Sen Frank Lautenberg dies

[sjfcontrol]

And rather than take the reins and put forward a replacement, Christie chickens out and calls for a special election.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06 ... autenberg/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did he choose this path because:
1. That's what Obama wanted or
2. Because appointing a replacement directly (R or D) would risk a political backlash that might hurt his reelection chances. or
3. All of the above.

Christie: All bark, no bite.

or...
4. He wants the Republican nomination for President in 2016 -- and he knows only wishy-washy Republicans need apply...

[anygunanywhere]

And rather than take the reins and put forward a replacement, Christie chickens out and calls for a special election.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06 ... autenberg/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did he choose this path because:
1. That's what Obama wanted or
2. Because appointing a replacement directly (R or D) would risk a political backlash that might hurt his reelection chances. or
3. All of the above.

Christie: All bark, no bite.

What does the state constitution say? Does the goobernor decide?

Anygunanywhere

[The Annoyed Man]

And rather than take the reins and put forward a replacement, Christie chickens out and calls for a special election.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06 ... autenberg/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did he choose this path because:
1. That's what Obama wanted or
2. Because appointing a replacement directly (R or D) would risk a political backlash that might hurt his reelection chances. or
3. All of the above.

Christie: All bark, no bite.

Oh he's got a lot of bite.........and chew..........and swallow too. Politically speaking, Christie is hanged no matter what he does. Calling for a special election gives him the least heartburn.

Democrats outnumber republicans by over 700,000 in New Jersey. The only way he gets reelected is by being squishy on everything and palling around with Obama.....and "reelection" is the name of the game. In the 2012 presidential election popular vote, New Jersey went for Obama 2,125,101 to 1,477,568 against—a difference of 647,533, or nearly that entire 700,000 votes. Christie gets called a "conservative" because he is more conservative than Obama. But that's like saying that Nikita Khrushchev was less of a communist than Karl Marx. So Christie has his right leg caught in a political bear trap. He cannot get reelected if he runs as anything but only slightly right of Obama.

1. Christie cannot run as "only slightly right of Obama" if he appoints a conservative republican to the senate. If he cannot run as "only slightly right of Obama," then he cannot get reelected in New Jersey. That state is a lost cause and will never change until after Revolution 2.0.
2. If Christie does not appoint a conservative republican, he will alienate a very large chunk of the republican party, and it will kill his presidential ambitions.
3. If Christie appoints a democrat of any stripe, he will alienate the entire republican party except out of staters like Olympia Snow and maybe John McCain......and they don't count in New Jersey......and it will kill his presidential ambitions.
4. If Christie calls for a special election, he wins by putting the "blame" on New Jersey voters—giving himself at least a small margin of protection in his own party. When the democrat candidate inevitably wins (by virtue of 700,000 more democrat voters in NJ than republican voters), Christie can "claim credit" for being "the kind of republican" who can "reach across the aisle" in order to "reach a consensus" (something that democrats would rather die than get caught at).
5. Then, when 2016 rolls around, Christie can throw his hat in the ring as "someone who gets things done," and the republican party elites will start crafting his hagiography. If he wins the primary, then Obama's surrogate (or Obama himself if he can find a constitutional loophole) will win the 2016 election—because, ONCE AGAIN, voters will not have a clear choice between good and evil, or personal liberty and nanny statism.
6. Then Christie and the party elites will blame the Tea Party for losing them the election.

This is why the nation is doomed.

(.....edited to fix a typo....)

[RoyGBiv]

hagiography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagiography" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Save the rest of you the trouble.

[sjfcontrol]

hagiography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagiography" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Save the rest of you the trouble.

Right click, select "Look up hagiography" -- "It's no tribble at all!"

[Locksmith]

Okay everyone, I know it's tempting (for me too!), but please don't.

Chas.

I know how exactly you feel. Sometimes it helps to think it really loudly to yourself though!

[SQLGeek]

This is why the nation is doomed.

Well aren't you a ray of sunshine...I wish you weren't completely dead on in your post.

[The Annoyed Man]

This is why the nation is doomed.

Well aren't you a ray of sunshine...I wish you weren't completely dead on in your post.

It's a curse, isn't it?