# Did Christie (or his staff) intentionally cause the Fort Lee traffic jam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 9, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351 "2014-01-09T13:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/261 "2014-01-14T15:00:33Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > “Since there was no cite provided at that point in time, the answer would be - I had no way of knowing at that point in time.” > In other words, **just something you made up**. Got it. **When you make up something** that turns out not to be the case, you call it a \_\_\_? > > And actually, your statement is **false**. There **was** a way of knowing that this info was not “made up by Kos”, which we immediately pointed out to you. > > All done with this tangent. (bold and underline added) Hahahaha. Since there “still” was no provided cite when I replied, my post stands as is. You can “make up” any story you wish. It doesn’t change the timeline or my inquires. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/262 "2014-01-14T15:10:21Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > “Since there was no cite provided at that point in time, the answer would be - I had no way of knowing at that point in time.” > In other words, just something you made up. Got it. When you make up something that turns out not to be the case, you call it a \_\_\_? You seem to be suggesting that **doorhinge** lied. You can’t do that in this forum. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/263 "2014-01-14T15:29:53Z")
Not lied, but mistake, fable, untrue, whatever. The point being that he was wrong, he was demonstrably, without question, wrong about his hypothesis that perhaps Kos “made up the allegation”, but won’t admit it. Sorry if I skirted the rules of the forum, not my intent. Hard to have an ongoing discussion when a participant won’t acknowlege that which is beyond dispute. Anyway, said I was done picking at it, clearly **Doorhinge** won’t just admit his hypothesis was in error. Life is too short. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/264 "2014-01-14T16:04:54Z")
There is an article about Bridgett Anne Kelly, the aide who was fired, in the New York Times: [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/nyregion/aide-fired-by-christie-is-called-loyal-team-player-not-rogue-operative.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/nyregion/aide-fired-by-christie-is-called-loyal-team-player-not-rogue-operative.html?_r=0) It’s strange how people can be so different from what their friends think they are, isn’t it? They all thought she was a loyal team player–but as Governor Christie has informed us she was rogue!! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/265 "2014-01-14T18:00:59Z")
And funny how, despite Christie’s saying he hardly knows this Wildstein guy, [there are pictures of Christie together with David Wildstein, Bill Baroni, and David Samson](http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2014/01/14/christie-official-who-arranged-bridge-closures-together-during-fiasco/) - all the people Christie put in high positions on the Port Authority - at a couple of recent occasions, including one on 9/11/13, which was Day 3 of the ‘traffic study.’ ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/266 "2014-01-14T18:06:09Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > And funny how, despite Christie’s saying he hardly knows this Wildstein guy, [there are pictures of Christie together with David Wildstein, Bill Baroni, and David Samson](http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2014/01/14/christie-official-who-arranged-bridge-closures-together-during-fiasco/) - all the people Christie put in high positions on the Port Authority - at a couple of recent occasions, including one on 9/11/13, which was Day 3 of the ‘traffic study.’ > [@Huffpo](#): > > Mr. Christie addressed Mr. Wildstein in a news conference last week, saying he had not encountered him “in a long time.” > > “I have had no contact with David Wildstein in a long time, a long time, well before the election,” which was held Nov. 5, Mr. Christie said last week. “You know, I could probably count on one hand the number of conversations I’ve had with David since he worked at the Port Authority. I did not interact with David.” Dun-dun-dunnnnnnnn. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/267 "2014-01-14T18:06:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > For me, the best outcome would be having the state prison order an orange jumpsuit, size XXXXXXXXXL. I’m pretty sure they keep those in stock. > [@Marley23](#): > > There are some cases where that’s true, but the “Obama should be tougher” thing is way, way overstated. Anyway if bullying people is your primary way of dealing with people you’re not going to do a good job. So you think Obama could have gotten his way with the Republicans using compromise and appeals to logic? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/268 "2014-01-14T18:17:58Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > And funny how, despite Christie’s saying he hardly knows this Wildstein guy, [there are pictures of Christie together with David Wildstein, Bill Baroni, and David Samson](http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2014/01/14/christie-official-who-arranged-bridge-closures-together-during-fiasco/) - all the people Christie put in high positions on the Port Authority - at a couple of recent occasions, including one on 9/11/13, which was Day 3 of the ‘traffic study.’ The HuffPo headline reads “Christie caught with CAPO during debacle”. What the heck does CAPO stand for? I am far from unbiased, but this is getting to be worse than I ever thought possible (or better, from my point of view). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/269 "2014-01-14T18:20:34Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > So you think Obama could have gotten his way with the Republicans using compromise and appeals to logic? In most cases he could not have gotten his way with them _no matter what_. The tactics are irrelevant; they would not have given him what he wanted in response to logic, bargaining, threats, or anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/270 "2014-01-14T18:29:01Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The HuffPo headline reads “Christie caught with CAPO during debacle”. What the heck does CAPO stand for? Short for Caporegime; sort of an underboss in an Italian crime family and, in my opinion, usually used derogatorily by non-Italians. The only reason for the headline to have included it was to slyly establish a link between Christie, his Italian heritage, and the current scandal which, in my opinion, is unfair. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > I am far from unbiased, but this is getting to be worse than I ever thought possible (or better, from my point of view). Yep. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/271 "2014-01-14T18:31:33Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Short for Caporegime; sort of an underboss in an Italian crime family and, in my opinion, usually used derogatorily by non-Italians. The only reason for the headline to have included it was to slyly call out a link between Christie, his Italian heritage, and the current scandal which, in my opinion, is unfair. I have to agree. This is classless on HuffPo’s part. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/272 "2014-01-14T18:51:24Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Short for Caporegime; sort of an underboss in an Italian crime family and, in my opinion, usually used derogatorily by non-Italians. The only reason for the headline to have included it was to slyly establish a link between Christie, his Italian heritage, and the current scandal which, in my opinion, is unfair. Not necessarily. _The Godfather_ movies brought mafia idioms into the mainstream. So if you’re saying somebody is a subordinate leader in a criminal organization, you might call him a capo without any intent of invoking Italian ethnicity. A conservative, for example, might call Denis McDonough a capo of the Obama administration - the conservative is implying the Obama administration is breaking the law but he’s not implying that Obama or McDonough are Italian. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/273 "2014-01-14T19:18:23Z")
Then why is it all in caps? Seems more likely to be an acronym. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/274 "2014-01-14T19:25:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The HuffPo headline reads “Christie caught with CAPO during debacle”. What the heck does CAPO stand for? > > I am far from unbiased, but this is getting to be worse than I ever thought possible (or better, from my point of view). > [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Short for Caporegime; sort of an underboss in an Italian crime family and, in my opinion, usually used derogatorily by non-Italians. The only reason for the headline to have included it was to slyly establish a link between Christie, his Italian heritage, and the current scandal which, in my opinion, is unfair.Yep. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > I have to agree. This is classless on HuffPo’s part. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not necessarily. _The Godfather_ movies brought mafia idioms into the mainstream. So if you’re saying somebody is a subordinate leader in a criminal organization, you might call him a capo without any intent of invoking Italian ethnicity. A conservative, for example, might call Denis McDonough a capo of the Obama administration - the conservative is implying the Obama administration is breaking the law but he’s not implying that Obama or McDonough are Italian. > [@elucidator](#): > > Then why is it all in caps? Seems more likely to be an acronym. Ok, right now I’m Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down thereing like a motherfucker. **BobLibDem** asks a reasonable question and gets some answers, but they are wrong. And only **elucidator** ’s finely honed steel-trap mind noticed. CAPO = **C** hristie **A** ppointee **P** ort **A** uthority IMO, this wasn’t classless on HuffPo’s part, it was brilliant headline writing: they evoked one thing while saying another, establishing perfect plausible deniability while winking, nudging each other in the ribs and outright giggling at what they wrote. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/275 "2014-01-14T19:28:29Z")
“Authority” doesn’t start with an “O”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/276 "2014-01-14T19:41:44Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Authority” doesn’t start with an “O”. Doh! I fucked up my own joke! In my defense, this is _really_ good shit! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/277 "2014-01-14T19:48:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not necessarily. _The Godfather_ movies brought mafia idioms into the mainstream. So if you’re saying somebody is a subordinate leader in a criminal organization, you might call him a capo without any intent of invoking Italian ethnicity. A conservative, for example, might call Denis McDonough a capo of the Obama administration - the conservative is implying the Obama administration is breaking the law but he’s not implying that Obama or McDonough are Italian. I guess I disagree. Use of the word Capo is to suggest criminality and against an Italian is a purposeful, personal, and unnecessary insult. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/278 "2014-01-14T19:57:02Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Then why is it all in caps? Seems more likely to be an acronym. The entire headline is in all caps, not just ‘capo’… \*\*CHRISTIE CAUGHT WITH CAPO DURING DEBACLE \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/279 "2014-01-14T20:02:01Z")
Does Christie play guitar by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/280 "2014-01-14T20:07:20Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Does Christie play guitar by any chance? Heh. Good one. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351.md?page=15)