Who the frick is Chris Christie?
Oh just a guy hanging out in Iowa this week!
NJ governor rallies fellow Republicans in IowaBy MIKE GLOVER, AP Political Writer Mike Glover, Ap Political Writer
Tue Oct 5, 1:24 am ET
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie rallied conservative activists in Iowa
late Monday, saying his success in a Democratic state shows his tough-talking, smaller government
message resonates with all voters.
Fanning speculation that he's considering a 2012 presidential bid, the Republican spoke to about
700 people at a fundraiser for former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who is challenging the Democratic
incumbent for his old job back.
Christie said Republicans must deliver on their conservative promises if they gain power during
the November elections. If they don't follow through, he said voters will send the GOP "to the
wilderness, and they are going to send us there for a long, long time."
"As a party, it is put up or shut up time," he said.
Voters are willing to accept the political pain of deep cuts in government spending as long as
they know the pain is being spread equally, Christie argued. It makes sense to shrink government
in tough economic times, and politicians seem to be the last to get that message, he said.
"We lost our way a number of years ago, and we became tax and spend light," he said.
"Less spending, smaller government, less regulation, smaller government ? we're going
to be all about that again. We have to step up and stand for those principles again."
He described former President Ronald Reagan as the last truly successful Republican
political leader, because he stuck to those basic core principles "and that's what we
need to be about today."
After his speech, Christie insisted he wasn't planning to run for president in 2012 ?
even though Iowa, home to the nation's first presidential caucus, is a key destination
for those with big political aspirations.
"I'm governor of New Jersey, I'm not going to run for national office," Christie told reporters.
"You have to want it more than anything else in the world, and I don't. ... You have to be
ready for it, and I'm not."
Still, his appearance in Iowa didn't dampen speculation.
Since he defeated former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, Christie has been traveling across the U.S.
with a single message:
If he can sell his anti-tax, anti-government message in New Jersey, it can
resonate everywhere.On Monday, Christie argued that there's political success in carrying out conservative principles.
Elected with less than 50 percent of the vote, he said his approval rating is nearing 60 percent.
"Something different is happening in New Jersey, something different is happening in America," he said.
"They know we are in tough times and they're willing to sacrifice."
His stance underscores a divide in the Republican Party that could play out in the next presidential
election, whether he's a contender or not.
Christie is among those who argue that Republicans can succeed when they focus on fiscal
conservatism, often at the expense of focusing on key social issues, whereas former Alaska
Gov. Sarah Palin and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee energize the party's religious and
socially conservative base. Palin and Huckabee have been in Iowa recently, as has Minnesota
Gov. Tim Pawlenti, who courts that same base.
Branstad, who was Iowa's governor from 1983 to 1999, defeated a more conservative rival in
this year's GOP gubernatorial primary to take on Democratic Gov. Chet Culver. A poll taken late
last month showed Culver trailing Branstad by 19 percentage points.
Branstad praised Christie, saying he was "a model for what a Republican leader and a Republican
governor can do."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101005/ap_on_el_gu/us_christie_iowa
