Posted on 11/28/2004 5:17:33 PM PST by nj26
On paper, it looked like a winning formula.
Determined to avoid mistakes that buried them in recent elections, New Jersey Republicans would rally behind a candidate who could win the independent swing voters needed to reclaim the governor's office in 2005.
Above all, that candidate would be a crime-busting prosecutor whose zeal for putting politicians away would appeal to a scandal-weary electorate. It seemed just what the beleaguered Republicans needed: a law-and-order nominee running against a Democratic Party whose governor had resigned in disgrace.
But the GOP plan to ride U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie back to power in Trenton never got off the ground, and Christie decided last week not to risk the security and status of his job for a dicey statewide campaign.
"We were close, but we couldn't put enough together to give Chris the confidence to do it," said William Palatucci, Christie's friend and chief surrogate in the attempt to move the party machinery behind him.
Palatucci, finance chairman of the state GOP, called it "a missed opportunity for the party to put a law-and-order candidate" in the governor's race. "He was the right candidate at the right time."
Former acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco agreed that Christie "would have been the party's most electable candidate. The issue Republicans need to rally around is the culture of corruption, and he was perfectly positioned to do that."
While several key Republicans pledged to support Christie, Palatucci was unable to deliver enough of the major county leaders whose organizations would be crucial in winning the June primary.
Many of those officials suggested that they would be with Christie once he entered the race - as he privately signaled he would - but they refused to guarantee it. The Christie faction also was unable to coax any of the other candidates to drop out, making his road to the nomination a treacherous one.
At the same time, President Bush's reelection made Christie's job as the chief federal prosecutor in New Jersey safe for another four years. He would have had to resign to run for governor.
As DiFrancesco put it: "[Christie] had a lot to lose by leaving that office. It was just too much of a risk for him and his future."
The apparent beneficiary of Christie's move is Douglas Forrester, a multimillionaire businessman from Mercer County who now is considered the main rival to Bret Schundler, the former Jersey City mayor and unsuccessful GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2001.
DiFrancesco and others said the GOP's regional powers were shortsighted in refusing to make the commitments needed to bring Christie into the race.
"They should have been bolder," he said. "Where I go, people continually ask what we have to do to win a general election. All these county chairmen have been asking that question for a couple of years now and none of them have an answer."
Privately, some veteran Republicans expressed disgust at the collapse of the Christie effort and were harsh in their assessment of some who failed to support it.
They said some party figures were compromised by business interests and parochial political concerns. Others cited a leadership void in the state party.
The Republicans have experienced a political meltdown in recent years, losing the 2001 governor's race and surrendering control of the legislature. The GOP also lost both the 2000 and 2002 U.S. Senate elections.
While their Democratic counterparts have displayed remarkable party discipline in coalescing behind their strongest candidates, the Republicans remain mired in disarray.
The Democrats face their own problems in next year's election, due chiefly to the swirl of scandals that plagued James E. McGreevey, who resigned as governor last month.
From the start, Christie's efforts were constrained by laws barring prosecutors from actively engaging in politics. He could not even say whether he was running.
While Christie was required to stay above the fray, he used two key surrogates to deliver that message for him: Palatucci, his former law partner, and George Gilmore, the GOP chairman in Ocean County and head of the state's 21 Republican county chairmen.
Palatucci and Gilmore worked to get other county leaders and key party figures in line behind Christie's candidacy but ran into unexpected resistance.
Some county officials were concerned about offending candidates already in the race, while others were reluctant to make commitments on behalf of their organizations.
Still others wanted Christie to resign and declare his candidacy first, something he was unwilling to do without definite promises of support.
Though a number of party leaders signed on, some of the most influential figures were not prepared to commit. They included Glenn Paulsen, the Burlington County GOP chairman; Dale Florio, chairman in Somerset County; and state Sen. William L. Gormley, the Republican political leader in Atlantic County.
Paulsen, for one, said he wanted a chance to vet Christie before making a decision.
"I don't think party leaders or county chairs were in a position to endorse anyone until they had an opportunity to talk to him directly - and [Christie] couldn't do that for ethical considerations," Paulsen said. "I never had the chance to review what he stood for and what his vision was."
Paulsen added that he was "responsible to a whole lot of county committee people" and thus not in a position "to take orders" from those seeking an early endorsement of Christie.
Attempts to reach Gormley and Florio were unsuccessful.
The candidate expected to benefit most from Christie's decision is Forrester, who officially declared this week and is running $1 million in ads over New York and Philadelphia TV and radio stations.
With Christie in the race, he and Forrester would have competed for, essentially, the same Republicans, trying to block Schundler from winning the nomination for a second time. They are concerned that Schundler, who lost the 2001 election, would do so again next year.
DiFrancesco said that, while he considered Christie the strongest potential nominee, "that doesn't mean we can't win the election. The McGreevey baggage might be too great for whomever the Democrats nominate."
This is the same crowd that has allowed the Dems to switch Lautenburg for Torricelli in 2002, and couldn't manage to force a special election out of the McGreevey scandal. And not particularly effective in contributing to the Bush reelection bid, either.
I was very sorry that the national party didn't back Bret Schundler last time around. Would he have any chance of winning if he ran again? He'd be a great governor.
And thus it will continue, all over the Nation, until the "people" throw the ruling political fat cat class out of their party "leadership" roles.
This applies to BOTH major parties.
Nothing has changed and I doubt anything will change.
Corzine will spend whatever it takes to become Governor.
The fraud machine is well oiled in this state.
I guess that makes Reagan, Nixon, Thune, etc., ad infinitum, "perennial losers."
Allowed? The corrupt liberal NJ Supremes allowed the switch, totally disregarding the perfectly clear law that was on the books. Of course, the court's rationale that voters needed to be given a "choice" was not employed when McGreevey left and Codey got to be governor for the remaining year in his term. Actually, the Codey case followed the actual law since McGreevey didn't officially resign until past the date for a special election. Liberal judges will occasionally follow the actual law if the results are favorable to them.
I was disappointed in Schundler on several fronts.
He lost to Jim McGreevey by a margin of 56 percent to 42 percent in 2001. So that's a 14 point margin behind a fairly weak candidate. And, in 2005, he will probably be running against Jon Corzine, former CEO of Goldman Sachs (a stronger candidate.) He really let himself get boxed in on social issues, and wasn't effectively to put forth an anti-tax or anti-corruption platform, which are the usual keys to Republican success in New Jersey.
But, more importantly, in 2001, Schundler apparently had knowledge of McGreevey's homosexuality and moral issues, at least according to newspaper reports. However, McGreevey was able to blackmail Schundler into silence because Schundler also had some moral "problems."
You can't run on a socially conservative platform (especially in a liberal state) if you have moral problems at home. Socially-moderate voters don't want to be lectured by somebody who doesn't have his own house in order.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5709441/site/newsweek
The NJ GOP is as corrupt and statist as the Democrats. Voters prefer the latter for obvious reasons.
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"The NJ GOP is as corrupt and statist as the Democrats. Voters prefer the latter for obvious reasons."
Agreed. I had really been hoping that Christie would come and clean up this state for us.
the star-ledger had an article that Christie was pro-life, but he could win in NJ. yay, I thought. he could win, the article said, if he made it clear that he wasn't actually going to do anything pro-life.
another "personally opposed but?" I am not sure they are worth the ground they stand on. I didn't know anything about Christie before he was mentionned as a possible candidate.
Next year ought to be a golden chance for the NJ Republican party and they stand sucking their thumbs and sniping at each other.
Mrs VS
Conservatives in NJ are in the same boat as those of us here in CA: we are mostly watching from the sidelines.
"Allowed? The corrupt liberal NJ Supremes allowed the switch."
Agreed, in a sense. But the state GOP party has been very ineffective at using the court of public opinion to counter activist judges. I hardly saw any prominent Republicans on television during the McGreevey scandal, calling for him to resign in disgrace.
What Christie Todd Whitman was saying:
Former Republican Gov. Christie Whitman said McGreevey “made a courageous decision” but criticized his plan to wait until Nov. 15 to leave office, saying it “smacks of politics.”
What she should have been saying:
"You disgraced the state, you endangered our security by installing your boyfriend as director of homeland security. Now get the hell out of the governor's mansion, and don't let the door hit you on the way out."
Sorry to hear it.
I have one name for N.J.
Rudy Guiliani.
The situation is perfect for him. He's liberal enough socially to please Dems, popular, has ties to the state and can clean up the corruption.
I think N.J. is his best fit, more so than a W.H. position or run in N.Y.
I don't see where Schundler has a political power base anymore. Last time, the only County Chairman who supported him was Dowd from Monmouth County -- and he's gone.
There are NO Republicans in NJ, only RINOS. Tom Kean's little turd of a son calls himself a Republican, but wants a state-wide smoking ban that's stronger than NY and CA. Christie Shittman was a total embarassment, and Donnie D and his pals at the Trenton GOP hung Shundler out to dry because he wouldn't join their pathetic RINO club. Bob Grant said as much on his radio show while Schundler was on as a guest, and Schundelr agreed that the NJ GOP really let him down. Shundeler was a Second Amendment warrior, pro-life, Reagean-admirer, etc, and that didn;t sit well with the RINOs in Trenton, many of whom are so liberal they make Micheal Bloomberg seem like Jesse Helms. All NJ FreePers should vote staright DEm in state races. I would prefer no GOP at all in this state than the RINOS we end up with. Let really punish those Trenton turds!
Senators have not fared well in a run for the presidency(hear that Hillary)Governors have.Corzine is mild mannered,well spoken and has a business background.
Is he a stealth northeast liberal candidate for president?
I disagree with your negative tone. We've got a couple of good conservative candidates. One of them will be the nominee, and this state, which was in play for GWB will be in play for the GOP. DiFransesco is a twit.
That's not true. Check out Scott Garrett, congressman, 5th district.
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