One person not on the list: Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis:
"Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis says Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped a plan to appoint him the state's first physical fitness ambassador when he launched a political campaign against a Christie friend."
"Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis says Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped a plan to appoint him the state's first physical fitness ambassador when he launched a political campaign against a Christie friend."
"Lewis said Monday the governor called to dissuade him from running as a Democrat for state Senate in 2011 against Republican Sen. Dawn Addiego (ah-dee-AY'-goh). Lewis says he was told the fitness program they'd been developing wouldn't materialize if he ran. Lewis says the governor felt the post "was a carrot he could pull away."
I mean it's not enough that he actually withheld Sandy relief funds to Hoboken residents in an another instance of political bullying, he even stooped this low
Meanwhile I think that Robert Kuttner is kind of on the inside track for Christie's future. This sounds about right.
"Let me go out on a limb here. Chris Christie will not run for president, and he is very likely not to serve out his term as governor of New Jersey."
"The reason is very simple. Given everything we know about Christie's style of governing, it is inconceivable that he did not know what his underlings were up to."
"His story that he was somehow like the piano player in the whorehouse just does not stand up. Even in New Jersey."
"This is a man who is an obsessive micro-manager, as well as a vindictive bully. Does any serious person think that he would tolerate senior people who would pull a caper like blockading the George Washington Bridge without keeping the boss informed? Such a person would never have been hired."
"Does any serious person believe that his staff did would keep the governor in the dark about any ploy involving big-time political retribution and public-relations risks? Does any serious person think that Christie's attitude after the bridge blockade made headline news was indifference, except for the purpose of what was known in the Nixon era as "plausible deniability?"
"Because there is no proof of his hands-on involvement -- yet -- much of the press and nearly all of the Republican Party has been content to play along with Christie's game of The Staff Did It. The criticism has been directed at his failure to keep tabs on rogue employees."
As Kuttner says there's no honor among thieves.
"Mainly because there is no honor among thieves. If you assume that this is one big cover-up, then several people who lost well paying jobs and who have been willing to take the fall for their boss must have been given big incentives to stick to the story. Some friend of a friend of a friend, after a decent interval, must have committed to a well-compensated job or consulting gig, or something else to purchase their silence."
"The only problem is that several civil and criminal investigations are underway, armed with subpoena power. It's hard to believe that a cover-up with benefits would not unravel. Prosecutors can squeeze small fry with all manner of threats. In a scheme such as this one, the odds are overwhelming that sooner or later investigators will find some underling who decides that he'd rather rat out the boss than go to jail."
We already have David Wildstein willing to give up everything he knows in exchange for immunity. All that was needed to win him over was for Christie to make it sound like he's some dork who he didn't hang out with in high school. I agree. Forget Washington, D.C. Christie needs to avoid prosecution and impeachment. As Kuttner says, if he is the Republican nominee in 2016 and serves out his term, then there is something seriously wrong with this country-even more than we knew.
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