Out In The Streets

In September when lane closings near the George Washington Bridge caused huge traffic jams and now appear to have been politically orchestrated by a member of Governor Chris Christie's administration, it seems that they violated federal law. This makes me think of Steve Martin's plan for world domination, a key feature of which was "death penalty for parking violations." Scoff if you must, but keep in mind that those people who received this consequence would open up more spots for the rest of us. It's practical.
Just like it's practical for Chris Christie to try and choke off the town of Fort Lee, New Jersey from the rest of the civilized world: New York City. The George Washington Bridge is the main artery leading from the mainland to the island of Manhattan. The mayor of Fort Lee is a Democrat, Mark Sokolich. Mister Sokolich did not support Mister Christie in his campaign for re-election. It's nothing personal. It's politics. It's practical. When asked if he felt that he was being punished for his lack of support, the mayor says, "I take him at his word. There's just a lot of stuff there, though."
A lot of stuff, indeed. Christie said Thursday: "I don't know whether this was a traffic study that then morphed into a political vendetta or a political vendetta that morphed into a traffic study." Or was it just New Jersey politics in their purest form?
Is it easier to imagine that Chris Christie is a lovable, hug-able public servant who was caught unaware by the nefarious schemes of his underlings, or that he pushed the buttons and pulled the strings himself? Or perhaps it's a bigger conspiracy after all. So many people felt that it was the New Jersey governor's chumminess with Barack Obama that tipped the scales of the last presidential election. Now, with Christie poised to take the lead in the next Republican run for the White House, there's a roadblock. Literally. Maybe Chris Christie has been a Democratic sleeper cell all these years, and not the good Republican he has tried so hard to appear to be for all these years. Or perhaps this was just what goes around comes around. Would you rather have a Machiavellian governor, or one who has no idea what is going on within his own administration?
So many choices, but we've got plenty of time. We're still waiting for the traffic to thin out.