Althouse: Christie is dropping out.

February 10, 2016

Christie is dropping out.

They say.

UPDATE: Christie is out, and so is Fiorina.

63 comments:

damikesc said...: Thought I felt a mini-quake. I was briefly worried.; 2/10/16, 1:18 PM
Nonapod said...: Good riddance. Conspiracy theorists may be tempted to suggest that he worked with Trump to kamikaze Rubio (knowing full well that he had zero chance of surviving anyway) in return for a VP nod. Personally I have no idea nor do I care much. He's a useless jerk.; 2/10/16, 1:22 PM
Limited blogger said...: I'm glad. He's one of a few Right of center governors up here in the North East. He is more valuable to me managing the state next door to me.; 2/10/16, 1:23 PM
MikeR said...: "The Democratic Party appreciates his murder-suicide play"; 2/10/16, 1:25 PM
Etienne said...: If you can't win New York or California, you are just bailing water.; 2/10/16, 1:27 PM
MadisonMan said...: I wonder if he'll throw the weight of his support to any other candidates.; 2/10/16, 1:28 PM
bleh said...: I have thought this whole time that he and Trump had a non-aggression pact due to their personal friendship and their reliance on each other to get things done in New Jersey. Once it became clear he would not be able to emerge in the so-called mainstream or establishment lane, Christie did Trump a solid and wounded Rubio. Trump, who will never win a majority of Republican primary votes, benefits when the mainstream or establishment vote is split among three or four candidates with no clear leader.

Christie will not be Trump's veep. Maybe Attorney General.; 2/10/16, 1:34 PM
jr565 said...: His sole purpose apparently was to knock Rubio down a peg. He doesn't have much to show for it except for a bus ride home. (or is he taking a plane). hardly knew you.
As for Rubio, it dinged him, but I dont think its something he can't come back from. Christie however is probably going to Denny's to drown his sorrow.; 2/10/16, 1:36 PM
traditionalguy said...: He has a new gig for Weight Watchers.; 2/10/16, 1:36 PM
Etienne said...: BDNYC said...Christie will not be Trump's veep. Maybe Attorney General.

Transportation Secretary. He knows bridges.; 2/10/16, 1:38 PM
Simon said...: coupe said...
"If you can't win New York or California, you are just bailing water."

They're deadweight states. Forget 'em. You could have an actual turd running on the Democratic ticket and the actual second coming of Jesus Christ on the Republican ticket, and they'd still vote straight-ticket D. Who even cares any more?; 2/10/16, 1:40 PM
Jaq said...: Transportation Secretary. He knows bridges

By that standard, Obama should be Secretary of the Interior with oversight of the National Parks.; 2/10/16, 1:42 PM
Simon said...: BDNYC said...
"Christie will not be Trump's veep. Maybe Attorney General."

No one's going to be Trump's veep. All he's accomplished this year is making himself the leading contender to receive a random IRS audit next year. He's certainly not going to receive the nomination.; 2/10/16, 1:44 PM
Etienne said...: Simon said...They're deadweight states.

No I mean the Primary not the General Election.; 2/10/16, 1:44 PM
Limited blogger said...: I don't think Christie had any pact with Trump. Rubio is just incompetent and stepped into Christie's haymaker. The dope was again robotically repeating the memorized lines before Christie had finished making fun of him for the previous droned lines. Don't know if that is on the scale of Perry's 'oops' moment, but its up there.; 2/10/16, 1:45 PM
eric said...: Christie would make a fantastic attorney general. I hope whoever wins will make him the AG.; 2/10/16, 1:45 PM
Rick said...: MadisonMan said...
I wonder if he'll throw the weight of his support to any other candidates.

I thought you were bigger than this.; 2/10/16, 1:52 PM
Brando said...: Christie would have had a hard time overcoming his praise of Obama at the end of the 2012 campaign (which went beyond basic manners and the state/fed relationship to practically endorsing the guy). I'd say his bullying style did him no favors, but then that sort of thing hasn't hurt Trump (maybe Trump is just more amusing).

But he served his purpose, he wounded Rubio--maybe charitably we could say he did Rubio a favor (by teaching him an early lesson he could grow from) or the party a favor (by knocking out someone with a glass jaw before he became the nominee) but I just see a guy who exemplifies the theme of Republicans eating their own and putting their own interests ahead of the team.

On the plus side, any further debates should be more manageable as these guys drop out. Expecting Carson and Fiorina next.; 2/10/16, 1:55 PM
Amexpat said...: Good news for Trump as Christie was the only one in the field that had the heft to take him down.; 2/10/16, 1:58 PM
Quaestor said...: Good. He can roll back to NJ now that he's done the damage.; 2/10/16, 1:59 PM
Robert Cook said...: Did anyone besides Christie ever really think Christie was in it? He'll never be president.; 2/10/16, 2:00 PM
robother said...: He was walking dead after MSNBC devoted non-stop coverage to Bridge-gate early last year: that destroyed his centrist appeal. (His literal embrace of Obama in the final stages of the 2012 had already undermined his standing with the conservative base.)

He's Joe and Mika's favorite Repub, but they seem oblivious to the fact that their own network probably dealt Christie's candidacy the fatal blow.; 2/10/16, 2:05 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Horrendous. Throws some trivial dirt on Rubio, making Rubio look foolish -- finishes in 6th place, then quits.

Good riddance, tubby!; 2/10/16, 2:08 PM
Limited blogger said...: Carly just dropped out.; 2/10/16, 2:12 PM
Limited blogger said...: Dr. Carson probably wants a South Carolina chapter for his book, so he marches on for one more vote.; 2/10/16, 2:13 PM
Nonapod said...: I liked Carly, hope this isn't that last we here about her. Of course if Trump ends up being the nominee it may well be, he absolutely despises her.; 2/10/16, 2:30 PM
Gahrie said...: They're deadweight states.

The frustration is that California is only solid blue because of San Fran/Oakland and L.A.......most of the rest of the state is actually red. But the two metro areas swamp the rest of the state.; 2/10/16, 2:36 PM
ObeliskToucher said...: Cruz's team had better not mention this to anyone, or there will be hell to pay!; 2/10/16, 2:36 PM
Quaestor said...: Carly just dropped out.

Poor Carly. I'm saddened to see her go so early, but she always had a message problem. It was Republican vagina -- that was it, nothing else. If only her business resumé had been more positive -- talented go-getter rises from obscurity to make an also-ran company into a world-beater, instead of eager, sincere, but rather ordinary woman rides the sexual equality wave to the CEO's chair of a major corporation only to oversee its decline -- then a real message without genitalia could have been crafted. Nevertheless it is reassuring that the rank-and-file of the Republican party is still governed by empirical reasoning, something the Democrats abandoned the moment President Hillary! became anything other than a sick joke.; 2/10/16, 2:36 PM
Original Mike said...: "On the plus side, any further debates should be more manageable as these guys drop out. Expecting Carson and Fiorina next."

Enough with the fat jokes!; 2/10/16, 2:40 PM
Original Mike said...: "Carly just dropped out."

Bummer. Every time I heard her speak I said to myself, "Yeah".; 2/10/16, 2:41 PM
bleh said...: So now the candidates are Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Bush, Kasich, and Carson (who should drop out soon). Six is a more manageable number and should make for more interesting debates. Five is even better. Unless something remarkable happens, Kasich should be gone right after South Carolina or maybe Nevada. He's supposedly short on cash and has very little campaign infrastructure in place outside of NH (and Ohio).

A four-way race involving Trump (the guy most Republicans will not support), Cruz (the Canadian-born asshole) and Rubio (the boyish robot). I can see why Jeb believes he can win the nomination.; 2/10/16, 2:55 PM
Brando said...: "A four-way race involving Trump (the guy most Republicans will not support), Cruz (the Canadian-born asshole) and Rubio (the boyish robot). I can see why Jeb believes he can win the nomination."

Yeah--for Bush, Kasich and Rubio it just comes down to last man standing and somehow Jeb raised most of the money for that group. Let's suppose Kasich is out after SC due to lack of money, and then Bush or Rubio drop out after the SEC primary (assuming neither of them really catches fire during those primaries).

In a three way race, I can see Trump or Cruz winning a plurality. If the funding holds out for Bush/Rubio, and they manage decent but not dominant delegate hauls, we could be looking at something the GOP hasn't had since the 1970s--a nomination decided at the convention. Good press, but how could a majority of voters not feel that they got screwed when one of the plurality candidates (or even a noncandidate) gets picked?

This year it seems like both parties are screwing themselves so badly that no one is going to win, but someone is going to have to lose more than the other.; 2/10/16, 3:04 PM
Titus said...: Christie destroyed Rubio's chances of ever being the president-good job!

The robot can go back to the senate-he's done.; 2/10/16, 3:05 PM
Simon said...: Nonapod said...
"I liked Carly, hope this isn't that last we here about her. Of course if Trump ends up being the nominee it may well be, he absolutely despises her."

A more flattering compliment could scarcely be paid to a person. At any rate, I'm sad that she's out, but now she's gone, it's certainly time for the vanity candidates to go—Carson has to go, Jeb, Kasich; these guys are pure vanity candidates, they have no shot at winning, no one likes them, they should jump or be pushed. Rapidly.; 2/10/16, 3:28 PM
Saint Croix said...: Back in January South Carolina was like this:

Trump 36%
Cruz 19%
Rubio 12%
Bush 10%
Carson 8%

That was before Rubio snagged the Tim Scott endorsement. And the Trey Gowdy endorsement.

Bush, meanwhile, has Lindsey Graham.

The Bush-Rubio fight will be fierce, because of the perception than neither Trump nor Cruz can hold majority support, and fears about how they will do in the general.

I think Bush is in big trouble, and he's been that way for a while. "The campaign is not dead." What is it, comatose? On life support? He's got access to a tremendous amount of pac money. And yet his cash on hand is low ($7 million). He was 6th in Iowa and 4th in New Hampshire. And running 4th in South Carolina.

But I'm a Rubio man. So we will see!; 2/10/16, 3:54 PM
Dan Hossley said...: He will endorse Trump.; 2/10/16, 3:59 PM
damikesc said...: So now the candidates are Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Bush, Kasich, and Carson (who should drop out soon). Six is a more manageable number and should make for more interesting debates. Five is even better. Unless something remarkable happens, Kasich should be gone right after South Carolina or maybe Nevada. He's supposedly short on cash and has very little campaign infrastructure in place outside of NH (and Ohio).

Kasich has no shot for numerous primaries now. His campaign in NH has made him toxic elsewhere.

A four-way race involving Trump (the guy most Republicans will not support), Cruz (the Canadian-born asshole) and Rubio (the boyish robot). I can see why Jeb believes he can win the nomination.

Bush's negatives are worse than Trump's. More Republicans won't vote for Bush than Trump, IMO. Cruz did way better than I expected in NH (he seems designed to do horribly there, but finished third). He has a solid shot at 2nd here in SC.

Yeah--for Bush, Kasich and Rubio it just comes down to last man standing and somehow Jeb raised most of the money for that group. Let's suppose Kasich is out after SC due to lack of money, and then Bush or Rubio drop out after the SEC primary (assuming neither of them really catches fire during those primaries).

Of those 3, the only one who can POSSIBLY win is Rubio. Bush has little money on hand because he has been burning through it with TV ads for months (I don't live in IA or NH, but in SC, it's ridiculous how many ads of his we see) and they have had, seemingly, no impact whatsoever.

Rubio is the best shot. And Rush is, apparently, now a supporter which won't hurt his conservative bona fides at all.

I can live with 66% of the current GOP field (fuck Bush and Kasich). That's not too bad.

Back in January South Carolina was like this:

Trump 36%
Cruz 19%
Rubio 12%
Bush 10%
Carson 8%

That was before Rubio snagged the Tim Scott endorsement. And the Trey Gowdy endorsement.

There aren't any new polls I can find since late January. But I doubt Rubio has risen much. Gowdy and Scott are well liked, but I'm not hearing much impact amongst peeps I know.

The Bush-Rubio fight will be fierce, because of the perception than neither Trump nor Cruz can hold majority support, and fears about how they will do in the general.

The problem, though, is that Trump and Cruz are closer to majority support than Bush and Rubio.; 2/10/16, 4:05 PM
David said...: Did he sing? It isn't over until he sings, is it?; 2/10/16, 4:07 PM
Big Mike said...: Carly's gone, too. I care about that way more than I care about a guy who helped reelect Obama dropping out. Christie's efforts to savage Marco Rubio in the last debate, in violation of Reagan's eleventh commandment, doesn't improve his standing with me. New jersey is a pretty despicable excuse for a state, and its governor doesn't change that very much.; 2/10/16, 4:13 PM
Freder Frederson said...: At any rate, I'm sad that she's out

If you're sad she's out, how come you hate Trump so much? She is a bigger liar, a worse business person, and has policies as incoherent as Trump.

the actual second coming of Jesus Christ on the Republican ticket

I doubt Jesus Christ would stand a chance on the Republican ticket. "Turn the other cheek"?! That is what losers say.; 2/10/16, 4:19 PM
khesanh0802 said...: I don't understand what keeps Bush in the race. He seems smart enough to know that he has no appeal to primary voters and his ego doesn't seem to be that big. I know that there are big donors who love him and are backing him, but you would think that they would be able to read the handwriting. Jeb and Hillary suffer from the same problems: history; family; and poor campaigning skills. Hillary, of course, suffers from criminal and character issues that don't affect Jeb. I can see Hillary recovering in the South. I can't see Jeb doing the same.

Frankly, I can't get a handle on what's going on. My gut is telling me that Trump is going to carry the primary. There is simply no one else who has the skill to compete with him. Maybe lack of organization, or ground game will do him in, but it's hard for me to imagine that Trump doesn't know how to develop a ground game. If it gets close between Trump and Cruz I imagine the "establishment" will fold and back Trump. Will Trump make a fatal mistake? Anything is possible, but he has had plenty of opportunity to screw up so far and has not been threatened.

Is Trump electable? Every day seems to indicate that he is. Will he be able to govern? Governing requires hiring smart, experienced people to advise you and run the departments. My guess is Trump is pretty comfortable with that. He has been doing that throughout his business career. I have faith in Trump's ability to seek competing points of view and have the self-confidence to use them in decision making. That would certainly be a change from the current administration. Trump would certainly be willing to negotiate with the Congress. He'd most likely enjoy it and we'd be better off as a result.

Trump's appeal right now seems more of the "primal scream" variety ( like Sanders'), but there's clearly more to it than that.; 2/10/16, 4:28 PM
MaxedOutMama said...: It would be cool if Trump's music at rallies were updated to include Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust".

I don't think Trump went to a modern school. He did not get the polite, self-effacing, fear-to-offend thang shoved down his throat.; 2/10/16, 4:48 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: I predict Rubio makes a comeback. My wife thinks he is a total lightweight, but if you read his resume you have to think (hope) there is something there. I think the robot stuff might actually force him out of his silly comfort zone and make him have to become a more interesting and personable candidate. And . . . Americans love a come-back. Think of Nixon.; 2/10/16, 4:48 PM
AllenS said...: khesanh0802 said...
Is Trump electable? Every day seems to indicate that he is. Will he be able to govern?

Bringing on someone like Carly Fiorina would be a step in the right direction.

Don't forget, he is not a politician from one of the two political establishments. I would hope he employs people to get the job done, whatever he decides to do.

A breath of fresh air from what this country has been subjected to by these two political parties, would be a step forward, in my opinion.\

Everyone who disagrees can fuck off.; 2/10/16, 4:52 PM
SayAahh said...: I saw deeply into my crystal ball when I posted here on 2/4/16 at 7:18am:
"The New Jersey Capo can't repress his mob instinct. Rubio needs to avoid il bacio della morte".

Christie says he likes Rubio...it was just business. The Obama and Hillary hugger accomplished the perfect hit.
Obama should consider giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

These are difficult times.; 2/10/16, 5:01 PM
gadfly said...: The Washington Times is wrong. Christie did not hurt Rubio's chances for winning the presidential primary. Rubio took care of that possibility in 2013 when he played Republican lap dog as part of Chuckie Shumer's Gang of Eight amnesty bill. Marco flat out lied to Republicans and the American public and now he says that he wouldn't do the same all over again if he happened to become president.

http://www.rubioamnestyplan.com/

BTW, Christie's first call last night was to Trump and the word is out that he hinted that he is available as a VP candidate. I heard the same rumor about Ben Carson's sight adjustment to VP.

With Carley gone and Carson going we are down to six - Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Kasich, JEB and Jim Gilmore. Has anyone noticed that Gilmore has climbed from #17 up to #6 and we are not yet into the home stretch. Still too many GOP candidates but South Carolina brings hope. Bush's $2800 per Hawkeye Cauci vote $1200 per vote in the Granite State but his donors appear unfazed but Kasich is about out of money and his SC organization is likely sparce.

Super Tuesday with Trump, Cruz and Gilmore remaining is my hope, but if Michael Bloomberg enters the mix as an Independent, that could raise havoc in the general election. Hillary's super delegates will win her the Dem nomination.; 2/10/16, 5:29 PM
Humperdink said...: Christie thinned out the field in a large way. Future debates should be cheaper with less structural support required for the stage. Never impressed with this guy, girth notwithstanding. Glad Rubio finished ahead of him in NH.; 2/10/16, 5:39 PM
David Begley said...: My endorsement of Carly wasn't enough. Her business record was completely misrepresented. Unlike Trump's. Trump filed BK four times. Four!; 2/10/16, 5:42 PM
gadfly said...: Blogger Brando said...
Christie would have had a hard time overcoming his praise of Obama at the end of the 2012 campaign . . .

Trump did the Obama praise thing many times but it doesn't appear to hurt him - except to say that "dislike" scale is about off the charts.; 2/10/16, 5:43 PM
Drago said...: Freder: "She is a bigger liar, a worse business person, and has policies as incoherent as Trump."

Wrong on all counts. But only completely. So you've got that going for you. Which is nice.; 2/10/16, 5:59 PM
Drago said...: Where does a Chris Christie "drop out"?

.........anywhere he wants!; 2/10/16, 6:00 PM
Drago said...: David Begley: "My endorsement of Carly wasn't enough. Her business record was completely misrepresented."

Shhhh.

Freder of "you can't negotiate for benefits or perks at work!!!" fame will be quite distressed to hear of it.; 2/10/16, 6:01 PM
John Henry said...: One of the comments here made me think of how pathetic Jeb! is these days. I don't think there is any other words for his demeanor. It may best be exemplified by his performance a week or two ago.

He hired a bunch of people at $25 per head to sit in a studio and give the appearance of listening to him. At one point he spent about a minute cranking up to an applause line and... nothing. Jeb! was reduced to saying "Please clap" at which point they did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdCYMvaUcrA

I have seen some really pathetic politicians, some that I have just wanted to pity. Never have I seen anything like this.

It speaks to his incompetence since anyone with a functioning brain would have had either a few people (shills) in the audience with a script when to start clapping or there would have been someone to hold up an applause sign.

Then, reading this thread another thought occurred to me. A week or two back Ann had a post about Peter Pan and how Tinkerbell asks the audience to clap their hands so she (or Peter Pan?) can fly.

Is this what Bush was doing? "If you really believe, clap your hands." In Peter Pan the audience always claps on cue. Perhaps none of those $25/head people believe in Bush. It is apparent that pretty much nobody does.

He has spent $73mm so far and a tie for 4th place in NH and 6th place in Iowa is all he has to show for it.

Give it up, Jeb! All the clapping in the world is not going to make this turkey of a campaign fly.

John Henry; 2/10/16, 7:34 PM
John Henry said...: Off topic but does anyone ever have to type anything into the prove you are not a robot box?

I've never typed into it and my notes always go up instantly.

Ann, what is the purpose of the box?

John Henry; 2/10/16, 7:35 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/10/16, 8:02 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: As is often the case in elections and poll numbers, he might have a post-dropout "bounce".

Because he's fat and hitting the floor might cause him to literally bounce.; 2/10/16, 8:05 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: Look out below!; 2/10/16, 8:12 PM
cubanbob said...: Bush supposedly spent $36 million in New Hampshire. Cruz supposedly spent $600 thousand in New Hampshire. Not too shabby on Cuz's part for money mangement.; 2/10/16, 10:56 PM
Bob Loblaw said...: It's a shame about Fiorina. But the real shame isn't that she's dropping out; it's that she was never able to get any traction with a boob like Trump in the lead. Doesn't speak well of Republicans, IMO.

Carson and Jeb are next.; 2/10/16, 11:25 PM
SweatBee said...: "It would be cool if Trump's music at rallies were updated to include Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust"

Or he could just shoot off a cannon and show a picture montage, Hunger Games style.; 2/11/16, 12:42 AM
Jeff said...: @John Henry,

What makes you so sure you're not a robot?; 2/11/16, 4:33 PM
John Henry said...: I know robots, I work with robots and I am not a robot.

You can see the difference here http://www.packagingdigest.com/automation/13-automation-game-changers-that-ease-engineering-tasks150407

John Henry; 2/12/16, 10:10 AM