Maggie, we’ve already seen a Governor Christie judicial appointment. Last year, he appointed Sohail Mohammed, a board member of an Islamist organization (the American Muslim Union) who had a history of ripping the Justice Department’s successful terrorism prosecutions against operatives of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and who represented an admitted Hamas member, Mohammed Qatanani, when the government tried to deport Qatanani — who had concealed his Hamas connections in an immigration form Sohail Mohammed’s firm helped him prepare. I wrote about it here.
When citizens of the Garden State had the temerity to protest this awful appointment, the governor, in his usual mild-mannered way, smeared them as “crazies” obsessed over sharia. I doubt he’s going to have much more patience for traditional marriage crazies. In any event, it becomes increasingly clear that as a potential presidential candidate, Chris Christie makes a good governor of New Jersey.
I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that the very thing that led me to think so highly of Christie's moral character—his impassioned, fact-based defense of Sohail Mohammed in the face of baseless accusations of extremism (see link below for the video clip)—is the very thing that you, McCarthy, object to.
Every time I think I find kinship with a Republican who seems to be standing up for basic decency, his party's representatives are waiting in the wings to rip him down for it. Really a shame. And the moral wasteland atop the nomination ballot is the result you get.
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i didnt hear any facts from christie, just a lot of assertions. and he uses the word "crazy" and then asserts taht being a citizen and a lawyer admitted to the bar somehow is credential enough. guess he isnt familiar w/ lynne stewart. christie is more worried about diversity than ability and he continues to show a liberal streak a mile wide.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBut Chas, he appeals to moderates so who cares what he says or does? You must be one of those crazies. Here's to the long line of fine Republicans who appeal to moderates! Cheers President McCain and President Dole. Cheers Governor Schwarzenegger. Cheers Mayor Bloomberg.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat a crock. Here's a little secret, BL: conservatives aren't big fans of liberalism. We don't cheer appeasers because we disagree with them. You leftists, on the other hand, confuse this disagreement for immorality, indecency, stupidity, racism, bigotry, etc. and hop on your little superiority complex horse and prance all over the parade grounds. Get over yourself just a wee bit.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou are waaaaaaay too forgiving with your abbreviations.
BL?
Not Bm?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou consider the opposition to this guy baseless? I didn't realize aiding in the falsification of an immigration form qualifies one for a judgeship. There are a lot of things to like about Chris Christie - and most representatives of his party acknowledge that. Unfortunately, this judicial appointment isn't one of them.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYes, the basic decency of attacking, indiscriminately, public service workers, of standing up against rip-off charter schools as the failures they are and supporting vouchers for religious schools,. Yes, a basically decent man, huh? Baloney!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI can't speak to the qualifications of any of these judicial appointments, but isn't Chris Christie SUPPOSED to be acting as the Governor of New Jersey? Why is that a bad thing?
I can think of little that is more annoying than having the Governor of my state trying to make himself acceptable to a national electorate at the expense of doing his job for my state. Even if I substantively happen to agree with what he's doing.
And I'm not sure that just doing your job for your state in such circumstances is that much of a hindrance to national office. Mitt Romney governed Massachusetts and seems likely to win the Republican presidential nomination. Jon Huntsman governed Utah and has dropped out. Bill Clinton governed Arkansas and (in the 1992 Democratic primaries) defeated Jerry Brown, who had governed California. Ronald Reagan had governed California and defeated Jimmy Carter, who had governed Georgia.
I rather expect that if you govern a state the political temperament of which is different from your national party (a Republican governing New York; a Democrat governing Arizona), you're going to do things that tick off the national party. It's really easy to do Democratic- or Republican-happy things if you're governing Washington or Idaho, respectively.
But does it matter? Or is it just a hurdle to overcome?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo it's "acting as the Governor of New Jersey" to appoint judges who see the New Jersey Constitution as a personal template that can be rewritten to please? Not buying that.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAndy,
While I have long admired your writing, I must say that you have, of late, taken your analses to a new level of insightfulness. You, Mark Steyn and Jonah are the last remaining columnists at NR who embody the best of WFB's legacy. Sadly, were it not for your collective weekly contributions, I would no longer have reason to visit NRO.
Regarding Christie, you are rapidly becoming a lone voice of sanity. That man is simply not a conservative in any meaningful sense of the term. Those conservatives who argue that he is among our best hopes for electoral and policy success are profoundly deluding themselves.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThere is a reason that the "Fat Man in the Bathtub" decided not to run for the GOP nomination for President. And it's not because he has Little Feat.
Rest assured, though, Gov'ner: If she'll be your Dixie Chicken, Ms. Coulter would welcome you as her Tennessee Lamb. There's something about the way she calls your name.
This man is more socially liberal than Mike Dukakis.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseConsidering the judge's orientation, I'm glad your musical selection wasn't "Skin it Back." :-P
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseUm, considering what you considered, well, me, too! (I guess!)
For future reference, I only refer to songs I've heard of before, not ones I didn't know existed.
It was between the two I cited, and Pretzel Logic and Gaucho from Steely Dan.
Considering the "judge's" "orientation", good thing I didn't choose a group with a name like Steely Dan, right? Yuk yuk!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAndrew McCarthy is the only one on NRO who still makes sense. Christie, the most forceful of Romney backers, has made a series of politicized judicial appointments aimed at currying favour with every group but the conservatives who elected him. In record time, Christie has become a megalomaniac, believing that he won the Governorship solely on his own merit and that he owes nothing to the rubes who put him over the top. Not only will Christie never become President, his hubris and betrayal of conservatives will ensure he is a one-termer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGosh Andy, Ann Coulter said he was the only guy who could beat Obama (before she said Romney is the only guy who can beat Obama) so who are you to look at his actual record?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseChris Christie: Another rude, Northeastern, self-righteous GOP Establishment hero bound to disappoint conservatives, while appeasing those who are not our friends.
Meanwhile, in Florida the GOP Establishment, with their strange redistricting, has unnecessarily made it very difficult for conservative Alan West to win reelection.
Perhaps I missed something, but I thought we wanted to encourage black conservatives, to show that (unlike black Democrats such as Sheila Jackson Lee, who need especially gerrymandered districts to prevail), a black conservative can defeat a more liberal white candidate in a conservative GOP white district.
We have two black GOP members of Congress, and the Establishment seems to want to get rid of one of them. Typical.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBaloney. The redistricting reforms had nothing to do with the "GOP establishment" (it's hiding under your bed) unless you include Rubio - they were begun before West was elected and eliminate gerrymandering for the most part, mandating respect for existing geographical and political boundaries. It's a good, conservative reform.
To redraw 25 districts, 19 held by Republicans, into 27 mathematically requires several districts lose GOP areas, meaning they will perforce become more competitive. That's life - there is NO other way to do it, though.
Below is a link to West's 22nd CD, as you can see it is surrounded by Democratic areas. If you can draw a new district which conforms with the new law AND the DOJ Voting Rights Act guidelines that does NOT put more Democrats in West's district, show me.
External Link
You can't, because it isn't possible. So is this assertion out of ignorance, or are you deliberately attempting to deceive us with your "establishment" horse hooey?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou ask: "...is this assertion out of ignorance, or are you deliberately attempting to deceive us with your 'establishment' horse hooey?"
That is rather personal and untrue (I am reasonably intelligent and never knowingly make stuff up), but never mind. My assertion was based on a TownHall article today by John Ransom, entitled:
"No Room for Allen West-or You-in Romney's GOP"
I cannot seem to make the link work, but you can access it over at Real Clear Politics today (Monday).
Also, why in Heaven's name do we need to worry about DOJ issues in Alan West's district? Colonel West is, of course, a black man. If the district was full of conservative white bigots (that 1960s fantasy is *really* getting old), he would have never been elected. Is the DOJ really concerned that putting more of the kind of people who voted for him in the first place will weaken him? Seriously?
Horse Patooties, indeed.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Also, why in Heaven's name do we need to worry about DOJ issues in Alan West's district? Colonel West is, of course, a black man. If the district was full of conservative white bigots (that 1960s fantasy is *really* getting old), he would have never been elected. Is the DOJ really concerned that putting more of the kind of people who voted for him in the first place will weaken him? Seriously?"
Are you SERIOUS? Do you really not know that the DOJ puts Southern states through hell in redistricting every decade to pay for its past sins? Of course the Florida GOP has to jump through umpteen hoops to make sure that they don't give the DOJ the slightest reason to toss out their redistricting plans.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn defense of Krispy Kreme Kristie:
When have followers of the Religion of Peace ever attacked Americans?
(Watch out for the Ron Paul stampede).
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