Chris Christie: Better than the Sopranos!
Published in Le Nouvel Observateur
(France) on 9 January 2013
by Philippe Boulet-Gercourt (link to original)
(France) on 9 January 2013
by Philippe Boulet-Gercourt (link to original)
The governor of New Jersey has voluntarily provoked closures on a very busy bridge to get revenge on the mayor of Fort Lee.
“The Sopranos,” in comparison to “Bridgegate,” is Winnie the Pooh! American politics often surprise, but it is rare for it to be this funny. An infallible sign of a politician trapped in deep doo-doo? He releases a statement instead of appearing in front of cameras. This is what happened on Tuesday, Jan. 7, to Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor and a future hopeful for the Republican Party — one might say an ex-future hopeful ….
It all started last summer. The popular Christie began a campaign for his re-election as governor and wanted to attract all of the Democrats in the state who typically vote left. His plan was clear and certainly not stupid. It was a copy and paste strategy from George W. Bush in 2000: Present as a 2016 presidential candidate with the image of a man of compromise, capable of listening to “opposing sides.”
A Vindictive Governor
Enter Mark Sokolich, a Democratic mayor from Fort Lee. Fort Lee is a small borough in New Jersey, located just off the George Washington Bridge, one of the large bridges leading toward Manhattan and one of the busiest in the country. Sokolich made it known that he had no desire to support Christie. The matter could simply have remained like this. But clearly, the governor was vindictive. In September, access roads to the bridge were mysteriously closed for construction, causing traffic, slowing school buses and upping response times for emergency services, from 2 to 4 minutes to more than 16 minutes. A little old lady who was 91 died on the way to the hospital.
In December, scandal: Members of Christie's administration had ordered the closure of the road to punish the recalcitrant mayor. Two officials close — but not too close — to the governor were forced to resign, while Christie reassured that “absolutely nobody” on his team had ordered the closure of the roads. "I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue,” he insisted. The press was skeptical, given the dark side to human nature, but had no evidence ….
Incriminating Emails and Resignations
Tuesday, wham: A local agency publishes emails showing the deputy director of Christie's cabinet, very close to him, sadistically rejoicing at the mayor's traffic congestion misfortune. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she wrote in August. And no remorse for the children on delayed school buses: “They are the children” of the Democratic opponent['s supporters] in the election against Christie. Huge scandal. And like in the Bada Bing club from the Sopranos, this is only the tip of the iceberg: As an elected official, the amount of documents involved in this Kafkaesque scandal could be from 3,000 to 5,000 pages, harboring a tsunami of incriminating emails!
We cannot decide what the most hilarious part of this story is, between the stupidity of responsible politicians revealing their crimes in emails and the immaturity of a governor who was guaranteed to be re-elected. Christie assured that he was not aware and that more heads will roll, but this could only convince the naïve. He risks finding himself marked by a triple scarlet letter: idiotic, petty and a liar. Perhaps enough to get a presidential bid in the United States.
Far from George Washington Bridge and its famous traffic jams, a new don is rubbing his hands together: the honorable Jeb Bush ….
“The Sopranos,” in comparison to “Bridgegate,” is Winnie the Pooh! American politics often surprise, but it is rare for it to be this funny. An infallible sign of a politician trapped in deep doo-doo? He releases a statement instead of appearing in front of cameras. This is what happened on Tuesday, Jan. 7, to Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor and a future hopeful for the Republican Party — one might say an ex-future hopeful ….
It all started last summer. The popular Christie began a campaign for his re-election as governor and wanted to attract all of the Democrats in the state who typically vote left. His plan was clear and certainly not stupid. It was a copy and paste strategy from George W. Bush in 2000: Present as a 2016 presidential candidate with the image of a man of compromise, capable of listening to “opposing sides.”
A Vindictive Governor
Enter Mark Sokolich, a Democratic mayor from Fort Lee. Fort Lee is a small borough in New Jersey, located just off the George Washington Bridge, one of the large bridges leading toward Manhattan and one of the busiest in the country. Sokolich made it known that he had no desire to support Christie. The matter could simply have remained like this. But clearly, the governor was vindictive. In September, access roads to the bridge were mysteriously closed for construction, causing traffic, slowing school buses and upping response times for emergency services, from 2 to 4 minutes to more than 16 minutes. A little old lady who was 91 died on the way to the hospital.
In December, scandal: Members of Christie's administration had ordered the closure of the road to punish the recalcitrant mayor. Two officials close — but not too close — to the governor were forced to resign, while Christie reassured that “absolutely nobody” on his team had ordered the closure of the roads. "I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue,” he insisted. The press was skeptical, given the dark side to human nature, but had no evidence ….
Incriminating Emails and Resignations
Tuesday, wham: A local agency publishes emails showing the deputy director of Christie's cabinet, very close to him, sadistically rejoicing at the mayor's traffic congestion misfortune. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she wrote in August. And no remorse for the children on delayed school buses: “They are the children” of the Democratic opponent['s supporters] in the election against Christie. Huge scandal. And like in the Bada Bing club from the Sopranos, this is only the tip of the iceberg: As an elected official, the amount of documents involved in this Kafkaesque scandal could be from 3,000 to 5,000 pages, harboring a tsunami of incriminating emails!
We cannot decide what the most hilarious part of this story is, between the stupidity of responsible politicians revealing their crimes in emails and the immaturity of a governor who was guaranteed to be re-elected. Christie assured that he was not aware and that more heads will roll, but this could only convince the naïve. He risks finding himself marked by a triple scarlet letter: idiotic, petty and a liar. Perhaps enough to get a presidential bid in the United States.
Far from George Washington Bridge and its famous traffic jams, a new don is rubbing his hands together: the honorable Jeb Bush ….
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