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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / Chris Christie demands to know why nobody told him what everyone in his office is up to

Chris Christie demands to know why nobody told him what everyone in his office is up to

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Josh Marshall has the comprehensive liveblog reax to Chris Christie’s damage control presser this morning. I just want to highlight the key take-home from this exercise: you really do not want to work as a staffer for Chris Christie. The guy does not just throw you under the bus. He backs the bus over you a few times, pisses on the body, takes off and nukes the bus from orbit. The worst is that no sane person can believe that he had no idea what everyone in his personal and professional circle was up to, and when the story blew up over the course of months he never bothered to ask.

Some people think that Christie had to go big on the outrage, that he even did a credible job of it. I think that it all depends on whether his performance can pass the laugh test. Without even knowing what other communications have yet to come to light, and supposedly there are a lot, Christie comes awfully close to becoming a living punchline, a guy who will embody desperate non-credible ass-covering in political jokes long after his corporeal form disappears from the national stage.

***Update***

“I’m a very loyal guy. And I expect loyalty in return.”

If I were Bridget Ann Kelly, a performance like this would give me at least one reason to look forward to that criminal inquiry.

Reader Interactions

188Comments

  1. 1.

    chopper

    best part: “I never saw this as political retribution because I didn’t think he [the Fort Lee Mayor] did anything to us.”

    yeah, didn’t you just say that you only just now found out about this shit?

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    I’m having a really hard time deciding what the hell Christie is aware of, both in his office and in his state.

  5. 5.

    Violet

    Now he has the press laughing by saying “You think I want any traffic studies?” Ha ha ha ha. Fucking press.

  10. 10.

    Violet

    Oooh…he’s pounding the podium. “He wasn’t on my radar screen! I’ve never heard Mayor Sokolich’s name at all before.” Yesterday on Chris Hayes, Sokolich said they’d “broken bread” together a few times.

  11. 11.

    MazeDancer

    “David and I were not friends in high school”.

    Christie’s wanting to “clear up” that David Wildstein was not really his bro was close to pathetic.

    Christie is so in love with the sound of his own voice that he won’t stop the presser. There is a difference between going deep into it and moving forward and digging a deeper and deeper hole.

    A woman died because of this stunt. Even being nuked under the bus doesn’t keep you out of prison. David and Bridget will sing.

  15. 15.

    scav

    There is no here here! He said it before, and he’s having to say it again! He is so saddened by this! Not yet at the stage of anger, he’s aware of those stages, but he’s saddened! He knows nothing about any of this, he knows no one involved, he doesn’t in fact know that he doesn’t know if he knows them or not in a police lineup!

  16. 16.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    Maybe they just didn’t ask the question right. Or maybe, “Yeah, I probably closed the bridge lanes, in a drunken stupor…”

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    @MazeDancer: And as a former prosecutor he should know better than to expound or answer anything he doesn’t have to.
    Really foolish at this point.

  19. 19.

    karen

    Doesn’t the “fact” that he had no idea of what was going on make him look incompetent? Or are people so desperate to forgive him that they’ll believe whatever he says?

    And somewhere in the ether…Romney is smirking.

  20. 20.

    Eric U.

    @dmsilev: I would wonder what he would do to me in retribution should I talk. So far, we know there has been fairly extensive retribution against people who did things that Christie didn’t like. I’m guessing his staff knows of many more.

  22. 22.

    Violet

    Aww…poor Christie..he’s embarrassed and humiliated “and that’s an awful way to feel.” So sad.

  23. 23.

    maya

    @Violet: This is the same press that found GWB’s skit seeking WMDs in the Offal Office hilarious. Let’s face it Republicans are way more funny than Democrats which is why they dominate the comedy club circuits.

  24. 24.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    If I were Bridget Ann Kelly, I’d be looking into the witness protection program.

  26. 26.

    scav

    Has anyone done a count of the number of times he’s mentioned “I” and how he feels about all of this, how he was impacted and blindsides and blahblahblah? Rough guestimate, twice as much as even the oft mentioned people of New Jersey.

  27. 27.

    Raven

    It’s ridiculous to bitch about how long the fucking press conference is. Turn the goddamn thing off if you don’t like it.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    Bridget may be bought, but will she stay bought?
    I hope for her sake she doesn’t have any dangerous hobbies like skydiving, bungee jumping, scuba diving…breathing.

  30. 30.

    JustRuss

    “I’m a very loyal guy. And I expect loyalty in return.”

    Nothing says loyalty like conspiring with a bunch of your colleagues to get revenge against someone your boss never head of, without telling him. Or something.

  32. 32.

    Corner Stone

    I’m incredibly loyal to my people. As I have amply demonstrated here today by that Monster Truck Bus they are all comfortable tossed under.

  33. 33.

    Violet

    “I’m incredibly loyal to my people.” Except when he throws all of them under the bus.

    He’s so, so sad. So sad. He’s got a supportive wife. So lucky. So sad.

    Fucking asshole.

  35. 35.

    IowaOldLady

    Fox is back to talking about the Gates book. Ha! Gates’s book is the kind of gossipy thing the Village cares about while the public pays no attention. But scandal in the NJ gov’s office? That they care about.

  36. 36.

    shortstop

    Among many other things in the press conference I’d like to know more about, one is his claim that the last two nights were sleepless for him. Since he only found out about this yesterday morning, what was keeping him up the night before?

  37. 37.

    Violet

    @Raven: It’s not bitching about it being long. It’s being amazed that Christie hasn’t ended it. That he loves the sound of his voice so much that he’s willing to keep it going and risk saying something that will get him in trouble later. I’m surprise it’s still going. Doesn’t seem smart.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    My guess is his PR consultant told him to stay as long as reporters still had questions or two hours, whichever comes first, and to always use the voice and tone one would use to read a storybook to preschoolers. He’s done a pretty good job of sticking to the script.

  39. 39.

    MomSense

    @scav:

    He certainly didn’t use “I” when he talked about mistakes being made or people being fired.

    I will say it again. Republicans love personal responsibility until they have to take some and then it is always the fault of someone else.

  41. 41.

    srv

    You people just don’t understand how isolated great men are. Lincoln, Roosevelt, Nixon and Bush all had a natural distrust of others intentions but had to work with what they had. Hiring a bunch of pushovers in NJ would not get you far in politics – as you know, you go to war with the troops you have, not the troops you might want or wish to have at a later time.

    Along the way, mistakes are made, and a few people are inconvienced here and there, but one day we will look back on this and see this as a blip in the career of a guy with a big heart. John Cole at least is wise enough to see this side of Christie.

  42. 42.

    Elizabelle

    @shortstop:

    I’m guessing someone got wind of the story coming out, or got asked for comment? And that fact went up the chain the night before publication?

    The sleepless “two nights” comment is extremely interesting.

  44. 44.

    Corner Stone

    @Felonius Monk: “I honestly could have not had any part of this. I don’t know what a traffic study is, I don’t know who the mayor of Ft. Lee is, I don’t micro-manage my staff, and frankly, I’m not even sure why I’m at this podium right now.”

  45. 45.

    Cacti

    First it was a joke.

    Then he “categorically denied” that it was any sort of political retribution.

    Then he privately called Andrew Cuomo to call off the investigation and was told to kick rocks.

    Now he has no idea how his personal friends and closest aides could be such two-bit thugs.

    Riiiiiiiight.

  46. 46.

    MazeDancer

    @dmsilev:

    Maybe Bridget Kelley was staffer in charge of making sure boss stopped presser’s before digging too deep a hole?

    Guess Gov forgets that every syllable of video can be parsed for truth.

  47. 47.

    EconWatcher

    Part of Christie’s comments seemed telling to me: When he described the questioning of his staff when the story initially broke, you only have to read between the lines a little bit to infer what was really asked: Not, did any of you do this? But: did any of you leave any trail that could prove it?

    And on that score, Christie might genuinely feel betrayed. His staff may have misled him about the document trail they left. To my ear at least, some of Christie’s comments seemed to suggest that (despite himself).

  48. 48.

    IowaOldLady

    @Betty Cracker: The reporters will never stop asking questions if he stays.

    Reminds me of the time someone asked my dept chair how long our current meeting was going to last, and he said until everyone had said everything they had to say. Fortunately I was tenured, so I left.

  49. 49.

    Elizabelle

    @Betty Cracker:

    I think you’re right about the 2 hours and maintain reasonable guy composure.

    He doesn’t want stories about how he fled the press, tigers that they are.

  50. 50.

    TAPX486

    Heaven help us if a bully like Christie gets his hands on the out of control national security state lead by the NSA

  51. 51.

    Corner Stone

    “Oh, and did I mention that Wildstein and I were never friends, I barely knew him in fact, and that guy running the R Gov Assoc is someone I don’t even have a mobile number for. Oh, and that lying bitch set me up.”

  53. 53.

    shortstop

    @Violet: I’m guessing that’s two things: One, like a drunk who thinks no one will notice he’s plastered if he keeps speaking using extreme care and slowness, or an embarrassed person who keeps talking to show false bravado, Christie’s under the ludicrous impression that he’s pulling this off.

    Two, he clearly decided to “take all questions, no matter how many” to prove just how transparent he is. Bad idea, since the questions are showing some variety but the answers aren’t, and the latter aren’t improving with extreme repetition.

  56. 56.

    raven

    @Violet:

    Hal says:
    block January 9, 2014 at 12:11 pm
    Christ on crutches, how much longer is this conference going to go? The man just loves the spotlight. One more season to be weary of him as President.”

    last thread, maybe we should bitch about too many threads on the same topic.

  57. 57.

    Cacti

    I had no idea that this bridge closure was going on. I was busy punching kindergarten teachers.

    -Chris Christie (R-Gambino)

  58. 58.

    Violet

    @shortstop: What happened was a reporter said, “You said you only heard about this yesterday, but then you said you couldn’t sleep for two nights. Did you mean one night?” To which Christie said, “Yes. Sorry.” May not be verbatim, but that was essentially what happened. Reporter could have said, “Please explain how you had two nights of poor sleep when you said you only heard about it yesterday.” Reporter didn’t.

  59. 59.

    scav

    His natural belligerence is peeking through . . . it’s like a leaky balloon . . . and the wide-eyed trust combined with the hints of experience political manipulator discussng implications and then jumping back to kitten. Ahh, the stages again, “oh gosh” so characteristic of the beast.

  60. 60.

    chopper

    just in from the times:

    New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson cleared the way for former Port Authority official David Wildstein to testify later today at an Assembly transportation committee hearing investigating the circumstances surrounding the closing of toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge last year.

    Attorneys for Mr. Wildstein tried to quash a subpoena requesting that he testify in Trenton on Thursday. Judge Jacobsen denied the request.

    i’m havin’ popcorn for lunch today.

  61. 61.

    bemused

    That was just a very, very nervous giggle from Christie. I didn’t catch the reporter’s question, something about anger?

  62. 62.

    Violet

    @raven: I still read the same thing. Jeez, this press conference is long. The man loves to hear his own voice. That doesn’t seem like it’s smart. Plus, he’s annoying.

  63. 63.

    dmsilev

    “The rare moment when I raise my voice”.

    That would be whenever he feels the need to berate a teacher.

  64. 64.

    Corner Stone

    “If any of you have any knowledge of this you need to tell Kevin, Charlie or me. Now! (wink, wink)

  67. 67.

    Barney

    “I’m a very loyal guy. And I expect loyalty in return.”

    I cannot read that without imagining it’s Tony Soprano saying it.

  68. 68.

    dmsilev

    Today’s lesson: For Christie, loyalty is a one-way street. That merges through a single toll booth.

  71. 71.

    Violet

    Banging the podium again. Talking about his workout again. He’s fixated on the time. It’s a tell. He must have known something earlier because he’s so weirdly fixated on the exact time he claims to have found out about it. He has to keep repeating it for some reason–so he’ll remember or so he’ll believe it. It’s a tell.

  72. 72.

    Comrade Mary

    I live in Toronto. I KNOW how little attention most people pay to anything but the broadest outlines of a scandal. I met up with extended family recently and, of course, Ford came up. The same group of people who called him a joke, pantomined smoking crack (in front of my bereaved uncle, feet away from the casket of my late aunt), and laughed away about his antics, also turned on a dime and called him the ONLY guy looking out for the taxpayer, yadda yadda, as soon as he lost powers, council raised taxes (they didn’t, but wevs) yadda, (sigh). His lies? Oh, all politicians lie. Etc.

    So I think what a lot of people may take away from this conference is that Christie apologized, said the buck stops here, fired some staff, then took questions from the Evil Press for hours on end. Stand up guy! Last honest man!

    Without a smoking gun (or pipe), this may not move the needle.

  73. 73.

    Corner Stone

    @chopper: Oh, that is gonna be straight balls.
    Even if he just takes the 5th (can he do that in this matter?), it will still be glorious.

  74. 74.

    Violet

    @raven: No one is making me do anything. I’m not the one complaining about the length of the press conference. Never was. I’m astounded by it. Not complaining.

  76. 76.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @MazeDancer:

    He’s setting himself up to be royally screwed by his underlings, by screwing them over right now. Loyalty for Chris Christie is like it is for the deserting coward… a one way street flowing to him, and him alone. Unless the hush money is stupendous, no one, not one of them, will be willing to go to prison for this asshole.

  81. 81.

    Felonius Monk

    It’s probably a little premature to say that Christie’s political career is taking a header off the GWB, but one can certainly hope that it is.

  82. 82.

    Violet

    @Comrade Mary: People that were going to vote for Republicans–any Republican–anyway are not going to be moved. It’s Democrats and Independents (Republicans-lite) and others who can be persuaded to vote for him that he needs to persuade.

  83. 83.

    Amir Khalid

    I’m not following the live-stream of Christie’s press conference; but from the live-blogging, I get the impression that he’s only digging himself deeper into this mess. I was expecting his presidential campaign to implode, eventually; but not this soon, this quickly, or for that matter from this cause.

  84. 84.

    Corner Stone

    @bemused: I’m having a hard time believeing he’s never slapped his wife.
    Irresponsible speculation, on my part. But that’s who he seems to be, IMO.
    In all his campaign stuff he never touches her. She’s always behind hima step and to the side. He never looks at her when he talks about her. She’s right there man! Grab her hand and raise it high! Turn and wink at her, at least!

  85. 85.

    Rosalita

    HAHA!

    Phil Perspective ‏@PhilPerspective 15m
    @joshtpm He still has 90+ minutes to go .. if he expects to impress Springsteen
    Retweeted by Josh Marshall

  86. 86.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Violet:

    Officer Cass: Our scout ships have reached Dantooine. They found the remains of a Rebel base, but they estimate that it has been deserted for some time. They are now conducting an extensive search of the surrounding systems.
    Governor Tarkin: [referring to Leia] She lied. She lied to us!
    Darth Vader: I told you she would never consciously betray the Rebellion.
    Governor Tarkin: Terminate her… immediately!

  89. 89.

    Suffern ACE

    Hmmm. Given the timing of the Seaside Heights Boardwalk fire (September 12/13), I wonder who the owner of that custard stand had endorsed for governor.

  90. 90.

    beth

    If he doesn’t stop soon, he’s going to roll into Fort Lee with his motorcade right around rush hour and really fuck up traffic yet again.

  92. 92.

    Comrade Mary

    @Violet: Well, there’s Ford Nation troglodytes who will defend him to the death in increasingly bizarre ways, and there’s centrists like my extended family who will joke but support him because he has charisma, just as Christie does — yes, fat loud guys can totally have charisma, because it’s not a synonym for pretty and charming — and because he says things they agree with about fiscal responsibility and the like. Don’t discount lingering Hurricane Sandy halo effects, too.

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @shortstop: Two, he clearly decided to “take all questions, no matter how many” to prove just how transparent he is. Bad idea, since the questions are showing some variety but the answers aren’t, and the latter aren’t improving with extreme repetition.

    I don’t know. I’ve got it on mute, but if such bet could be placed, I’d bet the mortgage payment that Halperin and Chuck Todd will be all tingly in their naughty bits about how his perseverance and determination

    He doesn’t wear well with me, but that’s because I care about policy. If I didn’t know he was a Ryan-esque douchebag and a bully (“somethin’s goin’ down tonight, sweetheart), maybe I’d like his media persona.

  97. 97.

    Hal

    @Violet: I think a 2+ hour presser is ridiculous. This thing should have been 20 tight minutes and finish. It will be interesting to see if Christie is covering all his bases or giving out more than enough rope to hang himself with.

  99. 99.

    bemused

    @Corner Stone:

    I never noticed but I really try not to watch these people in detail after seeing a photo of the wife grinning as her husband was yelling at a woman. Ugh.

  101. 101.

    hitchhiker

    He’s playing that scene from the last season of the West Wing, where the Alan Alda character goes to take questions for as long as reporters have them about a nuclear disaster in his home state.

    Now he’s saying he’s going to go take some cameras away from the Wildstein testimony by staging a meet the people event in Fort Lee.

    Ha ha ha.

  102. 102.

    dmsilev

    And, done.

    If one of the under-the-bus scapegoats decides to rat him out, or if there are additional documents which got sent to him, he’s toast. Otherwise, damaged but surviving for now.

  103. 103.

    Elizabelle

    @beth:

    If he doesn’t stop soon, he’s going to roll into Fort Lee with his motorcade right around rush hour and really fuck up traffic yet again.

    That would be epic. LOL.

  104. 104.

    Kay

    Governor Christie said that his chief of staff at the time Kevin O’Dowd did not know that his deputy, Bridget Anne Kelly, requested that a Port Authority official to create traffic problems in Fort Lee.
    Mr. Christie nominated Mr. O’Dowd, who is well-liked in Trenton, as the state’s attorney general last month. Mr. O’Dowd is supposed to appear next week before state lawmakers for confirmation.
    “She had no prior approval from the chief of staff or the governor,” Mr. Christie said.

    Another named person who “did not know”. He should have wrapped this up. He doesn’t have any idea who knew what, obviously, because a coupla months ago he was saying the same thing about people he then fired.

  105. 105.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @patroclus: in which office YOUR TAX DOLLARS paid for him to stay at the Four Seasons. Shit like that starts to stick once something like this. And why did the Romney team pass on him? This raises Serious Questions!

  106. 106.

    elmo

    Holy crap, you guys. I just looked over at the GOS and there’s a diary up that points out – he closed down access to the bridge on 9/11!

    Bridgeghazi, indeed!

  109. 109.

    Robert

    The New York Times highlighted a comment that literally says “but no one died.” So what was that about the NYTimes being a liberal paper that can’t be trusted? Every comment they’re highlighting on that article linked at the end of this post is supporting Chris Christie as a politician for the national stage or downplaying the disruption his office created with this vindictive lane closure.

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    MSNBC: Mrs. Greenspan has former Governor Tom Kean on, re his political protege C Christie.

    Kean says that the bridge closure would benefit somebody just doesn’t make sense, It’s like something out of a novel.

    Yes. That’s true. But that’s not the issue. It’s that they did it …

  112. 112.

    Corner Stone

    @Hal:

    This thing should have been 20 tight minutes and finish.

    The only thing worse for him would have been to not have one at all.
    He had to do this.

  113. 113.

    gelfling545

    See, what really happened was the Governor cried out in frustration “Will no one rid me of this turbulent mayor?” and his minions went and took him seriously when he didn’t mean that; not at all.

  114. 114.

    Elizabelle

    Kean suspects Christie didn’t know, but how that atmosphere could have existed, and how a staffer could give orders to the Port Authority ….

    Now Andrea asks about bipartisanship … mentions Jay Rockefeller is looking into this — Senate Commerce Committee?

  115. 115.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Elizabelle:

    It makes sense if you’re a petty, vindictive asshole who wants to punish his perceived enemies for the slightest fucking slight, even if it has no material effect whatsoever on the outcome of an upcoming election.

    Tom Kean can’t comprehend the motivations of a sociopathic fuck. This is to Tom Kean’s credit.

  116. 116.

    Cacti

    @patroclus:

    <i?This incompetent bully was a U.S. attorney??!!

    Christie survived the Bush U.S. Attorney purge.

    That should tell you plenty about his professional ethics.

  117. 117.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Corner Stone: Ha ha, reminds me of this one loose cannon boss I have. After he got caught lying to HIS boss I thought he was finished but no, still there. Guess it will be up to the union to take out the trash. Unions wouldn’t be what they are if management weren’t incompetent, cowardly, mendacious pikers who wreck other people’s bodies to put a few more Ameros in their own pockets.

    Fuck capitalism. It’s like an EVA unit: put some armor on that crazy undead beast to control it or it will control you and wreck shit.

  120. 120.

    boatboy_srq

    If I were Bridget Ann Kelly, a performance like this would give me at least one reason to look forward to that criminal inquiry.

    Not so sure of that. People like Christie tend to have different private sides, and either have prepared for events like this or have loyalists on their team willing to fall on their swords. That was (another) failing of the Shrubbery: Scooter Libby may have been the fall guy for the Plame business, but he wasn’t willing – and certainly was sufficiently valuable for some in the maladministration to want to keep him in spite of the damage done. For Kelly to be so obviously involved in this business, and so quickly dismissed, there has to be a backroom tete-a-tete involved where Christie promises her a good recommendation, a comfy severance package and immediate placement with some connected state contractor.

  121. 121.

    Corner Stone

    I really, really do not want Barbara Buono being the D counterpoint on this issue. She is awful.

  122. 122.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Cacti: Jersey Nixon. Was going to win reelection anyway but just had to break the law to … idk what the sport analogy is here. It’s like when you’re winning and you cheat because you’re either paranoid or a terrible person or both.

  123. 123.

    Keith G

    Chris Christie’s behavior show him to be becoming a Right Wing’s wet dream. All he has to do is shoot unarmed black kid and they would try to elect him to president for life.

    So no, as of yet I see no damage to his goal of being nominated to run for the presidency of the United States

  124. 124.

    shortstop

    It would be hilarious if Sokolich said he will graciously accept his in-person apology from Christie, but disallow all media. Photo op for the guv = kaput.

  125. 125.

    Cacti

    @Another Holocene Human:

    Jersey Nixon. Was going to win reelection anyway but just had to break the law to … idk what the sport analogy is here. It’s like when you’re winning and you cheat because you’re either paranoid or a terrible person or both.

    Call it a political Barry Bonds. By 1999, he was a mortal lock for HOF induction. Then in 2000 he still roided up past the point of any plausible deniability.

  127. 127.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Keith G:

    Oh, sure, he might be able to win the nomination.

    But he’s very overdone, blackened toast in the general. Already.

  128. 128.

    kc

    Apparently Christie paid more attention to thd details of his campaign than he does to thd governor’s office.

  130. 130.

    Corner Stone

    I don’t know what Sokolich said when denying the Gov’s request, but I hope it was something classy about busy doing his job helping the people of Ft. Lee.

    ETA, something like, “Thanks, but we’re working hard here. Just send us the check for damages. Thanks.”

  131. 131.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @boatboy_srq:

    For Kelly to be so obviously involved in this business, and so quickly dismissed, there has to be a backroom tete-a-tete involved where Christie promises her a good recommendation, a comfy severance package and immediate placement with some connected state contractor.

    Hush money. Seven figure, possibly eight now, after the presser, hush money.

  133. 133.

    Bargal20

    Is the tale of Bridget Ann Kelly not the juiciest example of nominative determinism in recent memory?

  135. 135.

    Robert

    @MazeDancer: The hearing already said he can’t plead the 5th, but the lawyer is swearing that the rules everyone agreed to don’t apply because federal rights trump state rights or something. Stall tactics. Not going to work.

  137. 137.

    Cacti

    Wildstein had his request denied to quash the subpoena from NJ Assembly. He’s ordered to appear today.

    Wonder how that’s going.

  139. 139.

    Violet

    @Robert: Committee chair saying they can hold him in contempt and take a vote on it at the end of the hearing if he doesn’t answer.

  142. 142.

    max

    @dmsilev: Today’s lesson: For Christie, loyalty is a one-way street. That merges through a single toll booth.

    Tsk. The entrance to Christie Loyalty Expressman is closed for a traffic study.

    max
    [‘There don’t seem to be any cars on it for some reason.’]

  146. 146.

    Paul in KY

    @Another Holocene Human: It’s like Lindsey Jacobellis being way out in front in snowboard, but just having to ham it up, and falling on her ass.

    It’s fucking stupid & being a huge narcissist.

  147. 147.

    Keith G

    @Villago Delenda Est: If he makes it to the general, he’s too close to becoming president for my faint heart to be able to withstand. Assuming a Hillary candidacy, she is certainly good enough but golly can she make some seriously bad mistakes.

  148. 148.

    shortstop

    @Cacti: It’s Nixonian in its gratuitous vindictiveness and total indifference to collateral damage, but it’s also the behavior of a raging control freak who literally loses his mind with fury when people don’t do what he wants them to do. And it’s Outfittish in its “message” to other Democratic mayors of what can happen when you go against the mob boss.

    I know we’ve all had weeks to think about this and a day and a half to digest this latest piece, but it’s still blowing me away that someone could do this.

  149. 149.

    Cacti

    @Violet:

    Committee chair saying they can hold him in contempt and take a vote on it at the end of the hearing if he doesn’t answer.

    Must have offered immunity for his responses. Since legislative hearings are not judicial proceedings, immunity can be used to compel a witness to answer. Thereafter, failure to respond is punishable with contempt.

  150. 150.

    Cacti

    @shortstop:

    And it’s Outfittish in its “message” to other Democratic mayors of what can happen when you go against the mob boss.

    The Democratic mayor of Jersey City was also mentioned by name in the e-mails in contemptuous tones, for failure to endorse the Boss.

    There have also been rumblings from Dem mayors, that Christie endorsements were given for fear of retribution on their cities and towns.

  151. 151.

    scav

    ahh, the comparative visuals between the two hours of I I I and the ensuing 5th 5th 5th about things visibly before him is tasty, especially as they are probably making up the law as they go.

  153. 153.

    shortstop

    @Cacti: Yes, absolutely. And Sokolich was being made an example of for the future. Christie thought he had a good three years in the new term (if he wasn’t planning on resigning before he ran for the presidency).

  154. 154.

    shelly

    Christie’s default position, when he’s challenged on anything, is to first get defensive and sarcastic. And then if he’s still pushed, bring on the sad concern.
    It happened a few years ago when New Jersey was hit with a massive snowstorm (almost 2 feet) in December. He was on vacation in Florida, and when asked if perhaps he should be on the job here in NJ in this circumstance, he got extremely pissy.
    Another time was when he used a state helicopter to get to his kid’s Little League game. His excuse? He had to get to a Republican fund-raiser in PA right after, for God’s sake!

  159. 159.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Cacti: Fear of monetary retribution! Like George the Worst!

    Doing something so visible, so ridiculous, so likely to get caught, so not likely to strike fear in the mayor of Fort Lee (per J Stewart), speaks of hubris. Or narcissism. Probably that.

  160. 160.

    Heliopause

    Some people think that Christie had to go big on the outrage, that he even did a credible job of it.

    What he needed to do was walk a very fine line. He needed to be outraged to some extent but somehow still keep his “fuck the liberals” cred. I kind of think he didn’t do it, but who knows.

    That said, it would be a mistake to assume that he’s politically doomed. Older people like me remember a chief executive who was surrounded by sociopathic criminal liars and knew nothing of their skullduggeries (that was the official story, anyway). His approval ratings were solid upon leaving office. We old folks also remember a chief executive who got blow jobs in the broom closet and lied about it to the whole world. His approval ratings were solid upon leaving office.

  161. 161.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @kc:

    “The Mississippi governor has learned that the Mayor of Ft. Lee has obtained yellowcake from Colorado. Based on this information, I am ordering traffic studies to be conducted in Ft. Lee to determine if the yellocake was transported over the GWB.”

  163. 163.

    The Tragically Flip

    For him to have any hope surviving this, it really has to be some one-off event. I think we know it isn’t, he’s a vindictive prick and the reason this blew up big time is that it confirmed an existing (sigh) narrative.

    There will be more such stories, especially if he runs for President. Much like Palin’s litany of petty score-setting as Mayor and Governor came out once she went national.

  164. 164.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Heliopause: But the latter was the (almost) victimless crime. It didn’t speak well of him but prosecuting that was bullshit.

  165. 165.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @boatboy_srq:

    The “job” had better pay twice what she was earning as deputy chief of staff, and had better be a long term (say 10-30 year) “job”.

    She can email her time sheets in from Aruba.

  166. 166.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @Heliopause: I was there also and I remember that while Republicans from Ken Starr all the way down (including Joe Lieberman, no matter what he called himself) were insisting that blow jobs had caused actual real word damage including people dying, the public never believed this horseshit for a moment and his approval stayed high. This is a little different.

  168. 168.

    Botsplainer

    @Cacti:

    Call it a political Barry Bonds. By 1999, he was a mortal lock for HOF induction.

    Speaking of the HOF, did you see the freakout over the vote handed to the fans at Deadspin? Too funny by half.

  169. 169.

    Chyron HR

    @Bill E Pilgrim:

    including Joe Lieberman, no matter what he called himself

    Huh? Was this back when he was insisting that his tribal name was Ramses Q. Shabazz?

  171. 171.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Haven’t been able to follow the story. Has Bridget been shut down yet or does she still work for the governor?

  172. 172.

    Jay C

    @Cacti:

    There have also been rumblings from Dem mayors, that Christie endorsements were given for fear of retribution on their cities and towns.

    Yeah, that’s what they’re saying NOW. Back during the campaign, it was pretty much common knowledge that Big Chris – in pursuit of an ego- and Presidental-campaign-boosting landslide had done his spadework with New Jersey’s Democratic bosses (who still wield a lot of political clout in the Garden State) well beforehand. Which led to the Dems putting up Barbara Buono (a truly mediocre politico) as sacrificial goat: making sure that she got little-to-no support from the Dem machines, and no serious money, and in general, if not jumping on the Christie bandwagon, at making sure it didn’t run into any traffic problems. No lane closures for “The Governor’s” bus, for sure….

  173. 173.

    Corner Stone

    @Botsplainer: That’s why the governor said he had no sleep for two nights. The first night was because he and Bridget were having sexual congress, and the second night he lied awake knowing he would never have sex with her again.

  175. 175.

    Corner Stone

    @Jay C:

    Which led to the Dems putting up Barbara Buono (a truly mediocre politico)

    Mediocre is not the word. I think the word you’re looking for is “awful”.

  179. 179.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @Heliopause:

    Clinton’s approval took a hit but rebounded, as did Reagan’s. Another lesson.

    A common myth. Didn’t happen.

    As the Lewinsky situation unfolded, Clinton’s job approval went up, not down, and his ratings remained high for the duration of the impeachment proceedings. […] Thus, the onset of the publicity surrounding the Lewinsky revelations was correlated with a significant jump in Clinton’s job approval rating, and the two quarters during which the House and Senate debated impeachment and conviction — 4th quarter 1998 and 1st quarter 1999 — saw the public give Bill Clinton the highest job approval ratings of any of the 25 quarters of the Clinton administration to date.

    Not the lesson you’re thinking it is.

    @Chyron HR: Hah. No I meant despite the fact that he called himself a Democrat, he was becoming a Republican, basically.

  186. 186.

    different-church-lady

    The guy does not just throw you under the bus. He backs the bus over you a few times, pisses on the body, takes off and nukes the bus from orbit. is the bus.

    And that concludes today’s episode of Cheap Fat Jokes.

  187. 187.

    Heliopause

    And I should add, even Gallup showed a small dip when the allegation was first published, then a big rebound after the forceful denial.

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