Bridgegate still a major issue for Christie’s campaign for the Casablanca
Of all the bridges, in all the cities, in all the world, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie chose a New York city span during an appearance with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.” “I’d rather jump off the Brooklyn Bridge than be in Congress,” Christie claimed.
First, such a leap would require notification of all inhabitants of Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs. Not for water displacement, but for an invasion of television cameras and media men for this great spectacular of Christie taking a dive from the top of this John Augustus Roebling design.
Christie displayed political savvy by choosing a bridge that offered no political connotations. I mean, when people think about Gov. Christie let’s just say that the Brooklyn Bridge is not the first that comes to mind. On second thought, maybe Christie should avoid verbal connections to bridges.
Everybody from Shenandoah, Iowa, home to my brother Robert and his beautiful family, to Concord, New Hampshire knows that Christie’s political waterloo happened during the George Washington Bridge mess allegedly acted out by close subordinates who apparently delivered political payback for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.
The Christie Port Authority hit squad of Bridget Anne Kelly, Bill Baroni and David Wildstein hatched a September 2013 plan to close lanes and cause traffic jams on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge. Wildstein, an official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, pleaded guilty for his role.
Kelly and Baroni were charged with nine counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud as United States attorney for New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman made his report May 2015 that further tanked Gov. Christie’s 2016 presidential hopes. The loo storm, even though indictments did not implicate the New Jersey governor, remain a serious drag on Christie’s greatest political desire to hoist power in the Casablanca.
Stephanopoulos discussed Bridgegate as Christie downplayed three investigations about the lane closure scandal.
“There’s no question it was a big political hit. And you still have more than half the Republicans in New Jersey, according to a recent poll saying you haven’t been completely honest. What do you say to them and other potential supporters who are worried about this issue,” Stephanopoulos asked.
“Well, I say to them, listen, there’s been three independent investigations now all of whom come to the same conclusion that I had nothing to do with it, no knowledge of it, didn’t direct it and didn’t have anything to do with it,” Christie responded.
“So, at some point, you know, the saturation coverage that the media has given this affects people. But over time people will come to know that when you’ve had three different investigations, one by a partisan Democratic legislature who would have loved to come up with a different conclusion, one by the federal prosecutors and one internal investigation that we ran, and all came to the same conclusion? I think it’s time to move on.”
Of course, Christie should not take responsibility for the actions of employees except for the fact that these people were selected by his fingers and astute mind. People remain interested in this GWB event because the lane closures show the seedy side of political power that screws citizens, toys with their lives and time and controls their movement.
Plus, perhaps if Christie had not shown such arrogance when these allegations developed, maybe this story would have ran it’s course. Baroni and Kelly have not had their day in court but their lives appear dead in the water after Wildstein made his confession that they plotted to cause that traffic jam.
“I was the guy out there, in overalls ad a hat. I actually was the guy working the cones out there,” Christie joked during the outset of the GWB affair. Then came the other statements that neither Christie nor any of his aides were involved in the lane closings.
“Absolutely, unequivocally not”, Christie answered when asked if the bridge closings occurred as retribution for Sokolich not supporting his reelection. Christie downplayed any seriousness to what he described as a “whole lot of hullabaloo.”
The mea culpa eventually came as Gov. Christie ended his dreadful charades performance. Christie expressed “outrage” and admitted deep sadness to learn that “not only was (he) misled by a member of (his) staff but this complete inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without” his knowledge.
e voters enjoyed the thought of Christie dangling high above the Brooklyn Bridge or perhaps those feared the New Jersey governor might commit political suicide but Christie has increased his poll numbers.
A website headline read “Trump’s Iowa and N.H. (New Hampshire) leads narrow; Christie gains.”
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal, Marist College poll showed Christie making upward moves in both states. Christie doubled his numbers from 2 percent to 4 percent in Iowa while numerous visits to New Hampshire pushed popularity numbers from 5 to 7 percent.
Not sure if this is traction but any positive news should keep Gov. Christie on national television talks shows.
Christie handlers should advise him not to mention bridges until his political campaign gains the Republican presidential nomination or he drops out of a race that currently leaves him significantly behind Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson.