Showing posts with label #BridgeNado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #BridgeNado. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

GOP Spin on Christie: Bad Bromance and Benghazi

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Previous Related Posts
Christie Tries to Deflect and Dissemble on #BridgeGate
Christie's Well-Named Minion, Bridget Kelly
Christie Bridge-Splains But Holes Remain
Chris Christie and the #BridgeGate #BridgeGhazi #BridgeNado

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Some in the GOP are desperately hoping that Chris Christie can save his reputation and still run for President in 2016. Others on the far right applaud his downfall because they consider him a RINO (Republican in Name Only) and his political demise will open up the field to more Tea Party Candidates. Either way, some of their statements about Christie and his chances are as nonsensical as they are full of denial.




Americans are a forgiving people, but they're forgiving when you take ownership, when you admit mistakes you take corrective action, and that's what Chris Christie showed.
He stood there for 111 minutes in an open dialogue with the press. ...Now if only Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would give us 111 seconds of that, would we find out some things we want to find out about Obamacare, Benghazi the IRS -- I mean Chris Christie has been open here.
~ RNC Chairman Reince Priebus on Meet the Press, via Newsmax

Is this as bad as the IRS scandal that Barack Obama basically just sort of brushed off? I think if we are going to be critical of Chris Christie, we have to be critical of a culture in Washington D.C. where Barack Obama has allowed one scandal after another to break and then say, oh, I didn’t know anything about it.
~ MSNBC Morning Joe host, Joe Scarborough

Make no mistake: Bridge-gate has hurt Christie and slowed, badly, the considerable momentum he built during a sweeping reelection victory in 2013. But, assuming that no other revelations emerge linking him to the closure of several lanes of traffic in Fort Lee, Christie remains the candidate — with the possible exception of former Florida governor Jeb Bush — who is best positioned to build the coalition of major donors, party activists and GOP elites necessary to win the nomination.
~ Chris Cilizza in Washington Post

Well, I would have to say that in this sort of feminized atmosphere in which we exist today, guys who are masculine and muscular like that in their private conduct, kind of old fashion tough guys, run some risk. […]
By which I mean that men today have learned the lesson the hard way that if you act like a kind of an old fashioned guy’s guy, you’re in constant danger of slipping out and saying something that’s going to get you in trouble and make you look like a sexist or make you look like you seem thuggish or whatever. That’s the atmosphere in which he operates. This guy [Christie] is very much an old fashioned masculine, muscular guy, and there are political risks associated with that. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but that’s how it is.
~ Fox News Anchor Brit Hume talking about his "bromance" with Christie, via Political Carnival



This was always going to be Christie’s problem. People want a winner. And they want someone who can be a jerk at time, too. But they want the person to be their jerk, not an jerk who tries to make everyone else his whipping boy.
~ Erick Erickson of Red State

Have any of the RINOs, the Republicans in name only, the moderate Republicans, have any Republican establishment types come out and said they support Christie? They haven't. This is the thing, folks. This is the the thing. Republicans, when any of them get in trouble, I mean, it's like a bunch of wildebeests.
. . . They all stand aside and wait and see how it's going to end up because they are afraid to get involved and be tarnished.
~ Rush Limbaugh



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Chris Christie Tries to Deflect and Dissemble on #BridgeGate

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Previous Related Posts
Christie's Well-Named Minion, Bridget Kelly
Christie Bridge-Splains But Holes Remain
Chris Christie and the #BridgeGate #BridgeGhazi #BridgeNado

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Investigations of wrong-doing are rising faster than orange cones on Bridge to Fort Lee, but Governor Chris Christie keeps insisting that there's nothing to see, that he knows nothing, and that he's already fired those responsible. But the emails and text messages released so far paint a very different picture of Christie's closest associates as they dealt with criticism over the closure of the George Washington Bridge.

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The last week has certainly tested this administration. Mistakes were clearly made. And as a result, we let down the people we are entrusted to serve. I know our citizens deserve better. Much better.
I am the governor and I am ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch - both good and bad.
And without a doubt we will cooperate with all appropriate enquiries to ensure that this breach of trust does not happen again.But I also want to assure the people of New Jersey today that what has occurred does not define us, or our state.
~ Chris Christie quoted by CBS News

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Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen Sing
"Governor Christie's Traffic Jam"
("I gotta take a leak!")



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We know everybody's fascinated by BridgeGate, and the reality is that we'd all like to go to the last chapter of the book and see what is the conclusion here. That's not responsible. There needs to be a methodical and systematic approach to this.
~ Rep. Louis Greenwald, D-NJ, Majority Leader of New Jersey Assembly

This is part of a pattern, of retribution, of calling people names. But this is carried to the point of ...really a vicious act. He put thousands and thousands of people in jeopardy. There were little kids, Kindergartners and First Graders going to school for the first day, caught in traffic jams. It was the week of the 9-11 observance and apparently and from the press reports we've seen the Governor and two of the main characters in this drama (Weinstein and Baroni) spent some time at the observance. You mean they never whispered 'there's something going on in Fort Lee'?
~ State Senator Loretta Weinberg on Rachel Maddow MSNBC

From the Washington Post:
A photo published by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday shows Christie appearing in New York with David Wildstein at a ceremony commemorating the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The traffic jam began Sept. 9 and lasted four days.
The photo's release comes shortly after Christie, at a nearly two-hour news conference last week, downplayed his interactions and relationship with Wildstein, who attended the same high school. Christie said he hadn't encountered Wildstein in "a long time."
"I have had no contact with David Wildstein in a long time, a long time -- well before the election," Christie said, referring to his Nov. 5 reelection win. "You know, I could probably count on one hand the number of conversations I've had with David since he worked at the Port Authority. I did not interact with David."
















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Friday, January 10, 2014

Christie's Well-Named Minion, Bridget Kelly

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Previous Related Posts:
Christie Bridge-Splains but Holes Remain
Chris Christie and the #BridgeGate #BridgeGhazi #BridgeNado

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Christie Bridge-Splains but Holes Remain


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Previous Related Post:
Chris Christie and the #BridgeGate #BridgeGhazi #BridgeNado

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Chris Christie attempted to put all answers to rest in a marathon epic press conference yesterday, painting himself as an unhappy victim of staff treachery, and promising that heads would roll. But many questions remain. How could the Governor NOT know what his top capos were doing in regard to closing the bridge to Ft. Lee New Jersey on purpose to create traffic mayhem? Why does Christie continue to insist that there was a "traffic study" when no evidence of such a study exists? And why did he wait from September till now to get to the bottom of this story?

I think we've seen just the tip of the iceberg on this story. The investigations are just beginning.

I am not a Bully.
~ New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 1-9-14

From USA Today:
Christie's apology:

"I come out here today to apologize to the people of New Jersey. I apologize to the people of Fort Lee and I apologize to the members of the state Legislature. I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team."

Regarding deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly:

"I terminated her employment because she lied to me. … I have not had any conversation with Bridget Kelly since the e-mail came out. And so she was not given the opportunity to explain to me why she lied because it was so obvious that she had. And I'm, quite frankly, not interested in the explanation at the moment."

. . . On his feelings about the scandal:

"I'm sad. I'm sad. That's the predominant emotion I feel right now is sadness, sadness that I was betrayed by a member of my staff, sadness that I had people who I entrusted with important jobs who acted completely inappropriately, sad that that's led the people of New Jersey to have less confidence in the people that I've selected."



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From Politico
A panel of New Jersey state lawmakers voted to hold an ally of Gov. Chris Christie in contempt after he pleaded the Fifth Amendment on Thursday at a hearing on the George Washington Bridge scandal that has engulfed the governor.
. . . “On the advice of counsel, I assert my right to remain silent,” Wildstein said in response to several questions from Chairman John Wisniewski at the beginning of the hearing on Thursday.
. . . Members of the panel peppered Wildstein and his lawyer with questions, ranging from why Wildstein apparently was using his personal Gmail account to discuss the lane closures to what references to “Serbia” meant in some of the messages. (They are believed to be disparaging references to the mayor of Fort Lee, who is actually of Croatian heritage.)
Wildstein, however, refused to answer the questions.



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It just strains believability that someone who is such a micro-manager spent a great deal of time today to tell us that he isn't. But we all know that's not true. To say that there are "rogue operators" in his administration - look, it says one of two things: that he was entirely duped and misled by his organization and he doesn't know what's going on, or he's not telling us the truth.
~ Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski D-NJ, Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee on NJTV News (my transcript)

I find it four months too late. I find it really astounding that the Governor could stand in front of the citizens of the state of New Jersey and claim that this is the first time he understood the magnitude of this problem. I've been going to Port Authority meetings for almost four months raising this subject. His two top appointees at the Port Authority resigned because of this subject a month or so ago. The Exec. Director of the Port Authority did an email which said laws were broken here, this was in contradiction to every process known to the Port Authority. The Governor never thought to question anything up until now?
I remember his first reaction quite well - he attacked Assemblyman Wisniewski and me, that we were "fixated" somehow. Then he moved on to kind of make a joke "It's no big deal."
. . . It's difficult for me to believe that Bridget Kelly sat in her office one day and suddenly out of the sky, hitting her in the head was "Oh, I know - let's create a traffic jam."
~ NJ Senator Loretta Weinberg on NJTV News (my transcript)

Two hours of explaining. When you're explaining, you're losing, there's no question about that. This is not about emails, this is not about moving cones here and there. This is not a joking matter. The Governor attempted to make himself the victim today. The victims are the people who live in Fort Lee, New Jersey. They're the only victims.
. . . So this thing unfolds like the onion. And here it is, we're pushing back, peeling that onion and learning more and more. Today it doesn't surprise me that Wildstein takes the Fifth Amendment on even the inane questions.
. . . And if they think this is the end of it, they're mistaken. This is the beginning of it.
~ Rep. Bill Pascrell D-NJ on Hardball (my transcript)



A New Theory Emerges from Rachel Maddow on MSNBC:

In a nutshell from Daily Kos:
Rachel Maddow has advanced a new theory on the rationale for the Fort Lee lane closures. Using the date on Bridget Kelly's orginal email to Christie's Port Authority henchmen she posits that the reason was not the Mayor's non endorsement of Christie but instead retaliation against State Senator Loretta Weinberg who represents Fort Lee. Apparently Christie and New Jersey Senate Democrats have been feuding on State Supreme Court nominations and Christie exploded at them on this issue in an August 12th press conference the day before Kelly's email that started the ball rolling for the Fort Lee traffic nightmare.












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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Chris Christie and the #BridgeGate #BridgeGhazi #BridgeNado

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What did New Jersey Governor Chris Christie know and when did he know it? Call it what you will - BridgeGate - or Bridgeghazi, BridgeNado, or A Bridge Too Far, or Bridge Over the River Hubris - all of those are monikers for the plot to close lanes of the George Washington Bridge to Fort Lee, New Jersey, apparently hatched by Christie staffers in retaliation for a lack of endorsement from the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee. And the whole controversy is casting a new pall on Christie's chances of being the "last best hope" of a non-Tea Party candidate in the GOP Presidential Primary in 2016.

From Huffington Post
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) deputy chief of staff was directly involved in a mean-spirited effort to create "traffic problems" for a mayor who declined to endorse the governor's reelection bid, according to newly released emails.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly wrote in an email on Aug. 13.
"Got it," replied David Wildstein, who was then one of Christie's top aides at the Port Authority, which is run jointly by New York and New Jersey.

A month later Wildstein did indeed create the traffic problems that Christie's office requested. He closed down two of Fort Lee's access lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, the busiest bridge in the country. The closures came on Sept. 9, the first day of school in Fort Lee, leading to massive traffic jams as bridge traffic backed up into local streets. As a result, police and emergency vehicles were delayed in responding to reports of a missing child and a cardiac arrest.

Text Messages:
MAYOR SOKOLICH: Presently we have four very busy traffic lanes merging into one toll booth….The bigger problem is getting kids to school. Help, please. It’s maddening.

PERSON A: Is it wrong that I’m smiling?

WILDSTEIN: No

PERSON A: I feel badly about the kids

PERSON A: I guess

WILDSTEIN: They are the children of Buono voters

***Click This Link to Read More Emails/Texts between Christie Staff Members Concerning the Bridge Closure at NorthJersey.com




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I worked the cones, actually. ...I was in overalls and a hat. I was the guy working the cones.
~ Gov. Christie on December 2, 2013 mocking a reporter's question about the bridge situation in Fort Lee

I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better.
~ Statement from Chris Christie after emails of staff were revealed today

God Bless the Local New Jersey Newspapers who stuck with this story.
. . . We in the National Press owe them credit for opening this most amazing can of worms. Without them and their persistence in the face of stiff resistance, the nation might have never heard the words "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." Without them it would have been just another local traffic jam story. Now it's anything but that.
~ Rachel Maddow on MSNBC

He is the worst example of bully and boss. And this string of e-mails clearly exposes a web of deceit, subterfuge and arrogance leading straight to Chris Christie.
~ Barbara Buono, Democratic candidate for Governor against Christie in 2012

Trenton, we have a problem.
~ Chris Matthews on Hardball

This is just a window into the way in which the Governorship has been run in New Jersey. And far from being a "small story" this is a thread that you pull to see how this guy operates, and how he would govern were he to become the President of the United States.
~ Howard Fineman on Hardball

You cannot close down the biggest bridge in the world for political retribution. You have intentionally put people in harm's way. You knew that before you did it. You knew that when Fort Lee called 20, 30, 40 times.
. . . This is about the lowest level of poltical venom I could ever make up. We’ve now ensured that we’re going to remain the butt of every political joke for the next 20 years on political misconduct.
. . . I've got to believe there's going to be an investigation to determine if this rises to the level of criminality.
. . . I'm nervous about future retribution. I want Fort Lee left alone.
~ Mark Sokolich, Democratic Mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey







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