I grew up in New Jersey, in the area where Governor Chris Christie began his political career, so I have a sense of the pols from that area. I believe that the brewing scandal about the closure of traffic lanes to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey (for refusing to endorse Christie for reelection) is the tip of the iceberg of scandals coming down the pike. A number of articles, here and here and here point to a politician who helps his family and cronies skate on their criminal behavior but who goes after and bullies his perceived political enemies in a way that clearly steps over the line.
California Representative Henry Waxman said a number of years ago, "When the Republicans ran the Congress and Clinton was in the White House, there was no accusation too small for them to pursue. Now that President Bush is in power, there's no scandal so large that they have any interest in examining it." The same is true now with Darrell Issa...Benghazi anyone? But if the Democrats were to truly pursue what are clearly real scandals, then Christie would be exposed as the corrupt hack politician that he is. Hopefully, "Bridge-Gate" will open the door to Christie's sordid past now that both the U.S. Senate and New Jersey Legislature are starting to investigate. But I also believe this, that over the next few years, more scandals will emerge in the vein of what we've seen - sweetheart deals for friends, ugly bullying behavior, and blatant attempts to cover up the truth. I believe this because this is how Christie has always operated, and won. So, why would he change? I can only hope that the Democrats will investigate with as much vigor as Darrell Issa, only in their case, they truly have something real to look into.