re: The Implausibility defense... why something as weird as closing traffic lanes?

[cthulu2016]

Some media folks are slow to come around on the Christie thing because it is implausible that ten or twelve people near the top of state government and transportaion were involved in a Rube Goldberg conspiracy to slow traffic as a roundabout way to make some minor figure look bad.

It is implausible.

Unless there are power-crazed, neurotic, brittle people involved... which there are.

It was very implausible that a man who could order the thermo-nuclear destruction of the world and had control over the FBI and CIA would have a privately assembled team of nitwits and wash-outs break into Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office.

But Richard Nixon did just that.

He had a bee in his bonnet about Ellsberg. He was hung up on Ellsberg. Something about the Pentagon papers case got under his skin.

People get hung up on weird things, and people in power can think locally, act globally, projecting the smallness of individual hang-ups onto a macroscopic screen.

[unblock]

1. correct me if i'm remembering wrong, but nixon was never shown to be directly involved initially

similarly to christie, it's pretty implausible that he didn't enthusiastically approve of it, or at the very least created a culture where subordinates would think he would approve of it. and then, nixon participated in the cover-up.

it's also implausible, for both figures, that these were isolated incidents. both nixon and christie clearly knew that that sort of thing was going on and at least tacitly endorsed it, even if they didn't know of every single incident.

[cthulu2016]

2. We will never know exactly what Nixon had prior knowledge of

It seems certain that he did not know about everything.

I suspect he had prior knowledge of some things.

[democratisphere]

3. At least Christie showed how petty he could be BEFORE he had the opportunity to become POTUS.

Now he doesn't have to worry about being discovered AFTER the fact!

[marybourg]

4. It's not really "roundabout".

Commuting to New York is the central fact and organizing principle of that part of New Jersey. It's its "raison d'etre", literally.

edited to correct 2nd "its"

[bettyellen]

5. that bridge has a huge impact on businesses as well as industry. it is the main

trucking route between the mainland and NYC, and the entire NE US. It's the only truck crossing allowed, and is already stressed by extremely high traffic levels. It was an ambitious target.

[treestar]

6. The power goes to their heads

Their actions are rational to them.

[Rex]

10. I think they know the difference between right and wrong no matter

how powerful they are or feel. Everything else is just an excuse.

[GeorgeGist]

7. I've found plenty of 'leaders' to be petty sociopaths.

In my more cynical moments I tend to believe it's a job requirement.

[Still Sensible]

8. Internally, the Nixon White House called their

political gofers "ratfuckers."

[FatBuddy]

9. they do it because they can

and they think no one can stop them.

[Rex]

11. The scary thing is, what other narcissistic assholes are running

vital parts of our country and are as petty and weak as Christie? Scary thought.