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According to the latest Monmouth University Poll, Chris Christie’s approval rating has hit a new low, and some on the right are blaming Rachel Maddow for his decline.
The poll found that the trouble is only growing for Gov. Christie. His overall approval rating has dropped nine points since January and stands at 50%-44%. Christie has lost 12 points of support among Republicans (89%-77%), eight points with Independents (62%-54%), and seven points with Democrats (38%-31%). Overall, Christie’s approval rating has dropped 20 points in the last year (70% to 50%).
Some on the right have decided to blame MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for Christie’s decline.
On HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, this past Friday, Charles C.W. Cooke of the National Review accused Maddow of taking Christie down in order to carry out her political agenda.
Video:
http://youtu.be/-qd6L-l1dr0?t=4m13s
Cooke said, “A lot of more conservative Republicans thought, ah, this is our chance to get rid of him, and so did MSNBC. I mean why don’t we just come clean, What you have been trying to do for the last two months is trying to get rid of Chris Christie from the race.”
Not surprisingly, Republicans have been howling about liberal bias and how the media is trying to force Christie out of the race. After Christie’s epic press conference didn’t make the scandal go away, Karl Rove said on Fox News Sunday, “The amount of attention paid to Chris Christie makes the coverage of Benghazi, at the same time, the coverage of the IRS, pale in significance.” (PunditFact rated Rove’s statement as false.)
In the Republican mind, Rachel Maddow is to blame for Chris Christie’s sagging poll numbers. They want so badly to make Christie’s downfall someone else’s fault. They can’t handle the fact that their best hope for 2016 self destructed all on his own.
It is evidence that is emerging, not Maddow’s coverage that is driving down Christie’s poll numbers. The media weren’t out to get Christie. They wanted him to win the nomination. What Republicans will never admit is that the media always roots for close elections with interesting candidates. The last thing the media wants for 2016 is Hillary Clinton buzz sawing through one of the GOP also-rans. That would make for a boring election, which would mean low ratings, and less money made by all involved.
Rachel Maddow isn’t Fox News. She wants to cover an interesting story. It doesn’t matter if it is a zany Democrat or Republican, if it captures her imagination, it will be on her show. She will be on television every night covering interesting stories no matter what party the president is from.
The only person that should be blamed for the decline of the former GOP frontrunner is Chris Christie.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
