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Let Me Start: Christie keeping some GOPers worried

Chris Christie was, at one time, the top Republican candidate to lead the party; now, he's got some big donors worried about his 2016 prospects.
Chris Christie TV Ads - Jane Timm - 09/12/2013
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie listens to a question at an event on Aug. 21, 2013, in Camden, N.J., where he named Paymon Rouhanifard as superintendent of...

PLAYING HARDBALL: As the investigation into the George Washington Bridge lane closures continues, you can count on one thing: the top dog isn't giving in that fast. Reports today reveal that the Christie administration has informed Seate Legislative Oversight Committee chairman Sen. Robert Gordon that no members of the governor's office will appear before any legislative committees. Will this policy hurt the Christie administration's defense? Or will it only hurt the investigation to be met with a wall of silence? 

Meanwhile, new subpoenas were issued this week in the investigation, and the big question now is whether those members of Christie's circle will comply, or plead the Fifth. This web is getting more and more tangled as the weeks drag on, and you can be sure that this will have a lasting effect on Christie's legacy as New Jersey governor--and as a potential presidential candidate.

Programming note: Sen. Robert Gordon will join Hardball tonight at 7 p.m. ET on msnbc.

FADING FAST: Chris Christie was, at one time, the top Republican candidate to lead the party; now, he's got some big donors worried about his 2016 prospects as he continues to face questions over last fall's George Washington Bridge lane closures. "There are influential donors who are giving him a second and third look," Ann Herberger, a national Republican fundraiser, told the Washington Post. "Where they would have been 'this is the guy' two months ago, I think a lot of people are giving him a second look and keeping their powder dry."

THE PLAYING FIELD: Sen. Ted Cruz is heading to Iowa--again. Cruz' March appearance at a homeschooling rally will mark yet another high-profile appearance in the Hawkeye State. And if you think this has nothing to do with 2016, think again: that rally Cruz is scheduled to speak at will be hosted by the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators, whose 2011 rally was attended by former Republican presidential hopefuls Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Ron Paul. 

IN OTHER NEWS...