TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie’s tough talk helped make him a darling of conservative commentators, but Republican primary voters are only vaguely familiar with all his stances. They may find that while Christie is conservative by New Jersey standards, he differs with them on some issues and the role of government. Keith Appell, a conservative activist and political consultant,...
Clik here to view.
Gov. Chris Christie speaks at a press conference in Trenton in this Sept. 20 file photo. TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie’s tough talk helped make him a darling of conservative commentators, but Republican primary voters are only vaguely familiar with all his stances.
They may find that while Christie is conservative by New Jersey standards, he differs with them on some issues and the role of government.
Keith Appell, a conservative activist and political consultant, said if Christie were to run, "His stances would get a full airing, and they may not air all that well."
Rush Limbaugh, who last year swooned over Christie’s tough-love style, last week said of the governor’s speech at the Reagan Presidential Library: "I heard a lot of John McCain in that speech ... enough to raise a red flag or two."
But others say Christie is well-positioned to appeal to a broad spectrum of Republicans. "There is the sense he is perhaps one of the only candidates palatable enough for the tea party but also a contender in the general election," said Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University.
A look at how he stands, compared with how the GOP has polled:
ENTITLEMENTS
Where Christie stands:
Christie told an audience at the conservative American Enterprise Institute the retirement age to receive Social Security has to be raised and Medicare has to be changed.
Where Republicans stand:
A Sept. 15 USA Today/Gallup poll found Republicans split evenly on whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s comparison of Social Security to a "Ponzi scheme" will make them more or less likely to vote for him for president. A March NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found even two-thirds of self-identified tea partiers called significant cuts to Social Security "unacceptable."
CLIMATE CHANGE
Christie:
Christie was lauded by conservatives when he pulled New Jersey out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is intended to reduce carbon emissions. He called the program a tax on energy but said climate change is "impacting our state" and "human activity plays a role in these changes." While vetoing a Democratic bill that would have kept the state in RGGI he said: "I did not quarrel with the science that serves as the foundation for the Global Warming Response Act."
Republicans:
A Yale University survey conducted in April and May found only 36 percent of Republicans believe global warming is caused by human activity, and only 19 percent of tea party members do.
ABORTION
Christie:
In January, Christie addressed an anti-abortion rally in front of the Statehouse, saying "Every life is precious and a gift from God" and that Roe v. Wade is "an issue whose time has come." Anti-abortion since seeing his second child’s heartbeat on a sonogram in the 1990s, he cut $7.5 million for family-planning clinics from the budget but said it was for money reasons.
Republicans:
A May Pew poll found 72 percent of "staunch conservatives" believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, as do 64 percent of more moderate "Main Street conservatives."
IMMIGRATION
Christie:
A single remark Christie made as U.S. attorney four years ago at a public forum sponsored by a Hispanic group has rankled some conservatives: "Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime." The next day, his office issued a statement saying, "He did not say, nor did he mean, that entering this country through any means other than the appropriate immigration channels is a lawful act." Last year, he said the federal government must secure the borders and create a "pathway to citizenship." At his Reagan Library speech, Christie said he opposed allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges, something Perry allows.
Republicans:
Forty-nine percent of "staunch conservatives" favor a path to citizenship for immigrants already in the country illegally, according to a Pew poll released in May. Among "Main Street Republicans," the number is 58 percent.
ISLAM
Christie:
While droves of Republicans spoke out against building a mosque and community center near Ground Zero, Christie refused to take a position, saying Democrats and Republicans were using it as a "political football." He also fumed at some conservative criticism of his nomination for a Superior Court judgeship a Muslim who had represented detainees after 9/11, saying he was "tired of dealing with the crazies."
Republicans:
A 2010 Rasmussen Reports poll said 76 percent of Republicans opposed building a mosque near Ground Zero.
GAY RIGHTS
Christie:
Christie opposes gay marriage but says he supports the state’s civil union law. He told CNN’s Piers Morgan he thinks that while his religion considers it a sin, he does not because "I think if someone is born that way, it’s very difficult to say then that that’s a sin."
Republicans:
In an April CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 71 percent of Republicans opposed gay marriage. A May 2010 Gallup poll found 35 percent of Republicans consider gay and lesbian relations "morally acceptable."
GUN RIGHTS
Christie:
Christie won applause from gun rights supporters when he commuted the sentence of Brian Aitken, who was serving a lengthy prison term for possession of guns he bought legally in Colorado. But he supports the assault weapons ban and, in his campaign for governor, opposed conceal-and-carry laws in New Jersey. In January, when asked about licensing concealed weapons, he did not state a position, saying he would not "bang my head against the wall" because such a measure would not make it through the Democratic-controlled Legislature anyway.
Republicans:
A January CBS News/New York Times poll found 27 percent of Republicans want gun laws to be stricter, 17 percent less strict and 53 percent kept as they are now.
HEALTH CARE
Christie:
Christie refused to join other states in a lawsuit against the new health care law and went against the Republican grain to accept federal funds so the state can administer its own high-risk insurance pool. But he has criticized the law, telling a conservative website its Medicaid mandates are "drowning" New Jersey and deriding U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.) as the "sponsor of Obamacare."
Republicans:
Eighty-six percent of Republicans surveyed in a January CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll opposed most or all of the new health care law.