With news that the incoming speaker of the New Jersey Assembly, Vincent Prieto, will renew the Transportation Committee’s subpoena power, there is no hope of the BridgeGate controversy going away. But, more importantly, Governor Christie has lost some erstwhile allies in the Democratic Party. It’s not just Prieto who supports allowing Christie to get chipped to pieces.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney also “emphatically” supports reauthorizing subpoena power to the Assembly committee in the next legislative session, his spokesman, Chris Donnelly, said Friday.
Prior to the recent revelations, Gov. Christie was in strong position to move his agenda with a strong mandate and significant Democratic support. That’s gone now.
After all, John Sweeney was known as a Christie-crat and Prieto was widely believed to be opposed to extending the subpoena power. MSNBC reporter Steve Kornacki has been like a broken record on this issue, with his belief that the Christie administration thought they could rely on Prieto to let the clock run out.
Well, he won’t.
Christie’s allies now have the long-knives out, and he can’t afford to continue using the same bullying tactics he employed to win the support of Democratic mayors.
He hasn’t even been sworn in for his second term, and he’s a lame duck.
Suck-ups are always the first to abandon the powerful when they begin to fall.
Observing it in real life and real time is somewhat pathetic during the suck-up phase but very interesting during the fall. What the suck-ups never get is that they are as responsible for the misdeeds that lead to the fall as the person they’ve chosen to be subservient to.
Hahaha. Those who live by the Sweeney die by the Sweeney.
What’s odd is how anyone like me ever ends up in a position close enough to observe the “Sweeney.” Possibly happens only when a “Sweeney” is arrogant enough to like the challenge of having someone not easily brought into his/her orbit of suck-ups. In my case, and way too late as the rats were fleeing and the SEC was breathing down his neck, a CEO finally it that I was his only competent and ethical employee.
Have you told this story at length? I’d love to see it and if you haven’t to encourage you.
No, I haven’t. Not sure I could tell it in a short enough length for a diary.
Sweeney used to be a union guy before he got into politics. And Norcross’ dad was a union guy two. So both Norcross and Sweeney are traitors and scum.
people like christie HAVE no allies. they only have people who are too craven to stand up to him.
Yes. And this is the downside of Christie/LBJ-style intimidation politics. No one will be there to stand by you in your time of need.
Interesting. and iirc the AG hearing originally scheduled for next tuesday has been rescheduled also.
Letting Christie’s AG pick slide without a VERY good looksee would be malpractice in a BIG way.
he wanted his chief of staff, Bridge Bridget’s boss, to become AG
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/b8375955189c40efa41496cd2d0d47c2/NJ–Christie-Attorney-General
-Nominee
also note I linked to the AP version of the story in The Republic of the great city of Columbus Indiana
Bullies have no real allies, just victims or accomplices.
Once they lose their edge, both groups are happy to move on.
Bullies are basically predators.
The weak are their prey. A wounded predator is also prey.
I could never understand why the Republican Governor expected a Democratic Mayor to endorse him. There is plenty of log rolling and back scratching in Illinois politics but at election time you endorse your party or you are persona non grata, see John Anderson.
How bad was Barbara Buono that high level Democrats snubbed her and flocked to Christie? And that Christie would expect a Democrat’s endorsement against her enough to retaliate for not getting it?
About as bad as George McGovern was when “high level Democrats snubbed” him and flocked to Richard Nixon.
Rank-and-file Democrats might want to be worried when “high level Democrats” embrace a DEM candidate and take the snubs from “high level Democrats” as a sign that they’ve found a better Democrat. Unfortunately, a high percentage of rank-and-file Democrats are as lame as their GOP counterparts.
New Jersey is a special case though with its extraordinary density of 565 municipal governments full of not so high-level Democratic officials of strictly parochial interests ready to support anybody who might be in a position to do them a favor. They supported Christie mainly because Sweeney told them to and because he seemed likely to win in the first place.
IOW, she was a populist so she didn’t fit with the corporatists?
democratic factions around here were described well in Life of Brian. Re: those who endorsed, Sweeney aside, there are some mid level grifters etc, doesn’t need to be anything spectacular. but there are good pols as well, – how about Loretta Weinberg, for example and the Ft Lee mayor? and Richard Cody? although there’s alot I haven’t followed that Calvin and Brendan have followed more closely. But we have the entire range of the spectrum within the democratic orgs [as described in Life of Brian].
Well, there were (iirc) 23 Democrats in the US Senate that voted against Bush’s Iraq War Resolution. So, there are always some decent pols in office — but still the numbers of very decent are extremely low as all but one Democrat voted for the “Patriot” Act.
Having seen Jon Stewart glad-handing, tongue-bathing, and endorsing Christie’s character on his show (“you’re a good man”, etc.), I’d love to see someone confront Stewart by asking whether he’s had any second thoughts about that assessment in light of new knowledge.
Because I enjoy cutting ahead of a story I’m beginning to wonder just who Christie is going to take down with him.
Once Christie begins to lose his leverage and people realize a prosecutor will undermine Christie’s attempts to ‘bully’ them the inevitable race will begin. So just how far it goes up, down and around the food chain is a tantalizing exercise.
Like Nixon, will Christie keep throwing chum at the sharks in attempts to stave off any feeding frenzy of him? Or will it work as it did for Reagan in Iran-Contra because the sharks weren’t hungry enough for a Reagan-burger?
Okey-dokey:
N.J. mayors who did not endorse Chris Christie question whether they’ve also been targets
Time for reporters to demand to know what the DEM pols who endorsed Christie got. Follow the money time folks.
I think you have the situation inverted. seems it was like a protection racket, nice town you have here, pity if something were to happen to it.
those who endorsed have their towns still in one piece; looks like those who didn’t experienced some retaliation [just sayin’ from the items a few mayors mentioned in the story you cited]
It seems like too much had come out even for Prieto to try to stop this in its tracks by not extending subpoena power; that’s the tipping point. We are at the point of no return – there’s no putting this genie back in the bottle.
It’s all starting to crumble; there are just too many loose threads that can be pulled for this to end any way but badly for Christie.
It seems to me that the players maybe have until thursday to figure out how they are going to play this – it looks like that is when the subpoena ability will extended. Interesting that it’s not on day 1 (tuesday), I wonder if that’s intended to give people a little time to get some stuff figured out.
I can’t recall who said it on what blog today, but if certain people go down they are likely to take a lot of other people down with them.
So many people must be worried/nervous/uncomfortable right now. The people who planned this. The people who executed it. Folks who knew about what was happening but didn’t stand up to it out of fear. Democratic mayors who endorsed Christie. Anyone who works in the Christie administration. Anyone who works at the Port Authority. That’s a lot of people.
Well, New Jersey is eleventh in population with nearly 9 million folks so there is a large pool to draw from. More importantly, I’m pretty sure New Jersey has more lawyers per capita that some of those states with more folks, so the malefactors can be well represented.
New Jersey Democrats Who Endorsed Christie Stand By Their Man
Inquiring minds would like to know how dirty these Christie supporters are.
I wonder if anyone asked Democrats why? Maybe because they’re hoping Christie won’t take them down with him. Still sucking up.
Question: Since Christie will not be officially sworn into a second term until Jan.19, 2014, what happens if he resigns before that?
The dude’s ego is bigger than his belly; no way he resigns.
Thank you for reminding me of the delightful spectacle we will soon witness: Christie’s inauguration. That should be a bit more somber than the prick anticipated, huh? Let’s see which of these turncoat Dems applaud him.