Posted by Sir Four at 10:45am Jul 25 '13I'm not aware of another potential candidate who is viewed favorably by Republicans, Independents and Democrats.
Linked at the top is an article about how Christie has achieved broad appeal in NJ. In a nutshell:
Here's the key: conservatives trust him not to waste their money, and moderates trust him not to break the government. That's a synthesis that eludes almost all other Republican officials.
Most of the typical right-winger Republicans scare off everyone who isn't fully on board with their agenda by trying simple to smash the government, rather than making sensible reforms. Christie is a reformer, not a smasher. So while he is conservative, he's one that many people feel they can trust not to go too far.
More from the article:
Christie has been governor in lean times and he's had to cut a lot of things, including local aid. He's managed to do so in a way that's widely seen as fair by municipal officials. And he's made sometimes-surprising choices for a Republican, like sharply cutting property tax rebates (which mostly goes to Republican-leaning suburbs) and using a progressive formula to cut aid less sharply to the poorest municipalities.
At the same time, he's implemented accountability and cost-control measures. He reformed the state's program of "transitional" aid to the most distressed cities in a way that increases transparency and punishes corrupt administrations. He's given cities and counties a freer hand to control employee health care and pension costs. And he's capped the growth of property taxes, forcing cities to find ways to control spending growth.
Within NJ Christie has an approval rating of 96% among Republicans, 78% among independents, and 41% among Democrats.
I'm going to call it right here: If Republicans want to prevail in 2016, they must select Christie as their nominee.
Chris Christie Remains GOP's Best Choice for 2016 - Sir Four