This. It's the most perverse "revenge" ever.

Or he was stuck in it himself. But even then how was he supposed to know that this traffic jam was his punishment for not endorsing the governor? It's a form of gaslighting I guess.

And this is great.

(above post should read "for reals i'm done ^^) ok back to the matter at hand...

rachel maddow might be on to something regarding the motive of the lane closures. we all assume its the lack of endorsement. but you know, the mayor and christie both seemed to say it wasnt a big deal. the mayor barely recalls being asked to endorse. lots of dems dont endorse. one of the reasons why the mayor gave christie the benefit of the doubt until yesterday was that he really didnt think the gov was mad at him at all. and christie didnt even talk to the guy, barely knows him.

maddow says that on aug 12 christie was mad at the state senate regarding a state supreme court justice confirmation issue. called them "animals" in the afternoon of the 12th. the email from kelly went out on aug 13 7:30 am. the majority leader of the senate represents ft. lee.


well then again, they did call him the "little Serbian" Mayor and an "idiot" when the mayor tried to get to the bottom of the lane closures.

Reagan

Christie was dismissive when asked. Looks terrible. This is a political death knell. You can feel it. This is not something that will go away. Major government agencies investigating and potential criminal charges.

This is about as bad it gets.

Also the Port Authority guy pleading the fifth?? Who is he protecting.
If there are charges and convictions see how quiet these fired employees will stay.

Last big fat guy swore up and down he didnt do something. That worked out well for Rob Ford. Wait he may get elected again

Romney 2016? WTF dude? U high?

Out of curiosity because I really have no idea, what crime did these people commit?

none, unless they lie under oath

Maybe Mitt's plan revolves around having 5 years of legit tax returns this time around

The dismissive tactic works a lot better when you can charm like Derek Jeter or JFK.

golfnutt:

You've got it pegged just about right. This political drama is reminiscent of a Shakespearean play - althought I can't decide if it's a tragedy or a comedy. (If you're Chris Christie it's a tragedy - if you're a New Jersey democrat it's a comedy.)

This is definitely not going away. The young lady (Kelly?) who was fired by Governor Christie early this morning is probably seething to her lawyer. Her chances of obtaining new employment in politics (and living the glamorous "close to the action" kind of lifestyle she has become accustomed to) are probably over. No other elected public official is going to touch her as she is now [politically] radioactive. Plus, she is probably beside herself with the knowledge that Governor Christie has tossed her overboard and tried to make her the scapegoat while he desperately tries to portray himself as the "victim" of her machinations. That is the kind of explosive combination that produces one very angry woman. (Most of the others who have been tossed overboard and forced to walk the plank are probably feeling much the same way.)

New Jersey democrats, who have been taking it on the chin from Christie for the last four years, are eager to settle old scores. Ms. Kelly and most of the other "loyal aides" who have been stabbed in the back, will receive transactional immunity - they'll be spared any possibility of being prosecuted. The big fat target here is the Governor - and Democrats will do whatever it takes to bring Christie down.

I predict this will ultimately play out like Watergate. Christie will resign from office in order to avoid impeachment and [possible] criminal prosecution. Laws have probably been violated here. Somebody is going to be held accountable - and that "somebody" will probably be Chris Christie.

Break out the popcorn. For political junkies, lawyers, (and Shakespeare fans), this is hog heaven.

Himself. When all is said and done the record will show he was complicit in causing a virtual shutdown of the busiest bridge on Earth for no good reason.

Agree. Done. Resignation.

Way too entangled. And visceral.

Absolutely criminal. They essentially transferred taxpayer money in exchange for political payback. And used one the world's busiest bridges as a pawn. Scary.

True. Ike was one of 5 bald elected presidents in history according to google. But was that the tv era? About half of all households had tv back then in the 50's. My theory is that looks matter more now in politics for a lot of reasons. I also think fat is worse than bald for politicians when it comes to looks.

Bridghazi! Bridghazi! Brighazi!

Thread needs a new title, hint hint.

One thing I suspect is true is that the bridge shenanigans didn't have anything to do with some Mayor's endorsement. What kind of motive is that? I don't know Jersey politics enough to speculate alternative motives.

one alternative motive is discussed here
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-s...l-111611971764

It really doesn't matter as much why? It was how he acted afterward that engenders rage. He mocked the people questioning the matter. Kept insisting it was a traffic study. Don't you think he should have requested some document to verify traffic study approval or results.

Someone tell me what traffic study entails merging three lanes into one lane for 4 straight days?

Christie wanted desperately to (and pretty much did) sell himself as a conservative who could get things done across the isle. Having endorsements from democrats is a big deal for him. The bridge having everything to do with the non-endorsement fits in pretty clear into the pattern of Christie's behavior apparently though it is more out of bounds than he usually goes. In some cities messing with traffic is really kicking the mayor where it hurts.

+EV odds right now!

Maddow knocked it out of the park tonight. I always thought the original motive for the bridge shutdown seemed like a bit of a reach and only the lack of an alternate explanation from the Christie administration had been keeping the story alive. Given the timing of the emails being a mere 12 hours after that press conference I don't think there should be any more debate on what the original motive was. The issue now becomes whether Christie had any personal involvement. To me, it's hard to believe for a number of reasons. At the forefront is his claim that even in the wake of the investigation his staff and appointees were denying involvement to him behind closed doors. Why would they all take turns lying directly to Christie's face when they know that personal emails and text messages are going to come out that directly implicate them in the scandal? What purpose does that serve, exactly? If Christie had gotten confessions from his staff and fired the culprits before these emails were leaked he might have some shred of credibility left. Instead he's appeared to feign ignorance in areas that he didn't need too and as a result it's difficult to believe that it was just rogue high level members of his administration orchestating this without his knowledge - as if it wasn't already a huge reach as it was.

The other reason it's so difficult to believe, of course, is that these are many of his top staff and appointees. And David Wildstein wasn't just some guy, he was a childhood friend of Christie's. The idea that he wouldn't know about their activities, and that they'd lie to his face when confronted about them is scary enough, but what's worse is that he would trust key positions in his administration to petty, vindictive individuals that think it's okay to go around their boss to teach somebody a lesson. Any way you slice it this thing looks very bad for Christie and there's no spinning it in a way that makes him look suitable for the Presidency.

I have a handle on WHAT occurred, but as to WHEN, I'm chronologically challenged here.
Keep in mind that the entire region [including where I live, 150 miles+ away]
have experienced testicle-frostbiting temps, way below normal winter brrrrr, for about a week.

We're talking about coning off 3 lanes of freeway, at the very least.
Maybe dragging out a backhoe or even just a bobcat, with a jackhammer attachment, to MAKE the f**kin' pothole.
Or grabbing 5-6 guys to fall asleep on their shovel HANDLES, under temp stadium lighting, on Graveyard shift, in said "work area".
At 5 MOTHERF***ING BELOW ZERO.

Sumthin's not addin' up...

This happened in September.

thx.
With that in mind, it don't look good 4 Christie.

What I described is SOP for CalTrans [Cali], less the 5 below chit.
Doesn't matter who's in charge, as long as they can get Unemployment whenever in rains 2days+.

I recognize I am biased but the chances that Obama is ranked in the top quartile of Presidents in 10 years seem remote. The economic recovery matches the recession-worst recession slowest recovery. Foreign Policy is not the stuff of greatness, you have some wins in Syria and Libya offset by the losses looming in Afghanistan and Iraq. If Obamacare works as planned is that enough to be considered top dozen? My guess he is considered to be a second quartile President.

I don't think you have to be covering up a crime to invoke the fifth, so it's just easier for dude to say that to the ceremonial NJ state assembly kangaroo court subcommittee thank to testify