Watch Chris Christie Play the Enforcer in His Latest Ad
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s presidential campaign has adopted “Telling It Like It Is” as its slogan and, according to his latest national television ad, he wants to tell voters just how scary the world is today.
The 30-second spot, titled “Law Enforcer,” opens with Christie decrying “lawlessness in America and around the world under Barack Obama.”
He rattles off a series of threats, speaking over dramatic music cues and flashing images.
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“Sanctuary cities engulfing Americans in crime. Drugs running rampant and destroying lives. ISIS beheading Christians. Iranian radicals with nuclear weapons,” he says ominously.
“Now, Hillary Clinton thinks the law doesn't apply to her,” Christie asks as images of a computer server appear on screen. “Really?”
The former U.S. attorney argues that the country needs a “strong law enforcer as president, someone who says what he means and means what he says.”
The doom and gloom ad, featuring a score more typical of a television drama than a presidential ad, is running on the Fox News Channel and marks Christie’s latest attempt to spark interest in his White House bid.
The two-term governor has consistently lost support in opinion polls since the inaugural GOP presidential debate, while political outsiders like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina have surged.
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Last week a CNN/ORC survey put Christie in 11th place, garnering only three percent support among GOP voters.
If the trend continues, Christie could lose his spot on the main stage at the CNN/Reagan Library debate on September 16 and relegated to the second-tier.
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Budget ‘Chaos’ Threatens Army Reset: Retired General
One thing is standing in the way of a major ongoing effort to reset the U.S. Army, writes Carter Ham, a retired four-star general who’s now president and CEO of the Association of the U.S. Army, at Defense One. “The problem is the Washington, D.C., budget quagmire.”
The issue is more than just a matter of funding levels. “What hurts more is the erratic, unreliable and downright harmful federal budget process,” which has forced the Army to plan based on stopgap “continuing resolutions” instead of approved budgets for nine straight fiscal years. “A slowdown in combat-related training, production delays in new weapons, and a postponement of increases in Army troop levels are among the immediate impacts of operating under this ill-named continuing resolution. It’s not continuous and it certainly doesn’t display resolve.”
Pentagon Pushes for Faster F-35 Cost Cuts
The Pentagon has taken over cost-cutting efforts for the F-35 program, which has been plagued by years of cost overruns, production delays and technical problems. The Defense Department rejected a cost-saving plan proposed by contractors including principal manufacturer Lockheed Martin as being too slow to produce substantial savings. Instead, it gave Lockheed a $60 million contract “to pursue further efficiency measures, with more oversight of how the money was spent,” The Wall Street Journal’s Doug Cameron reports. F-35 program leaders “say they want more of the cost-saving effort directed at smaller suppliers that haven’t been pressured enough.” The Pentagon plans to cut the price of the F-35A model used by the Air Force from a recent $94.6 million each to around $80 million by 2020. Overall, the price of developing the F-35 has climbed above $400 billion, with the total program cost now projected at $1.53 trillion. (Wall Street Journal, CNBC)
Chart of the Day - October 6, 2017
Financial performance for insurers in the individual Obamacare markets is improving, driven by higher premiums and slower growth in claims. This suggests that the market is stabilizing. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Quote of the Day - October 5, 2017
"The train's left the station, and if you're a budget hawk, you were left at the station." -- Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C.