Chris Christie CPAC speech: How did he do?
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) spoke at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington on Thursday, and his remarks seemed reasonably well received by the crowd. That鈥檚 good news for Governor Christie, of course. He needs conservatives on his side to have a shot at winning the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Well, maybe he doesn鈥檛 have to have them on his side so much as he needs them to not be in front of him, pushing back. The right has long been wary of Christie, seeing him as a moderate who is too eager to work with Democrats and questionable on social issues.
鈥淐PAC is never going to be Christie base. He just needs them to not actively [work] against him,鈥� , Washington Post political analyst, on Thursday.
The Conservative Political Action Conference isn鈥檛 a definitive gathering of the right wing of the Republican Party. Its attendees skew young and male, and libertarian. Three of the past four years, libertarian champion Ron Paul has won the CPAC presidential straw poll, the announcement of which caps the conference.
That said, it鈥檚 closely watched by other conservatives for trends and draws a big crowd of Washington-based media. Last year, Christie wasn鈥檛 invited, and the snub was big political news. This year he was, perhaps on the theory that Bridge-gate has made him a target of the mainstream media, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, etc.
In that context, Christie gave the crowd some of the attack lines they came for. He hit the media, saying the GOP shouldn鈥檛 let them define what the party is. He did his best to define himself as a conservative.
鈥淲e need leaders who are willing to say not only we are against Obamacare 鈥� which we are 鈥� [but] that we鈥檙e against higher taxes, we鈥檙e against bigger government,鈥� Christie said.
Christie touted his own fiscal conservatism, saying New Jersey now has 6,000 fewer state employees than when he took office. He hit back at the Democrats' emphasis on economic inequality, saying, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have an income inequality problem, we have an opportunity problem in this country because government鈥檚 trying to control the free market.鈥�
He also praised Republican governors for getting things done and said that he鈥檚 the only antiabortion governor elected in New Jersey for decades. He said the GOP has allowed speakers in favor of abortion rights at its national conventions, but the Democratic Party has not allowed the reverse.
鈥淭ell me, sir, the last pro-life Democrat who was allowed to speak at a Democratic convention? By the way, don鈥檛 strain yourself, because there鈥檚 never been one. They鈥檙e the party of intolerance, not us,鈥� Christie said.
Strictly speaking, . Antiabortion Democrats have been on the convention podium as recently as 2008, though it鈥檚 true they鈥檙e not exactly swamping the agenda.
Still, the 鈥減arty of intolerance鈥� remark is the kind of red meat the CPAC audience loves. While attendees were respectful of Christie at the start, they seemed to grow warmer as he went on and ended by giving him a standing ovation.
Christie 鈥渃ame to CPAC in need of a reception like that, and the party faithful delivered,鈥� of the National Review.
How the reception at CPAC would translate into performance in 2016 primaries remains to be seen. There鈥檚 some evidence that Christie鈥檚 troubles with the Fort Lee bridge scandal have cut into his support across the board.
A new finds that 38 percent of self-described conservatives say they 鈥渄efinitely would not vote for鈥� Christie, for instance. Among Republicans as a whole, 30 percent say they definitely oppose the New Jersey governor.
That鈥檚 just one survey, and poll questions about future choices aren鈥檛 always truly indicative. But it still hints at a little voting problem for Christie if he decides to run.
