As a Southerner... I don't understand what's so attractive about being a douchebag (Chris Christie).

[ashtonelijah]

Maybe this is just a cultural thing. I'm from Mississippi. But honestly, I don't understand why so many liberals and Democrats in New Jersey find Chris Christie's douchebag persona appealing. Why? If we had a liberal Democrat down here who acted the way Chris Christie does, I would be turned off by him or her. It certainly wouldn't endear me to a Republican. Is this a regional thing? Is assholery really an appealing quality in New Jersey?

I just don't get it. If a Republican acted like this in Mississippi -- wagging his finger in the faces of voters and screaming at them -- it might actually gives Democrats a chance to WIN the governorship here. It certainly wouldn't be an advantage. But in New Jersey... it seems that, no matter how many awful, far right things Chris Christie does, people will vote for him as long as he maintains his douchebaggishness.

[flamingdem]

1. Too many people like the "Sopranos" and

movies about the Jersey Shore. They like to elect living cliches!

[Blaukraut]

2. Christie is a disgusting piece of shit and stupid New Jersey just helped him tremendously

in preparing a presidential run. I guess rude, stupid, and obnoxious sells these days.

[ProSense]

11. It's friggin disturbing.

This asshole fought the health care law, and then gave in to the Medicaid expansion when it was clearly a political loser for Republicans. He rejected setting up a state exchange.

[Blaukraut]

14. I honestly don't get it. It's like a Scott Brown redux, except MA voters got smart about his ass n/t

[Link Speed]

3. I'm with you

How "Christie" and "2016" could be in the same sentence is a mystery to me.

Personally, the thought of Michelin Man being in the WH is just revolting.

Or is he the Pillsbury DoughBoy?

[NightWatcher]

4. Texas loves their hapless idiots, Georgia their ignorant bumpkins

Jersey their asshole douches?

[otohara]

5. Word

nailed it.

[NightWatcher]

10. it's comforting, in a way.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

18. South Carolina and their philandering governor...

now Representative Appalachian Trail.

[sandyshoes17]

6. I in nj and I don't get it

Although I lived in fla for 20 yrs, just don't understand the people here. My family included. The whole attitude is so rude.

[RKP5637]

54. I grew up in that area, to me, he fits what some there are used to and they falsely

equate brashness and rudeness as being the mark of a strong leader. He knows how to play their strings.

[scheming daemons]

7. what do you mean "as a southerner"?

Most of the douchebags in the House and Senate are from southern states.

You certainly have seen plenty of douchebags getting elected from the south.

[sabrina 1]

13. Christie is a jerk. Whether you are a Southerner or not. The question is why

are some Dems so enamoured of this jerk? Something to think about in terms of the future of the Dem Party if this their idea of a 'moderate'. He is a Corporate puppet, nothing more.

[scheming daemons]

16. because he isnt an insane teabagger

In comparison .. he looks sane.

[sabrina 1]

23. We don't generally judge people by the most insane members of society. He is a jerk

a corporate shill, and the insane TP element has zero to do with that. Unless it was the plan, to try to make people like Christie look sane, to create a totally off the wall political element.

Sorry, but that doesn't work for me. I judge people on THEIR merits, not in comparison to anyone else.

This is how we lose, they keep moving further and further towards insanity, and foolish Dems fall for it every time.

[ashtonelijah]

15. Plenty of people with douchebag policies...

But most of them will be polite and genial in person with constituents. They don't wag their fingers in the faces of voters while shouting them down. They are assholes in policy and douchebags in terms of the laws they pass... But they aren't elected on personality. They are elected because they have an "R" beside their name.

Chris Christie is being elected solely on the basis of his personality, in spite of the fact that most voters in NJ disagree with his policies. And he's a total, blatant douchebag.

[cali]

55. wow. that's totally wrong.

think Randy Neugebauer of TX

think Gohmert

think of Phil Gingrey

and many more- many of these rude creeps are from the South

And no, he wasn't elected merely because of his personality. that's simplistic

It's more than ironic that you're whinging about this considering that you're from the South which sends a disproportionate number of hater racist teabaggers to D.C.

I generally stay away from piling on the South, but seeing as you're NJ bashing and you're from a region that elects racist haters on a discouragingly regular basis....

[pnwmom]

34. I understand what he means. Southerners are taught

to maintain a certain decorum. Even if they're doing awful things -- they would do them politely.

The crowd in Congress is not representative of Southerners in general, I don't think.

[Tikki]

8. As a West Coaster, I agree with you...

I would die of shame if my husband screamed at a teacher….

His wife has little respect for herself…



Tikki

[winter is coming]

9. +1000. I've lived in the South, and agree that his personality is likely to be a big turn-off

to Southerners. Remember how W was sold as the guy you'd like to have a beer with? Christie acts like he drank his beer and yours before you showed up.

[okaawhatever]

29. ROFL. That is so true. nt

[RKP5637]

57. And left the tab for you to pay. n/t

[winter is coming]

58. LOL, exactly! n/t

[sabrina 1]

12. I'm with you, I don't get it either. The man is a jerk, yet we have Dems supporting

someone who is anti-education, rude to voters, arrogant, conservative and it boggles the mind how anyone calling themselves a Democrat could even think of electing someone like Christie.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

17. Representative Mark Sanford...

one of the biggest douchebags of all. Thank you, South Carolina. He may not be in-your-face, but he'll lie to it.

North Carolinians vote flaming assholes into office...they're not in-your-face either. Pat McCrory is a perfect example -- the smarmy bastard.

Aren't New Jerseyans generally happy with Christie's leadership during/after Sandy? What has he done about property taxes? They're insanely high up there. How's unemployment in Jersey? Better or worse under Christie?

[nolabear]

19. I'm from MS too. People just aren't raised right.

I'm actually from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans, but the family's all up in Mississippi. Cultural differences are pretty amazing, aren't they? In MS politicians will do unconscionable things, but they'll ALWAYS ask how's your mamanem and call you Miss and Mr.

I was thinking about that here in the PNW where I live now, just this afternoon, when I smiled and waved a caring front of me and he didn't lift a finger back. In NJ they're in your face and here they're cold and uninvolved. All in all, I like it when people are warm to strangers.

[ashtonelijah]

20. Oh yeah, they all ask about your mama and daddy in Mississippi! LOL. n/t

It may be insincere and our assholes may be of the "bless your heart" asshole variety, but it's still not as nasty as shouting teachers down while wagging your finger in their face.

[eppur_se_muova]

48. Heh ... reminded me of this 'toon ...

[nolabear]

60. LOL! There's an old joke about Southern girls going to finishing school

to learn to say "My my!" instead of "Fuck you!"

[markpkessinger]

21. As a Northerner . . . I don't either n/t

[rrneck]

22. One man's douchbag is another man's straight shooter. nt

[WorseBeforeBetter]

24. Yep. I prefer direct and honest and...

knowing where you stand, rather than some of the manipulative, sneaky bullshit I see in NC.

[LanternWaste]

53. I've heard a lot of people allege that very thing...

I've heard a lot of people allege that very thing...

[reflection]

41. Completely agree.

I am from TN and I do think the OP is on to something as to how Christie's demeanor will play around the country. That's generally not the way it's done down here. That being said, I would rather someone be a jerk to my face instead of behind my back.

My college roommate Frank (kind of a pun, now that I think about it) was from New Jersey and he acted in a manner similar to Christie. It was as his mouth didn't have a filter. It was definitely something unusual for me to adjust to, but after a short period I really began to appreciate the straight talk he delivered.

Fast forward 20 years later and I have consciously tried to combine his direct method with a more polite delivery. It works really well. Like anyone else I spend time with, I try to appropriate the good things about them and leave behind the bad.

[moriah]

25. Christie is more useless than a douchebag, which is quite uesless in and of itself.

Messes up the natural PH of the body and cleanliness and odor can be solved by baths and a checkup with an OB if your downstairs really has a funky odor.

[Jamaal510]

26. If I recall correctly,

CC wasn't so immensely popular prior to Hurricane Sandy, and he was a hothead back then, too. Once that storm came through and everyone saw him and the President working together, then all of a sudden the media and many Democrats/Independents in NJ forgot how anti-worker and anti-education he is. Especially now when compared to the likes of Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, CC looks like a flaming moderate, even though he hasn't governed as such.

[Skittles]

27. you want I should kick some Jersey douchebag ass, ashtonlijah?

LEMME AT HIM

[SDjack]

28. Strange that the NJ voters accept that Christi will be running for President for next two years.

He will have a DEM legislature that will give him hell if he neglects his job as he campaigns for president. I don't see the DEMs facilitating his out-of-state party time.

[Mopar151]

30. There's a douchebag cluster in north Jersey, into eastern Pa.

There are others around the country. in the case of the cluster under current discussion

[Mopar151]

43. Maybe they get extra power in their Faux Noise feed

Know some folks down that way, who've lost their friggin' minds.......

[loyalsister]

31. MO is a semi southern state and I am sensitive in the same way

The interesting thing I saw was when I was advocating, I could talk with the southern legislators and have good conversations. I'd be disappointed when I couldn't get their vote, but it was hard to hold a grudge.
One of my friends would go in and sit and shine shoes with one of them.

The younger republicans from STL and KC had totally different dispositions. More condescending than Christie's rude style.

[backscatter712]

32. America likes bullies.

It's sick and wrong, but it's true.

Or as Bill Clinton put it, there are many Americans who'll vote for the guy that's "strong and wrong" instead of the guy that's weak and right.

And that's why Democrats need to follow Alan Grayson's example and learn to play smash-mouth football.

[LeftyMom]

33. You guys have jerks too, they're just self-righteous, bible-banging, hypocritical and smug.

He's a regional variant on being a dick, he didn't invent the concept.

[MNBrewer]

35. As a Midwesterner, neither do I.

[whttevrr]

36. Shhhh...

We need him in the clown car parade.

[treestar]

37. I think it's just an individual thing with Christie

NJ's other governors or politicians weren't like this. It's improper for generalization about Northerners.

[fishwax]

38. I think they appreciate his handling of Sandy more than his douchebaggery

His approval rating was in the 20s among dems before that.

[kydo]

42. I was just getting ready to say that

Sandy helped and I think when you combine that along with him at least giving the appearance of being NOT bagger and he sadly has charisma, plus the media. It doesn't surprise me Jersey votes for him. But 2016 is still far away. And while he won, his party got no coattails.

The baggers (and yeah I include the so called moderate repub or even so called sane repub in this group) don't like to be talked down too, and that is what Christie did to them in his first presidential campaign speech last night.

He will keep doing that trying to show why he is better then baggers and they will continue to not like getting respected. Remember baggers hate being called dumb and they hate not getting the respect they think they deserve even more. Remember the shutdown, they were disrespected. Remember when repubs led by Newt shut down the government it was about being disrespected.

Christie is a bully and it is nature to get ahead by disrespecting everyone. People will turn on him in about a year.

[AlinPA]

45. Bingo!

[B Calm]

39. I think it is a Soprano thing as pointed out in post 1!

[LuvNewcastle]

40. Welcome to DU, and hello from Biloxi.

All things being equal between candidates, I don't know if I would choose the asshole or the hypocrite. Assholes really piss me off, but phonies make me want to puke. I would probably look for an alternative in such a race. I've never stayed home from the polls because I didn't like any of the candidates, but a race like that might be an exception.

[AlinPA]

44. Christie will never win a primary in the South. For the reasons you mention and the fact that

he is too moderate for the teabaggers. In the end, the GOP will run a teabagger-religious-right, anti-government, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-poor candidate. Sounds like a mix of Ted Cruz/Rand Paul/Rick Santorum. Crazy now rules the GOP, and Christie and Jeb Bush are outliers.

[cali]

46. It's not a cultural thing and the South elects more than its share of

outright assholes.

gad.

[G_j]

47. mean people suck

still true...

[a la izquierda]

49. I was born and raised in NJ and cannot stand loud assholes like him.

When I moved to California at 22, I realized I was loud and short tempered. I worked very hard to chill the hell out. People treat you with kid gloves if they think you'll fly off the handle constantly.

My NJ family loves Christie. They're all Repukes though.

[KamaAina]

50. "If a Republican acted like this in Mississippi"

I forget who said, "If I asked you for the ten meanest men in Mississippi and you sent me Trent Lott in return, I would not feel shortchanged.".

[cali]

52. no kidding. In light of the repuke douchebags that Mississippi elects, the op

is more than a little odd

[NoOneMan]

51. Well, he's no Rob Ford

[Gothmog]

56. Christie is a typical Rambo type litigator/attorney

I think that most people's problem with Christie lie more with the fact that he is the type of attorney who gives the profession a bad name but still wins. There are some very effective "Rambo" type litigators who make a practice of taking no prisoners and alienating everyone they meet. These lawyers are frowned on but these type of lawyers can be very effective and sometimes get by with their crap because they are effective. In the litigation world, arrogance can be a very effective tool. I think that Christie has been somewhat effective at times and this aura makes him think that he can get by with this crap. Rudy G. had a similar personality and that personality worked to a limited degree.

However, this type of behavior can only work in limited circumstances when people are otherwise satisfy with the job performance of these individuals. Anyone who is not familiar with the track record of one of these jerks would not be able to forgive their arrogance. Rudy G. could not get any traction or support due to his personality and I feel that it is very likely that the same fate awaits Christie.

BTW, I am mainly a transactional lawyer and so I find Rambo lawyers like Christie and Rudy to be stains on the profession.

[valerief]

59. I don't get it either but I'm from blue Massachusetts. nt