Free Republic

GREENVILLE, S.C. — If Chris Christie runs for president, there's little doubt people will see plenty of the town halls the New Jersey governor is known for. That anything-goes format is his comfort zone, and voters tend to like it. Christie spent hours answering questions at two town hall-style events during the past week in South Carolina — one planned, the other an impromptu session in the back room of a bar. He'll be doing the same in Iowa in the days ahead....

Sometime between now and the Republican nomination, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will enjoy a rally in the polls — nationally, and maybe in New Hampshire. Maybe the first debates will provide the Christie boom. Maybe he'll master the town halls in the Granite State. There's also a decent chance the boom will be fleeting. But if you write off Christie after his fall from front-runner status in 2013, you're making a mistake. By no definition is Chris Christie the current Republican front-runner. He hasn't led in a poll since last July. His RealClearPolitics polling average puts him in 7th...

Why Chris Christie Will Be The Next POTUS A Super Tuesday Away From Double Digits The View From The U.S. Virgin IslandsThe eighteen Republicans running for president in 2016 are wise to try to make foreign policy the lead issue in the next POTUS election. Not because Hillary Clinton is especially vulnerable on Benghazi, but because what most people would consider to be her strong suit – foreign policy due to her four years as Secretary of State – is actually her biggest weakness. If you had to put one person from the United States in a locked room with...

KEENE, New Hampshire – At a country club here in the southern part of this crucial, early voting state, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie broke from some of his potential 2016 Republican presidential rivals, saying he believes in climate change and that humans have something to do with it. “I think global warming is real. I don’t think that’s deniable. And I do think human activity contributes to it,” said Christie. He added, however, that there needs to be more discussion about the degree to which humans play a role.

Thought exercise: What if the indictment of Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez ... could once again potentially place an appointment of a U.S. senator in the hands of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie? To trigger this scenario, Menendez, who was indicted Wednesday on corruption charges, would first have to step down or be convicted. Menendez has given no indication he's going anywhere. Then again, stranger things have happened. Consider why Christie might want to think about appointing himself IF a Senate seat were to be vacated: 1.He's term-limited as governor. He can't run again after serving two consecutive terms; and 2.His...

Nearly a week since Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), igniting a nationwide debate about whether the controversial law invites discrimination based on sexual orientation, most potential Republican presidential candidates have taken the opportunity to bolster their conservative credentials. "Governor Pence has done the right thing," said former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Monday. “I want to commend Governor Mike Pence for his support of religious freedom, especially in the face of fierce opposition,” Texas Senator Ted Cruz said in a written statement. “Governor Pence is holding the line to protect religious liberty in the...

Every 2016 GOP presidential hopeful except Jeb Bush and New Jersey Chris Christie (R) own guns, and lots of them. Between the “15 noteworthy” contenders there are at least “40 guns” privately owned, and these include Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) .357 Magnum and shotgun, Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) AR-15, former Governor Rick Perry’s (R-TX) “jogging” gun, the revolver Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) says he bought “for protection” in 2010, and Governor Bobby Jindal’s (R) Smith & Wesson .38 Special, among others. Yet according to The Washington Post, pro-illegal immigration candidate Jeb Bush does not own one gun, nor does Governor...

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence swatted a hornet’s nest when he signed a bill that detractors say would allow Hoosier State businesses to deny services to gay and lesbian couples. Amid threats to boycott Indiana businesses and cancel conventions, Pence is, according to news reports, “working with legislators to amend the law and ‘clarify’ that it does not promote discrimination.” Already, Salesforce.com said it would cancel its corporate travel there and hometown hero Bill Oesterle, the CEO of Angie’s List—a Republican who chaired Pence’s predecessor Mitch Daniels’ 2004 race— said that his crowd sourcing recommendation company will scuttle a deal with...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/22/cruz-is-in-whats-chris-christie-waiting-for/25206955/

This year I took the SMC Republicans to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) where we heard from many conservatives who were all on the 2015 CPAC Straw Poll in which we participated. The top five winners were Rand Paul, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Jeb Bush. Paul was a hit with the large number of young people at CPAC. He said, “We do a great job defending the Second Amendment, but we have to defend the whole Bill of Rights … we should have speedy trials.” He went on to talk about Kalief Browder who was accused...

On March 18, gun control proponent Gabby Giffords met with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) to discuss new firearm confiscation laws for the state. In August, Breitbart News reported that Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS)—the gun control group founded by Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly—began pushing temporary confiscation as part of its bid to find something that would resonate with the American people and give the group some traction. At that time, the Arizona Republic reported that ARS was pushing for “Gun Violence Restraining Orders” which would “authorize law enforcement to remove access to guns, with court oversight...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sold himself to a room of conservative activists Thursday as a fighter who shouldn’t be counted out as he mulls a run for president in 2016. The Republican, who has struggled in recent weeks to gain momentum, was interviewed by talk show host Laura Ingraham onstage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. The three-day event features a parade of potential presidential contenders. Christie has faced a slew of negative stories and a formidable fundraising challenge from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. But he made clear Thursday he’s not dissuaded. “Is the election...

As the state pours billions of dollars in business tax breaks into programs aimed at strengthening New Jersey’s struggling economy, it has put the brakes on another incentive program, leaving hundreds of companies without promised payments that could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Seeking to balance the state budget over the last few years, the Christie administration and the Legislature have each slashed funding for the Business Employment Incentive Program, commonly referred to as BEIP, eliminating payments to companies that were promised annual income tax rebate checks in return for moving to New Jersey or expanding here....

Gordon Van Gilder, a 72-year-old retired schoolteacher in New Jersey, faces a 10-year prison sentence for possessing an unloaded 18th-century flintlock pistol in his car. Mr. Van Gilder, a collector of 18th-century memorabilia, said he had the gun unloaded and wrapped in a cloth in the glove compartment of his vehicle when he was pulled over in November by a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy for a minor traffic violation, according to a video posted last week by NRA News. After consenting to a search of his vehicle, Mr. Van Gilder said he alerted the deputy of the pistol in his...

A retired teacher is facing 10 years in prison and the loss of his state pension for possessing a flintlock pistol that may not have been fired since George Washington was alive, his attorney told FoxNews.com on Wednesday. In a case that underscores the Garden State's strict gun laws, Gordon Van Gilder, a retired English teacher and collector of historical items, has been charged with criminal possession of a handgun and faces up to 10 years in prison. If the 72-year-old is convicted, the charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 3.5 years and the pension Van Gilder earned as...

Krispy Kreme has accidentally advertised a "KKK Wednesday" for one of their stores this coming February 18th. The mistake is in between lighter topics, such as "Young at Heart Coffee Morning" on February 16th and "Balloon Madness" on February 20th. "KKK Wednesday" likely stands for "Krispy Kreme Klub," but most businesses do not come close to the extremely bad connotations of a "KKK" acronym. Here is a picture of the ad, which was still up at the time this article was written: The ad was posted by Krispy Kreme to its UK Facebook page.

On Wednesday night, several dozen people with the means to attend an event so pricey its invitation doesn’t list an expected contribution will gather in the Park Avenue apartment of Henry and Marie-Josée Kravis to meet Jeb Bush and add to the quickly filling coffers of Right to Rise, the PAC set up to aid Mr. Bush’s presidential ambitions. The affair will be co-chaired by Mr. Kravis’ colleagues at KKR, including Ken Mehlman, who managed George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign and later became chairman of the Republican National Committee. This is the second event Mr. Kravis, a coveted GOP donor...

DES MOINES, Iowa - For months, the 2016 Republican presidential race has been dominated by the "invisible primary" scramble for the backing of the party's donor class. On Saturday, it goes grassroots. At least eight likely candidates will give their pitches to 1,500 conservative activists at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines, trying to seduce the people who pack a punch in the GOP caucuses, where the first votes of the party's nominating process are scheduled to be cast in a little over a year. "This is the kickoff to the caucus season," said Cody Hoefert, the Rock City...

In naming an emergency manager for Atlantic City on Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie left the door open for the seaside gambling resort to file for bankruptcy if it can’t get its finances under control. The Republican governor and likely presidential candidate appointed a corporate turnaround specialist as the city’s emergency manager, and tabbed the man who led Detroit through its municipal bankruptcy as his assistant. Corporate finance consultant Kevin Lavin will have broad powers over Atlantic City’s finances and operations. Kevyn Orr, who helped lead Detroit through a financial crisis, will serve as special counsel to Lavin. Christie...

Hillary Clinton is still receiving the majority of attention among Democrats with regard to the presidential nominations, despite the fact that her chances of becoming Mrs. President are slim to none. However, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is still in the circle of limelight as well, although her chances are only marginally better than those of the former first lady. Republicans, on the other hand have a wide open field that includes candidates new and old alike. Interesting statistics Sixty-six percent of registered voters across all political parties believe Republicans should seek a fresh candidate for 2016, while 42 percent of...