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The GOP’s Dynamic Duo
Gubernatorial candidates Chris Christie of New Jersey and Bob McDonnell of Virginia carry the hopes of Republicans in 2009.
Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell may not have been linked before, but these two gubernatorial candidates are becoming quite a duo — mentioned together in reams of news stories and the subject of endless punditry. In a sparse year for elections they are at the center of two exciting and much-discussed races. Can they return the GOP to power? Does New Jersey or Virginia look more inviting?
This week they made a joint appearance in Washington, D.C., before the Republican Jewish Coalition. They don’t look much alike: McConnell, a former high school football star and Army veteran, is slight and Christie is not. Christie is the more gregarious of the two. But they have much in common. Both are “law enforcement guys,” as Christie put it. (Christie was a corruption-busting U.S. Attorney and McDonnell a well-regarded state attorney general.) And both have an unflinchingly conservative economic message that seeks to address the issues voters care most about.
McDonnell took the podium first. He didn’t waste time making the connection to another gubernatorial election year — 1993. He reminded the crowd that was the year when Christie Todd Whitman and George Allen, coming off a Republican defeat at the hands of Bill Clinton in 1992, swept to wins to be followed in 1994 by Newt Gingrich, the Contract with America, and the shift in control of Congress which remained in Republican hands until 2006.
“A lot of people would like to see that scenario repeat,” McDonnell told the crowd. And he added a bit of Virginia lore; since 1972 the party that won the White House lost the Virginia gubernatorial race the next year. (He joked that nevertheless he “didn’t drive around with a Barack Obama bumper sticker on my car.”)
McDonnell in the months he has spent on the trail, unopposed in his own party and largely out of the fray, has come into his own as a retail politician. He is more buoyant and fluid than six months ago, projecting energy and confidence that were less evident before he became one-half of the biggest political duo this year. As a practiced retail candidate he knew his audience — mentioning his trip to Israel, his efforts to form an Israel friendship group after his return, and his friendship and political alliances with his neighbor Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress.
But the meat of his remarks was aimed at explaining what his campaign is all about. He is running, he explained, a campaign focused on “solving problems that affect the quality of life issues people care about.” He ticked them off — education, energy, transportation and making “government run more like a business.” This, he contrasted to what we have seen coming out of Washington — card check, cap-and-trade, a stimulus plan filled with “unfunded mandates” for the states, and nationalized health care. In short, while not running against Barack Obama, he is, in large part, running against the liberal Democratic policies which polling shows are not popular, even with an electorate still entranced with Obama.
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Jennifer Rubin is PJM's Washington, DC, editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.
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8 Comments
1. sheesh:You forgot John Ensign.
Jun 17, 2009 - 5:34 am 2. We'll see..:Anyone been to Virginia lately?
Half, or more of the voting population is made up of bleeding heart liberals that escaped from New Jersey and New York across the last 10 years or so.
That number is growing faster than a bullet going through whipped cream. It is not just in Northern Virginia either. The Tidewater area, Roanoke – Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg are all filled with Obama supporters.
And no matter how hard Obama slaps them around and down, these people continue to drool and slobber at the mention of his name.
Bob McDonnell’s first task will be to convince the voting population of Virginia that it is better to earn what you want than it is to stand in a line waiting for Obama to give it to them.
He will have to convince the majority of business owners that in the short and the longterm it is better for them to join the fight against illegal aliens than it is to slip them wages under the table.
He will have to convince the legislature in Richmond, as well as the entirety of the state and local government agencies, police forces and public services to do the same thing.
He will have to convince the bubblegum chewing, tattooed college crowds that sit in their cars at stop lights with their heads boobing up and down listening to vulgar rap that there is more in life for them than a text message about where the next sex party is happening.
He will have to convince the teachers in the public schools that the children they teach will benefit much more from reading, writing and arithmetic than they do from another “how to feel good about yourself when you are different” sermon that always includes a generous portion of thou shalt learn to hate Republicans.
Virginia has changed.
Then so has the rest of the country.
It would be nice if Ms Rubin’s optimism carries the day but….
Jun 17, 2009 - 5:40 am 3. ashok:Christie talks a good game about how bad Corzine is, and Christie will certainly get my vote.
However, I did vote for Lonegan in the primary b/c I wanted to see Christie not just be more specific in what he wanted to do, but make a real commitment to not spending more than absolutely necessary. It would be nice to eliminate some of the unnecessary bureaucracy of school administration in NJ. It would be nice to hear that a proposal on building windmills by the shore would most certainly be nixed.
I dunno. Talking about how bad Corzine is could be an excuse for saying “no matter what I do, it could be worse.” I’m not distrustful as much as I want to see budgetary priorities more than “we’re creating a business friendly environment” be the centerpiece of campaign rhetoric. Democrats can claim to be creating a business friendly environment in their own way – they’re just giving all our tax dollars to one corporation or another.
Jun 17, 2009 - 6:04 am 4. Old Soldier:I voted for Lonegan in the primary also but Corzine is ripe for the picking and I’m certainly hoping Christie can do it. Hopefully the Republicans can make some gains in the legislature as well.
Jun 17, 2009 - 6:36 am 5. David Thomson:Today’s liberal elites vote mostly on behalf of their cultural values. Economic matters are considered a done deal. There is presumably little to worry about. Their affluence is taken for granted similar one’s acknowledgement that the sun comes up in the morning and goes down in the evening. The current economic crisis may be forcing these individuals to face reality. And if even only a relatively small percentage decide to vote their pocketbooks—the Democrats are royally screwed.
Jun 17, 2009 - 9:17 am 6. Sapwolf:Christie is a RINO, McDonnell is closer to what we call ‘conservative’.
Jun 17, 2009 - 9:44 am 7. Dennis:I have known Bob McDonnell since 1982. He is honest and straight forward. He was my representative in the Virginia House of Delegates, held regular town hall meeting and followed through when asked a question. He can be trusted! That is a major upgrade from the run of the mill politician.
I support Bob McDonnell the best I can. I urge all citizens of these United States, interested in good government, to join in the support of the McDonnell for Governor Campaign.
Bob sponsored pushed and supported bills that helped all Virginians. Please go to http://www.bobmcdonnell.com/ .
I am not affiliated with the campaign. I just know he is a good man and hard worker who will do what is best for the Commonwealth of Virginia. One good State added to the other good states will aid all Americans.
God Bless the Republic.
Jun 17, 2009 - 12:04 pm 8. Marc Malone:I know what I would say were I running. I would speak to all these transplants.
I would explain that there has been a mass migration from Blue State to Red States over the last few decades. Every census, the Blue states lose Electoral votes. Their economies are always the worst in the nation, so the people must leave to find opportunities, because liberal policies create economic wastelands.
However, the people who leave, continue to VOTE THE SAME WAY. They never seem to make the connection and question their values and voting as a causal link. Like locusts, they descend upon the land with their pestilential politics. After despoiling everything in sight, they seek new areas upon which to feed.
Look at NY. In 1980, they had 41 votes. In 2008, 31 votes! This pattern continues all through the States which border the Great Lakes. What do they all have in common? Dominant unions, and urban centers overwhelmingly minority. These vote Dem in lockstep. The bleeding is less pronounced in mixed OH, and Red IN, although still notable.
Contrast this with mostly Red FL and TX. From 17 to 27 for the former, and from 23 to 34 for the latter. Much of the job growth and prosperity has been in these States as well, as well as Red State AZ.
The pattern is clear. It needs to be pointed out again and again. Don’t even argue policy or engage the Left on issues. Just hammer home these irrefutable stats again and again. One really need say nothing more.
The same is true of the ten worst big cities in this country. The Dems have owned them top-to-bottom for 3 decades or longer. Contrast them with NYC. After 3 decades of Dem ownership, they elected a fiscally conservative Giuliani, and he turned it around. He did so well, that after he was term-limited out, this 2/3 Dem city paid him the ultimate compliment, and elected another Pub to succeed him.
Can you just see those Dems in the voting booth as they use one hand to force the other to vote for the Republican? “God, we don’t like those danged Pubs, but dang can they run a government!” This is the message to be conveyed. You may like Dem politics, but if you want your government and economy to work, elect a fiscally conservative Republican to run it! Rinse and repeat, again and again!
Jun 18, 2009 - 3:11 am