Who is Chris Christie? By Cindy Cross

Chris Christie, the portly New Jersey Governor is considering a run for the GOP nomination. But who is this guy?

One issue that may leave him dead in the water before he even gets out the gate is his stance on immigration. In response to Rick Perry’s comment that opponents, who would deny children of Illegal immigrants a break on college tuition, “don’t have a heart,” Christie said, “From my perspective that is not a heartless position. That is a common sense position.”

From Christie’s quote, one would surmise that he was tough against illegal immigrant rights, but in 2008, when Christie was U.S. Attorney, he said, “Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime.”

Christie has strong feelings about the cost of education. In New Jersey, he is very vocal about how the Board of Education is continually asking the state for money to solve their educational short comings.

Christie is at odds with educators in his state. He is against the notion that a teacher in New Jersey can earn tenure after three years and a day. Christie feels that tenure should be taken away from sub-par teachers. They should be held accountable and be subject to termination like every industry in the United States. Christie is at odds with the notion that teachers, once they attain tenure, could ‘have their job for life.’

In a recent town hall meeting, a woman complained to Christie about the dismal salary she and other New Jersey teachers earned, Christie said, “You don’t have to do it [teach. Teachers go into it knowing the pay scale.” The woman retorted that she went into it because ‘she loved it.’

After Christie’s speech at the Reagan library in Los Angeles on Tuesday, former First Lady Barbara Bush made a phone call to Christie’s wife Mary Pat where she gave her words of encouragement.

Over the summer, Christie has been very clear that he has no plans to run for the GOP nomination, but that could change by Monday with the deadline to file papers to join the next GOP debate.

Republican strategist Roger Stone said it was already too late for Christie to make a competitive run, adding, “Running an effective campaign for president takes years of preparation and planning and can’t be done by the seat of your pants. As much as I like him, I hope he does not run but waits until 2016.”

We’ll have to see what Chris Christie and Sarah Palin do, as we all know; in politics ‘no’ means yes when the time’s right.