminar at the Ritz-Carlton resort near Vail, Colorado. At the event, David Koch hailed Christie as a "true political hero." He noted,
Five months ago we met in my New York City office and spoke, just the two of us, for about two hours on his objectives and successes in correcting many of the most serious problems of the New Jersey state government. At the end of our conversation, I said to myself, "I'm really impressed and inspired by this man. He is my kind of guy."
David Koch praised Christie for pushing legislation that took away the right of public workers to bargain collectively for health benefits and for pulling New Jersey out of a regional cap-and-trade market created by 10 northeastern states to curb industrial greenhouse gas emissions. He expressed his hope of seeing Christie "on a larger stage where, God knows, he is desperately needed."
That meant the 2012 presidential race. A September 26, 2011 New York Times article cited David Koch as part of a "small but influential group of Republican-leaning donors and activists" trying to coax Christie into the contest. The following month, though, Christie announced he wouldn't run in 2012.
Might Obamacare cause a split between Christie and Kochworld? Christie has yet to say, post-election, what he will do regarding the health-insurance battle underway in his state. But the Koch-funded AFP has certainly warned him that there will be a price to be paid for any further pro-Obama apostasy.
[Source]
Fox's Dick Morris: Christie's "Fawning Promotion Of Obama's Presidential Leadership ... Made All The Difference." Fox News contributor Dick Morris wrote in a November 7 op-ed on Fox News' website that he was wrong about the model that predicted turnout would not be like 2008, but laid much of the blame for Romney's loss on Governor Christie:
But the more proximate cause of my error was that I did not take full account of the impact of hurricane Sandy and of Governor Chris Christie's bipartisan march through New Jersey arm in arm with President Obama. Not to mention Christe's fawning promotion of Obama's presidential leadership. It made all the difference. [FoxNews.com, 11/7/12]
American Spectator Calls Christie "The Gelatinous Clown" For Having "Embraced Obama As The Hero Of Hurricane Sandy." American Spectator's Robert McCain wrote that the "search for scapegoats always attends political defeat, and Republicans have no shortage of candidates for the role":
The list of fools who have brought this disaster upon us certainly also will include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the gelatinous clown who (a) hogged up a prime time spot at the Republican convention to sing his own praises; (b) embraced Obama as the hero of Hurricane Sandy; and (c) then refused to appear at campaign events in support of Romney's presidential campaign. Good luck with the remainder of your political future, governor. It is unlikely Republicans shall soon forget your perfidious betrayal. [The American Spectator, 11/7/12]
Business Insider: Fox's O'Reilly Ranted About Christie Helping Obama Win The Election. Business Insider reported that Fox News host Bill O'Reilly criticized Christie, claiming:
O'REILLY: There was Chris Christie and President Obama walking down the beach, you know, with a little "Seth in the Moon Glow" music behind them, and it just wiped the governor's campaign off the map for five days. [Business Insider, 11/6/12]
Washington Times Editor Calls On GOP To "Excommunicate Christie." In a column titled "Excommunicating Christie," Washington Times editorial page editor Brett Decker called the New Jersey governor a "Republican in Name Only (RINO)" for his "liberal record on guns, abortion, homosexual marriage and global warming." Decker also criticized Christie for his gratitude to President Obama for his assistance during and after Hurricane Sandy:
As the Obama administration was taking incoming fire for its mismanagement of emergency-relief efforts in response to Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Christie handed Mr. Obama a big gift in the form of photo-ops, public hugs and gratuitously complimentary statements about the job done by the opposing party's standard-bearer. [The Washington Times, 11/7/12]
Fox's Lou Dobbs Criticized Christie For Playing "Cute" After He Called Obama To Congratulate, And Emailed Condolences To Romney. Fox Business host Lou Dobb's tweeted: "Christie plays cute: Christie calls Obama to congratulate, emails Romney condolences."
[Twitter, 11/8/12]
Fox's Laura Ingraham: "It Would Not Surprise Me If Chris Christie At Some Point Became A Democrat." Conservative radio host and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham claimed that Chris Christie's praise of the president went to the point of "embarrassing himself." She added:
INGRAHAM: You know what, I'm just going to say this: He has a lot more in common with Obama than we thought. It's all about Chris Christie. "My Jersey Shore," "my roller coasters underwater," "my hero Bruce Springsteen," my "I have to pinch myself to go on Air Force One as the son of an Italian immigrant," or whatever he said.
[...]
Let me tell you something, Chris Christie -- it would not surprise me if Chris Christie at some point became a Democrat, doesn't surprise me one bit. It really doesn't, in the end. [The Daily Caller, 11/6/12]
[Source]
Conservatives are peeved at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a GOP favorite, for praising President Barack Obama response to Hurricane Sandy days before the election. Some rightwingers even blame Christie for boosting the president's prospects at the last minute. (Christie hugged Obama! How could he?!) Now, in the aftermath of the election, a powerhouse conservative outfit partly funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers is coming after Christie on another front, sharply questioning whether the governor will sell out conservatives in the latest battle over Obamacare.
The New Jersey legislature passed a bill on October 18 creating a state-based online health insurance marketplace; it did so because under Obamacare a state must either create its own insurance marketplace or let the federal government do it. Christie vetoed a similar state-based insurance exchange bill in May, but he said last month he wouldn't decide what to do about the new bill until after Election Day.
Enter the New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-backed conservative grassroots group. AFP-New Jersey is pressuring Christie to reject the state exchange bill and rebuff Obamacare's requirements before November 16, the date by which states must submit its health insurance plans to the federal government. Here's what AFP-New Jersey Steve Lonegan had to say about Christie in a press release zapped out two days after the election:
Barack Obama has been re-elected. Congress will not be able to repeal the law so now the burden is on the states to thwart it. That means these bureaucratic and costly exchanges must be stopped, along with the tax increases that come along with them.
Other conservative governors across the country like Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, and others have already taken a principled stand. Where is Governor Christie? Will he stand with them? Will he prevent New Jerseyans from having their health care choices controlled by federal bureaucrats? Will he allow our state’s struggling businesses to be hammered by Obamacare's tax penalties with unemployment hovering around 10 percent? Or will he continue to go along to get along with Barack Obama?
AFP-New Jersey seems suspicious about Christie. And that last line, of course, is a jab at Christie's buddying up with Obama during Sandy's aftermath. AFP-NJ is urging its supporters to lean on Christie by calling his office and signing an online petition demanding Christie say no to Obamacare.
This preemptive chastising of Christie is an odd turn in the Koch-Christie tale. The Koch brothers have long been fans of the governor. On June 26, 2011, as Mother Jones first reported, Christie delivered the keynote speech at Charles and David Koch's ultra-exclusive seminar at the Ritz-Carlton resort near Vail, Colorado. At the event, David Koch hailed Christie as a "true political hero." He noted,
Five months ago we met in my New York City office and spoke, just the two of us, for about two hours on his objectives and successes in correcting many of the most serious problems of the New Jersey state government. At the end of our conversation, I said to myself, "I'm really impressed and inspired by this man. He is my kind of guy."
David Koch praised Christie for pushing legislation that took away the right of public workers to bargain collectively for health benefits and for pulling New Jersey out of a regional cap-and-trade market created by 10 northeastern states to curb industrial greenhouse gas emissions. He expressed his hope of seeing Christie "on a larger stage where, God knows, he is desperately needed."
That meant the 2012 presidential race. A September 26, 2011 New York Times article cited David Koch as part of a "small but influential group of Republican-leaning donors and activists" trying to coax Christie into the contest. The following month, though, Christie announced he wouldn't run in 2012.
Might Obamacare cause a split between Christie and Kochworld? Christie has yet to say, post-election, what he will do regarding the health-insurance battle underway in his state. But the Koch-funded AFP has certainly warned him that there will be a price to be paid for any further pro-Obama apostasy.
[Source]
if they were so easily swayed by a Republican saying something about Obama, i think the election may not have gone the way it did...
Reality's been knocking on your door for ages, guys. Come on. Let it in.
I admit that I never liked Christie at all, but I still find it a damn shame that he's getting pilloried over doing-- as you said-- the right thing. Conservatives had no problem with him acting like an ass; they have a problem with him trying to help the people of his state and cooperating with Obama in order to do it.
hey you assholes you know what might work better than eating your own? Doing what Chris Christie did post-Hurricane Sandy and putting politics and partisanship aside and saying fuck it to all y'all and working with anyone and everyone including Obama.
I'm sure if your boy Romney had at least made some fucking effort instead of turning it into a campaign event (lbr though, he wouldn't have a legit reason for being in the region anyway)....
The fact that he reacted, for once, like a human being instead of a politician, should not be criticized.
And really-- Obama had a lock on NJ's electoral votes, anyway. What, a Christie plug was going to turn the tide of Ohio? As if.
I think it's just possible that Christie finally found out that Obama was a human being, as well as a caring President who knows how to lead. And Romney? Still only focused on himself.
Wait...just starting crying from the laughter. Whew needed that.
but your icon is actually from a drawing of me! It surprised me to see someone using it as an icon! My husband did the illustration.
:D
i got it from
small, small world. :D thanks for saying something, that's really cool to see it come full circle!
And, come on. They don't really think a few comments from a Republican swayed the way Democrats voted. They just want a scapegoat who's within reach. The only one they can really hurt at this point is one of their own.
Edited at 2012-11-09 11:17 pm (UTC)
It's just a matter now of finding a scapegoat for the election that matters to Fox and the GOP, honestly.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure we're talking about the same asshole who vetoed a gay marriage bill passed by both houses of the New Jersey legislature. I mean, he did the right thing in this case, but that doesn't mean he isn't an ass otherwise.
it's just incredible
The fact that they can't rally behind one of their own who stepped up in a time of tragedy is even more horrible. And this is why people turn away from the Republican Party, the RNC is out there only for them, they put party before country.
I am also wondering what Christie's angle is. He is by no means politically stupid and had to know this was coming. He could have done the right thing with more political polish, but he went out of his way to basically say "Fuck Romney" on Fox News. I don't know enough to guess at his endgame.
Saying what he did ticked off extreme 'party above all' Republicans, but they didn't like him much to begin with so no loss there. To pretty much everyone else - Dems, more moderate Republicans, and perhaps even some of those more extreme people in areas hit hard by Sandy - he comes off as having his priorities in order, giving credit where it's due, and being willing to get to work for the people who elected him.
Fox's anchors prompted Christie's statements with their questions. I think they were expecting him to fall in line like a good party member, but that just wasn't going to happen in this case at least.
Despite my strong dislike of Christie, I was moved by his genuine concern for his state; it didn't seem like posturing at all. I hope he remembers the way his own party treated him.