Thank You, Chris Christie

I am not particularly a fan of Chris Christie and don't fancy his chances of winning the nomination of today's GOP, but I appreciate his saying the following:

Image by Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons, license.

[T]here are Republicans who see [Ron DeSantis] breaking with traditional opposition from conservatives to anyone in politics dictating policy to corporations.

"I don't think Ron DeSantis is conservative, based on actions towards Disney," Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, said at a recent event for the website Semafor. "Where are we headed here now that, if you express disagreement in this country, the government is now going to punish you? To me, that's what I always thought liberals did ... " [bold added]

This comes from a Juan Williams piece on DeSantis's odd and suicidal-looking campaign focus on the "culture wars."

Thank you, Mr. Christie, for being one of the few Republicans to put in a good word for freedom of speech. That freedom, which is fundamental to our nation's strength and prosperity, is both under siege and seemingly in danger of being entirely forgotten by both parties.

I also appreciate Christie's opposition to DeSantis's attempt to penalize or take over Disney for its political stances. I only wish he had indicated that DeSantis could have and should have instead attacked left-wing politicians for using ESG to influence corporations, an issue I am pretty sure DeSantis is aware of on some level.

The article states what I would like to be true, although I am not sure it is realistic to hope for it, at least as for as the Republican primary goes: That DeSantis is rendering himself unelectable with his over-the-top pandering to the Trump base.

Yes: He is alienating educated voters in his own party, and anyone who wants to get past Trump, including independents like me. My best guess is that DeSantis is counting on Trump getting into enough legal trouble to give even some of his core supporters pause. Then -- lo and behold! -- he's the "best" alternative for this particular bloc of voters.

That strategy may well win him the GOP nomination, but it will definitely hurt him in the general election, at which he had started off looking like the best option for the GOP.

-- CAV