Appearing Thursday night on MSNBC's "The Ed Show," The Progressive's editor Ruth Conniff reminded viewers that Governor Chris Christie only appears moderate in comparison to the extremists in the tea party, warning that he still represents a harmful brand of avowed, far-right conservatism.
"It shows you how far to the right the Republican Party has moved that Chris Christie is called a moderate. Here in the midwest we recognized that crackdown on unions and the particularly nasty attacks on teachers that Christie is famous for, as a very familiar set-piece from Scott Walker in Wisconsin," she said.
"But Chris Christie hasn't been so crazy that he turned away the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, like many Republican governors, including our governor here in Wisconsin, Scott Walker," Ruth added. "So, he has been, compared to the true wingnuts in the tea party, a relative moderate. He wanted the federal government to come in and help people after Hurricane Sandy. He argued that the shutdown was a disaster. And that's where most Americans are, so I think in that sense he looks moderate by comparison to the real rightwing ideologues who've taken over the party."
This video is from MSNBC's "The Ed Show," aired Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013.