Christie.. Please kill this if too edgy

[JohnT]

Not wanting to make this a political thread, but have you folks been following the whole "bridge-gate" thing going on here in my home state of New Jersey???

Let me just set the record straight. Here is what most of us joiseys are thinking...

WE DON'T CARE!!!!!!

Look, it is not like money was used in a bribe or kick back,
It is not like a politician had someone killed. It is not even like our governor admitted to adultery in the governor's mansion or came out of the closet.

Who cares if a couple of lanes got shut down. In NJ, a traffic jam is as everyday as a pair of socks...


WE JUST DON'T CARE!!!

 

[Julie]

But John, it is so news worthy!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JohnT]

A stupid story like this is not worth the ink. Just think of the tax dollars that is being spent on this. Money that could, instead, go toward lowering property taxes or Sandy relief....

WE JUST DON"T FRIGGEN CARE!!!!

I can just imagine how people outside of NJ care even less!!!!!!!

 

[jamesngalveston]

I dont think the girl that got fired was alone, are doing without others knowledge and Christie is using her as a scapegoat..

 

[BernardSmith]

I dunno. As a New Yorker who commutes to NYC every week I kinda care. I kinda care that ambulances and fire trucks on call were stuck for hours. I kinda care that people were stuck in traffic jams (plural) for days (plural) that lasted about 4 hours at a time because of some fake "road study" that was called because a politician and his patrons wanted to take revenge on a politician from another party because that fellow declined to support the first guy. And the first guy hopes to become the President of this country. I dunno. I think this is bigger story than some folk from NJ think... But hey. What do I know? I am a New Yorker.

 

[sour_grapes]

A stupid story like this is not worth the ink. Just think of the tax dollars that is being spent on this. Money that could, instead, go toward lowering property taxes or Sandy relief....

As opposed to the tax dollars that were actually spent to deliberately cause a problem, a problem that caused expenditure of tax dollars to ameliorate and also was responsible for a loss of tax revenue?

WE JUST DON"T FRIGGEN CARE!!!!

I can just imagine how people outside of NJ care even less!!!!!!!

Well, generally speaking, people tend to care when the people that they elect to positions which grant those elected officials power over the electors abuse that power for their own selfish purposes. I say "generally speaking," because you appear to be an exception to this statement.

 

[Elmer]

Exactly, "who cares"

Now if this had happened in a real State like the Great State of New York, it would be news worthy!

 

[GreginND]

Actually, a woman did die of cardiac arrest while her paramedics were stuck in the traffic that day. I am pretty sure her family cares.

On a lighter note, did you all see Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon? It was pretty good.

[ame="http://youtu.be/VKHV0LLvhXM"]http://youtu.be/VKHV0LLvhXM[/ame]

 

[JohnT]

Actually, a woman did die of cardiac arrest while her paramedics were stuck in the traffic that day. I am pretty sure her family cares.

On a lighter note, did you all see Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon? It was pretty good.

http://youtu.be/VKHV0LLvhXM

Actually, nobody died. As it turns out, that woman was pronounced dead at the scene when the ambulance picked her up.

 

[JohnT]

SG,

Traffic jams are a way of life here (I work just 5 minutes from the GWB). State troopers regularly create traffic jams to slow down traffic in high risk areas, so artificial traffic jams are a way of life here too.

Being from Wi, why do you care more about this than I do?

 

[Pumpkinman]

It's unfortunate, Christie would have made a decent President, his mistake was not his involvement, it was the fact that he helped to cover it up, from what I've read.
And John is correct, there are instances when law enforcement creates traffic jams to slow things down a bit.
I guess that we should be happy that the press gave us a brief rest on Obamacare to bring us this earth shattering news.

 

[JohnT]

I dunno. As a New Yorker who commutes to NYC every week I kinda care. I kinda care that ambulances and fire trucks on call were stuck for hours. I kinda care that people were stuck in traffic jams (plural) for days (plural) that lasted about 4 hours at a time because of some fake "road study" that was called because a politician and his patrons wanted to take revenge on a politician from another party because that fellow declined to support the first guy. And the first guy hopes to become the President of this country. I dunno. I think this is bigger story than some folk from NJ think... But hey. What do I know? I am a New Yorker.

But Bernard, The approach lanes from the NJ side were shut down. Aren't you commuting from NY State to Manhattan? Were there any delays on your commute?

 

[Crown_King_Robb]

If only they gave this much attention and scrutiny to Benghazi when it happened.

 

[joeswine]

Traffic jams

IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, WERE I LIVE TRAFFIC JAMS ARE A NORM NOT THE EXCEPTION AND I ALSO MAKE A LIVING GONG FROM SITE TO SITE.,AT A STATE LEVEL WE'VE NEVER BEEN BETTER NOT GREAT, BUT BETTER,YOU CAN'T SAY THAT ABOUT THE FEDS..........TO POLITICAL????

 

[sour_grapes]

Being from Wi, why do you care more about this than I do?

I dunno, perhaps you lack an empathy gene?

 

[Pumpkinman]

ok guys no more jabs or we will have to lock the thread, play nice.

 

[sour_grapes]

For the record, I DON'T care very much because, as you point out, I no longer live in that area. (I had lived within commuting distance of the GWB for many years.) But, you started a thread, asking WHY people care. I gave an honest answer to that question, i.e., the one about abuse of power.

 

[BernardSmith]

But Bernard, The approach lanes from the NJ side were shut down. Aren't you commuting from NY State to Manhattan? Were there any delays on your commute?

My commute takes me south on the Taconic but my wife teaches in the city and it took her and our son more than 3.5 hours to travel 10 miles. They got home just before 10 PM. But this is not about whether it directly affected me. For me it's about the idea that in a political office people have no problem using that office as if it is their personal fiefdom. I don't mean the Governor of NJ. I have no idea how much he knew, but his immediate staff. And that is something I think that democracies should not tolerate for a minute. And that buck stops and sits on Christie's desk.

 

[richmke]

Al Gore's campaign manager Bob Schrum in his 2008 (2006?) memoirs discussed how he and Michael Whouley (who was tied to Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, and upcoming 2016 campaign), orchestrated a traffic jam caused by Al Gore's motorcade in order to suppress voter turnout in areas favorable to his opponent.

When Gore found out what was going on, he may have been irate, but once he understood, allowed it to continue.

Where is the outrage and investigation?

Not that I approve of what Christie's people did. I just don't care when the media has an obvious double standard.

 

[GreginND]

Actually, nobody died. As it turns out, that woman was pronounced dead at the scene when the ambulance picked her up.

She was pronounced dead but nobody died? The ambulance response time was doubled reaching her because of the traffic. Whether she would have had a chance had they gotten there sooner I suppose we'll never know.