Over the past year Sarah Palin has established herself as the queen of the Tea Party movement. Her endorsements have helped Tea Party candidates oust established Republicans in races across the country.

But even among the hardcore of tea partygoers it cannot be assumed she reigns supreme. A canvass of delegates to the Tea Party Patriots convention in Richmond over the weekend put her in shock second position for their choice for president in 2012.

More than 1,500 delegates voted out of about 2,300 who attended the two-day event. Palin polled 13.5% of the votes and was pipped to the post by Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, on 14%.

At first glance it seemed an odd choice. Sarah Palin, the darling of the movement, versus a relatively little-known governor who has professed his intention not to run in 2012.

Until you take on board what Christie did last week. On Thursday he cancelled the $8.7bn (£5.5bn) tunnel under the Hudson river, the second rail tunnel that would have linked New Jersey and New York, easing congestion on the lines and taking the steam out of the increasingly clogged up roads.

For progressive economists such as the Nobel prizewinning Paul Krugman, that was a "destructive and incredibly foolish decision on multiple levels". It confirmed, the New York Times columnist wrote, that America has become "a nation whose politicians seem to compete over who can show the least vision, the least concern about the future and the greatest willingness to pander to short-term, narrow-minded selfishness".

For the Tea Party crowd, Christie's surprise act was an heroic blow struck against big government and one of its most egregious manifestations – public transport. Government should leave us alone, is the rallying cry you hear everywhere from the Tea Party followers. Let us get on with our lives, enjoying our freedom and liberty in our private cars as we crawl along in mile-upon-mile of traffic.