Ed Rendell: “Not only can Chris Christie not win-I think he may have trouble finishing out his term”

[kpete]

Rendell: Chris Christie 'not a factor' in 2016 presidential race

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell say Governor Chris Chrisite is a "non-factor" in 2016 presidential race. Jeb Bush is new front runner he says.

“Not only can Chris Christie not win, I think he may have trouble finishing out his term,” Rendell said Tuesday at the Rebovich Institute at Rider University. He added later: “There’s absolutely no chance that he didn’t know this was going on if he didn’t order it or OK it. So I think he’s not a factor.”

“I mean, I look at it from the perspective as a very activist governor, which I was and he is,” he said. “There is no way that eight people in my administration would be part of something and I wouldn’t know about. There is no way they would dare do something like this without getting clearance from me.”

“And besides that, the trashing of David Wildstein and Bridget Kelly indicate that they are setting up a ‘he said, she said’ battle,” Rendell said. “They’ve trashed her. They’ve trashed women with this idea that she was emotionally unstable because she broke up with a man. Heaven forbid that breaking up with a man would make you do something mentally unstable like closing down four lanes of a bridge.”

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/04/rendell_christie_not_a_factor_in_2016_presidential_race.html

[monmouth3]

1. Bwahahaha...Ed's still got it..

"Heaven forbid that breaking up with a man would make you do something mentally unstable like closing down four lanes of a bridge.”

OMG that is hilarious. I hope he goes on Morning Joe and says this. Mika will have a fit...LOL..

[malaise]

6. He's been very good at this from day one

because he knows both the process and the nasty, vindictive ReTHUG scumbag

[Cha]

12. Usually, I find myself not caring too much what Gov Rendell has to say about things but This..

This is GOLDEN!

"Heaven forbid that breaking up with a man would make you do something mentally unstable like closing down four lanes of a bridge.” Rofl!

[roguevalley]

30. i read some place jeb used the n word alot in tallahassee with his cronies. tape might take him down

[Treant]

33. I'm not sure

When my last boyfriend broke up with me, I sat down and ate an entire half gallon of Neapolitan ice cream, had a good cry, and then got on with my life.

It's really not a stretch to think that I might have spent weeks planning a bridge closure instead, now is it?

[Wounded Bear]

2. The pattern is set...

They seem to have to always have at least one woman to blame. Remember abu-Ghraib? Who got fired there? The woman sergeant and a female general.

Now it's Bridget Kelly. Always the women are at fault.

[Rozlee]

27. Going all the way back to Eve.

[BeyondGeography]

3. Sometimes Ed knows what he's punditing about

[Cha]

13. I just said something similar upthread.. Anyway, this is GOLDEN

punditry.

[Samantha]

19. True, but he is a member of Third Way so always take his words by the grain of salt

If the Republicans think Jeb Bush is a really good, moderate choice, I think they underestimate the backlash that will hit the fan should Jeb Bush be nominated. Although 14 years have passed since he played a definitive role in "taking" the Office of the United States President from Gore in favor of George W. Bush, he will still be held accountable for that by many of the voting public.

And then there is his involvement in re-making the education system, adversely impacting the poor in favor of the wealthy.

Those are just starters. I am sure much more will start to come out. Derogatory words Jeb Bush has made in private gatherings against the "lazy" people collecting unemployment rather than working to properly care for their families were exposed on MSNBC (Hardball) this past week. Bush is another train-wreck.

Sam

[rocktivity]

4. But I've got his first bumper sticker ready!

Last edited Thu Apr 17, 2014, 11:37 AM - Edit history (1)

rocktivity

[Stuart G]

5. Outstanding bumber sticker....great..

also, thanks for the OP kpete...and for all the great posts..

[Samantha]

20. Simply superb! eom

[marble falls]

7. Lets hope no-one from the GOP realizes it until too late.

[MindMover]

8. Chris the Clown ...

""

[Logical]

9. People forget stuff quickly. Never discount the voters intelligence. n-t

[Laxman]

10. Something Is Most Definitely Brewing....

Wolff & Samson has been very quietly been withdrawing from representation of many of clients that put them in conflict positions. Just today the Bergen Record reported the following:

Bergen County agency seeks law firm to replace Samson’s

The authority’s commissioners — who oversee the financing arm of county government — said they were doing a search to find a law firm to replace Wolff & Samson, which until last month had been representing the authority in a lawsuit with the operators of Bergen Regional Medical Center.

Wolff & Samson — headed by former Port Authority Chairman David Samson — dropped the county as a client on March 14, 10 days after the freeholders voted 6-1 to call for his resignation over the George Washington Bridge scandal.

They ended their long-standing relationship with the Rockefeller group back in February. They have been replaced in the application for the Pinelands pipeline in southern New Jersey by a smaller low-profile firm. They're not just dropping these clients (or being dropped by the client's) out of the blue. Something is up.

[DearAbby]

11. Whooooooooo this reeks

This may be the scandal of the century...How far down the rabbit hole does this go?

[Cha]

15. Good question about the "rabbit hole", Abby..

[Cha]

14. So what do you make of all this, Mr Laxman?

Thank you~

[Laxman]

16. I'm Still Not Certain...

because there's a couple of things I'm still a little uneasy about. Christie still has to have some contacts in the US Attorney's office to give him a heads up on things and the audacity of his "victory lap" after the joke of a report from Mastro. Has he already assured himself of being cleared in some manner that he feels so confident in his actions? It doesn't quite make sense.

On the other hand, there are a lot of signs that things are cooking. Apparently, the grand jury has been convened for at least a couple of weeks. Fishman is a smart guy and pretty non-political in how he runs the U.S. Attorney's office. Who knows who else he's had in to testify other than Drewniak. That's part of the game- to keep potential witnesses guessing about what the U.S. Attorney already knows. That helps them be truthful. It also puts pressure on Wildstein and Kelly to cooperate. I would bet they are the only two who have received "target" letters from the U.S. Attorney so far. I would also bet that the U.S. Attorney isn't going through this trouble to get them. I had someone tell me that Wildstein has already cut a deal-but I'm not sure I trust the story. Kelly is extremely vulnerable. She's unemployed, cast adrift, a single mom with 4 kids in catholic schools. Stepien, Crifo, Baroni-they've all gotten new jobs. Not Kelly & Wildstein. They're going to crack-but they won't get a deal unless they're going to move the investigation up the ladder.

Drewniak was interviewed back in February and then brought in to testify under oath yesterday. So they got something out of him that was worthwhile. They're talking to Joe Maraziti. That means they're interested in Hoboken and the Sandy money. If they find Dawn Zimmer credible (and there's no real reason to doubt her) and Maraziti backs up her story, Lt. Gov. Guadagno has some real problems. She was not delivering her own message. I've got to think she'll flip. My guess is its Samson and the governor on the wrong side of that one. You know that I think the bridge is small potatoes compared to messing with federal disaster aid. I think the Belmar mayor and the Sea Bright mayor will also provide stories of Sandy aid coercion if questioned. If Kornacki ever has Dohrety on again, he has to ask him about his endorsement.

Finally, there's Samson. He had his fingers in so many different pies. He's so close to Christie. The two of them were using their powers in any number of ways. He's tossing clients over the transom right now (or they are tossing him). Its not coincidence or some kind of business development decision. People smell trouble. The hard thing is this isn't your traditional corruption. Nobody took bribes or kick-backs. But they hijacked the process of government for their own purposes. To build Samson's law practice. To help out favored clients and Christie allies. Mostly to burnish Christie's reputation and political power. Its a different kind of corruption-but corruption nonetheless. Its all going to depend on how much of this story they can piece together through evidence and credible testimony. I think there's a pattern here that runs through everything this guy does. It took the bridge to bring it to light. but I think there are enough pieces out there to put it all together. Its just going to take one crack in the armor.

I think Christie is running scared. His entire administration has gone into "radio silence" to use their term. Everything he says and does right now is on the advice of some kind of crisis counselor that is trying to guide him through this. He's the only one in the administration talking.(haven't heard a peep from the mouthy Drewniak in months!) He doesn't have his "mojo" back. Its a calculated ploy for public relations purposes. The hard part from a spectator's perspective is going to be patience while this plays out. I agree with Rendell. He's going to be lucky to finish out his term.

[rocktivity]

17. Lt. Gov. Guadagno "was not delivering HER OWN message?" I can't imagine why you'd say such a thing.

Last edited Sun Apr 6, 2014, 09:21 AM - Edit history (3)

Why simply say "She's lying" or "I did not say what she said I said" when you can say all this:

“Mayor Zimmer’s version of our conversation in May of 2013 is not only false but is illogical and does not withstand scrutiny when all of the facts are examined. Any suggestion...that Sandy funds were tied to the approval of any project in New Jersey is completely false..."

rocktivity

[Laxman]

21. This Sounds Like An Admission To Me...

seems like she spent an inordinate amount of time pushing projects in Hoboken. Apparently being the muscle for the Rockefeller Group and Woff & Samson was part of the job description. Dawn Zimmer just didn't understand it was all part of the Lt. Governor's duties!

Frankly, I’m surprised that Mayor Zimmer has chosen to mischaracterize the conversation I had with her about development and job creation in Hoboken. I have devoted an extraordinary amount of time … to bringing projects, to creating jobs and retaining jobs in Hoboken. That is my job as the secretary of state and lieutenant governor.

She was just doing her job. Perhaps she can explain it all to the grand jury herself. You see-she was just REALLY good at her job. And if you mention extortion again-I'll have your legs broken.

[Cha]

18. Just from what I've read of christie's history in politics.. he's the poster sociopath for

chutzpah in dirty maneuverings. Imv, he thinks his lawyers' clean bill of health is to be the template for every other investigation to follow.. amirite?

"They're talking to Joe Maraziti. That means they're interested in Hoboken and the Sandy money. If they find Dawn Zimmer credible (and there's no real reason to doubt her) and Maraziti backs up her story, Lt. Gov. Guadagno has some real problems."

Keeping my fingers crossed for this ^^^^^ story to have very Strong Legs!

Samson seems like he had his fingers in every pie in the book for so long.. operative word being "Had".

"People smell trouble." Thank you, People!.. oh and Bridget Kelley and David Wildstein for opening up a big ol CAN of Whoopass on your former employer, one chris Christie.

"The hard thing is this isn't your traditional corruption. Nobody took bribes or kick-backs. But they hijacked the process of government for their own purposes. To build Samson's law practice. To help out favored clients and Christie allies. Mostly to burnish Christie's reputation and political power." I hear that!

"Everything he says and does right now is on the advice of some kind of crisis counselor that is trying to guide him" And, some very Expensive damage control lawyers?

He'd have to be brain dead not to be a little bit but like I said.. Christie can act like he's not in deep shit like nobody I've ever heard of.

Thank you so much, Lax~

[malaise]

23. I've been trying to figure out why Christie

has protected Samson all the way. As I've said all along Samson will be his Delilah!!!

Down they go.

[rocktivity]

24. For the same reason why he's protected his press secretary, his original chief of staff

Last edited Mon Apr 7, 2014, 02:54 PM - Edit history (3)

his chief counsel and his campaign appointees: They reported to him directly.

Whatever they knew, either Christie told them or they should have told him.


rocktivity

[waddirum]

25. "If I had my way..."

"... I'd tear these old access lanes down."

[ebbie15644]

22. As a resident of PA. Don't listen to anything Ed Rendell says!

[HelenWheels]

26. Christie threw his staff to the wolves

and it sounds like he didn't even talk with them about this before he did it. They were given no chance to explain what happened.
Who wants to work for someone who won't stand behind them or at least not be so dismissive of them?

[underpants]

28. I got heat here on DU for saying something along those lines several years ago

My comment was that if Christie were to run I think it would be good idea to have several people show up at events in lab coats.

I know that akin to "fat shaming" (which is horrible) but the other side don't play nice (see: Swift Boat) and neither should we.

[George II]

29. That's what Bill Curry said about John Rowland a week after losing to him in 2002...

...and Rowland wound up resigning in 2004, being indicted, pleading guilty and going to prison.

It may be deja vu all over again for Christie.

[DeadLetterOffice]

31. No one should ever have to read this sentence again:

"Jeb Bush is {the} new front runner"

**shudder**

[Laxman]

32. Somebody's Not Buying Christies Story...

imagine that!

Was Christie kept out of the loop?

CHRIS CHRISTIE wants you to think of him as a hands-on kind of leader. To put it another way, he pays attention. Storm-damaged boardwalks down the Shore, tax debates in Trenton, the Super Bowl, police pensions, teacher tenure – he’s involved.

But then there is the matter of those traffic jams last September in Fort Lee.

What resonates from almost every page of the 344-page tax-funded, million-dollar report about the lane closure scandal and other issues is how out-of-touch Christie was.

At least, that’s the way he was depicted.

(snip)

What’s missing here is common sense. Christie is not a monk who takes a vow of silence and sits in his office all day. Staffers say he enjoys chatting with them and routinely asking about news, policy matters or politics. He also has developed a widespread network of friends and contacts.

And no one thought to say, “Hey, Chris, something weird took place at the George Washington Bridge.”? Christie’s staff was hyper-alert last fall. They were, after all, in the midst of Christie’s reelection campaign — a campaign in which Christie wanted to send a message to America’s Republicans about his alleged electoral prowess.

But no one thought to tell Christie about the bridge problem. Such is the conclusion the report wants everyone to believe.

Imagine that.

http://www.northjersey.com/opinion/kelly-was-christie-kept-out-of-the-loop-1.842114?page=all

[hibbing]

34. Traffic Study

I noticed that all the people involved in this are no longer using the lie of it all being a "traffic study". There was no traffic study. I thought if they just kept referring to it as such the media would play along and the whole thing would go the way of other scandals.

Peace