# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/141 "2014-01-10T18:58:29Z")
‘Who is this Chris Christie guy anyway? Is he even a Republican? I’ve never heard of New Jersey. Is it a state? Why are people even talking about this? Typical news media- claiming that stuff is news just because it happened and they can report it.’ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/142 "2014-01-10T19:03:05Z")
Bridget Anne Kelly is a single mom with 4 kids. There was no way she could have kept her job. The emails clearly implicate her. But it is a reminder of the human cost of politics. > **[Bridget Kelly, David Wildstein, who had deep ties to Gov. Christie,...](https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bridget-kelly-david-wildstein-deep-ties-christie-article-1.1571805)** > > On one end of the damning email at the center of Gov. Chris Christie’s Bridgegate scandal was a low-profile aide who was known to shun the sharp-elbowed style of her peers. I doubt she’s the “big fish”. There are people higher up. Kelly may turn out to be a key witness. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/143 "2014-01-10T19:09:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Bridget Anne Kelly is a single mom with 4 kids. There was no way she could have kept her job. The emails clearly implicate her. But it is a reminder of the human cost of politics. The human cost is the people who were harmed by the traffic closures, not the jerks who did something awful and rightly lost their jobs as a consequence. Political figures who fuck up usually turn out fine- generally they can only fall so far because they’re protected by layers of potential consulting gigs and book deals and talk shows. Nobody should feel sorry for them. And most single moms don’t have six-figure salaries. ---
**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 10, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/144 "2014-01-10T19:13:03Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > This story appears to have legs, even way up here in Canada. > > My theory: I suspect the important part (for explaining its popularity as a story) is not how culpable Christie may or may not be personally, but the fact that it makes such a good story about petty, vindictive jack-in-office oppression by officials who literally do not give a shit about the public they claim to serve - of which the public in all countries suspects there is much about that there is no evidence for such as these emails. There’s also the reality that this is just the opening act. Let’s face facts - these guys do not appear to be good honest officials who suddenly decided to commit one single misdeed. Right now there are dozens of reporters racing to uncover all of the other things these guys have done since Christie took office. There’s probably going to be a series of exposes published and broadcast in the next few months. And Christie must know this. ---
**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 10, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/145 "2014-01-10T19:19:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Bridget Anne Kelly is a single mom with 4 kids. There was no way she could have kept her job. The emails clearly implicate her. But it is a reminder of the human cost of politics. > [Bridget Kelly, David Wildstein, who had deep ties to Gov. Christie, unemployed by Bridgegate – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bridget-kelly-david-wildstein-deep-ties-christie-article-1.1571805) > > I doubt she’s the “big fish”. There are people higher up. Kelly may turn out to be a key witness. If she wanted to keep her job and feed those four kids, perhaps she shouldn’t have suggested it was time for traffic problems in Fort Lee. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/146 "2014-01-10T19:28:50Z")
Most dumb ideas aren’t thought out very well. Lets screw with that Mayor and snarl up bridge traffic for a day. Quickly escalated into 4 days of traffic backups. No one thought about the impact on emergency services. Then the cover up begins. One dumb idea can snowball quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/147 "2014-01-10T19:30:46Z")
Sure, that’s the nature of dumb ideas. But people in positions of major responsibility are supposed to be, well, more responsible. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/148 "2014-01-10T19:38:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/299148/chris-christie-goes-national-robert-costa)’s an article from National Review in May 2012 speculating on whether Christie would accept the VP nomination if Romney offered it to him. The article says, “The open question, however, is whether Romney will actually pick up the phone and call — tapping one of the GOP’s brightest rising stars to share the stage.” > > You may trying to minimize his prominence, but until this story broke, he was a front-runner for the 2016 ticket. (And he may yet overcome this issue.) Anyone interested in Christie’s viability as a 2016 POTUS candidate should check out the book [Double Down](http://www.amazon.com/Double-Down-Game-Change-2012/dp/1594204403), about the 2012 campaign. According to the authors, Romney did give serious consideration to Christie as a running mate. However, Romney’s staff vetted Christie thoroughly and found all kinds of potential scandals in his record. When they attempted to clear this stuff up by talking to Christie’s staff, the response from the Christie camp was basically “fuck you.” Even if Christie is proven to have had advance knowledge of the closures, I doubt that it would hurt him in the 2016 primaries. Lots of right-wingers consider “pissing off liberals” to be an admirable pursuit, and they would LOVE the idea of Christie brazenly fucking with NJ Democrats on such a grand scale. Christie’s real 2016 problems are his deviations from right-wing orthodoxy. If he runs, I expect an avalanche of negative ads showing him hugging Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/149 "2014-01-10T19:41:07Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Hahahaha. OK, which one of those persons listed in your linked article has actually declared that they are running for POTUS. > > The media is creating news to keep their revenue up. > > Question - If you HAD to vote for one of those listed in the poll > > AND > > only those listed in that poll, which one would you vote for? (FYI - death is not an option.) Just because you’re in a circle of people who think that Christie isn’t a genuine option, doesn’t mean that a lot of moderate Republicans don’t. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/150 "2014-01-10T19:41:27Z")
From Daily Kos that I’m having trouble linking to… “Mr. Christie, a Republican, complained in a private phone call to Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, that Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was pressing too hard to get to the bottom of why the number of toll lanes onto the bridge from Fort Lee, N.J. was cut from three to one in early September, according to this person.” Could be a very interesting development. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/151 "2014-01-10T19:47:14Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Just because you’re in a circle of people who think that Christie isn’t a genuine option, doesn’t mean that a lot of moderate Republicans don’t. You didn’t answer the question in the post you quoted. \*Question - If you HAD to vote for one of those listed in the poll AND only those listed in that poll, which one would you vote for? (FYI - death is not an option.)\* ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/152 "2014-01-10T19:49:12Z")
Is there any reason we’re supposed to find your opinion particularly noteworthy, **doorhinge**? You’re entitled to your own opinion, of course, but that doesn’t mean anybody has to take this hairsplitting and excuse-making seriously. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/153 "2014-01-10T19:50:21Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > From Daily Kos that I’m having trouble linking to… > > “Mr. Christie, a Republican, complained in a private phone call to Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, that Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was pressing too hard to get to the bottom of why the number of toll lanes onto the bridge from Fort Lee, N.J. was cut from three to one in early September, according to this person.” > > Could be a very interesting development. Or an outright lie made up by someone writing for the daily kos. What’s one more unverified rumor at this point in time? ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/154 "2014-01-10T20:00:56Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Or an outright lie made up by someone writing for the daily kos. They were quoting the Wall Street Journal. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/155 "2014-01-10T20:01:23Z")
Well Rod Blagojevich at FCI Englewood might enjoy a cellmate that knows politics. 😃 Just kidding. This may end Christie’s Presidential dreams. I certainly hope nothing like the corruption in Rod Blagojevich’s office gets uncovered in NJ. That level of corruption demeans us all. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/156 "2014-01-10T20:02:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t know if that’s true or not. I do know this is sort of Bush-esque. > > **Is there any reason we should care about your personal assessment?** He’s a likely presidential candidate, and there are some reasons to think he’d be a strong candidate. > > The “old rumors” (that the lane closures were an act of political retaliation) were 100% accurate. > [@Marley23](#): > > **Is there any reason we’re supposed to find your opinion particularly noteworthy** , **doorhinge**? You’re entitled to your own opinion, of course, but that doesn’t mean anybody has to take this hairsplitting and excuse-making seriously. That’s your 2nd post about my posted opinions. Are you hinting that I should not be posting in this thread or are your questions of a more serious nature? Oh my! Look at the time. I didn’t realize how late it was. It must be time to let the dogs out, or something. ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/157 "2014-01-10T20:02:41Z")
Also being reported in the WSJ, a notoriously liberal and unreliable source. ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/158 "2014-01-10T20:04:50Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > That’s your 2nd post about my posted opinions. Are you hinting that I should not be posting in this thread or are your questions of a more serious nature? > > Oh my! Look at the time. I didn’t realize how late it was. It must be time to let the dogs out, or something. Maybe it’s about your denial of easily verifiable facts, such as Christie’s prominence in discussion of likely 2016 (R) candidates? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/159 "2014-01-10T20:06:55Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > That’s your 2nd post about my posted opinions. Are you hinting that I should not be posting in this thread or are your questions of a more serious nature? I’m pointing out that you’re trying to pass off your personal opinions as facts. Opinions are not facts. To the extent that there are facts here, they don’t support your opinions. (Or you’re just being argumentative for no particular reason.) ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/160 "2014-01-10T20:15:32Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Most dumb ideas aren’t thought out very well. Lets screw with that Mayor and snarl up bridge traffic for a day. Quickly escalated into 4 days of traffic backups. No one thought about the impact on emergency services. Then the cover up begins. > > One dumb idea can snowball quickly. There is a chasm of difference between “dumb ideas” and “evil illegal acts”, there is absolutely nothing to feel sorry about with regards to that woman. Hopefully her career is ruined and she spends a few years in jail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351.md?page=9)