Chris Christie condemns Donald Trump, saying he is a danger to America and the world.
He doesn't want to say he will vote for Kamala Harris.
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| Christie, laying into Trump in New Hampshire |
Guest post author Rick Millward says Chris Christie is "All MAGA, No Hat." Christie talks big but he won't cross the Rubicon. He won't openly say he will vote for Harris.
There is a difference between letting something happen and causing it to happen. In hypotheticals to test ethical principles, people typically say they favor an outcome where a locomotive heading toward a fork in the tracks takes the direction where it kills only a single schoolchild rather than the track where it mows down 20. But if asked whether one would intentionally murder that one child as the mechanism to divert the locomotive from hitting the 20, people feel differently. Me murder the child? No, not that. They want it to happen, but not by their agency.
Christie wants Trump to go down, but not by his hand.
Rick Millward is a musician, song writer, and music producer. He moved to Southern Oregon from Nashville. He performs primarily in wine venues in Southern Oregon.
Guest Post by Rick Millward
All MAGA, no Hat?Today I watched Chris Christie on "The View." I listened to a long critique of Trump that included “I don’t disagree with what others are saying.” That's what he said when reminded that other Republicans said Trump was a fascist. Christie didn't not want to say it himself. He wanted one degree of separation. To their credit, the hosts asked him directly if he would endorse the vice president, and his answer was: “She hasn’t convinced me yet.”Wow, Chris, really? How disappointing. I actually expected him to endorse Kamala Harris, and what better venue than "The View?"What more does he or any “good” Republican need to know? Christie took every opportunity for the last year to diss Trump. Christie blamed Trump for their election losses in 2018, 2020, and 2022, noting that Trump picks his candidates based purely on loyalty, not experience or electability. Christie doesn't mince words:
*** Referring to Trump having diverted campaign contributions into payments of his legal fees, he called Trump "the cheapest S.O.B. I've ever met in my life."
***Christie said, “He’s becoming crazier. And now he’s citing Vladimir Putin as a character witness, a guy who is a murderous thug all around the world.”*** Christie said, "He’s disgusting. And what he’s doing is dog-whistling to Americans."
*** Reacting to a Trump video mocking his weight, Christie said, “It just renewed in my own mind what a child he is. He’s a baby.”Christie said, “I think character is destiny for this country, and we’ve got to make a decision about what the character of the person should be who sits behind the desk in the Oval Office.”All this, and some praise for the vice president as well, and yet no endorsement of her? Every day the list of “good” Republicans grows. It began with Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and is now in the hundreds; It includes elected officials, Trump cabinet members and White House staff, and military officers -- people who saw Trump up close and say they endorse Harris' election.
Perhaps Christie has some hope for a political future inside the GOP that would be lost if he ever stepped over the line and urged voters to support a Democrat. While many have finally gone through the five stages to acceptance of the death of the Republican Party, far more are still at the bargaining stage. Christie is somewhere on the journey. Christie knows that if the Republican Party is to be reformed, it must include the banishment of Trump and MAGA. This purging won’t happen if Trump is elected, and in fact will become impossible if these non-democratic forces become entrenched. Good Republicans have nothing to lose by voting for Democrats if they hope to restore sense to the GOP.
The Lincoln Project, The Bulwark, and others believe the Republican Party is salvageable. That process begins with Trump losing this election. Trump loses because Harris wins; it is that simple. It is time for holdouts like Christie to say it, yes, they support Harris because that is how Trump loses, America wins, and the restoration of the GOP can begin.
6 comments:
“There is a difference between letting something happen and causing it to happen.”
That’s right. The Nazis turned the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich; the German people let it happen. Let’s not let Republicans do the same here. It’s astounding how completely detached from reality the GOP is. Facts are meaningless to them. Expertise is meaningless. Everything is a conspiracy. They are always the victims. It’s an insane and miserable way to live life.
I know what it’s like to be under a vengeful narcissist and it’s scary to cross them. It’s fear that keeps Cristy and others from crossing that line, just as Hitler kept “good Germans” quiet.
The fact that Christie, Romney, John Kelly, Mattis, and many other prominent Republicans have spoken out forcefully against Trump but *not* endorsed Kamala is fucking disgraceful. If you actually think Trump is a fascist, then shouldn't you be doing everything you can to stop him from gaining power? The most basic first step to stop him is to ENDORSE HIS OPPONENT. It drives me crazy that they don't see this.
The freedoms we enjoy in our democratic republic are supported by free and fair elections, the peaceful transfer of power and the rule of law. Republicans are undermining them all, but we shouldn’t let ourselves be intimidated. Some hills are worth dying on.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ---Edmund Burke
Now all you have to do is convince the other half of the country. And in the meantime it might be worthwhile to think about what you did* to lose their trust.
* Hints: NAFTA and the words “deplorable” and “racist.”
As much as I despise Christie, I understand his stance. He's a profile in Cowardice.
However, an election between two candidates really offers three choices - including none of the above.
Maybe he doesn't like Don Old for certain reasons and maybe he doesn't like VP Harris for other different reasons. Do I think it's policy disagreements? Sure, because they are from different parties.
Do I think some of it is cowardice? Yes, because Christie doesn't seem to regret his previous sycophantic behavior towards Don Old.
Maybe it's 50% cowardice and 50% policy, or maybe 75-25, or 25-75.
But it may not be entirely cowardice .
At least we know he won't be part of the Harris-Walz administration.
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