New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was urged by some Iowans to run for president last year, got a warm reception Thursday night at a fundraising dinner in Altoona where he gave a pep talk for Iowa Republican candidates and offered ringing support for Mitt Romney?s presidential bid.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie/Des Moines Register file photo
Christie, who is known for his blunt manner and an agenda favoring budget cuts and lower taxes,, received kind words from Gov. Terry Branstad, who called him ?my good friend? and ?someone who has the courage to tell it like it is.?
Christie, in turn, thanked Branstad for allowing him to be part of ?Team Iowa? and he promised to return to Iowa in October to campaign for Republican candidates. The Iowa GOP already controls the governor?s office and the Iowa House, and Christie told the audience ?if you turn the Senate over to Iowa Republicans, it is going to throw jet fuel on Iowa?s comeback.?
?This is a golden opportunity,? said Christie, who received a standing ovation after his keynote speech to a crowd of about 600 people at Prairie Meadows conference center. The event was sponsored by the Team Iowa PAC, which was raising campaign money for the GOP?s Iowa Senate candidates.
Christie spoke earlier Thursday at a fundraising luncheon in Sioux City on behalf of U.S. Rep. Steve King?s reelection campaign, although King had to miss the event because of commitments in Washington, D.C.
Christie said the presidential election offers a sharp contrast between Democrat Barack Obama and Romney. Democrats, he contended, ?believe that you belong to the government? and have put the country on a path of more taxes, more bureaucracy, and higher federal spending.
?Mitt Romney believes something totally different. His entire life is a testimony that government belongs to us, and that success is by integrity and ingenuity and work ethic,? Christie said.
He added, ?If you believe the government is answerable to you, the inexorable conclusion is that you have to vote for Mitt Romney to save this country.?
Christie, who gave the keynote address at the Republican Natiional Convention last month in Tampa, Fla., joked that he forced himself to sit on the couch at home and watch the Democratic National Convention, which he described as the ?circus in Charlotte.? He claimed Obama is ?looking for forgiveness for his failure? and he said he is convinced Romney will be in the White House in January if the Republican presidential candidate wins Iowa?s electoral votes on Nov. 6.
Despite Christie?s stated disinterest last year, a group of a half-dozen prominent Iowa businessman who were dissatisfied with the field of GOP presidential candidates traveled to New Jersey an effort to convince him to run. They spent about 2 ? hours urging him to enter the race, but Christie turned them down.
Christie?s trip to Iowa on Thursday could seed speculation about a potential future presidential run, but it mainly allows him to score a few points with Iowa Republicans, said Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford, who is an expert on the Iowa caucuses. ?This gives him a way to keep his options open and it doesn?t particularly commit him to anything,? he said.
Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky issued a statement Thursday criticizing Christie, calling him a ?very poor steward of the New Jersey economy.? She noted that in August, the U.S. Labor Department announced New Jersey lost more jobs in July than any other state, giving it the nation?s fourth-highest unemployment rate. On Tuesday, Standard & Poor?s Rating Services lowered its outlook on the state?s debt from stable to negative.
But Christie told Iowans Thursday night that New Jersey ?was a wreck? when he took office in January 2010 and he must deal with a Democratic-led House and Senate. He spoke proudly of pushing for state budget cuts and less government despite warnings that ?New Jersey will float into the Atlantic Ocean.?
?We have not raised one tax, and we will not raise one tax on my watch,? Christie said.The result of his work has been that New Jersey children are getting a good education, hospitals are open, the poor are taken care of, and there is a positive business environment, he said.
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Tags: Barack obama, Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Republican Party, mitt romney, Team Iowa PAC
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IowaPolitics/~3/m-aCwLxknN4/
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