"I'm a firm believer that if the Republican Party's going to have success, it's going to do so by being a conservative party and not a home for ah, for everybody," Cardenas said. "And that's how you grow. I mean, look, you grow your tent by convincing others, and persuading others, that yours is the way, and you build your tent by reaching out to the new demographics of America not with a watered down version of who we ought to be but with a true, real, solid version of who we are."
American Conservative Union chairman Al Cardenas spoke briefly with reporters ahead of the beginning of the CPAC conference -- explaining why he didn't invite New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and insisting that the GOP is "not a home for everybody."
it’s not hard to see why conservative activists made the decision. Just a week before the presidential election, Christie praised President Obama for his handling of Hurricane Sandy
and last month, he criticized the Republican leadership for holding up Hurricane Sandy aid. At the moment, he seems more interested in protecting the Chris Christie brand — and thus securing another term as governor — than he is in furthering Republican Party goals.
For now, as a red governor in a blue state, this is a smart play. But if Christie is interested in the 2016 Republican nomination, he’ll have to back away from his current persona. As it stands, Christie’s ability to speak for the GOP is hampered by his place on the ideological spectrum—he’s much more liberal than the median Republican member of the House, and substantially more liberal than a Republican base voter.
“I’m not much different from Andrew Cuomo. I probably agree with him on 98 percent of the issues.”
On guns, global warming and a host of other issues, he's not exactly asking for an invitation to the dance."
Christie is like many other RINOs,.. in the north east,. like Bloomberg. all they want is another step up the ladder and once that is not there for them.. they suddenly become "independents" and revert back to their far left positions..