Radio show host Rush Limbaugh slammed Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for acting as a “greek column” to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign with oversold praise for preparations and reaction to Hurricane Sandy.
Some conservative pundits have suggested that Christie's praise of Obama has more to do with his own re-election efforts next year in New Jersey, and potentially a presidential run as soon as 2016.
“Obama’s making these phone calls, looking for somebody to play the role of a Greek column today, and he found Gov. Christie to do it,” Limbaugh said on his show Thursday. “Christie’s the only Republican not just praising Obama . . . Let’s just put it this way: Is it wrong for one man to love another man? But that man-love out there is isolated in the state of New Jersey.”
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Christie surprised many on the right, and left, when he went on several network news shows to talk about the federal and state government response to Sandy, praising Obama for his continuous contact and streamlining of the federal emergency response process.
When Christie was asked by “Fox and Friends” co-host Steve Doocy whether he would invite Gov. Mitt Romney to tour the wreckage and have a photo-op, just as Obama did, he said:
“I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested. I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than presidential politics and I could care less about any of that stuff. I have a job to do. I’ve got 2.4 million people out of power. I’ve got devastation on the shore. I’ve got floods in the northern part of my state. If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics then you don’t know me.”
Christie has spent the last six months campaigning and fundraising extensively for Romney, in addition to offering a critical view of Obama’s four years in office whenever asked. The sudden turnaround, even in the face of a natural disaster, caught many off guard.
Conservative pundits have begun raising speculation of a rift between Romney and Christie, which Limbaugh also spoke about on his radio show, that could go back to the the convention. The New Jersey governor was criticized for spending most of his keynote speech talking about himself instead of the nominee for president.
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"I think Chris Christie is doing what is in Chris Christie's best interest," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told
The Washington Examiner. "He has constituents to worry about, and he's up for re-election."
Monday, hours before Sandy was expected to make landfall on the Jersey shore, Christie cancelled an appearance at a Nevada fundraiser for Romney, and 24-hours later began praising the efforts of Obama both before and after the storm.
An aide to the Romney campaign told Politico that there is no rift between the candidate and Christie.
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