I live in the next town just west of Fort Lee. Whenever there is a traffic jam “under the buildings” that are built on air on the New York side of the George Washington Bridge or even on the Cross Bronx, a scant few miles away, it’s impossible to cross the road that runs through the middle of my town. So I know George Washington Bridge traffic intimately, the way a leper knows a scab. No disrespect to leper scabs.
That’s why the Christie debacle feels two parts personal affront, one part giggle-inducing tale, one part “I can’t believe people can be so spiteful and reckless.” I saw the jam on September 9th. I chalked it up to the George Washington Bridge being the George Washington Bridge, cranky and rude, like the nasty boss you just have to put up with. But, no. When emails surfaced yesterday that prove that our governor’s deputy chief of staff said it was time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee, and that texts were exchanged saying that they had no mercy for the kids who were stuck in this awful mess because (quote), “they are children of Buono voters,” I was both not surprised and also kinda surprised.
Now, full disclosure, I’m a Buono voter. (Not that it did much good. Inexplicably, my blue state elected Republican Christie with a 22-point margin, even though he’s caused a world of hurt in New Jersey). But it’s not really a Republican or Democrat thing. It’s really just a douchi-ness thing.
Should it be discovered that Christie had any part or any “wink-wink” knowledge of it, this should effectively end his 2016 presidential aspirations. But, who knows. I’d like to know what came of the cardiac arrest call the gridlock obstructed and, also, what happened to the missing child report the cops couldn’t get to for hours. But, mostly, I’d like to know why these people were stupid enough to send all this via email and text.
But let’s end this on a happy note. Here’s what Jon Stewart had to say about it on the Daily Show. It is oh-so-flattering when your own little backyard political tit-for-tats make national news:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-8-2014/email-chains–lanes-and-automobiles—chris-christie-bridge-scandal
