(ThyBlackMan.com) “Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.” The author of this timeless quote was John Donne (1542-1631) – a metaphysical poet who wrote ‘Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII’ after his near-death experience from illness. Legendary author Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’, was published in 1940. Wherever he is and whatever he’s doing right now, Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) may very well be wondering for whom the bell tolls.
What a difference two months make. On November 5th of last year, here is what Governor Chris Christie told a huge gathering of supporters at the celebration following his landslide reelection victory: “The people of New Jersey four years ago were downhearted and dispirited, they didn’t believe that government could work for them anymore. In fact, what they thought was that government was just there to take from them but not to give to them, not to work with them, not to work for them. Well, four years later, we stand here tonight showing that it is possible to put doing your job first, to put working together first, to fight for what you believe in, yet still stand by your principles and get something done for the people who elected you.
The biggest thing, the biggest thing I’ve learned over the last four years about leadership is that leadership is much less about talking than it is about listening, about bringing people around the table listening to each other, showing them respect, doing what needed to be done to be able to bring people together and to achieve what we needed to achieve to move our state forward. Now listen, I know that if we can do this in Trenton,
New Jersey, maybe the folks in Washington, DC should tune in their televisions right now to see how it’s done. See, listen, we’re New Jersey. We still fight, we still yell. But when we fight, we fight for those things that really matter in people’s lives. And while we may not always agree, we show up everywhere. We don’t just show up in the places where we’re comfortable, we show up in the places where we’re uncomfortable. Because when you lead, you need to be there. You need to show up, you need to listen and then you need to act.”
That night, Governor Chris Christie looked, sounded, and felt like a candidate who could compete in the 2016 Republican primaries – and win the GOP Presidential nomination. In that moment, he looked, sounded, and felt like a candidate who could compete in the 2016 Presidential general election against the eventual Democratic nominee – and win. Mr. Christie’s victory party now feels like it happened several years ago. That victorious night is over. That triumphant moment is over.
The unraveling of a GOP Presidential front running candidate actually began in September of last year with a single sentence sent in a now infamous email by Bridget Kelly, Governor Chris Christie’s former Deputy Chief of Staff. That sentence simply said: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” David Wildstein – that email’s recipient who was formerly one of Governor Christie’s top aides at the Port Authority – simply replied, “Got it”. That was on August 13th of last year. On September 9th, several lanes on the George Washington Bridge were suddenly and inexplicably closed. Those lane closures led to massive traffic jams as the traffic on the GWB – the busiest bridge by volume in all of America – backed up into local streets. September 9th was the first day of school in Fort Lee, NJ.
Many local children were delayed several hours in getting to school; if they made it at all. Many commuters were delayed several hours in getting to and from work. Police and emergency vehicles were hindered severely in their ability to respond when needed. Media reports spread about their inability to search for a missing child. At least four people in medical distress were denied a timely response by EMTs; including 91-year old Florence Genova – who was in cardiac arrest. Ms. Genova died shortly thereafter.
For four long days, the George Washington Bridge was hopelessly gridlocked. Calls from the NJ Mayors whose cities depend on the GWB’s traffic flowing smoothly bombarded Governor Chris Christie’s office with calls asking for information. Those Mayors asked him to intervene. They asked the Governor for help. We now know that those calls all went unanswered.
Why was the GWB closed? The mounting evidence suggests that the reason was political payback.
Governor Christie initially claimed that the GWB lane closures were part of a Port Authority-administered traffic study. That claim has since been proved to be untrue. In December, Governor Chris Christie attempted to play the scandal off by making jokes about it. The bells were already tolling. He just didn’t know it yet.
(To be continued)
Staff Writer; Arthur L. Jones, III
This talented brother is a local Minister, weekly featured Democratic Op-Ed columnist, non-profit advisor, and sees the Braves winning it all this fall. Rev. Jones welcomes your comments! Please email him directly at: tcdppress@gmail.com.