| It's one thing to have a "holier than thou" attitude when talking about important issues like crime - that is, if you can back it up, and you are squeaky clean then people may overlook the judgmental attitude and lectures on "right vs. wrong" and the "rule of law". But when you also prove to be a hypocrite, that really rubs people the wrong way (see Spitzer, Eliot, for example).
We New Jerseyans have gotten a heavy dose of this over the past few years with one Chris Christie - a man who truly epitomizes the phrase "do as I say, not as I do".
First, it was the tens of millions in no-bid contracts, especially as he started his political career by railing against no bid deals (which he quickly reversed position and approved hundreds of them). Then, it was railing against dual office holding when he was attending fundraisers for buddies that held dual offices.
And then, when it comes to tax evasion, "Christie's rules" come back into effect - he prosecuted tax evasion (although there are also questions as to the type of deal that Christie cut for the tax evader), but then when it came to not reporting interest income or disclosing a loan to a subordinate on his own tax return, it was a "mistake" that is being overly politicized.
Most recently, there was the disturbing behavior with respect to Christie's driving history. 25 points on his license, multiple infractions and tickets (including an unregistered and uninsured vehicle), conveniently "dropping the fact that he was US Attorney", having "NO DEAL" written on the tickets (but getting a deal anyway) and shifting stories about who was in the car with him. While this is something that can and does happen, for Christie - Mr. "law and order" - to blow this off by joking about breaking the law and endangering lives shows an arrogance that is really unsuitable for Governor.
Just yesterday, an even more outrageous story came out about Christie's disregard for the law, endangering the lives of others and view that the rules which apply to everyone else don't apply to him: Christie was driving a rented BMW sedan and apparently had lost his way when he attempted to turn right onto a street that was one-way in the other direction, according to the police report. A motorcyclist, Andre Mendonca of Elizabeth, was riding towards Christie, and both men saw one another and put on the brakes, police said. Christie's vehicle came to a stop, and the motorcycle then "fell on its side and slid into his vehicle," according to the police report.
Mendonca was taken by ambulance to University Hospital in Newark, Cosgrove said. He said he did not know the extent of Mendonca's injuries or "the seriousness of the condition." Mendonca could not be reached for comment tonight.
When an officer arrived at the scene, Christie explained what happened and said he was on his way to the swearing-in ceremony of Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow, Cosgrove said.
"He did identify himself as U.S. attorney," Cosgrove said.
So not only did he drive the wrong way down a one way street, causing an accident that resulted in injuries to a motorcyclist, he used his position as US Attorney to avoid a ticket and continue to where he was going - not even being held up.
As for whether this was an abuse of power, don't take my word for it: "The officer has a lot of discretion at that point," Cosgrove said. "He could've issued a summons in that case, but he did not."
Asked whether Christie's job title factored into the officer's decision, Cosgove said, "I don't think I want to make that kind of deduction, but I think the facts speak for themselves."
This fits in a long pattern, and now we have 2 incidents where he puts people's lives in danger in his personal life with his acts - yet he uses his professional position to walk away from any accountability.
Can this state really afford and can the residents of this state trust someone who has one set of rules for everyone else and another set of rules for himself? Didn't we just have a President whose administration played by those rules? And wasn't Christie rated as "loyal" to that administration? |
