January 24, 2015--Gov. Chris
Christie
(R-NJ) faced perhaps the greatest challenge of any of the prospects to
address the Iowa Freedom Summit, how to counter the perception that he
is a
moderate (see for example Judicial Crisis Network's digital campaign
from July 2014 +).
Christie
addressed
the
issue,
although
not
entirely directly, at the
front of his speech, suggesting that although critics say he is "too
blunt, too direct, too loud and too New Jersey for Iowa," he keeps
getting invited and keeps coming back to Iowa "because our values are
consistent,
and we are fighting together to make this a better country." Also
later in his speech he noted, "I'm sure you will not agree with me or
any other candidate on every
single issue." Christie described how he has upset conventional
wisdom as governor of New Jersey. He touted his pro-life
credentials, saying that he ran in 2009 as a pro-life candidate and in
2013 as a pro-life governor. "The notion that our party must
abandon our
belief in the sanctity of life to be competitive in blue states is
simply not true, and I am living proof of that fact." He
highlighted the need to speak to middle income workers. "Every
domestic policy we advance, every
decision we make, should be focused on making their lives better,
renewing their future, renewing their faith, their belief in this
country," Christie stated. Toward the close of his speech he
described movingly how the "direct, blunt New Jersey stuff" came from
his mother. "My mother had raised us our whole lives to
understand that in a
trusting relationship, you need to tell people what you're really
feeling and what you really believe, and that sometimes it might be
uncomfortable, but it's better than not saying it," Christie
said.
[transcript] |