There are some weeks that it is impossible to decide on a topic for my blog. This is one of them – do I write about the “devil baby” whose YouTube video has caused a sensation but in reality it feels a little slimy to be laughing at a child that looks like that? Or there is the topic of the new Benghazi report that isn’t positive for anyone involved and is certain to become a topic over-abused if Hillary runs. Or, of course, there is more unfortunate news out of Syria regarding death and terrorists. Then there is the good news about the U.S. soon becoming energy independent from the rest of the world. Of course, though, the Chris Christie story is the best as far as I am concerned.
GWB, Fort Lee, NJ; credit: en.wikipedia.org
To begin with, I am quite a cynic and I live in D.C. If one lives in a ward in D.C. which did not vote for whomever the current mayor may be, good luck getting anything done on time – or even done at all. For instance, my ward voted for someone other than the current mayor in the primaries, so we have pot holes that can get you to China that have no sign of ever being repaired. And of course, we have roads and bridges blocked all the time for various reasons – repairs that take years, a motorcade coming through, or an investigation of almost anything. There is rarely advance notice and no one would think to investigate as to why the signs were up for a lane closure and yet there is no crew working.
In addition, many of us make the assumption that all of the big cities in the U.S. have some type of cronyism and corruption. Just think of how we all roll our eyes over Chicago and Illinois when yet another politician there is convicted of a crime. I have gotten so cynical that any kind of accusation of misbehavior related to politics doesn’t shock me at all.
So when “Bridgegate” happened, I wasn’t shocked at all. The only surprise now will be to learn whether Christie knew or really didn’t know before he said he did. Having worked in politics in the past, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t. There are always staff who think they know what the boss would like, but don’t tell him or her in order to protect the boss. If he had known, that wouldn’t surprise me either. From what I have heard, New Jersey politics are akin to Chicago politics and they play tough. I must admit though he gave such a long and thorough denial that if it turns out he did know, he will be a laughing stock and out of politics. He didn’t even attempt to obfuscate.
So I now sit and wait for the day by day coverage of every little step that the prosecutors take. We will be bombarded just as we were with Blago to the point that when the investigation is finally resolved – which could be years – we will have forgotten the beginning of the story. Who knows what will happen to Christie in the meanwhile but the constant talk about it on slow news days will make we watch the reruns of Criminal Minds for the fifteenth time rather than the news. That’s my happy thought for the week.
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Tillman Gilson 
What to Write About: Let’s Talk ‘Bridgegate’
There are some weeks that it is impossible to decide on a topic for my blog. This is one of them – do I write about the “devil baby” whose YouTube video has caused a sensation but in reality it feels a little slimy to be laughing at a child that looks like that? Or there is the topic of the new Benghazi report that isn’t positive for anyone involved and is certain to become a topic over-abused if Hillary runs. Or, of course, there is more unfortunate news out of Syria regarding death and terrorists. Then there is the good news about the U.S. soon becoming energy independent from the rest of the world. Of course, though, the Chris Christie story is the best as far as I am concerned.
GWB, Fort Lee, NJ; credit: en.wikipedia.org
To begin with, I am quite a cynic and I live in D.C. If one lives in a ward in D.C. which did not vote for whomever the current mayor may be, good luck getting anything done on time – or even done at all. For instance, my ward voted for someone other than the current mayor in the primaries, so we have pot holes that can get you to China that have no sign of ever being repaired. And of course, we have roads and bridges blocked all the time for various reasons – repairs that take years, a motorcade coming through, or an investigation of almost anything. There is rarely advance notice and no one would think to investigate as to why the signs were up for a lane closure and yet there is no crew working.
In addition, many of us make the assumption that all of the big cities in the U.S. have some type of cronyism and corruption. Just think of how we all roll our eyes over Chicago and Illinois when yet another politician there is convicted of a crime. I have gotten so cynical that any kind of accusation of misbehavior related to politics doesn’t shock me at all.
So when “Bridgegate” happened, I wasn’t shocked at all. The only surprise now will be to learn whether Christie knew or really didn’t know before he said he did. Having worked in politics in the past, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t. There are always staff who think they know what the boss would like, but don’t tell him or her in order to protect the boss. If he had known, that wouldn’t surprise me either. From what I have heard, New Jersey politics are akin to Chicago politics and they play tough. I must admit though he gave such a long and thorough denial that if it turns out he did know, he will be a laughing stock and out of politics. He didn’t even attempt to obfuscate.
So I now sit and wait for the day by day coverage of every little step that the prosecutors take. We will be bombarded just as we were with Blago to the point that when the investigation is finally resolved – which could be years – we will have forgotten the beginning of the story. Who knows what will happen to Christie in the meanwhile but the constant talk about it on slow news days will make we watch the reruns of Criminal Minds for the fifteenth time rather than the news. That’s my happy thought for the week.
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