You could almost call it an early endorsement for president.
Now that the New Jersey Star-Ledger has had time to reassess and rethink their world famous flop of an endorsement in the race for New Jersey governor last year between Gov. Chris Christie and Barbara Buono, they’d do it all over again.
Star-Ledger editor Tom Moran:
An endorsement is not a love embrace. It is a choice between two flawed human beings. And the winner is often the less bad option.
But yes, we blew this one. When the endorsement ran, I could not get a cup of coffee in the People’s Republic of Montclair without my liberal friends taunting me. Back then, I pushed back.
He pushed back against his liberal friends who were correct all along. Because he’s strong. Editor-strong. And he don’t take no lip from reality.
Yes, we knew Christie was a bully. But we didn’t know his crew was crazy enough to put people’s lives at risk in Fort Lee as a means to pressure the mayor. We didn’t know he would use Hurricane Sandy aid as a political slush fund. And we certainly didn’t know that Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer was sitting on a credible charge of extortion by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
A known bully who put people’s lives at risk? Where do we keep signing up for that?
Tom Moran goes on to express the paper’s regularly evolving reasoning, providing a new double backflip to compliment the mental gymnastics it takes to carry on this laughable fraud, essentially stating that because Barbara Buono supported teachers and unions, Chris Christie wins because he’s an insensitive leader who can throw people into traffic without hesitation.
But something in this next paragraph doesn’t seem right.
If one of the tea party favorites gets the Republican nomination, then the country is at risk. Because as we have just seen, one scandal can flip the board in politics. What if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, and some dark secret emerges about her tenure as secretary of state? How does President Rand Paul sound to you?
Now ask yourself this: If the Republican primary came to a choice between Paul and Christie, which candidate would you endorse?
At the risk of repeating a mistake, I’d pick Christie in that primary, even now. And if you think that makes some sense, then you understand how excruciating the endorsement process can be.
For the good of the country, now that the good of New Jersey is so last year, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, and an editorial board that relies on hypothetical scenarios to come to ridiculous, harmful conclusions, even in hindsight.
And, rather than applying facts and reason to the debate, the Star-Ledger is just going to go ahead and fit its entire head up its ass for the duration of America.
All it takes for Hillary Clinton to blow it is some unknown “dark secret” drummed up by right wing media. But Gov. Chris Christie and the Star-Ledger, on the other hand, get as many tries as they need to make it right. Because being losers shouldn’t prevent you from winning, especially if you’re a Republican.