njlauren
Posts: 1577
Joined: 10/1/2011
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I don't think Christie ordered this or knew about it, to be honest. Christie is a lot of things, he is a belligerent, abusive person, and yes, he is a bully, but he is politically savvy enough to know that something like this bridge plan wasn't worth it, and would have stopped it had he knew in advance. The problem with this kind of payback is that the victim won't know it is payback, so what is the point? The ideal payback is the victim knows who is behind it, but can't prove anything, in this case, he wouldn't even know or suspect it...on the other hand, if the mayor of fort lee has a meeting with the governor, is made to wait hours, then is told the meeting is cancelled, that makes the point clear, or if the state has funding the city needs, and they drag their feet, same thing....I suspect Christie found out the truth not long after the shit hit the fan, but he has a problem in that he ridiculed the idea this was a political dirty trick in news conferences, joked about him being the guy putting down the cones sarcastically, and what that looks like is someone who did that to try and lie his way through (again, I don't think he knew, for the reason that the payout wasn't worth the risks).
What I do think can stick on Christie is another example of the way he leads. The fact that underlings would even think something like this is appropriate tells you a lot about him and how he runs things, that the idea of political payback and retribution is par for the course for his administration. Put it this way, if a leader is a straight shooter who would be horrified at payback and retaliation, and made clear to his people it was intolerable, this wouldn't have happened, but if you read the e-mails and texts, this is not a group of people doing this with deep thought and reluctance, they are jubilant about it, they really think they are doing something good for 'the boss'. People pick up the attitude of those who lead them, and it is very very hard to believe Christie when he says this is unacceptable, that he doesn't do business like this, it was just too easy for them to pull off something they knew would cause major problems, and they are so sure of it they did it openly, on e-mail and texts that could be traced, it tells me they had zero compunction about dirty tricks and retaliation, which means that Christie himself has no problems with it. Sure, he probably would have nixed this had he known, because it was too far over the top, but it also says his employees thought that dirty tricks and retaliation were par for the course for working for the boss, and that isn't indictable, but it does say what kind of person Christie is and it is going to make people think. I don't give a shit about conservatives and what they think or don't, the droolers won't vote for Christie because he doesn't have a southern drawl and claim Jesus is his buddy and evolution is a lie, other conservatives will vote for him and defend him because they think he is attractive enough to get some dems and independants to vote for him, but where he is hurt is with moderate republicans, more conservative Democrats and especially independents. One of the things people are sick of is the paralysis of government, the meanness between Dems and the GOP, the tea party douchebags with their rigid, stupid stands on things (take a look at GOP approval numbers, Obama is still double them), and what does this show? An aggressive, bullying person who sees any disagreement as war, and anyone who has other ideas as someone to be 'gotten'........that is what is going to hurt him.
Political retaliation happens with all parties and people, in subtle and not so subtle ways, but what has happened with this is it reinforces the image of Christie as the big, fat bully he often has come off as, rather than the person he claims to be, the pragmatist working across the aisle and so forth. There are a number of GOP legislators in NJ who don't like him, because of his heavy handed threats to get them to vote the way he wants them, he threatened a number of GOP Legislators thought to be leaning towards legalizing same sex marriage (this was before the courts ruled on it), and told them he would put up a candidate against them in the primaries and would even support a democratic opponent if they voted for it....and that is where the damage with this will come from, because it is working against the very image he has tried to portray. Followers pick up from the leader how to operate, and what this says is that Christie is very much as he has often been portrayed, as a bully using political dirty tricks and such as 'retaliation' for those who he disagrees with, and on the national scale that might please some woodheads, but it is going to turn off a lot of needed independent and moderate voters.
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RE: Bridge"gate" - 
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