New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie today said what many centrists, moderate, independent and traditional Republican conservatives have long wanted to hear a member of the current Republican Party say: “Compromise: it’s not a dirty word!”
Here’s the segment on Morning Joe:
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But here’s the reality:
1. Christie’s polls are soaring in New Jersey, where he’s getting things done, still controversial, but gaining respect due to this talking like what several people have told me “like a real person” — bluntly and without the tiresome, hackery partisan spin you hear on talk radio, on cable and read on many blogs. In reality, you do NOT always know what Christie will say on a subject.
2. Compromise IS a dirty word to many partisans these days. This will make Christie’s task even more difficult if he seeks the Presidency in 2016.
3. Christie is of the Bush style wing of the GOP: George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Jeb Bush. The older style conservative who’s center right to traditional right and will work with people on the other side — and doesn’t consider consensus cowardice and/or compromise political treason. In fact, in his great book “Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents” historian Gil Troy classifies Ronald Reagan as a “moderate” — because he worked with his political foes and compromised with them enough to a)reach most of his goal, b)defuse some of their opposition, c)help build a larger consensus around his main goal.
4. The current Republican Party and its two most vital “pegs” — the Tea Party and its members, and conservative radio and cable talk show hosts — have a vested interest in nixing compromise. They remain extremely powerful among GOP primary voters and can mobilize primary votes to vote for — or against — someone.
5. Most likely: Christie — if he continues on this path — will be highly respected and prove to be in national polls a potent potential GOP candidate, but he’ll have his work cut out for him if he runs for the nomination. Will he pull a Mitt Romney and try an Etch a Sketch?
6. Christie is not a liberal or a moderate in Democratic terms. But he is a traditional conservative who keeps his eye on his policy and goal balls rather than mouthing words that are sure to please activist and new and old media ideologues.
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.