By now most Kossacks are aware of the story broken by Steve Kornacki on MSNBC regarding Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken, and her accusations that her city had been abused by the governor's office for political reasons.
If you are not familiar with the story, stop reading now and check it out. You need the context for what follows.
Before running for the governor's office, Chris Christie was a US Attorney appointed by George W. Bush. He used the attorney's office to propel himself into the governor's office by building what is now ironically an anti-corruption image.
As US Attorney, Christie conducted a "sting" of corrupt politicians. By doing so, he was able to select potential targets from among his future political opposition and eliminate some before they had a chance to take him on. There is no doubt that the targets were crooked, but I suspect the list of those targeted did not include any of Christie's allies.
One of Christie's victims was Peter Cammarano, newly elected mayor of Hoboken. A month into his term of office, he accepted a cash bribe from a man posing as a developer, but actually working with the US Attorney's office. An otherwise charismatic local politician was now a convicted felon.
If you have bothered with this so far, step over that...thing, where I will reach a conclusion. I promise to be brief.
When Peter Cammarano was removed from office, Dawn Zimmer became mayor of Hoboken, first by succession, then by running for and winning the office. To date there has not been a whiff or hint of scandal attached to anything she has done as mayor.
Coming into office as a result of Peter Cammarano being caught accepting a bribe must have been a severe warning to Ms. Zimmer. There is no reason to believe she wasn't already scrupulously honest before taking office, but it certainly behooved her to remain honest once she did.
Fool me once, and so on. I suspect that Ms. Zimmer was EXTREMELY careful when tawdry offers came her way. Some of the same people now working for Governor Christie had been associated with him in the US Attorney's office. Any corrupt offer that came her way from that crowd must have seemed like bait, and only a fool would go for it. Not only did she reject the offers, she made sure she documented them herself. While some may quibble about her choice of documentation, this woman doesn't use weasel words and she challenges anyone who doubts her. She sounds like someone who isn't afraid of any accusations, because there are no legitimate accusations to be made.
I personally believe her, which leads me to the Law of Unintended Consequences.
Congratulations US Attorney Christie, on cleaning up the corruption in Hoboken. How did that work out for you?