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Saturday, February 1, 2014

If You Miss Richard Nixon You Should Love Chris Christie

     I mean we haven't had the spectre of a high ranking chief executive using his power so nakedly for his own political grievances since Watergate. Those who dismiss Bridgegate as small miss the point-so was Watergate, initially, and Nixon too initially claimed not to know and that this was just an isolated incident of some rogue staffers. (Worryingly for Christie, though most Americans already don't think this was an isolated event).

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/01/30/National-Politics/Polling/release_290.xml

    He also now trails Hillary in a poll for 2016 by 12 points-in December before this became front page news he led by 1.

    Now Chris Cillizza's post on Christie makes us think of Nixon yet again as it's entitled "What Christie Knew-and When Did He Know it?"

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/01/31/answering-the-what-chris-christie-knew-and-when-he-he-knew-it-question/

    Having said that, I see that Cillizza confuses the issue in his piece suggesting that there's a lot of confusion over what Christie claims to have known and when. What Christie is claiming is straightforward. He learned about the initial controversy about the lane closings back in the Wall Street Journal's piece back on October 1 with the leaked emails and Patrick Foye's demand that the lanes be reopened. What he claims he didn't learn until January 8 was that the lane closings weren't due to a traffic study.

   To read Cillizza's piece I think confuses the issue more than clears it up. Of course Cillizza is one of the Very Serious Media who might not want to see just how Nixonian Christie really is as he was kind of the VSM's Great White Hope-a reasonable, bipartisan Republican who many Far Left Democrats unreasonably didn't want to work with.

    At this point, I've got think that Christie 2016 is just a fantasy now-though some in the VSM may have a hard time letting go. The question is can Christie avoid going to jail much less serving out his full term in NJ?

    Just how much of a fantasy 2016 is shown here.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/01/31/political-junkies-brainstorm-for-2016-as-christie-scandal-grows/

    Meanwhile the New Jersey Star Ledger also is calling on Christie to step down if Wildstein's claim is proven true.

    "Forget about the White House in 2016. The question now is whether Gov. Chris Christie can survive as governor," the editorial began.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/star-ledger-chris-christie-wildstein-claims-evidence

     Note that the Ledger endorsed Christie in last year's election. However, it now says:

     "If this proves to be true, then the governor must resign or be impeached. Because it will show that everything he said at his famous two-hour press conference was a lie," the editorial continued. "And not just a typical political lie -- this was like a Broadway show of lies, and would leave Christie so drained of credibility that he could not possibly govern effectively. He would owe it to the people of New Jersey to step aside. And if he should refuse, then the Legislature should open impeachment hearings."

    And you thought the only excitement this weekend was going to be about sports-the Super Bowl and for some of us maybe the Knicks-Heat match-up tonight. 

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