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The
political issue I chose to discuss was Chris Christie's George Washington Bridge lane
closure scandal. Massive traffic
jams in Fort Lee, NJ began on September 9, 2013 and lasted for 5 days when 2 of
3 toll lanes were shut down. The popular belief is that this was created for
political revenge by Christie for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich refusing to
endorse Christie in the 2013 gubernatorial election.
This
scandal has led many to view Chris Christie as a vengeful bully. It affected
many commuters and was even the indirect cause of some deaths, including a 91 year old who couldn't receive immediate attention due to delayed response; the closure of lanes led to ambulances being trapped in traffic jams.
Overall, the scandal has tarnished Governor Christie's reputation and portrays him
as a "dirty politician," causing him to lose not only the support of
voters, but their respect as well.
In my opinion, I agree with the fact that shutting down the bridge was, in fact, wrong. It put many lives in danger which is not appropriate for the safety of the general population. However, I do not agree with the fact that he had shut it down to spite Mayor Mark Sokolich. It seems a little bit absurd that someone would do such a thing where the lives of many are jeopardized! Maybe he did shut it down for the attention of the media and it backfired placing him in a negative light. I think that if someone were to do something like this, it would be best to warn the people about it so that no one will get hurt.
ReplyDeleteYour post covers the bridge scandal succinctly and directly. I share in your opinion that this event has tarnished Christie's reputation. I also commend your point that the true victims of this scandal are the people who died in those ambulances. Once again very short and sweet, good post.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I agree in that many commuters were affected by this, as well as New Jersey as a whole. He upheld important information from the public that had caused traffic jams. If this is surely linked to political reasoning, this will greatly impact his own campaigning in the future.
ReplyDelete