I almost wondered if this was a hoax, at first. Joe Conason, in the National Memo, interviews Roger ‘Brooks Brothers Riot’ Stone:
Very few Republican operatives knew the Nixon gang as intimately as Roger Stone, the legendary trickster whose back is adorned with an enormous Tricky Dick tattoo. And very few know New Jersey politics as well as Stone, who toiled among the party faithful in many campaigns since 1980, when he first ran the Garden State for Ronald Reagan.
So when he suggests that “Bridgegate” is Watergate – from the imponderable stupidity of the original crime to the profound peril of the ongoing cover-up – attention should be paid. Especially on the day when the US Attorney’s office investigating the Port Authority’s decision to close three lanes of traffic on the world’s busiest bridge issues subpoenas to the Christie campaign and the New Jersey Republican Party…
“The mentality that existed around Nixon – that Teutonic, buttoned-down, we-give-you-orders, you-carry-them-out – that mentality exists inside this administration…It just doesn’t seem plausible to me that this Kelly woman, who seems perfectly pleasant, stepped up to her computer and said, ‘Time for traffic problems in Fort Lee.’ Someone told her to do that.” Stone says the dubious effort to blame her and a few others is the telltale sign of “a cover-up.”
Stone doesn’t know Kelly personally, but he has known David Wildstein, the Port Authority official who resigned after his role in the bridge closings was revealed, for 35 years. “He’s the G. Gordon Liddy of this tale,” he said, referring to the maniacal Watergate conspirator who secretly concocted plots to firebomb and even murder Nixon’s political adversaries. “He’s the 100 percent soldier, the kamikaze. This guy has thrown so many bombs I’m surprised he’s got hands left.”…
Stone enthusiastically supported Christie for governor in 2009 over Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine, but never saw him as a potential presidential contender. And while he preferred Christie to Corzine – “a crook” – Stone harbors no illusions about the governor’s swift rise to political prominence. “He was elevated to the US Attorney’s office after his multi-millionaire brother [Todd Christie] gave a very, very substantial donation to the Republican National Committee.”
Now, he insists, the handicaps that Christie would face as a presidential hopeful are insurmountable. “Christie was the contender of the establishment party [wing]. This is where [billionaire GOP financier] Ken Langone is, this is where the Texas money is…the Rudy [Giuliani] wing. In many ways, Christie is Rudy without the charm,” he quipped…
A Miami resident, Stone closely observed the New Jersey governor’s recent trip to south Florida for the Republican Governors Association, which Christie now chairs – and was not impressed. “You saw in Florida a perfect example of what this would be like if Christie runs for president. He comes down here, he does three private fundraisers — and the addresses aren’t even disclosed to the media because they don’t even want them outside. There’s no press event with the two governors, and he slips in and out of the state, like a thief in the night. And {Florida Gov.] Rick Scott doesn’t even want to be seen with him, which tells a lot.”…
More acerbity at the link.
Last time I noticed Roger Stone he was mocking all the front-runners at the 2012 GOP convention:
… Rick Santorum, he says, “is a religious fanatic and a state-ist. He wants the state to decide for the individual. He is about as far from Barry Goldwater as you can get.” Mitt Romney has no core. Paul Ryan talks a big game but is a product of the establishment…. Romney, in Stone’s view, is a weak candidate. “He just was stronger and had more staying power than anyone else. He had to the good fortune to run against Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Herman Cain. None of those guys were viable.”…
So it’s not like Stone just walked away from the cannibal festival that is today’s Republican Party. But you have to give the man credit for having the foresight to get out before his personal brand was tarnished beyond repair…
********
Apart from looking into popcorn futures, what’s on the agenda as we wrap up the week?
Friday Morning Open Thread: The Rats Are Looking for the ExitsPost + Comments (112)