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A “front porch” presidential campaign?

New York Republican State Chairman Ed Cox, son-in-law of the late President Richard M. Nixon, told Ben Smith at Politico that Governor Chris Christie should run a “modern front porch campaign” for president: 

As Chris Christie weighs the obvious appetite for his candidacy against the tremendous logistical impediments and political risks, a prominent Christie admirer is offering a path forward: A campaign run largely from New Jersey, its television campaign waged by an independent Super PAC.

New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox, an old Republican hand who is formally neutral, outlined the suggestion in an interview today.

“He just can not desert his job in New Jersey. He’s a recently-elected governor with a Democratic legislature on which he’s trying hard to impose fiscal discipline,” Cox said. “That’s the success on which his campaign rests.”

“The only way I can see him doing it,” he said, is a “modern front-porch campaign,” consisting of large-scale policy addresses like his speech at the Reagan Library last week, of participation in debates, and of a basic ground organization — but none of the immersive early-state retail campaigning that’s widely seen as a necessity.

“The air game would be [Home Depot founder] Ken Langone and others doing a completely independent committee,” he said.

Cox suggested Christie make a “Christie-like” declaration: “I’m governor of New Jersey, I’ve got a job to do here. If financial supporters want to go out and do an independent Super PAC, they can do it. I will register to run for president. But my duties as governor come first.”

Cox said his post prevents him from endorsing a candidate, but said Christie “should get into the race. His views are views that should be heard.”

An intriguing idea, even if it hasn’t worked since 1920 when Warren Harding  did it.

I know, mentioning Nixon and Harding in the same post is not exactly showing my Republican love.  Still, it is an intriguing idea.

Christie continuing to do his job as Governor full time while campaigning for president part time would not be all that different a schedule than he has kept for much of this year. 

The worst case scenairo for Christie in a presidential campaign is that the loses the nomination race and also loses his standing with the voters of New Jersey.  Should he start campaigning for president full time now, spending most of his time out of state and ultimately lose the nomination, he might come back to governing New Jersey full time with approval ratings in the 30’s and an New Jersey electorate that resents him for abandoning his post before the job was done. 

But, if he spends the next several months primarily in New Jersey forwarding his reform agenda, education reform in particular, his New Jersey agenda becomes part of the national conversation.  Instead of witnessing him live on the stump, voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida will be witnessing him on the job via television and youtube.

Television and youtube is why Christie is tied with Obama in the polls now.

If it doesn’t work, Christie is no worse for the wear in New Jersey because he kept doing the job we elected him to.  He’s still a front runner for 2016 or 2020 nationally because he wasn’t “really running.”

If it does work and he wins the GOP nomination, he was drafted, not just by the party elite elders and the big money donors, but drafted by the rank and file Republican voters.

We probably won’t know Christie’s decision tomorrow.  He has no public schedule.

Lt. Governor Kim Guadango will be making company visits in Ocean County tomorrow.  Gaspari Nutrition will receive Guadagno at 1:30, KOMO Machine at 3:00.  Both companies are in Lakewood.

Posted: October 3rd, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 Presidential Politics, Chris Smith | Tags: , , , , | 9 Comments »