The Establishment’s Last Bridge

The Establishment has awaken from its Donald Trump nightmare — only to find it wasn’t dreaming.

Even in the wake of an unprecedented insider assault on Trump for recent comments calling for a total, if temporary, ban on Muslim immigration, the real estate mogul continues to climb in the polls.

The Republican nexus of insiders is desperate for a solution to Trump. The Establishment, stuck in the tone-deaf wind tunnel of Washington, has placed much of its current hope on Marco Rubio. But the Florida senator, weak on the issues of trade and immigration that have fueled Trump’s ascendancy, is unlikely to topple the real estate mogul using the tired hawkish cries and bland economic rhetoric of the Establishment Old Guard.

When, inevitably, Rubio fails to surpass Trump, the Establishment may finally look for a candidate to back who they find acceptable, and who is strong on the populist substance behind Trump’s historic rise.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is prepping a case for the Establishment donor-class and DC nexus of insiders that he is that bridge candidate, the last hope for the Establishment to throw its entire might behind a contender they find acceptable, but who could also win over the outraged conservatives and forgotten blue collar-workers who want to see the Establishment burn.

Christie earned strong Establishment creds when he won a triumphant re-election bid in 2013 in the heavily blue state of New Jersey. After his 22-point blowout win, he became the chairman of the powerful campaign arm of the Republican Party tasked with winning gubernatorial races, the Establishment-centered Republican Governors Association.

Christie is prepping a case for the Establishment donor-class and DC nexus of insiders that he is the bridge candidate.

Christie was a huge success.

At the helm of the RGA, Christie raised a record-breaking sum and presided over huge upset wins in gubernatorial contests in Massachusetts, Illinois and Maryland.

More recently, the New Jersey governor has been steadily building his populist credibility.

In a Dec. 2 interview on “The Laura Ingraham Show,” Christie panned the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, a global trade bargain derided by populist candidates Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, saying the deal would hurt American workers and surrender U.S. sovereignty.

Christie has also built up his nationalist appeal on the key issue of immigration.

“What I’m for is to have our country enforce the laws. I’m a law enforcer,” Christie said, playing up his law and order credentials as a former U.S. attorney.

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To earn a shot at making that case, and enough serious attention to rival his opponents, Christie will need a momentum-shifting moment. Christie identified his target: The first in the nation primary state of New Hampshire. He’s putting all his eggs in that basket.

New Hampshire rewards retail politics, and Christie has hustled through the state with vigor unmatched by any other candidate. As of Dec. 1, Christie had spent 50 days in New Hampshire since announcing his candidacy and held 36 town hall meetings. He has pledged to hold 100 of the intimate voter forums by primary day in February.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., used a relentless schedule of town hall meetings in New Hampshire to pull a massive upset on George W. Bush in 2000 and save his slipping bid in 2008.

In a new poll released Friday, Christie has pulled even with second-place Marco Rubio in New Hampshire at 11 percent, according to the WBUR survey. Buoyed by the influential endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper, Christie is well-positioned to battle Rubio for a ticket out of the Granite State.

In a dead heat, New Hampshire voters are likely to reward the candidate who shows them more personal attention, and a few great debate performances could help seal the deal.

He’ll get a major opportunity during the last GOP debate of the year on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For Christie to make his case as the bridge candidate, he needs to not only remain acceptable to the GOP Establishment, but needs to help topple their favorite son — Rubio.

For Christie to make his case as the bridge candidate, he needs to not only remain acceptable to the GOP Establishment but needs to help topple its favorite son — Rubio.

Look for Christie to hit Rubio on the entire populist panoply of issues Tuesday in the CNN GOP Debate, including immigration, trade, and taxes.

Christie has already begun to step up his rhetoric against the Florida senator in recent weeks.

“First off, he doesn’t have the experience to do it,” Christie said of Rubio. “The fact is he’s a first-term senator who’s never had to make any significant decisions in his career. That’s not the kind of on-the-job training that we need in the White House.”

Christie has an opportunity at the debate Tuesday to turn those jabs into solid, connecting haymakers thrown at Rubio’s support for amnesty, for illegals, and globalist trade bargains.

Christie is several solid punches away from challenging Rubio’s ascendency as the Establishment’s best shot to stay in the game by surpassing him in New Hampshire.

If the Establishment wakes up and realizes its game is up, they just may move off Rubio and recognize the potential in Christie as perhaps the only hope to bridge the rift in the party and stop Trump.