Chris Christie’s electoral hopes rest on almost entirely on a victory in New Hampshire. Because likely Christie voters are Rubio voters, the New Jersey Governor is focusing his attacks on Rubio. One would think that Christie would attack Rubio’s inexperience, or his flip flops on immigration, but instead, Christie took an entirely different, entirely LIBERAL approach:
On Thursday, New Jersey governor Chris Christie attacked Florida senator Marco Rubio from the left on the issue of abortion.
“He’s made it very clear that — on the issue of pro-life, Marco Rubio is not for an exception for rape, incest or life of the mother,” Christie said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “Now, you know, I think that’s the kind of position that New Hampshire voters would be really concerned about.”
“I am pro-life, but I believe that rape, incest and life of the mother, as Ronald Reagan did, should be exceptions to that rule,” Christie added.
Christie made two claims that are flatly false. First, Rubio has always said that he supports an exception when the life of the mother is endangered. Second, Christie is wrong about Ronald Reagan’s position on abortion.
“The president and I do favor a human rights amendment. I favor one that would have an exception for incest and rape, and he doesn’t,” George H.W. Bush said in his October 1984 debate with Geraldine Ferraro. Reagan went on to win 49 states that November.
“I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution,” Christie told the Newark Star Ledger in 1994. The governor now makes the dubious claim that he never made that remark, but his new attack, echoed by the super PAC that Jeb Bush established, amounts to a massive in-kind donation to Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion lobby. The video of Christie’s dishonest remarks will surely make it into attack ads if Rubio is the Republican nominee.
It’s certainly true that not supporting an exception for abortion in the cases of rape and incest is a deeply unpopular opinion, but as we’ve noted in the past: “Although Rubio opposes these exceptions in principle, he has made it clear he’s willing to accept them in practice. And the only pro-life legislation that has a plausible chance of landing on a President Rubio’s desk–popular bills banning taxpayer-funded and late-term abortion–include those exceptions.”
New Hampshire is certainly more liberal than Iowa, but not this liberal. Moreover, a candidate with a glass house, pro choice past like Christie’s should be careful about where he throws stones.
AAN Staff
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