The unfolding scandal of Bridgegate in New Jersey has revealed what many observers believed all along – that Gov. Chris Christie’s office was involved in the fake traffic study that crippled one of the busiest bridges in the country for four days. The gridlock brought travel to businesses and schools to a grind in Fort Lee, N.J. Emergency vehicles were delayed; the death of 91-year-old Florence Genova remains to be confirmed as a casualty of the vendetta.
Last month, Christie declared in his usual pompous manner that the George Washington Bridge lane closing was just “not that big a deal.” Well, now it is. State, federal and legislative investigations have been launched. A class action suit by residents who felt the pain has been filed. The media is having a field day. Enemies of Christie are smelling blood and are circling for the kill.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Christie’s deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly emailed to David Wildstein, a Christie appointee to the Port Authority, on Aug. 13. “Got it,” he replied.
Kelly and Wildstein, along with two other Christie aides, are no longer employed. Pages of documents have since been released, unmasking the vicious plot.
When the henchmen don’t have the shield of the office, they become the cowards they truly are. Wildstein went from “Do you know who I am?” whenever his authority was questioned to muttering his 5th Amendment right throughout the entire Senate hearing. He even invoked the 5th when asked where he was formerly employed.
Time will tell if Christie actually ordered the shutdown. What is well known is the culture of bullying and retributions are the hallmark of the Christie administration. The shutdown vendetta could have been aimed at any number of people: Fort Lee’s mayor for not endorsing Christie, gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono for daring to run against Christie or state Sen. Richard Codey for holding up confirmation of Christie’s judicial appointees.
Christie’s political career is rife with evidence of the bullish nature that has characterized his office. Although a subdued Christie kept emphasizing at his press conference last week that he’s no bully, there are plenty of examples to prove otherwise. We’ve all heard him publicly denigrate members of the press corps and town hall participants, often making reference to those who challenge him as “idiots.”
In an unprecedented move, Christie refused to re-nominate NJ’s only black justice, John Sullivan, in 2010. No governor in the modern era has refused to re-nominate for tenure a sitting chief justice. The list goes on, with the smack-downs by the governor such as summarily firing people, cutting their budgets and refusing to give them an audience.
Christie is a non-partisan bully. When Republican state Senator Sean Kean criticized the governor’s slow response to a snow blizzard, he found his district had been eliminated in the state’s redistricting plan. The Romney campaign was told they needed permission from Christie to fundraise in New Jersey, a move Romney called straight “out of the Sopranos.”
Bullying tactics and abuse of authority are nothing new to politics. We have a few local examples. The philosophy of reward your friends and punish your enemies is not exactly a secret. But for some, the taste of power seems to be intoxicating and provides the fuel for pushing a self-serving agenda that makes them forget they’re supposed to be public servants.
Citizens expect a certain amount of corruption, bullying, nepotism, etc. But when it’s an in-yo-face action that brings harms to many people, expect a reaction. The GWB closing may never be tied directly to Christie, but he has been exposed as unfit for public office – especially for holding the highest office in the land.
