Lunacy and a world in chaos, plus Christie’s thoughts on the GOP’s future
In an instant, when Russian Dictator/President Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine, the world order in place since the end of the Soviet Union was threatened.
Proving once again the historical fact that one lunatic leader can create chaos, Putin’s paranoid wish to reestablish either the Soviet Union or the imperial Russian empire created a violation of international law, a war, human disruption, and death and suffering for the populations of the invaded and the invaders, as sanctions came down upon Russia, its leaders and, unfortunately, its people, who did not ask for this. It also created a large number of heroes who hopefully will not also become martyrs.
President Biden, often questioned as he predicted exactly what would happen, created rare unity in his State of the Union speech. It will be interesting to see if the American people, along with the European nations used to relative peace, will have the resolve to impose the world’s fury on Russia and Putin for these immoral and illegal acts. It will be most important to see if the Russian people react in fury at the prospect of losing thousands of their sons and daughters, as well as the value of their currency and economy.
This is a test. I hope we all pass it.
Returning for one last time to the future of the Republican Party, an interesting analysis of the recent past and prescription for the future is found in former New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s book, “Republican Rescue: Saving the Party from Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden.”
Christie, who admits to having supported and voted for Donald Trump in 2020, after his own campaign for President failed in 2016, describes the events following the 2020 election, when he helped prep Trump for the debates and was invited to the Rose Garden for the introduction of then-Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. When the event moved inside the White House, he wound up being exposed to Covid-19.
At home in New Jersey, when he realized he was very ill, he was hospitalized but recovered. Christie is blunt in his rejection of all resistance to Covid-19 protections and anti-vaccine efforts, based on his personal experience.
On election night, Christie was excoriated by the Trump people when he said that Trump was not far enough ahead to overcome the record number of absentee ballots yet to be counted.
Christie provides valuable history in tracing the strange conspiracy theories involved in the lunacy to overturn the election results, refuting from within a lot of the nonsense still circulating among those who believe somehow that the election was stolen. Christie makes it clear, in case there is any doubt, that Trump lost, fair and square.
Perhaps the most valuable part of the book is the rather clear statement of Christie’s vision of what the Republican Party should and can stand for going forward, if it can shed the preoccupation of revisiting 2020.
Christie calls for a party that embraces a patriotic, conservative, balanced budget, small government, is pro-police, strong on defense, education ruled by parents and not teachers’ unions, is pro-business, and has a realistic foreign policy which recognizes who our enemies really are (and he calls out Russia before the current crisis). He predicts such a platform will attract a majority of the voters.
Christie is scheduled to speak in New Hampshire when this column is published, or soon thereafter. Whether this is a book tour or the beginning of another effort for him to seek the nomination, is speculation, as it always is when a politician ventures into the Granite State. Either way, Republicans seeking an alternative to all of the static still emanating from Mar-a-Lago, should read the book, consider its prescription and consider whether there is a possible way forward for the otherwise bankrupt GOP.
There better be, or the United States will have to invent another second political party, and that would be tough, especially when the world seems to have gotten a whole lot more dangerous and complex, with a madman running wild in Europe. It will also require realistic leaders who can tell the truth, like Governor Christie.
Brad Cook is a Manchester attorney. The views expressed in this column are his own. He can be reached at bradfordcook01@gmail.com.
