Chris Christie: Did primal scream help or hurt his presidential prospects? (+video)
Gov. Chris Christie tore into Speaker Boehner and the House GOP over the delay in a vote on Sandy relief. That could help him get reelected but hurt him in a Republican primary campaign.
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But remember the primaries? That’s a gantlet that any 2016 contender will have to run. For the most part, Democrats and independents don’t get to vote in GOP primaries. Christie would have to appeal only to Republicans, and many of them are likely to have lingering resentments about Christie’s 2012 role.
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Washington Editor
Peter Grier is The Christian Science Monitor's Washington editor. In this capacity, he helps direct coverage for the paper on most news events in the nation's capital.
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We’re not just talking about tea party adherents who view Christie as a closet northeastern liberal – Massachusetts' Mitt Romney without the hair. Many mainstream Republicans remain unhappy with the enthusiastic way Christie embraced President Obama in the wake of Sandy’s devastation.
The right-leaning Weekly Standard, for instance, championed a possible Christie 2012 run prior to primary season. But on Wednesday their post on his Trenton press conference was headlined “Christie Craving Pork-filled Sandy Bill.”
The legislation Christie wanted passed is full of financial favors tacked on by Senate Democrats, wrote the Standard’s Daniel Halper.
“After yesterday’s fight over the ‘fiscal cliff’ deal it seems reasonable that Congress might not have been up for another battle just yet,” wrote Halper.
The National Review added that the Sandy bill is about the second wave of federal aid to the area, not the first. FEMA’s emergency funds cover initial recovery efforts. The legislation in question provides cash for rebuilding, which is a less time-sensitive requirement, wrote Daniel Foster.
“The cataclysmic tone struck by northeastern Republicans like Peter King (who is implying he could leave the party) and Chris Christie ... strikes me as unnecessary,” wrote Foster just prior to Christie’s rant.
Given that, it would sure be interesting to see how 2016 opponents (Jeb Bush, anyone?) handle Christie’s occasional anti-House GOP comments, if the New Jersey governor decides to try his hand at the national political game.
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