So, is it safe to assume that a lot of NJ DEM officials who endorsed Christie were blackmailed?

[Smarmie Doofus]

It seems like that there were more than a few who jumped on board Christie's bandwagon... abandoning the nominee of their own party who seems to have been an attractive candidate in virtually every way... with suspicious élan.

So... who are these people? And what, if anything, do they have to say for themselves?


http://hoboken.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/weinberg-criticizes-fellow-democrats-for-christie-end6a0cee0c81


Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg has lambasted fellow Democrats for backing Gov. Chris Christie’s reelection bid.
In a statement, the Teaneck senator said officials elected as Democrats owed it to their constituents to support the party ideals.

“Democrats who endorse Republican Governor Chris Christie are being less than true to the people they were elected to represent and are, in fact, undermining the trust of their supporters. There is a difference between bi-partisan cooperation on policies and surrendering the basic beliefs and core principles that are so important to Democratic voters and our belief in what government can and should do,” Weinberg said. “Christie’s Republican agenda not only ignores the needs of middle class families, working people, women, minorities, the poor and the disenfranchised, it has caused them harm.”

Democratic Assembly nominee and Hoboken Housing Authority executive director Carmelo Garcia and his Hudson County Democratic Organization-backed running mates Brian Stack and Raj Mukherji came out in support of Christie's gubernatorial run on Monday.

Garcia said the governor deserved particular praise for his leadership during Hurricane Sandy.

"Governor Christie has been consistent in his leadership in addressing the concerns of the people of New Jersey, that government be accountable to their constituencies," Garcia said. "The governor has gotten results."

Weinberg said party defectors should be excluded from party political meetings, according to politickernj.com.

[msongs]

1. more likely they are closet republicans, aka democratic "centrists" nt

[NastyRiffraff]

2. I would assume nothing but

Tony Soprano had nothing on Christie.

[Bjorn Against]

3. I think some likely were blackmailed

It will be interesting to see if any of them are willing to come forward and say that, although I suspect that won't happen because none of them want to publicly admit they caved to blackmail. Still I have a hard time believing that Christie would only target the one mayor and no one else, there are almost certainly others who were targeted by him in different ways.

[Smarmie Doofus]

14. No one's going to *admit* it; but I want to hear them *deny* it.

And the way some of these gov't scams work... there's a certain % who can be persuaded by goodies ($) or the prospect of goodies($). No threats.... stated or implied...needed.

Now ...this might not have been a factor here. Some of these individuals may have just been carried away by Christie's obvious charm and animal magnetism.

Whatever.... they bolted the party. The DEM electorate has a right to know why , in light of new revelations. Seems to me, anyway.

[pa28]

4. A good question for Democrats who endorsed Christie.

They should come forward now. Voters will be quite a bit more understanding IMO if they come into the open on their own accord rather than being forced into the open.

[VanillaRhapsody]

5. OOOOH now this is an interesting topic....

very astute deductions there Smarmie...hats off!

[pinboy3niner]

6. He made them an offer they couldn't refuse

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/09/11/godfather-style-hors.html

[Lil Missy]

7. No. n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. Then... in light of recent developments... should they not at least explain themselves? n/t

[Lil Missy]

18. No n/t

[Agnosticsherbet]

8. Wow. Boardwalk Empire updated....

or a conspiracy of assholes.

Which will it be.

[joshcryer]

9. Not overtly, but they knew what would happen.

And those of us who 'defended' those Democrats understood that Crisitie plays dirty.

[JoePhilly]

10. They understood NJ politics so explict blackmail was not needed, but it

was implied.

They knew Christie would hold a grudge. His administration would favor some areas over others. Knew he would seek retribution through petty means. The specific form of his vengeance would not be known. But they knew their towns would be targets.

The threat was always implied. But never conveyed directly.


But Christie's goons screwed it up and left a trail that leads right back to him.

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. Do other governors govern in this fashion?

>>>They knew Christie would hold a grudge. His administration would favor some areas over others. Knew he would seek retribution through petty means. The specific form of his vengeance would not be known. But they knew their towns would be targets. >>>>>

Eg: Cuomo, Scott Walker, Jerry Brown?

I can't quite picture it. Even a sleaze like Walker. Maybe I'm naive.

[JoePhilly]

15. I suppose some might, but this is a pretty well known element of NJ

politics.

To get a sense of it, watch John Stewart's show from last night. His segment on this is basically about how Christie's approach to political vengeance here doesn't actually measure up to NJ's very high standards of corruption.

Back when parts of DU were squawking about some Dem leaders in NJ endorsing Christie, I pointed to this reality. They were afraid of what Christie would do as retribution.

Think of it like mob extortion. Either you pay the protection money, or we blow up your store.

Those Dem leaders payed the protection. The mayor of Fort Lee didn't.

[Cha]

13. You have a valid point, Smarmie D.. Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee would

not co-operate and look wtf happen.

[Smarmie Doofus]

17. This could be a fantastic break for Sokolich.

Not sure he's that ambitious nor do I know anything else about him but Brendan Byrne... an otherwise obscure and rather mediocre judge... had the good fortune of being called by NJ mobsters ( on WIRETAP) "the judge that can't be bought."

Got two terms as governor out of that alone... not to mention a big stadium named after him.

[randome]

16. It is never safe to assume something so melodramatic as blackmail.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[Laxman]

19. Blackmail is such an ugly term....

but seriously, this is something of a complex matter. Some endorsed him willingly. Some because they were particularly vulnerable after Sandy, and some because they had seen vengeful tactics, like ordinary state aid being withheld or a former governor's security detail being removed, in the past and didn't wish to test their luck. Some saw Buono as a weaker candidate and didn't want to stick their necks out. There are a lot of reasons-none really all that good-but its an insight into both the power structure of the state and the character (or lack thereof) of the Christie administration (and some of the state's democrats).