Christie denied any knowledge or participation in the political retaliation, and announced that he had fired the staff member who ordered it -- his Deputy Chief Aide, Bridget Anne Kelly. But Christie may not have solved his political problems with those denials. The Rasmussen Poll surveyed 800 likely New Jersey voters after the Thursday news conference, and a majority (54%) of the poll's respondents said they believed it was likely that Christie had knowledge of the retaliation (which means they believe it is likely that he had lied in the press conference). Only 36% think it is likely that Christie was telling the truth. The survey had a margin of error of 3.5 points.
But that's not the only problem for Christie that the poll revealed. A whopping 71% think this was probably not the only political retaliation that Christie's staff had been involved in (either with or without his knowledge), while only 17% think it is unlikely. And 56% of New Jersey voters think Christie should resign if proof is found that he had knowledge of the political retaliation (to only 29% who think he should not resign).
I don't know if Christie's political ambitions will survive this scandal or not, but it is obvious that he has taken a serious political hit with this story. And it's not over yet. The press will keep digging, and there will be hearings in the New Jersey legislature. It will be interesting to see what develops -- and how it affects his presidential aspirations.
If Christie heard (through newscast, newspaper or any other medium) that the busiest bridge in the US was impacted (on the very first day) he should have been on the phone investigating and getting some relief to the jam. And he should have cancelled any (whether real or imagined) "bridge study" so that citizens and first responders and school children and people who had to spend 4 hours trapped in their cars (far away from a bathroom or medical treatment) could reach their destinations in a reasonable time. That is what makes me believe that Christie knew (even though he may not have ordered it) and did nothing to remedy the situation because he knew he would have plausible deniability. He just let the hundreds of thousands of people who use that bridge as a lifeline languish in a horrendous traffic jam. More people could have died and the lawsuits would be piling up now. What he fails to consider is that all of this publicity will eventually bring attention round to everything about his administration especially what he hasn't done for those citizens who need help rebuilding or relocating with the Federal Funds designated for Hurricane Sandy relief. He better get cracking on that front too or he will be in trouble with the Feds and a NYC investigation will be the least of his problems. Firing people will not deflect attention, it will magnify scrutiny.
ReplyDelete