New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stumped in Tennessee on Friday to show support for Gov. Bill Haslam and other Tennessee Republicans up for re-election. (Bobby Allyn/WPLN)
Gov. Chris Christie passed through Tennessee on Friday to back Sen. Lamar Alexander and Gov. Bill Haslam, both of whom are up for re-election but widely expected to win.
After swinging by Puckett’s Grocery, a barbecue joint in downtown Nashville, Christie said his platform shouldn’t give Tea Party activists consternation.
“I think everyone from different parts of the country assume that if you’re a Republican from New Jersey that somehow you have trouble with conservative folks,” Christie said. He then rattled off his party credentials: his self-described conservative budget, vetoing tax increases and his pro-life stance. “I don’t know. Seems to me that’s pretty conservative.”
Conservative, perhaps, but not conservative enough for some Tennessean Republicans who balked at Christie’s visit. Undercutting his statement that he and Tea Party members can jive, he said during the speech on Friday to 1,700 attendees that voters shouldn’t do anything “dumb” by electing Joe Carr, a state representative and Tea Party favorite who’s making a run for Sen. Alexander’s seat.
At the Statesmen’s Dinner, the largest annual Republican fundraiser in the state, Christie extolled the virtues of bipartisanship and said the Republican infighting needs to calm down — but Republicans also need to stick to their guns, he said. “I don’t know when compromise became capitulation,” Christie said, saying it’s happening far too much among federal lawmakers.
Although Christie admitted a few times during his speech that he was in Tennessee to trump other Republican politicians, when asked why he decided to drop through Tennessee, he replied that Gov. Bill Haslam, a good pal, invited him. It’s that simple. But surely the more than $700,000 raised didn’t hurt.
“I’m like the bad relative that you invite for thanksgiving. I show up, and I show up early,” he said. “Nothing more complex about it than a good friend asked me to come.”
Inevitably, Christie was asked about his 2016 presidential ambitions, and, just as inevitably, he punted.
“I’ve said to folks, I’m certainly thinking about it. But I won’t make any decision until 2015, and I’ve got a job to do,” he said. “It’s a lifetime away until 2016. My mother taught me a long time ago ‘stupid people make decisions before they have to.’ And I’m not stupid.”
Christie made no mention of the scandal surrounding the closing of lanes on the the George Washington Bridge, which some observers say tarnish his chance of being nominated for president. Other political watchers, however, say presiding over a $2.7 billion budget hole could present an event greater political liability. Still, Tennessee is the 15th state in which Christie has made an appearance since December, which many say is setting the stage for a presidential run.
[box]For a taste of Christie’s edgy Jersey style, listen to his reaction to New Jersey Record reporter Melissa Hayes’ questions about state employees not receiving pay raises this year.
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