Thursday, January 09, 2014

EVEN IF RIGHT-WINGERS NEVER FULLY GET BEHIND CHRISTIE, THEY'RE GOING TO TRY TO MAKE BRIDGEGATE ALL ABOUT OBAMA AND HILLARY

Elias Isquith at Salon after Chris Christie's press conference:
For conservatives on Twitter, Chris Christie's press conference proved one thing: Barack Obama sucks
Indeed:
... anyone who was on Twitter while Christie was answering questions had the opportunity to see right-wing conventional wisdom form in real time. And that conventional wisdom, simply put, is the following: Yeah, Chris Christie may have messed up, but he’s still better than the mainstream media, Democrats, Obama ... and did you hear about Benghazi?
A few highlights:





Isquith has more tweets where that came from. And this follows James Taranto in The Wall Street Journal:
Christie's reputation as a straight talker has made for a flattering contrast with the smooth-talking Barack Obama. Obama's deceptions, most notably his fraudulent claims about ObamaCare, have seriously damaged public trust in Washington. Christie's supposed candor made him look as if he might be the man to restore it.

Worse, the Christie administration's evident abuse of the Port Authority is reminiscent of the Obama administration's abuse of the Internal Revenue Service. Neither the governor nor the president has been shown to be directly involved, but each must bear a measure of responsibility for his subordinates' actions. One of Obama's worst traits is his unvarnished contempt for his political opponents. The new revelations from Trenton suggest that Christie's administration, if not the man himself, has a similar quality.

Its sheer pettiness is what distinguishes the GWB scandal from the ObamaCare and IRS ones. The ObamaCare fraud was in the service of an ambitious ideological agenda, and ... the 2012 election was close enough that it is possible the IRS's suppression of opposition was necessary to secure the president a second term. Christie, by contrast, is not much of an ideologue and was cruising to an easy re-election.
And then there's Jennifer Rubin:
Ironically, in elevating the scandal to front-page news, the media drew attention to the press conference, which was a tour de force.

... Christie did everything humanly possible to clear the decks and address the mushrooming crisis. Will it be enough? That largely depends on what the U.S. attorney and New Jersey legislature find in their respective investigations. But one can't but help notice the contrast between Christie's response and the hide-the-ball behavior of the Obama-Clinton gang, be it in the IRS scandal, the Benghazi debacle or the "you can keep your health-care insurance" ordeals.
Expect the same from Peggy Noonan soon.

Add this to the argument (from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Steve Doocy) that media coverage of this story is just an excuse to avoid talking about the Robert Gates book, and you've got the makings of a right-wing reaction to Bridgegate that's agnostic about Christie but full of the right's usual certainty about the limitless depravity of Democrats.

And that alone could change the tone of the mainstream media coverage, and possibly help salvage Christie's career.

****

And if you want every single one of the emerging right-wing talking points in one piece, read this from Fox's Todd Starnes. Christie fired people, unlike Obama! Christie didn't say "What difference does it make"! Hell, there's even a Teleprompter reference.

5 comments:

Victor said...

Forty-five years later, and Ted Kennedy's been dead for almost five, and our Conservatives - some of whom had yet to be a gleam in their father's eye - still harp about Chappaquiddick!

No wonder the Republican Party's symbol is an elephant!

They NEVER forget!!!

Especially, any slip by a Democrat, or a slight!!!!!

What they forget, are any transgressions by their politicians.

Vitter, going to hookers in two states - wearing adult diapers - gets busted, and he gets reelected, and is a one of the Republican favorites to take Booooooby Jindal's place.

Spitzer, going to one hooker - had to leave office.

And Republicans claim to have HIGHER standards?

aimai said...

Look, these people have tourettes and say the same things whatever the provocation. Would you like a piece of chocolate cake? "No, because Obama has yet to explain what he was eating when Benghazi went down!"

This won't help Christie. He's just the shiny object they are attaching their obama/hillary hate to today.

Unknown said...

No wonder the Republican Party's symbol is an elephant! I think it should be. What they forget, are any transgressions by their politicians. Ironically, in elevating the scandal to front-page news, the media drew attention to the press conference, which was a tour de force.

Regards,
Diaper Bags

Grung_e_Gene said...

Right-Wingers may have blamed Christie for Obama's victory in 2012 by not equating Sandy w/ Katrina but he is the Koch Brothers and Plutocracy's choice.

As such, ultra-reactionary pundits will do everything in their power to make him the choice of conservatives.

Joey Blau said...

no to agree w any repubes, but..

"Spitzer, going to one hooker - had to leave office."

Spitzer (most likely) went to many hookers. he just had one he liked to use when down in DC.. where he had rigged up some official business so he could travel down their to meet her..

and this after busting prostitutes in what looked like a very hypocritcal and self-serving way...

and .. no one forced him to resign except maybe his (ex) wife... he could have served out his term.. instead of the blind guy.