Chris Christie and his administration is surrounded by scandals, and Christie’s administration would love nothing better than having everyone just leave them alone. The good “news” folks at Fox has basically granted them that wish, but MSNBC has not yet read the memo.
Take Rachel Maddow for example. Before Bridge-Gate became a household name, Maddow was one of the few reporters trying to get to the bottom of why lanes on the busiest bridge in the world suddenly closed in early September 2013.
Questions were being asked. Of course, answers never materialized. So Maddow and her crew at MSNBC began digging. One of the theories they came up with was, in addition to political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, the lanes were closed because Christie was angry with Jersey Senate Democrats. The digging by Maddow revealed that a day before the order was given to close the lanes in Fort Lee, Governor Christie had a press conference where he appeared very, very angry with Senate Democrats. So angry was he, that the governor referred to his political adversaries as “animals.”
Maddow theorized that after calling the Democrats animals, it was easier to understand the order to close the lanes, considering that the head of the Senate Democrats represented Fort Lee.
The theory apparently made too much sense for Christie and his gang. They sent a letter to MSNBC accusing the network of asking too many questions. They criticized Maddow’s theory and a more recent accusation by Hoboken’s Mayor, Dawn Zimmer, when she went on MSNBC on Saturday to tell the world that her city also fell prey to Christie’s political bullying.
Maddow of course, refused to stay quiet for Christie. On her show yesterday, Maddow responded… with more questions.
“The question of why matters. Governor Christie’s office has tried to shame people for asking what the reason might plausibly have been. But they have offered zero explanation of their own.”
“Yes, it is pure speculation. It has always been presented as such by us, and by me. We presented that theory as a way to get at the most important and, as yet, totally unexplained question still at the center of this unfolding scandal which is, Why? What is the plausible explanation for this? Why did whoever ordered those lanes closed order those lanes closed?”
The only info we got from Christie so far was that he fired a member of his administration for sending the message that started the while Bridge-Gate scandal. And he emphasized that he did not ask her why she closed the lanes.
Strange.
“Maybe he was just mad, but we still don’t know if Governor Christie is interested in the explanation now. So far, nobody on his side has offered any explanation whatsoever as to why this happened, what was the trigger. And until that question is answered, people are going to keep asking what the answer might plausibly be, even if Governor Christie’s spokesman prefers that we all stop doing that and attacks us when we do.”
