Christie Calls Calif. Gov a Failure and “Old Retread”

Golden State GOP told to take heart from New Jersey's decision to elect a Republican

California’s delegation to the Republican Party convention in Tampa on Monday got an early morning pep talk Monday from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that included some highly pointed jabs at Gov. Jerry Brown.

With most of the day’s events canceled amid worries about Tropical Storm Isaac, some Golden State Republicans waited eagerly to hear Christie, who blasted Brown and said he could relate to the delegation’s travails as GOP representatives in a deeply blue state.

California Republicans, he said, should take heart from New Jersey's decision to opt for a conservative governor.

"New Jersey decided to take a chance of electing a conservative Republican governor for a blue state," Christie said. "California made a bad choice by going with an old retread."

"Jerry Brown? He’s on his way to establishing a failed record," the New Jersey governor said.

The California Republican Party has suffered lately not just from political defeat, but from financial troubles, as the state party apparatus has had to lay of some workers and re-organize its internal structure.

Because of the storm, which by mid-morning was headed toward the Gulf Coast, Republican leaders were busy Monday figuring out how to re-schedule their carefully planned events.

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On Monday, everything was canceled except for a 10-minute call-to-order and short speech by Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

On Tuesday, the schedule called for numerous speeches, culminating with the roll call vote that will nominate Mitt Romney as the party’s presidential nominee. Romney himself is expected to speak to the convention Thursday night.

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