Christie Whips Up His Own GWB Storm

So let me get this straight, at least as of tonight.

Governor Chris Christie did not know, never had the smallest clue, that members of his innermost staff had conspired and pulled off one of the greatest acts of political payback in recent American history. He had no idea that an intentional, dangerous bottleneck was created at the George Washington Bridge in September of last year, a jam that needlessly risked thousands of lives, temporarily placed the nation's security at risk, and cost a great amount of lost time and money.

But that's not all. He additionally was completely and innocently deceived by these same staff members over the course of an intensive four month investigation. And no one, not a single one, apparently broke ranks and approached him about what had happened.

Yeah, right.

Folks, this story is developing rapidly. Perhaps by the time I publish it and you read it, this blog entry will no longer be relevant and superseded by some other event emanating from the same scandal. Hey, it's Jersey. Anything's possible. But assuming that this won't happen, or at least for some time, it's worth stating what needs to be said.

What happened here was not a harmless diversion, or a silly and symbolic action. Purposefully disrupting traffic and commerce at one of the Northeast Corridor's most sensitive choke-points, where millions of people and entire state economies depend on the connectivity that the link provides, is extremely serious. More serious, however, is the risk that such an intentional blockage opened up for the region and country as a whole. Had a terror attack occurred on either side of the Hudson on that September day – an event not without precedent – the results could have been catastrophic. Massive confusion, first responders tied up in mile-long jams, injured people unable to get to hospitals in large numbers, regional paralysis...

There is just no way that a professional staffer, an assistant to a governor, would have the nerve, or even the pull, to make this happen and to take these risks. It simply is not in the realm of historical possibility. No, friends, the Governor must have known. Or he's completely incompetent. Now there are many things that Christie can be justifiably accused of: arrogance, bullying, being pushy...but incompetent he isn't. No way.

Governor, come clean! Stand up and tell us what happened. You created this whirlwind, after all, but I have my doubts on whether or not you're stronger than it.