INDIANAPOLIS — Mitt Romney. Jeb Bush. Haley Barbour. Ronald Reagan. All Republican Party stars, and all former headliners at the twice-a-year Indiana Republican Party dinner. Now there’s a new name on the list: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose national profile has skyrocketed during his cross-country political tour. In introducing Christie, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels described him as "the...
Gov. Chris Christie addresses a crowd of nearly 1,000 as he continues his national political tour with a headline appearance alongside Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels at the twice-a-year Indiana Republican Party dinner. INDIANAPOLIS — Mitt Romney. Jeb Bush. Haley Barbour. Ronald Reagan. All Republican Party stars, and all former headliners at the twice-a-year Indiana Republican Party dinner.
Now there’s a new name on the list: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose national profile has skyrocketed during his cross-country political tour.
In introducing Christie, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels described him as "the next great governor in America."
"The government unions. The special interests," he said. "They better get out of the way."
Daniels added: "You may not speak with the accent we do. But you speak a language we can relate to."
Christie, who blasted his predecessor Jon Corzine as "the quintessential limousine liberal Democrat in America," positioned himself as a conservative gladiator taking on New Jersey’s entrenched interests, particularly public sector unions.
"They have taken from the taxpayer in ways that are unconscionable," he said. "You must take on these unions. You have no choice."
Christie also said the GOP must be focused on the midterm elections, not just the 2012 presidential race.
"You cannot give Barack Obama another 24 months with a Democratic House of Representatives, a Democratic United States Senate, and a whole lot of Democratic governors in the peanut gallery cheering him on," he said.
The dinner, with its $200 entry fee, usually draws 700 to 750 people, state party spokesman Trevor Foughty said. But this year, with Christie and Daniels both achieving national recognition, attendance neared 1,000 people, who dined on salad and chicken at banquet tables in the downtown Westin hotel.
Christie’s Indianapolis stop was unique from his others around the country. It was his first where he’s not stumping for a candidate. And he appeared alongside Daniels, another rising Republican star who’s been labeled a presidential contender.
Christie has denied any interest in the presidency or the vice presidency even as his campaign stops stokes speculation. Daniels, on the other hand, has left the door open to a presidential run. "I agreed to think about it when I had time to think about it," he said. Some attendees talked excitedly about a theoretical Christie-Daniels (or a Daniels-Christie) presidential ticket. "I’d vote for it in a heartbeat," said Debbie Nicholas of Indianapolis.
Daniels was elected Indiana governor in 2004 after serving as President George W. Bush’s budget director, where he earned the nickname "the blade" for his cost cutting. He was reelected in 2008 by an 18-point margin.
Daniels and Christie have markedly different styles. Asked what they have in common, Daniels, a slight Midwesterner, joked, "It wouldn’t be size or accent."
Christie’s popularity has been boosted through YouTube videos showcasing his bombastic style, like his confrontation with a heckler in California.
Daniels is more low-key. A June cover story in the conservative Weekly Standard described him as the "un-Obama," saying his "very lack of charisma becomes charismatic."
Still, attendees today saw more similarities between the two, describing them as no-nonsense chief executives dedicated to cutting the size of government.
Daniels, in an interview, said Christie serves as a tough-talking front man for the Republican Party. "He’s supplying a little backbone to other people," Daniels said. "The attention he’s gotten, I hope, has fortified some other people to speak plainly."
Some attendees said Christie’s presence shows Republican strength in blue states.
"Gov. Christie adds a unique new perspective to the event," said Daniel Kinnamon, chairman of the state’s Young Republicans. "We don’t normally get someone from the East Coast."