Tag Archives: Lyndon Johnson rule

Gov. Christie wants a new job … and stay on the job

Chris-Christie

Chris Christie is running for the Republican Party presidential nomination.

He’s already got a day job. He’s the governor of New Jersey. Can he run for one office and continue to hold his current office?

Sure he can. We allow it in Texas and it’s worked out all right for us.

But some of Christie’s fellow New Jersey pols want him to quit his governor’s job if he’s going to run for president.

To which I say: C’mon. Give me a break. The man can multi-task.

The Republican presidential field is chock full of full-time public servants who aspire for the White House. They include: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Soon we’ll have Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich joining the crowd. I know I’m missing someone.

The point is that Christie is able to perform both tasks. Yes, it is possible he won’t be as attentive to state duties as he would be were he not running for president. I’ve even needled Cruz for his many absences from Senate votes while he’s out raising money for his presidential campaign.

We have the “Lyndon Johnson Rule” in Texas. It enabled then-Sen. Johnson to run for vice president in 1960. He was elected VP and had to give up his Senate job. Twenty-eight years later, U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen ran for vice president while still serving in the Senate; he didn’t win the VP job, but stayed on in the Senate until he quit in 1993 to become Treasury secretary.

So, what’s the deal with New Jersey? Gov. Christie notes that with social media — smart phones, I-phones, Skype, whatever — he can stay in touch with any contingency in New Jersey while he’s traipsing through Iowa cornfields, or New Hampshire forests.

Let the man run and keep serving.