The Northeastern Republican Strategy

Romney needs to pick a running mate.  A VP usually doesn’t do much for the ticket but it can help give an inkling to the American people what type of ticket you are gearing towards.  That is not to say the general election will be easy with the best VP pick.  Obama will have billions of dollars  to spend on negative ads that will be directed at the Republican Party.  Bush almost ruined the GOP with his spending policies and an inability to protect himself.  As the election comes closer, the GOP needs to find a way to win  the general election.  The party has to change its approach from the past 50 years.  It is called "The Northeastern Republican Strategy.”


Mitt Romney will be the first Republican on top of the ticket from the northeast since 1948.  The last Republican to win the WH from the northeast was in 1924 Calvin Coolidge from Massachusetts but a Vermonter at heart.  The Republican Party was the northeastern party where as the south was hardly ever Republican until the 1978 mid-term election when Dixiecrats & Democrats lost faith with Carter and ultra-liberals like Ted Kennedy were taking over the Democratic party.  A reversal of north and south switch have  never been the same since.


Flash back to 2012.  Almost every state in the south except for Florida is a Republican strong hold.  The south helps with winning the office, but one must be honest, the south is just not strong enough to win the election anymore.  George Bush tried this strategy, and it barely worked.  A Texas swagger and an experienced man  from Wyoming won out.  Bush won two very close elections that both came down to OH and FL.  The same will not be the same in 2012.


Mitt Romney the previous governor of a solid blue state MA will be the Republican nominee.  Romney will still have the Republican stronghold across the south.  There is not one southern state McCain did not win that Romney will not win.  It would be ill advised to pick a southerner, which could damage Romney’s image as an independent.  This year, 2012 is not the year of the south.

The best thing Romney should do is to pick Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ).  Christie has said he would run for VP but he will have to think about and he does not plan for it, which means sure he will do it.  People are worried that a double ticket from the Northeast will hurt.  As naysayers will say, they both seem like moderates, they do understand the south, they both aren’t evangelicals, Christie is overweight, Christie is a loose gun, Christie is combative, Christie will over shadow Mitt.  Half of the charges are not true and won’t matter anyway.  None of this will matter against Obama.  The strategy is how to get the most  votes while retaining your base.  Romney will take little or no risk with Christie. 

Christie  was elected in 2009 against Corzine.  Christie was able to win in another blue state just like Mitt Romney was elected in Massachusetts.  Christie had to work against the media pushing Chris Daggett, an Independent, because many thought if the vote was split, the election would go to Corzine and the votes would put Corzine over the top.  The plan didn’t work and turned out to be one of the biggest upsets.  Most polls in the last month had Christie down or tied.  He won with 4 points to spare with a heavy unionized NJ and a media pushed Independent.

  Christie is quintessentially NJ.  Christie prides his upbringing being Jersey.  There is no way to say he is a transplant from another state, he can talk loudly and  carry a big stick.  Christie uses his style to the benefit of the type of state he lives in.  He is blunt.  His style has won over  many independents and even women according to polls.  Christie appeals to blue collar white voters in the Rustbelt above all else on a national level.  Christie can appeal to people just by his background alone. Christie being Catholic, Irish, and Italian will most definitely help in MI, OH, PA, NJ, CT, MA, NH, ME alone.  Almost anyone in those states can relate to Christie’s background before we even talk about his style.  The combination of Romney and Christie together would cause serious problems to Obama in all Rustbelt and many northeastern states.

Christie style hasn’t been in seen in politics since FDR or even Teddy Roosevelt’s time, boisterous and almost  like a populist.  Christie is also not afraid to disagree with his own party from time to time.  This will help win over independents, which Romney needs to win the election.  The election will be decided by independents.  Romney needs to pick someone who can embolden his ticket and pick someone who appeals to the same voting block but can magnify the effect tenfold.  That is Christie above anyone else in the Republican Party.

Christie also appeals to fiscal and socially conservative wing of the party while still appealing to the middle.  This combination is extremely hard to find.  If Christie’s rating  is around 59% according to one poll in his own state he must be doing something right.  Christie has reformed the public schools for the better with new reforms that will help African Americans in the inner cities but not by throwing money at the school districts but by making it possible that some students can be taught in more productive school districts that do not live there.  Christie ,as well is pro-life.  He even went to headline a rally with Right to Life NJ.  Christie also vetoed the gay marriage bill in NJ.  He hasn’t been on the DeMint or Huckabee anti-gay crusade parade but he has taken a middle approach to the gay community by not being against civil unions but not for gay marriage as well.  That has gotten both sides angry but has helped with the majority of the people.  

Christie has also been about diversity.  Well some turn to Rubio about reaching out to Latinos, but Christie as appointed the most diverse appointments NJ has ever seen.  Some conservatives and liberals have gone after his appointments from a gay black man to the NJ Supreme Court to the notorious “Muslim judge,” Mark Levin types like to bash him about that, but both of them are conservative except for one or two issues.  American Indian Muslim Sohail Mohammed worked with the FBI and held training session to help catch the bad guys within his own community, something not talked about very much.  Christie has also appointed the first Asian, American-Korean, but the democrats rejected him because he had an “R” after his name.  Christie can appeal to the minorities based upon his actions and appeal to the silent minority, Indians, Muslims, and Asians.

A Romney-Christie ticket will bring the most to the table out of the Republican cabal.  There is no doubt Christie will bring all type of conservatives and independents on board especially against Barack Obama.  The same can be said of Romney.  If Romney picks Christie, you can expect a lively and most likely a huge win against Barack Obama but the democrats have yet to make a case against Christie except for his weight.  It’s Romney choice but clearly the choice should be Christie.