Posted on 08/09/2013 12:13:59 PM PDT by drewh
The Republican party is at a crossroads and will have a big decision to make on its direction should Gov. Chris Christie enter the 2016 presidential contest, former Gov. Tom Kean said in an interview today.
Kean, an elder statesman in New Jersey and a popular figure in national political circles, said should Christie enter the race, Republicans will be faced with the choice of fielding a candidate who can win or fielding an ideologue to promote party purity.
"They can nominate somebody who touches all the conservative bases and you'll get 40 something percent of the vote and the Democrats will win or they can pick somebody who is like Christie who spans the spectrum and brings a whole lot of folks that aren't Republicans into the party - much like Ronald Reagan did - and win."
Kean said he thinks critiques that Christie's Jersey guy persona won't play in Middle America are overblown. People inherently trust Christie, he said, and that is a huge strength.
"I think people are looking for honesty and straightforwardness and he does that well," Kean said.
Christie faces an uphill climb with the conservative base of the Republican party due in part to his stances on issues like gun control and national security. Christie has tangled with conservatives including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and some believe he is too moderate to rise to the top of the GOP nominating process.
Still, Kean said, it would be a tactical mistake for Christie to try to tack right for a primary campaign.
"That's always a mistake," he said. "You can take your views that are already conservative and emphasize those things but if you actually look as though you're changing your beliefs voters see right through it."
After the 2012 election, much soul searching took place in Republican circles as the party contemplated its second straight loss. Minority voters deserted the party, some felt, because of hyper-conservative views on issues such as immigration. Others said Republican nominee Mitt Romney wasn't conservative enough and the party should move right for its next nominee.
That choice will be on stark display in 2016, Kean said.
"If he goes ahead and runs it's going to be the party's choice," Kean said. "He's probably the one who gives the party the best chance against Hillary (Clinton). Whether they want somebody to give them the best chance or they want a true believer is up to them."
If Nov 2016 is Hillary vs NJ Fatboy, I’m writing in Putin!
ME TOO
Kean, an elder statesman in New Jersey
a WHORE.
LOL @ that toon!
Chris Christy has the political morality of a crack whore..
And the patriotism of an anarchist..
Tom Kean? Gee, while we are talking about near octogenarian RINO and worse northeast governors, why not ask Lowell Weicker, George Pataki, and Dick Thornburgh?
Why don’t these guys spend some time ATTACKING OBAMA?!?!
bit fat NO WAY
Is kean a democrat or a rino?
Putin needs to give Snowden the Russian Medal of Freedom : )
Well he is as large (or will be) as Grover Cleveland. He weighed in at 250lbs and was just 5’11” - so ends Christie’s qualification for president.
Obama did fine by touching all the lefty bases.......
Mr. Kean is on record as believing the Second Amendment does not apply to private citizens. He created much mischief in New Jersey for New Jersey legal gun owners. One of his “accomplishments” was to subject muzzle-loading black powder guns to the same onerous restrictions as modern guns in this state. Even in their wildest fantasies, few FEDERAL gun control advocates ever did that.
And so, an endorsement by this pompous liberal windbag is hardly something to rejoice over if you are a conservative Republican.
And so, this makes sense:
http://freebeacon.com/christie-signs-10-gun-bills-into-law/
This, of course AFTER Christie said in July that no new gun laws were needed.
YES
Tubby bubby won’t make it through round one of the primaries. The media better have another spoiler to throw at us.
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