Chris Christie

From RationalWiki
(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
(The bad)
Line 12: Line 12:
 
He supports lowering [[taxes]] farther than the record-low levels that they are now, and raising the retirement age for [[Social Security]].<ref name=issues/>
 
He supports lowering [[taxes]] farther than the record-low levels that they are now, and raising the retirement age for [[Social Security]].<ref name=issues/>
  
He has staunchly defended the [[NSA]]'s surveillance of American citizens, invoking [[9/11]] as his chief argument and claiming that the civil libertarianism of [[Rand Paul]] et al. was "a very dangerous thought."<ref>Cushing, Tim. [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130730/14211324005/nj-gov-chris-christie-opposing-nsa-surveillance-is-strain-very-dangerous-thought.shtml "NJ Gov. Chris Christie: Opposing NSA Surveillance Is A 'Strain Of Very Dangerous Thought'."] ''Techdirt'', 31 July 2013.</ref>
+
He has staunchly defended the [[NSA]]'s surveillance of American citizens, invoking [[9/11]] as his chief argument and claiming that the [[libertarianism]] of [[Rand Paul]] et al. was "a very dangerous thought."<ref>Cushing, Tim. [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130730/14211324005/nj-gov-chris-christie-opposing-nsa-surveillance-is-strain-very-dangerous-thought.shtml "NJ Gov. Chris Christie: Opposing NSA Surveillance Is A 'Strain Of Very Dangerous Thought'."] ''Techdirt'', 31 July 2013.</ref>
  
 
===The so-so===
 
===The so-so===

Revision as of 05:42, 9 September 2013

Christie

Christopher James "Chris" Christie (b. 1962) is the current Republican governor of New Jersey. He attended college at the University of Delaware and Seton Hall University School of Law before becoming a partner in a law firm.[1] In 2002 Christie was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey by George W. Bush where he earned a reputation for cracking down on corruption and later went on to become governor of the state in 2010.[1]

Despite saying he's not going to run, there were many Republicans who wished to see the moderately conservative Christie run for their party's nomination for the 2012 election. Christie endorsed former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney for President, and gave the keynote speech at the Republican National Convention (the speech turned to be a plug for himself, somehow), but has said he will not be a candidate at a contested convention.[2]

Contents

Positions

The bad

Christie is pro-life and believes marriage should only be between one man and one woman,[3] vetoing a New Jersey same-sex marriage bill using the "public referendum" canard.[4]

Like Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Christie believes that the way to improve public services, particularly education, is to smash the public-sector unions. In this, he has an unusual ally — Stephen Sweeney, the Democratic leader of the state Senate and the head of a local ironworkers' union.[5] So much for labor solidarity.

He supports lowering taxes farther than the record-low levels that they are now, and raising the retirement age for Social Security.[1]

He has staunchly defended the NSA's surveillance of American citizens, invoking 9/11 as his chief argument and claiming that the libertarianism of Rand Paul et al. was "a very dangerous thought."[6]

The so-so

Christie's environmental record is mixed. On one hand, he tried to weaken the state's Department of Environmental Protection on the grounds that it was killing businesses, and withdrew the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).[7] On the other, he believes in green, renewable energy instead of offshore drilling,[1] supporting tax credits for offshore wind farms and allowing the construction of solar arrays on farmland. Yes, a Republican who believes in global warming, as hard as that may be to believe.

The good

Despite being a Republican, Christie isn't disturbed by others' religions and has thus earned respect from some liberals.[8]

Christie, as a New Jerseyan and a half-Italian American, has trashed the makers of Jersey Shore and blocked them from receiving $420,000 worth of tax credits to film in the state,[9] meaning that all production costs now have to come out of MTV's pocket. Sure, this may be keeping jobs out of the state, but do you really want to have anything associated with Jersey Shore on your resumé?

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy destroying the Jersey Shore, Christie put partisan politics aside and praised Barack Obama's handling of the recovery (on Fox News, no less), to the point where some felt that he was throwing Mitt Romney, who he had previously endorsed, under the bus.[10][11] He has now been effectively declared a RINO.[12]

While he opposes gay marriage, he otherwise has a decent track record on gay rights, including supporting civil unions and making New Jersey the second state (after California) to outlaw the use of reparative therapy on minors.[13]

External links

See also

Footnotes

Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Community
Tools
support