Monday, January 6, 2014

Will Christie's immigration bill haunt him in 2016?

This article explains the fact that even though only 3% of Americans believe that immigration is the "most important problem" right now, it can still have large effects on primaries and even national elections. There are many conservatives not happy with the fact that Governor Christie will sign a New Jersey DREAM Act this week, which is a bill that allows undocumented immigrants who have attended high school in the state for at least three years to receive in-state college tuition rates. While his supporters believe that he is a member of the GOP that can win a national election, opponents in the party are not excited to support him. I think that even though Christie is a more moderate Republican, he still has an extremely good chance of winning the nomination for election. I agree with the part in the article that states that the people who are mad at him for signing the bill probably wouldn't be supporting him anyway, so he has to do what he thinks is right and stand by it.

21 comments:

  1. I appreciate that Christie is willing to support a bill that is not popular among the more conservative members of his party. I think that Christie tends to do what he believes will be best for the country, despite the criticisms he may receive. I do hope that this whole "Bridge-Gate" thing blows over, because I think that he would be and ideal presidential candidate for the Republican party.

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  2. I think that in Pennsylvania, immigration reform is not something that would have a large impact on our lives, but I can see how some people in southern states might be more passionate. I think that there hasn't been a lot of support for immigration reform because it hasn't been a central issue of presidential campaigns for a while. I agree with Michaela that Christie would be a great Republican candidate because he can appeal to the moderate majority of Americans.

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  3. I can understand why Christie would want to support something that is typically not popular among members of his party, but after reading sbout the other things he did, like the "arm-in-arm" tour of NJ with President Obama, I can see why Republicans would seem reluctant to support him. However, if he wants to be a formidable candidate for the 2016 election, he would need to find the balance between appealing to the moderate and more liberal voters as well as the traditionally conservative ones.

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  4. I like Governor Christie as the 2016 Republican Presidential candidate, and I think he has a strong chance if winning that role. I don't think this issue will be detrimental to Christie's presidential nomination because it is still so far from primary time, but as it gets closer Christie will have to be strategic and make the members if his party happy with his performance.

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  5. Christie seems very popular with moderate voters, and this would be a big advantage for him if he wins the republican presidential candidacy. However, issues like immigration reform where his views tend to differ from more conservative Republicans will most likely hurt him in the primary. I think it will be interesting to see how issues like immigration and "bridge-gate" affect him in the future.

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  6. Because Christie is more moderate, he is popular with both Republicans and Democrats. Christie's problem as we see in this article that becoming too moderate will lose him the backing of his party and perhaps his presidential nomination. Unfortunately, now that the "bridge-gate" scandal is out, Christie may have more then just this small immigration bill to handle.

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  7. As we learned in class recently, no matter how you stand on an issue, someone will disagree. Christie made a decision and is going to have to stand by what he chose. Issues on immigration reforms need to be dealt with care when you are trying to become the Republican presidential candidate. I wish him the best of luck, but with this choice, he has definitely lost a number of votes.

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  8. Although this topic is indeed "white-hot" I do not think that this will make or break Governor Christie's nomination chances. It seems as though every candidate in federal elections has been asked what their stance is in immigration. However, there hasn't been any progress on any type of reform at the federal level. Now with "bridge-gate," this will be the least of Governor Christie's problems.

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  9. By the sound of the article, Christie's biggest opposition is the tea party because he's a moderate and isn't afraid to work with the president. But it also sounds like he has enough support from others that he doesn't have to worry about them. All Chris Christie has to do is stick with his decision and he shouldn't have any problems in 2016 if he does decide to run.

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  10. I think that this will really help Christie in a general election. Although the tea party is still a formidable enemy to have in politics, it has definitely received quite a bit of criticism lately, and Christie would probably still be able to succeed. Also republicans tend to have very low support with immigrants and the signing of this bill could change that for Christie.

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  11. If Christie decides to run in the 2016 election, I don't think that he will have any issues in the general election because he is much more moderate than some of his fellow Republicans. However, I think that he may have some problems in the primary. But, If he were to have issues, it would be because of multiple factors, not solely his opinion on Immigration

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  12. I don't think Christie's stand on immigration will effect his chances in the 2016 election, in the event that he decides to run. For a republican, he is moderate, which as the article states will appeal to independent voters and nontraditional constituencies. I can understand why Republicans may hesitate to support him. Thich may make the primaries more of a challenge for him to win because he must appeal to moderate as well as conservative Republicans.

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  13. As we recede from the previous election year, the questions about who will run in 2016 had already surfaced among the media outlets. With the onset of Christie's new immigration bill he has showed himself as one of the only remaining moderate Republicans in the GOP with any chance of running in 2016. He has already gained criticism inside of his own party for making decisions that don't exactly follow the other Republicans ideals. If this will have any effect on his chances in the election, only someone better than me can tell.

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  14. This is a big topic for sure, but I don't think this will be the decisive factor. Sorry for the cliché, but Christie seems to have bigger fish to fry at this point, especially after this unnecessary “Bridge-Gate” scandal. I like Christie because he does seem relatively moderate, but one of his big problems too is that he might be too moderate and lose to the opposition within his own party: the Tea Party.

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  15. Personally, I think Christie is a great potential candidate for the 2016 presidential election. If he decides to run , I do not think that his position on immigration will be the deciding factor. Although Christie appeals to many moderate voters, which would benefit him in his presidential hopes, he is going to have to find a way to impress the conservatives within his party who are unhappy with his stance on immigration.

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  16. This article makes it sound like Christie has a decent chance in the 2016 election. Christie is the type of politician that could sway some of the moderate democrats and capture some of the independent vote. As we have learned in class, democrats are less loyal to their party than republicans are. This could definitely work in his favor if he makes it to the general election. However the primaries could be a different story, usually more ideological people come out to vote in the primaries-perhaps a bad thing for Christie since he is considered more moderate.

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  17. I think Chris Christie is the right candidate for the Republican's in the 2016 election. Also by him signing this bill it really isn't anything new from Christie. He always has been a relatively moderate Republican. He might lose a few supporters from this but like it says he probably didn't have most of them in the first place.

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  18. Although i am not the biggest fan of Chris Christie myself, i agree that he is likely one of the better candidates for the Republican Party. His signing of thgis bill is further evidence of Christie's motives, which is primarly gaining public favor.

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  19. I think these kinds of stories are really sad. Becuase certain things don't affect certain people, they get left alone, like gun control before Sandy Hook. However, it is sort of cool to watch Republicans and Democrats compromise and cooperate. We need more of this.

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  20. I think this article relates to what we have discussed in class regarding party loyalties and campaigns. Although the bill may help Christie in the national election, it could greatly hinder him in the primaries. Overall, I don't think that supporting the bill will hurt him as much as it will help him, because, although he will lose a portion of his supporters, he will gain a huge amount of hispanic support, which would be enough to tip the scales in favor of the Republicans in a presidential election.

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  21. I love seeing a member from either party thinking for him/herself for once instead of blindly going along with everyone else. I agree that Christie being a more moderate Republican will hurt him in the primaries, but it would be refreshing to see a GOP candidate who is able to compromise with Democrats and "think outside the box."

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