Keep an Eye on @GovChristie’s Early Summer Schedule…

WashPo’s Michael Gerson penned a piece for his paper last week arguing that Christie stands head-and-shoulders above Mitt Romney’s other available choices for the Veep slot:

Christie, at his worst, is capable of nastiness and name-calling — tendencies he would need to keep in check on a national ticket. But who else in the Republican Party combines a tea party tone with a relatively moderate public record? What other choice would cause Republicans to pray for 10 vice presidential debates?”

Gerson’s logic is hard to dispute, but choosing a national running mate is inherently a tricky balance between ideological emotionalism, parochial appeasement and stone cold pragmatism. Some conservatives remain unimpressed. Just a couple days before Gerson’s article went to print, Andrew McCarthy of America’s leading conservative publication The National Review defiantly declared “New Jersey could do much worse, but he [Christie] is not a conservative…”

The brute fact is that, while Christie is not a hardcore statist, he is a mild progressive — which is to say, a ‘compassionate conservative’ in the Bush mold who wants to make government ‘work,’ not drastically reduce its size and scope.”

Christie’s conservatism will remain a hot topic as Mitt Romney’s Veep decision draws near, Save Jerseyans. We’ve been having this conversation in New Jersey for almost four years! In fact, your Blogger-in-Chief was the first to weigh in on this topic (yes, the first) back in August 2008, a full 15 months before he defeat Jon Corzine. And my opinion remains largely unchanged from that initial assessment.

All the same, there are rumors afoot that the Romney plans to go with a “safe” pick, and that said individual will be announced “early” in the summer. Does Mitt fancy his fiesty Garden State friend and ally a “safe” choice? It totally depends on who you ask as the two excerpts posted above make brutally plain. But if what’s being published and what I’m hearing are accurate insight into Team Romney’s calculus, Save Jerseyans, you might want to keep an clear eye on Governor Christie’s summer schedule particularly over the next few weeks.

There’s little doubt in my mind that he’ll play a prominent role at the Tampa RNC. In what capacity remains to be seen…

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8405 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

2 Comments

  1. Someone wrote: "Christie, at his worst, is capable of nastiness and name-calling…."

    I think that is Christie at his best. ♥

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