# So, we should get used to saying "President Christie?" Yea or nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 21, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448 "2013-11-21T17:12:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/241 "2014-01-09T04:12:30Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Christie’s Road to the White House just got all lanes closed. Yeah. Wow. That’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/242 "2014-01-09T04:56:34Z")
Local story about some staff members has no legs in 2016. If Christy decides to run, he will be a formidable candidate. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/243 "2014-01-09T05:10:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know why I’m bothering, but he didn’t do that, because there is no such thing. All national parks require staffing, and he didn’t close them, the Republicans in Congress did by shutting down the government. They do not require daily staffing, I should say. The WWII memorial is open whether there is anyone to staff it or not. Closing it was an act of malice. Anyway, I’m going to just concede now given new developments that christie has a real problem. His resorting to the “I didn’t know what my own administration was doing” defense is tiresome after the last five years of such behavior from our chief executive. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/244 "2014-01-09T05:16:12Z")
Is there not going to be a criminal investigation? I would think that abusing the executive’s power to punish opposition politicians would have serious legal consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/245 "2014-01-09T05:22:16Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com) has a long story: [http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/08/politics/christie-bridge/index.html?hpt=hp\_t1](http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/08/politics/christie-bridge/index.html?hpt=hp_t1) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/246 "2014-01-09T05:37:06Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Is there not going to be a criminal investigation? I would think that abusing the executive’s power to punish opposition politicians would have serious legal consequences. How’s that FBI investigation of the IRS going? This kind of thing is not exactly uncommon. It does damage Christie, and it should, but let’s not act shocked that politicians do this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chadwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chadwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chadwick)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/247 "2014-01-09T05:48:34Z")
A fat man for President? The individual that sits at the highest ranking position in the US, should be healthy as opposed to a fatty. A fatty and a schmuck. Bad combo. ---
**Author:** ![hansel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@hansel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansel)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/248 "2014-01-09T06:03:09Z")
> [@](#): > > US Attorneys have been far harder on this under the rubric of “honest services fraud” for the last 5 or 6 years. > > The George Washington Bridge isn’t the busiest bridge in the United States, its _the_ busiest bridge in the entire world. You cannot impede interstate commerce to that level in an attempt to extort political favors or endorsements. Mind you, Rod Blagojevich is in the federal pen for far, far less. > > An ambulance was delayed in reaching a 91-year old woman who later died at the hospital. Also, a police search for a missing four year old girl was hampered by police being redirected to traffic duties. A defense attorney on another message board posted the above. The key thing is that the document dump is a smoking gun for Wildstein and Kelly, and for the US Attorney to ignore it in their case amounts to malpractice. They’re going to jail for this. Wildstein has now gone to court to quash the subpoena for him to testify tomorrow, and you can bet Kelley is talking to her lawyer. The whole equation on the scandal, and how insulated Christie can be from it, changes when members of his inner circle and his cronies are facing jail time. Christie’s denials only provide a fig leaf as long as documents don’t appear showing otherwise, and _Kelly and Wildstein don’t flip on him_. At root, the problem for Christie with this scandal is that it’s easy to understand and it’s totally indefensible. The attack ads write themselves, everyone knows exactly what happened, and no one will go on TV to try to spin it as not that bad a thing. It’s a real scandal, it’s got legs, and it plays into every (formerly positive) stereotype about the Soprano State and those who run it (i.e., “yeah, he’s a bully, but he’s _our_ bully”). It also gives everyone an excuse to start talking about all the other Christie stories, and for reporters to dig back into them. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/249 "2014-01-09T06:26:57Z")
It would be nice for a politician to finally have his career ruined over this kind of thing. Next step will be to ruin politicians who do the more routine political retaliation, like denying earmarks to those who supported their opponent. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/250 "2014-01-09T07:14:07Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > By all means, let’s have a debate about ALEC in a Presidential election, but let’s look at the bills ALEC has actually gotten passed, instead of using innuendo and images of shadowy evildoers in the halls of legislatures getting nefarious bills passed that we won’t name because they might actually be popular. > > I get the feeling ALEC is about as threatning as the Kochs, who may be the left’s bogeymen, but who no one else finds particularly threatening. When you look at not just their bills but their behavior and their backers (BP, Altira, the Koch Bros.), they kind of do come across as shadowy evildoers in the halls of legislatures getting nefarious bills passed… that won’t be popular at all. In a word: bogeymen. From [ALEC calls for “Guerrilla Warfare” on EPA](http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ahaq/secretive_group_alec_calls_for.html): > [@](#): > > ALEC members and industry lawyers encouraged state legislators to limit their states’ cooperation with EPA, and even to engage in “guerrilla warfare” to weaken the agency’s ability to reduce carbon pollution. > [@](#): > > Participants in the closed-door ALEC Environment Task Force meeting at the summit also discussed [two draft resolutions](http://alec.org/docs/EEA_2013_SNPS_35_Day.pdf) (p 7)[pdf] to obstruct EPA’s carbon pollution standards. InsideEPA reported that ALEC had voted to approve the two model resolutions. These resolutions, when introduced by ALEC members in state legislatures next year, will bear no mark of the corporations that designed them in the ALEC Task Force. > [@](#): > > Several reporters were refused entry into the conference, including[Dana Milbank of The Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-alec-stands-its-ground/2013/12/04/ad593320-5d2c-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html) and [Andy Kroll of Mother Jones](http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/12/alec-bans-mother-jones-annual-conference). A few handpicked media outlets were allowed to attend the large plenary sessions, but not the task force meetings between lawmakers and corporations. That last bit reminds me of how the GOP hopes to run their debates- limit access. I guess they want to limit who participates in elections as well, to increase the odds their chosen candidates get elected. While some of the language in my cites can be seen as innuendo, it is hard to see how supporting ALEC is compatible with patriotism. That’s why I won’t be voting for Christie, or any other GOP candidate. There is still time for a 3rd party to arise by 2016- I may not vote for the Democrat either. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/251 "2014-01-09T08:08:44Z")
The New Jersey legislature is led by Democrats. They’re planning on investigating the bridge closure. This is not going to go away. The Democratic legislature will be sure to keep this major news for as long as they can. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/252 "2014-01-09T09:25:56Z")
I think that 2016 is going to be John McCain’s year. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/253 "2014-01-09T09:54:38Z")
[The shit is now hitting the fan.](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/emails-link-chris-christie-aides-bridge-lane-closures-article-1.1569740) Is it wrong that I’m smiling? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/254 "2014-01-09T10:06:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > They do not require daily staffing, I should say. The WWII memorial is open whether there is anyone to staff it or not. Closing it was an act of malice. This is false. You are incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/255 "2014-01-09T11:05:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I think that 2016 is going to be John McCain’s year. This is a joke, right? ---
**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 9, 2014, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/256 "2014-01-09T11:25:33Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > How’s that FBI investigation of the IRS going? This kind of thing is not exactly uncommon. It does damage Christie, and it should, but let’s not act shocked that politicians do this sort of thing. Jesus titty fucking Christ. The IRS scandal is not that these groups were delayed in getting their tax-exempt status, it’s that they ever got tax-exempt status. The statue reads that these groups must be EXCLUSIVELY engaged in public welfare, back in the Eisenhower years the IRS took it upon itself to change that to PRIMARILY engaged in public welfare. Anyway, liberal groups were also scrutinized, but didn’t fucking whine about it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/257 "2014-01-09T11:54:59Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This is a joke, right? No, this is just the break the McCain campaign has been waiting for. And I’m loving the desperate equivalence-making going on in right-wing circles: “Obama didn’t know about some IRS middle-manager in Ohio making legitimate enquiries about potential political activities of groups applying for non-profit status, and that is EXACTLY LIKE Christie not knowing that several of his most senior staffers, some of whom were personal friends, had all but closed the busiest bridge in the entire world for the purposes of petty political retribution.” Yes, there is absolutely no difference between those two cases. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/258 "2014-01-09T12:13:19Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The New Jersey legislature is led by Democrats. They’re planning on investigating the bridge closure. This is not going to go away. The Democratic legislature will be sure to keep this major news for as long as they can. This is a good point. Right now, Christie probably isn’t feeling too great about being a Republican governor in a blue state. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/259 "2014-01-09T12:21:01Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This is a joke, right? Yes. And my fondest wish as well. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448/260 "2014-01-09T12:24:46Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > No, this is just the break the McCain campaign has been waiting for. > > And I’m loving the desperate equivalence-making going on in right-wing circles: “Obama didn’t know about some IRS middle-manager in Ohio making legitimate enquiries about potential political activities of groups applying for non-profit status, and that is EXACTLY LIKE Christie not knowing that several of his most senior staffers, some of whom were personal friends, had all but closed the busiest bridge in the entire world for the purposes of petty political retribution.” Yes, there is absolutely no difference between those two cases. Your point is taken, other than the Ohio thing. The targeting was directed out of the DC office, specifically the counsel’s office. But you’re right, nowhere near the President. Also, don’t call it legitimate, because no one but apologists are making that argument. The administration admitted wrongdoing and fired people, and the IRS is still under criminal investigation. The Justice Department only just appointed the head investigator yesterday. So yeah, it’s pretty well established that the President wasn’t involved, nor was anyone close to him, so not equivalent to the Christie thing. But you can’t handwave it away as nothing either. It’s still very likely that supporters of the President working in the IRS were targeting his political opponents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-should-get-used-to-saying-president-christie-yea-or-nay/674448.md?page=14)