Christie at Risk in Bridge Scandal

Jim Malone, VOA News
9 January 2014 (2:18PM)

WASHINGTON — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has never been one to shun the public spotlight. But he can’t have enjoyed parrying with the press in a nationally televised news conference Thursday to answer allegations that his administration shut down traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge linking New York City and New Jersey last September as political payback aimed at a Democratic mayor who declined to endorse him for re-election last year.

The bridge scandal has tarnished Christie’s political image as a tough but pragmatic and effective governor with bipartisan appeal who many experts had projected was in the top tier of potential Republican presidential contenders in 2016. Up until recently, mainstream and moderate Republican political strategists had been licking their chops at the prospect of Christie running for the Republican nomination as the best candidate with the potential to appeal to independent and even some Democratic voters. Christie stood out among other potential candidates like Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio because he has demonstrated appeal beyond conservative activists and could broaden the vote for Republicans in the next election.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Christie apologized for the bridge controversy Thursday in a nationally televised news conference that went on for well over an hour. The governor insisted that staff members lied to him about their involvement in the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge last September that snarled traffic In Fort Lee, New Jersey. Email and text messages obtained by news organizations on Wednesday strongly suggested the lane closures were orchestrated by Christie aides as retribution directed at Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, who had refused to endorse Christie’s re-election bid last year.

At his news conference, Christie announced that he had fired Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly after he said she lied to him about her involvement in the bridge controversy. One email released Wednesday from Kelly, said simply, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” The email was sent to one of the governor’s top appointees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a longtime Christie friend, David Wildstein. His email response was simple: “Got it.” The Port authority has the responsibility for operating the GW Bridge. Wildstein resigned his position last month.

Christie’s Political Future at Stake

All of this comes as Christie prepares for his inauguration as governor for a second term later this month and amid continuing speculation about his presidential aspirations in 2016. If Christie has been truthful and he was completely in the dark about what his staff was doing, he may be able to overcome this in the long term. But if there are more revelations in the weeks to come and if it turns out he knew more than he says about the bridge shenanigans, Christie’s national political standing may be damaged beyond repair, leaving the 2016 Republican presidential field to a competing group of true conservatives with little proven appeal to independent voters and political centrists.

One of the more memorable lines from Christie’s news conference was, “I am not a bully”, a response to questions about the image he has created during his tenure as governor and whether that may have encouraged his staff to react aggressively to political opponents. It was a line reminiscent of what President Richard Nixon famously said during the height of the Watergate scandal in the 1970’s when he said, “I am not a crook.” Unfortunately for Nixon, his claim turned out not to be true. Christie will have work extra hard in the months to come to back up his statement that he is not a political bully and he may have to smooth down some of his rough edges if he hopes to present himself as a viable presidential contender two years from now.

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