Group Backing Chris Christie Criticizes John Kasich for Lehman Brother Ties

Chris Christie: #TellingItLikeItIs Town Hall in Dubuque, IA
10:03 pm ET10:03 pm ETNick Corasaniti and Alexander Burns

Donald J. Trump has criticized Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio at numerous debates, including for his tenure as a managing general partner at a bank that was central to the financial crisis.

Now, America Leads, the super PAC supporting Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is putting some money behind Mr. Trumps accusations in a withering attack ad aimed at Mr. Kasich.

It begins with Mr. Kasich saying I was a banker and I was proud of it, before cutting to Mr. Trumps criticism, and rifling through Mr. Kasichs record as both a congressman and a businessman, accusing him of profiting off the financial crisis while a partner at Lehman Brothers.

The negative ad comes as Mr. Kasich and Mr. Christie, both far behind Mr. Trump, are locked in a tight battle for fourth place and a strong showing in New Hampshire, and are pursuing a similar subset of voters.

But Mr. Christie and Mr. Kasich do not typically go after each other on the stump. On the contrary, Mr. Christie has trained his fire mainly on Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and said last week in a radio interview that he considered Mr. Kasich a very good governor. (He added that he viewed himself as a better one.)

Mr. Kasich, meanwhile, has refrained from attacking any of his opponents in his campaign events, though a super PAC supporting his campaign has done so with paid advertising.

But if Mr. Christie has held back against Mr. Kasich, the outside group supporting Mr. Christies candidacy has increasingly shifted into attack mode. Even before the anti-Kasich ads began running, America Leads was sending mail to New Hampshire voters branding Mr. Kasich as a tax hiker.

No amount of New Jersey bullying and false attacks by Chris Christies cronies will hide Christies own failures of credit downgrades and budget deficits, said Chris Schrimpf, a spokesperson for the Kasich campaign. As a result over 60 percent of the voters that know Christie best dont approve of him. In ohio John kasich turned an $8 billion budget hole into a $2 billion surplus, saw Ohios credit outlook improve, and cut a record amount of taxes. As a result over 60 percent of voters approve of him in the most important of all swing states.

The Lehman Brothers attack may be a particularly raw one for Mr. Kasich. Democrats used his affiliation with the failed bank to brand him, during his campaign for governor in 2010, as a congressman from Wall Street.

Mr. Kasich has attempted to minimize his Lehman connection, joking about his tenure at the bank in campaign speeches. (He did not repeat the joke in a handful of campaign events a reporter attended over the weekend.)

Tucker Martin, a spokesperson for America Leads, said the ad was in response to an escalation in attacks from the Kasich team.

The Kasich team has spent well over a month attacking Governor Christie, he said. All were doing is noting a vote Governor Kasich took, and a job he held. Its simply another part of his bio and his record, presented to voters for their consideration.

New Day for America, the super PAC supporting Mr. Kasich, aired an ad last year pointing to deficits in New Jersey, but never mentioning Mr. Christie by name.

Governor Christie should either disavow the ad or have he courage to repeat Trumps attack himself, said Matt David, a spokesperson for the group.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/31/group-backing-chris-christie-criticizes-john-kasich-for-lehman-brother-ties/