DAY 20: CHRISTIE'S VALUES CLOCK KEEPS TICKING

 
 
TRENTON – Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan today continued his call for Right Wing Conservative Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie to get the “technical” glitches worked out from his values. The AP reported on June 18 that the Christie for Governor website took down the “Shared Values” section that declared Christie’s clearly defined positions against a woman’s right to choose and gay marriage for “technical reasons”.  The Democratic State Committee’s “Christie’s Values Clock”—now in its 20th day on the website—keeps track of how long it will take for the Conservative standard bearer to re-discover his values.
 
 “The people Christie told he shared their values with are now wondering if Christie pushed the re-set button on his values after the primary,” said Cryan. “If his early supporters are questioning him now, how can general election voters trust Christie is truthful about where he stands on the issues they care about? The ‘Christie’s Values Clock’ is now into its 20th day and will stay up until Christie’s campaign re-discovers his values for him.”

The current reaction from top right wing conservatives in New Jersey is day and night compared to the spring primary season.

In April, one anti-choice activist proclaimed Christie’s election would mark a watershed moment for the anti-choice movement in New Jersey. According to LifeNews.com, activist Deal Hudson hailed Christie’s candidacy as putting a “sudden end to all the talk about the need for Republicans to distance themselves from their pro-life constituencies.”

However, conservatives have become less galvanized by the Christie campaign with each tick of the Christie’s Values Clock. Even the claim by the Christie campaign that no one more than Christie himself wants to see the return of his values has failed to slow the criticism.

This week, one prominent right wing blogger became the latest in a growing line of conservatives in the state to profess their fear that Christie was abandoning his anti-choice agenda. The blog “Conservatives with Attitude” cited the “ongoing saga” of Christie’s missing values as evidence that Christie is “slowly but surely moving towards the center of the political spectrum.”
 
Christie’s campaign has also “slowly but surely” been remaking their website since the deletion of the “Shared Values” page and the removal of the link to the “Shared Values” page from the issues section. Most recently, Christie’s environmental record has disappeared while a section on energy policy has been added.
 
Christie’s position on choice has been pushed to a less-accessible Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) section. The abbreviated response moves significantly away from the right wing conservative values espoused on the “Shared Values” page, eliminating several key details and facts, including endorsements from anti-choice leaders.

During the primary, Christie made his staunch anti-choice agenda the centerpiece of his campaign. While on the campaign trail, he vowed to push for restrictions on a woman’s right to choose if elected governor, something he has done in the past, and has even declared his support for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

Last month, Reporters Michael Aron of NJN and Michael Symons of Gannett New Jersey joined the call for Christie to restore his right wing conservative values to his website. In a discussion of Christie’s right wing conservative values on Reporters’ Roundtable on NJN, which aired Friday, June 26, Symons said the Christie’s Values Clock “reminds people that [Christie] holds some social opinions that aren’t, you know, overwhelmingly the viewpoint of the New Jersey public and that he’s sorta trying to hide that from you.” Host Michael Aron replied, “So maybe he should put them back up and get rid of one of those two.” “Sure. Exactly,” said Symons.
 
“We aren’t the only ones taking notice that Christie continues to move further and further away from the right wing agenda he campaigned on in the primary,” said Cryan. “New Jersey voters deserve a candidate who will be up front with them about their values.”

To view the “Christie’s Values Clock” or add it to your blog or website, please visit: www.njdems.org.

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