Chris Christie was the first presidential candidate to appear at this weekend's RedState Gathering at the Intercontinental Buckhead, and the New Jersey governor delivered a alternately funny and poignant message.
In introducing himself to the 700 conservative activists in the ballroom, Christie said he stood up to Democrats in the Garden State's General Assembly to overcome an $11 billion budget deficit. When those lawmakers shut down the government over Christie's refusal to raise taxes, Christie said he had a simple message for them.
"I said I'm going back to the Governor's Mansion ... I'm going to order a pizza, drink a beer and watch the Mets," he said to laughter. "I said I'm watching the Mets. Talk about shared sacrifice."
But it wasn't all stand-up. Christie turned serious when discussing Planned Parenthood.
"I'm outraged by the videos we’ve all seen," he said. "Disgusted. As a father of four, but also as a public servant."
Christie used the topic to pivot to likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
"I was just as disgusted by the video put out by Hillary Clinton," Christie said. "She’s playing the old game everybody plays and we better be ready for it. She said Republicans are against women’s health care."
But, he said, "the number one killer of women in this country is heart disease. The number two killer of women in this country is breast cancer. Nothing she’s talking about has anything to do with that."
Before Christie even arrived in Atlanta he was targeted by a gun-rights group unhappy with his past positions on the 2nd Amendment. But the response from the RedState crowd was overwhelmingly positive. More than a quarter of the audience stood to applaud when he arrived and more joined when he was done. .
After a short speech, Christie answered questions from RedState host Erick Erickson and from audience members. Christie, in response to a question about how he would make sure he appointed true conservatives to the Supreme Court, said his favorite justice is "Sam" Alito and that he would focus on what prospective nominees have written in the past rather than what they say now.
"Knowing you can always be fooled," Christie said, "let's not go by what they say. Let's go by what they've written."
Chris Christie quick hits
Biggest applause line: “Let us not be apologetic for our position on life as conservatives.”
Sharpest jab at a Democrat: “I was just as disgusted by the video put out by Hillary Clinton. She’s playing the old game everybody plays and we better be ready for it.”
Sharpest jab at a Republican (without naming anyone): “Some of the folks in this race for president were unwilling to take her on directly.”
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