The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is back in the news and not for his closing of the George Washington Bridge. No, he's back in the news due to a speech he gave at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he riled the base but garnered a chuckle out of me for stating the following: "I've got asked the question last year. Governor you're very popular in a blue state. How can you export that to the rest of the country, given the intolerance on social issues in your party?' And I said, well, let me ask you a question. You said the Republicans are intolerant. I'll just tell you this: At our national convention, we've had people like Tom Ridge and Colin Powell and Condi Rice speak at our national conventions. Even though I don't agree with their position on abortion. Tell me, sir, the last pro-life Democrat who was allowed to speak at a Democratic convention? By the way, don't strain yourself, because there's never been one. They're...

While chances are I won't be voting for the guy if he were to run for president since I'm rather liberal, I have to say I wouldn't be too distraught if Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was elected in 2016 or beyond that. For a party that has veered so far to the right, Abraham Lincoln has reportedly yelled out, "Four score and for f**k's sake...," Chris Christie has become a rather refreshing presence in the GOP. Just last night, when answering questions from CEOs in this nation's capital, Christie said the following: "It's about human relationships, the fact of the matter is nobody in this city talks to each other anymore and if they do talk to each other it's not civilly. They don't develop relationships, they don't develop any sense of trust between each other." He added: "You have to compromise at times. If I walk away with 70 percent of my agenda, then New Jersey is 70 percent better than it would have...

Two of the early favorites to represent the Republican Party in the 2016 presidential election - Chris Christie and Rand Paul - have been going going at it in recent weeks - with Christie criticizing Paul's libertarian leanings and Paul criticizing Christie for allegedly being about big government. Well, Rand needn't worry anymore, because his father and former Republican candidate in just about every presidential primary since 2000 it seems - Ron Paul - has made his voice known on the matter. Speaking with Neil Cavuto on Fox News, the elder Paul had this to say on the recent bickering between his son and Christie: "That would be safe to say (about not being a Christie fan). He's not going to have a change of heart. He's a big government person. It would be similar to the last go-around. I couldn't endorse our candidate. ... I don't like the bickering back and forth. I think it was significant debate -- one person blasting those of us who believe in lib...

I'm all about fact-checking. I have angered many people in the past when they've laid down a claim I knew to be false, fact-checked said claim, and proved to their dismay that they were wrong. Yet even I will say sometimes, not often, but sometimes we fact-check just a little too much. Now, I have to imagine like just about everyone else, professional fact-checkers can often times get bored at work. Perhaps it's a non-election year and most politicians seem to be enjoying a vacation of sorts (what else is new, right?), and there really isn't a great deal of interesting quotes or claims to fact-check, so they have to lower their standards a bit and fact-check what really doesn't need to be fact-checked. The latest example of this is courtesy of Politifact , who fact-checked Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on his claim that Scooby-Doo was his favorite show when he was 4-years old. Yes, Politifact actually fact-checked this. In the site's rulin...

The supposed party of responsibility is at it again - finding others to blame for their defeat in the election. Not only did they fall short in the presidential election, but lost seats in both chambers of Congress as well. So, what are some of these reasons for defeat that the Republican Party has been citing in the days following the election? Let me list off a few: 1) The electoral college - When President Obama was announced as the winner of the 2012 presidential election, he had a smaller share of the overall popular vote than did Mitt Romney. This caused an uproar among many in conservative circles at first. What they failed to realize, however, is that there were millions of votes yet to be tallied and as of now, President Obama leads by approximately 3,000,000 votes nationally to go along with his 332 electoral votes. This theory lasted all but about 28 minutes. There are stoners' theories about being able to fly with their arms that have lasted longer than that. 2) G...

I guess, even when the state of which one is Governor has been struck by a hurricane, a Republican Governor is still not to cooperate with a Democratic President for the benefit of his or her people. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has run into this very problem. Jersey was struck by Hurricane Sandy and for the benefit of citizens in the state, the Republican Governor worked with President Obama and even complimented the president on the work he's done with regard to the devastating hurricane. What has been the reaction of many Republican talking heads? They've more or less thrown Christie under the bus - some even going so far as to insinuate that if Obama wins the election on Tuesday, Christie may be to blame. Rupert Murdoch of Fox "News" tweeted the following, "Thanks Bloomberg right decision. @Now Christie, while thanking O, must re-declare for Romney, or take blame for next four dire years." Seriously? Chris Christie was the keynote speaker on be...

Last night, I sat at the computer, as I was ready to jot down some notes and fact-check every little thing each and every speaker at the Republican National Convention said. From 7 to 11 pm Eastern Standard Time, I did this. Unfortunately, I discovered not long after 7 pm that most of the rhetoric was fluff - catchy slogans and talking points to fire up the base. There were more generalities spoken than in a horoscope and it felt as if, by the end of the night, I only had a handful of statements to fact-check. I will admit - this was the first time I've watched the Republican National Convention and wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I figured there would be a lot of cheerleading, a great deal of talking Mitt Romney up and criticizing President Obama. There was definitely a great deal of criticizing the president, however, Mitt Romney didn't get a great deal of attention and I was very surprised by this.  Take the keynote speaker last night - New Jersey Governor, Chris...