Did Rachel Maddow just take out Christie?

[grantcart]

She has been banging the drum on the crazy bridge closure that forced an entire town into grid lock.

Night after night she has laid out the details in a professional and clear way.

Now the NYT is taking an active interest as hearings start to examine what happened.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/nyregion/on-lane-closings-christie-says-hell-turn-the-page.html?hp&_r=0

TRENTON — It began with a few orange traffic cones in September, when local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge abruptly closed for four days, gridlocking Fort Lee, N.J.

But after legislative hearings, the resignations of two of his confidants and demands for more answers, the allegation that drivers were made to suffer for the sake of petty political payback has grown into a major irritation for Gov. Chris Christie.

Facing reporters on Friday to announce the resignation of a second close associate in a week, Mr. Christie said the fuss about the two men’s having ordered that lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge be shut — and whether they had done it to punish Fort Lee’s mayor for failing to endorse Mr. Christie — had been “sensationalized".

Can you imagine what would happen if the President (or any Democrat) done anything so petty?

What is so delicious about this is that after a few months this will die down only to be resurrected by Cruz, Rubio and the rest of the crazies.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

[CTyankee]

1. This is why we NEED real journalists, not the powdered puffery of "newscasters" and other

celebrity "journalists" who do nothing to expose this crap.

Rachel is doing this country a service. This does NOT look good for Christie.

[Heather MC]

22. I Heart Rachel

I hope she can do this for the next 50 years plus.

My concern is what will the right do to get rid of her? TheyMSNBC has proven to be spineless and does not protect their people when the right attacks.

And Rachel has been knocking out the RW nutjobs one at a time. They have to be waiting like a snake in the grass to attack her

[Chan790]

31. Honestly, they need do very little.

MSNBC is owned by Comcast and Comcast is about as conservative as Fox. If Maddow were doing any real harm to the PTB, she'd be Olbermanned.

Thanks FCC, media consolidation is great...nope, no problem with conglomerates dictating agendas or using their news divisions to pad their own interests there.

[Cha]

2. Thank you, Rachel.. it seems like it's a real story and not just

"crazy" talk like Christie was saying. Two of his aides have resigned. Why would you resign if there was nothing there?

thanks grant!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. Pleeeese let the Rethuglycans nominate Christie. Don't dust him up too much til Warren has at him.

[CTyankee]

23. yep, we don't want this to "peak" too soon!

[RBInMaine]

28. Reminds me of Nixon and how his people jumped ship before the big fall.

[Salviati]

4. What I appreciate about the story is that it cuts through the PR image...

... that Christie is trying to manufacture for himself, and shows him for the self aggrandizing petty bully that he so obviously* is.

(* Obvious that is, to anyone who was able to see through the BS that the media was also trying to sell us about Shrub back in the day)

[freshwest]

18. Best description of Christie yet. n/t

[mainstreetonce]

5. Oh there just has to be

A ton of skeletons in that huge closet.

If he's in NJ politics he!'s got "family" connections.
Bada bing

[elfin]

6. I think so - he is done

Too bad. I think he would have been more easily defeated than (the fix is in) Ryan, who despite his deplorable "policies" seems so acceptable thanks to lazy media. Notice that the latest "bipartisan" agreement hardly ever mentions Patty Murray in the article headlines, even in the Times.

On the ever accessible surface, he seems so earnest, reasonable, Midwestern, even tempered - even though Ayn Rand nutso.

[QuestForSense]

7. Remember his 'debate' with Biden?

He fell apart in short order. Don't worry too much about him; his ideas are as empty as his eyes. He's just a tall, dark dummy in a nice suit, with a big nose and a glass jaw.

[mwrguy]

8. I hope not, I want him to winthe rethug nomination

So that he can get creamed in the general.

[nevergiveup]

9. Christie has met his match with Rachel.

She will be relentless in pursuing this story.

[passiveporcupine]

10. Rachel is one of our national treasures. nt

[tofuandbeer]

11. Is this something not unusual in politics: closing lanes, etc? Pretty 'effed up.

[kairos12]

12. Remember the famous Clinton "scandal" haircut at LAX. That hung around for years.

[marble falls]

13. “sensationalized". Not exactly a denial, not exactly a direct answer.

[Jim Lane]

14. Nothing against Rachel, but this was getting traction (at least in NJ) even before her story

It was back in October that the chair of the relevant committee in the Assembly said he would hold a hearing. That hearing actually went ahead on November 25, which I think was the first time we heard this "traffic study" excuse. It was December 6 when the first Christie flunkie resigned, and December 9 when the Port Authority's Executive Director said he wasn't aware of any such traffic study.

Full timeline here.

Of course, Rachel's picking it up helps bring it to the attention of many people outside New Jersey.

[NJCher]

17. yes, it was

Public radio in NY did a couple segments on it.


Cher

[grantcart]

20. I am sure that is true but she gives it a framing that gives it a

Naional context.

[mainer]

25. Absolutely. I didn't hear about it until Rachel.

Now it's become a national news story.

[wilsonbooks]

15. the money quote from the article

Still, at the end of the news conference, in which he named a former prosecutor and close aide of his, Deborah Gramiccioni, to Mr. Baroni’s post, Mr. Christie suggested it might be worth examining why Fort Lee should have local access lanes.

But he added that he was not about to call for it right away: “Everybody needs some time to calm down.”

[CTyankee]

24. well, that's lame...

watch that slob run away and hide!

[NJCher]

16. Let me tell you about a NJ traffic jam

Especially in that area.

That it took a week for traffic to dissipate is no surprise. There are a lot of residential blocks there--no place to park. The lots are tiny and every driveway has a car in it. If there is on-street parking, it is likely regulated by a town permit and parking is only allowed during certain hours.

Trapped: every block jammed. No way out. No place to park the car and escape.

And that's just the people in the cars. What about the people in their homes or businesses who could go nowhere unless they walked!?

This is something taken very personally. Those in that jam will not easily forget this.


Cher

[Doctor_J]

19. No.

[joshcryer]

21. I hope so, but I doubt it.

New Jersey politics, like Illinois politics, just get overlooked by the population at large. National politics aren't local politics. The American public won't even care about this.

Now, it could be used in future debates, and it might have staying power if it's left alone for now and is brought back up in debates (a nice funny quip about lane closures timed perfectly with something about, say, infrastructure development would be brilliant). But as far as icing Christie's run? Nah, he's running, this is nothing to him.

It'll be old news in 2 years.

[mucifer]

26. "Any democrat" has a different meaning in Chicago. Between

mayors daley and rahm emanuel we have a lot of corruption and mayors who continue to be popular.

In the middle of the night, richard daley destroyed a small airport in Chicago because he wanted a nature preserve there. Now, I'm all for nature preserves. But, that was nuts. People woke up and the runways were demolished with no warning. Then there are the TIF funds that are supposed to go to the communities. But, the local government here in Chicago somehow get this money to the wealthy.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-chicago-reader-tif-archive/Content?oid=1180567

[Historic NY]

27. I can tell you a lots of citizens in the Metro-Area..

are going to remember this stunt. Christie's petty vindictiveness is going to bite him in the a$$. Its bad enough we put up with $14 tolls to cross the freaking bridge and now this. Imagine sitting for hours, imagine no escape out of Fort Lee or into it. He knew exactly what would happen.

[PearliePoo2]

29. I went to the NYTimes link and read the comments to the story.

Christie is NOT getting any love there.
They are piling on and trashing him big time!
(comments are now closed but you can still rec up...which I did like crazy!!)

[ZX86]

30. Christie's response is telling.

Dismissing questions with jokes and failure to call for investigations and hold those responsible accountable. These are not the characteristics of the competent and/or innocent.