If you believe Chris Christie still has a chance to be president, I've got a (GW) Bridge to sell you

[ProSense]

If you believe Chris Christie still has a chance to be president, I've got a (GW) Bridge to sell you

by Ian Reifowitz

I assume you've all heard about this by now:

A series of newly obtained emails and text messages shows that Gov. Chris Christie’s office was closely involved with lane closings on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge in September, and that officials closed the lanes as retribution against the Democratic mayor whose town was gridlocked as a result.

(snip) In the documents, obtained by The New York Times and other news outlets Wednesday, Bridget Anne Kelly, a deputy chief of staff in Mr. Christie’s office, gave a signal to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to close the lanes about two weeks before the closings occurred.

“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she emailed David Wildstein, Mr. Christie’s close friend from high school, and one of his appointees at the Port Authority, which controls the bridge. Mr. Christie and some officials at Port Authority have said the closings were done as part of a traffic study, but they caused havoc for days, backing up traffic for hours.

And, as Jed Lewison reminded us, the governor told us all a week ago that his staff had told him "everything we know."

Christie has placed himself inside a trap. He has said that his office and his campaign had nothing to do with the bridge closing. He has said he knows everything that his staff did relating to the closing. Now we know that a high-ranking staffer clearly was involved in the closing. In other words, Chris Christie has been caught in a lie. And this is not just any lie, it is a lie about abuse of power, an abuse of power that (unlike one involving, say, an adulterous affair with an intern) had a direct, harmful effect on the daily lives of average citizens.

Chris Christie is running in a large field for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. There are many, many other choices that Republican voters have. In addition, there is a significant bloc (tea partiers/right-wingers) who see him as a grave threat to their goal of moving their party rightward. This bloc will be relentless in exposing any weakness of a candidate they oppose. Christie has just handed them everything they could have asked for.

It's one thing to be a bully who yells at people Republicans don't like anyway (teachers, liberals). It's another to be a bully who puts people lives at risk. And it's another to be someone who lies about it. People don't like being lied to, especially not to their face. Republicans will never nominate Chris Christie. That's the real result of today's news.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/08/1268045/-If-you-believe-Chris-Christie-still-has-a-chance-to-be-president-I-ve-got-a-GW-Bridge-to-sell-you#

This corrupt bullying asshole should be forced to resign.

Here Are The 4 Most Incriminating Email Exchanges In The Chris Christie Bridge Scandal
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/08/3134241/emails-tie-christie-aide-bridge-closing-scandal/

Bridge Closures Led To Emergency Response Delays, Disrupted Treatment For 91-Year-Old Woman Who Died
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/08/3138621/report-bridge-closures-led-emergency-response-delays-death/

Christie: I Was 'Misled By A Member Of My Staff' (updated)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024299987

[Warpy]

1. Not in 2016

Maybe he'll rebuild his organization by 2020, but even that is a long shot.

[Logical]

2. My prediction is that he gets off with no punishment. Others will take the blame. n-t

[DonViejo]

3. I agree but...

the media is going to now eat him alive...he's a bully and the media will now try to prove it.

Ezra Klein:Chris Christie’s problem is that he’s really, truly a bully

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024301767

A good read IMHO.

[Logical]

4. Thanks!! n-t

[DonViejo]

5. You're welcome, of course! :-) eom

[ProSense]

7. A few people

aren't prepared to let him slide.

Mayor Mark Sokolich: "Shame on you" to Christie.. Link to Vid on CNN interview..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024301686

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz To Christie: 'Time's Up, Guv'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024298306

<...>

Wisniewski has subpoenaed Christie to testify on his knowledge of and role in the lane closures, and renewed his call to hear from the governor.

"So far what we know is that he has been pointed to by everybody," he said. "When we look at the documents we have seen today, it is clear that that's not the entire story. His testimony can help fill in the blanks and answer a lot of questions."

<...>

In a Wednesday statement, Wisniewski said that either Christie has no control over his staff or he is lying.

"Based on the Governor’s previous response regarding his knowledge of the lane closures, either he doesn’t know what’s going on in his front office or he is lying," he said in the statement. "This is a sad day for New Jersey and a sad day for politics. The Governor has a lot of explaining to do."

- more -

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nj-assemblyman-christie-should-testify

[DonViejo]

11. The entire incident is going to be investigated...

and result only in Christie being publicly humiliated, as he is now, by the findings. But the media isn't done with him. I wouldn't be surprised to see some unknown victims of Tony Soprano's....errr....Chris Christie's "come out," so to speak.

WHen Christie was speaking about the "internal investigation" coming back with nothing, I flashed back to Nixon saying the same thing.

[ProSense]

16. It will be investigated,

"The entire incident is going to be investigated...and result only in Christie being publicly humiliated "

...but a couple of things don't make sense based on Christie's statement: 1) Why would anyone put his/her ass on the line to exact political revenge on behalf of Christie? 2) Why would officials carry out these orders if they weren't coming from the top?

I mean, top staffers just took it on themselves to order a traffic jam, and officials just went along?

Something stinks.

[Cha]

6. Tweet from Zach Braff.. Actor/Jersey boy

Zach Braff ✔ @zachbraff
Follow
If you think Gov. Christie wasn't involved in closing the lanes to the bridge, then I have a bridge to sell you.

12:12 PM - 8 Jan 2014

209 Retweets 285 favorites
Reply
Retweet
Favorite

[WinkyDink]

8. Here's the real reason: People can ignore "politics," BUT THEY KNOW TRAFFIC JAMS. AND HATE THEM.

[bullwinkle428]

9. I guess Charlie Pierce is in the market for a bridge now!

"True, this will doom Big Chicken in the minds of many of the godly hayshakers and ultramontane Confederates but, so what? Christie's out of his mind if he campaigns seriously in Iowa anyway. It's not good ground for him, and the caucus system is so utterly screwed up that it took months to determine a winner last time, and that turned out to be Rick Santorum, and have I mentioned recently what a colossal dick Rick Santorum is? And South Carolina simply isn't much of a factor, either. Ask President Gingrich if you don't believe me. Iowa and South Carolina exist now only to prolong the suspense. Christie's path to the nomination begins in New Hampshire, where he pretty much has to win. It continues through Florida and then through the larger industrial states of the east and Midwest.

Moreover, Christie only has problems in this regard if you believe that the Republican base is ready for the kind of open revolt that got turned off pretty quickly in 2012. I still see grumbling and bitching and the eventual falling in line, especially if the Democrats nominate the Hildebeast, of whom the base has been having porn-vampire nocturnal visitations since 1991.

As for the bridge thing, Steve's correct that it likely will be dismissed out in the country as the kind of kick-the-liberals-in-the-balls maneuver that the base loves. It might shake up the independents a little -- Do you want vengeful, petty Big Chicken with his hands on the IRS? -- but they're largely a phantom constituency no matter how softly they are stroked by their favorite pundits. I suspect falls will be taken at lower echelons, and that nobody will be talking about the bridge closing by December of 2015. The only reason to believe Christie's doomed at this point is if you believe that a genuine Goldwaterish uprising is still possible in the Republican party. I don't."


Read more: Chris Christie DREAM Act And Bridge Scandal - Chris Christie Is Not Doomed - Esquire
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Visit us at Esquire.com

[Fumesucker]

10. I agree, for most of the Republican base, the GW bridge thing isn't a negative, it's a positive n/t

[ProSense]

12. Two problems:

Moreover, Christie only has problems in this regard if you believe that the Republican base is ready for the kind of open revolt that got turned off pretty quickly in 2012. I still see grumbling and bitching and the eventual falling in line, especially if the Democrats nominate the Hildebeast, of whom the base has been having porn-vampire nocturnal visitations since 1991.

As for the bridge thing, Steve's correct that it likely will be dismissed out in the country as the kind of kick-the-liberals-in-the-balls maneuver that the base loves. It might shake up the independents a little -- Do you want vengeful, petty Big Chicken with his hands on the IRS? -- but they're largely a phantom constituency no matter how softly they are stroked by their favorite pundits. I suspect falls will be taken at lower echelons, and that nobody will be talking about the bridge closing by December of 2015. The only reason to believe Christie's doomed at this point is if you believe that a genuine Goldwaterish uprising is still possible in the Republican party. I don't."

1) Republicans can't win with Republican voters alone. They're not going to nominate someone who can't win the GE.

2) This is premised on Christie surviving this ordeal, meaning: a) Nothing more will come out after today (Pierce has no idea if Christie was directly involved) and b) Christie could wind up being forced to resign.

This is not a run-of-the-mill scandal, and if Christie is directly involved, his ass is toast.

Christie Pal Files Last-Minute Lawsuit To Avoid Testifying In Bridge Scandal
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024300477

[bullwinkle428]

13. I'm not saying I'm totally on board with CP on this one - he seems to be

advocating the "Rudy 2008" campaign strategy by having him not even bother with Iowa and S.C., and just concentrating on N.H., Florida, and then some northeastern states. How well did that work out for Captain 9/11?

[ProSense]

15. The other thing about Pierce's comments,

based on the piece he linked to, they were made before all the statements today, including Christie's.

Christie's statement is what brings to light his BS lies and calls into question his involvement.

[jeff47]

14. Little problem with his analysis

Who, exactly, would be voting for Christy?

Pierce says this costs the moderates and northerners.

The teabaggers already hate Christy because he didn't punch Obama after Sandy. Instead Christy hugged him.

The reason this dooms Christy is because he's got no constituency left.

And we haven't even found out about the dirt team Romney found that caused them to not consider Christy for VP....but after this, there's lots of reporters that will like to find more abuses of power.

[Bobbie Jo]

17. He's toast. nt

[ProSense]

18. He should be. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

22. He's an entire loaf.

[Cleita]

19. His presidential aspirations and political career are pretty much over.

He should join Ahnold in the ranks of disgraced governors who wanted to be Prez.

[Douglas Carpenter]

20. I hope they are right. But, it is simply too early to tell. Scandals can play out a lot of ways - I

doubt the GOP base was will see this as a negative at all - In fact most will think of it as a positive. It might even earn him street cred with the Tea Party wing. How it plays out with the general public is largely up to how much the media keeps digging deeper and deeper and how much the story draws traction and whether the right people on his staff are willing to fall on the sword. But - ultimately - time will tell. I hope this is the end of him as a national figure - because he could probably be the most viable Republican candidate in 2016.

[ecstatic]

21. I hope so, but weren't we just saying the same thing

about repubs not too long ago (about the 2014 race after the shutdown)? And now they're leading again? The thing is, this country is full of idiots... and repubs are rolling back voting rights every day. I don't take anything for granted.