Courtesy of the AP:
Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill Monday barring licensed therapists from trying to turn gay teenagers straight, making New Jersey the second state to ban so-called conversion therapy, along with California.
The bill passed both houses of the New Jersey Legislature with bipartisan support in June. Assemblyman Tim Eustace, who sponsored the bill and is openly gay, described the therapy as "an insidious form of child abuse."
In a note accompanying the bill, Christie said he believes people are born gay and that homosexuality is not a sin. That view is inconsistent with his Catholic faith, which teaches that homosexual acts are sins.
The Republican governor also said the health risks of trying to change a child's sexual orientation, as identified by the American Psychological Association, outweigh concerns over the government setting limits on parental choice.
"Government should tread carefully into this area," he said in the note, "and I do so here reluctantly."
As I alluded to in the headline the Evangelical base of the party is going to lose their minds, however as recently noted here their influence is waning.
So for Christie the possibility or attracting the Libertarians and conservative independents, over the snake handling, faith healing, speaking in tongues faking moron, may seem like the smart move politically.
Besides all of them will undoubtedly support Rick "Google me" Santorum anyhow.
I still don't think that Christie has much of a chance against Hillary in the general, but I will say that out of such an incredibly weak field he may have the strongest chance.
In his remarks, Tunzafun informs us that being gay is not a sin. Shocking, I know.
ReplyDeleteWonder what his thinking is on gluttony.
I thought Chris had surgery to lose weight? It was discussed in the media months ago. It does not appear it has worked for him.
ReplyDeleteThink it could be a hindrance to his being elected. Health issues could develop because of the excess weight and stressfulness of the job.
Our Presidents age horribly while in office - and I'm sure it is not only as to their physical appearances but internally as well.
There are things about Christie I like, but find his personality too abrasive for a POTUS.
That might be an OK trait in New Jersey, but other parts of the USA aren't like that publically!
And, I don't think he would be able to beat Hillary Clinton should she run!
I'm pretty sure that pic is from just before the announcement of his surgery. He has lost weight.
DeleteThe stomach staple operation only helps to stop ingesting so much food, the fat stays until it shrinks or gets sucked out by lipo.
DeleteOf course, he has no chance of winning, since Sarah Palin has declared herself to be "Team Rand" [sic].
ReplyDeleteLOL and the hits just keep on coming. Sarah is a king maker.
DeleteFor those who doubt Sarah's ability to move the electorate, remember how she pushed Joe Miller over the top to a big win right in her backyard by endorsing him to all of her friends, family and supporters. Oh wait, what's that? Joe Miller LOST? Er, never mind.
Bottom Line: the people who know Sarah best have the least respect for her. Fact.
From the start, I liked this guy. I could almost say, he's one of the 'little people' but......... he's got a big heart.
ReplyDeleteBig heart? You obviously missed his screaming at a woman for daring to ask him a question at a,town hall.
DeleteDon't be fooled by what you saw during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Although I certainly applauded his determination to get his constituents what they needed, that's only one very small aspect of his personality.
DeleteChristie is a nasty, loudmouthed, impatient bully. He's rude and disrespectful to anyone who disagrees with him and has publicly insulted many of the hardworking, middle class people who live in NJ. He has a very short temper and enjoys putting people down.
Tough and assertive is one thing, abusive and confrontational is another.
While it's true he may have the best chance at Hilary, the sad truth for any moderate gooper is the TP and crazy fundies still control the primaries and CC won't get out of them unless they have some shiny object to distract them. Maybe Sara can saber rattle enough to re-fill her coffers and allow CC to slip through while all the old men are jerking off to the Belmonts. I might add that it appears Sara may have done a little more suckling than just John McCain if there are other repubs still holding a glimmer of hope for her resurrection
ReplyDeleteif christie runs he will be a lot stronger against hillary than a lot of people think. he will be well funded, and most importantly, he will represent the pragmatic old-school republican party that many many moderates and independents have been wishing for.
ReplyDeletei still dont think hillary is going to run. i dont think she wants to run a primary and chance losing again. clintons have a lot of skeletons. but if she does, her chances are not as good as those inside the hillary bubble believe.
Remember that Roger Ailes and the Koch Brothers tried to get Christir to run in 2012. He will be well-funded. Rand Paul MIGHT be considered for the bottom of the ticket unless he pushed too far to the right fringe. Otherwise, he will get steamrolled. He is a Senator because he sold out to the PTB. They will remind him constantly that they can take him out just as easily as he was put in his position. He was NOT self-funded nor did he have grass-roots support. He'll play ball the Koch way or he will be sent home on the DL.
DeleteChristie is no saint. He's trying to dismantle public education in New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard a governor be as consistently disrespectful and offensive to teachers as Christie has been.
Delete+1,000
DeleteYes, he's horrible. Isn't it sad that he actually looks reasonable compared with the other lunatics in his party?
DeleteThis is good. He has some common sense.
ReplyDeleteThat surgery doesn't look like it did Christie any good-- or else he is eating as much as he ever did, band or no lap band.
ReplyDeleteI knew someone who had gastric reduction surgery, and at least the first year after, you vomit back up nearly as many attempts at meals as stay down. And when it works with dramatic results, the abdominal area is left with so much excess skin you'd never want to get nude in front of stranger again.
DeleteIt feels like Christie is testing the waters to reverse himself on same-gender marriage, a stance that has him against majority public opinion even in his own state. I'd bet on that coming not to far in the future depending on how much blowback he gets for this.
ReplyDeleteChris Christie is not a good guy. Beyond the abrasive personality, he is far to the right (just not crazy). He is anti- teacher, anti- union, anti- government stimulus ( except when it helps him recover from Sandy). Don't let the personality blind you to his actual beliefs.
ReplyDelete~Pogo
"As I alluded to in the headline the Evangelical base of the party is going to lose their minds, however as recently noted here their influence is waning."
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the fundamentalist crazies also use stealth tactics. At some point we have to address the media's failure to ask the religious questions when it comes to dominionists who have no respect for the separation of church and state. And, yes, some of them are Democrats. NJ's Corey Booker -- the personable, electable Dem who cavorts with the same fundies who backed Sarah Palin and brought the 'kill the gays' bill to Uganda. Why isn't this getting covered?
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2013/8/12/145724/528
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2013/8/13/101739/702
That's odd. I was sure Mayor Booker was out as a Gay man.
DeleteOT - Todd & Sarah at the AK fishing retreat camp.
ReplyDeletehttp://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2013/08/19/governor-palin-and-todd-flew-to-the-samaritans-purse-fishing-camp-for-the-wounded-soldiers-and-spouses-in-order-to-meet-them-and-have-dinner-with-them-click-to-see-photos/
I honestly couldn't give a shit what those grifters do when they're not parenting their kids.
DeleteThey're just a couple of self-absorbed country fucks that think they've got the tiger by the tail. The fools haven't thought about what happens when they have to let go or the tiger gets hungry or bored with their company.
They're in for a surprise.
The blog Political Carnival has an article about Governor Christie. Worth reading
ReplyDeletehttp://thepoliticalcarnival.net/
(Posting comments on this blog is not possible using an iPad. I got on my laptop for this post. Google's blog technos not keeping pace with WordPress.
Chris Christie - nice guy, but still a Republican. He worked with Obama & openly praised his leadership after Hurricane Sandy, yet had to mention on a number of occasions that he was at odds with many of Obama's programs and ideas. I'd like to have a beer with Christie, though, something I would never say about any recent Republican politicians, especially those who crawled out of the mud during the last election.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely NOT a nice guy. Foul-tempered and mean is more accurate.
DeleteA CLINTON/CHRISTIE TEAM FOR THE WIN!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous pair that would be!!!
Woo Hoo! He did his JOB and made nice nice with POTUS to care for the hurricane disaster. Got to shake hands with "The Boss". That, I'll give him credit for, but he's screwing New Jersey's public schools.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo, though. Shame he's married, right RAM? All the good ones are taken.
Hey Jesse! If you don't already follow him, you might want to start. Here's his latest:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/patton-oswalt-trolls-twitter-conservatives_n_3779803.html
Here's more of the drama:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/pattonoswalt
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