Never Will A GOP-Manufactured Scandal Compare To Christie’s Malice Aforethought

If a person devises a plan to cause harm to a person or persons, the intent is a crime known as mens rea or malice aforethought. By definition, malice aforethought is criminal intent; the thoughts and intentions behind a wrongful act (including knowledge that the act is illegal). Until very recently, one of the most highly acclaimed, “bipartisan” politicians of our day was portrayed by the mainstream media as an honest, straight-shooter. 2016 Republican Presidential hopeful and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is the subject of a growing list of charges of extreme malice aforethought. The media’s obsession with comparing Christie’s malfeasance with a scandal on the other side (Democratic) of the aisle is not only sensationalism, it’s patently false and irresponsible journalism.

The Republican Party has an uncanny knack for denouncing exactly what they are guilty of themselves. The Benghazi incident of September 11, 2012 was indeed a tragedy where four Americans were killed. None of the outraged Republicans who thirst for retribution against any Democrat in the administration at the time, mention this minor detail: House Republicans have deliberately voted to reduce the amount of funds allocated to embassy security worldwide.   Even Senator John McCain (R-Az) admitted slain Ambassador Chris Stevens turned down extra security, thus proving Benghazi conspiracy theories all as ridiculous as the effectiveness of Marcus Bachmann’s gay conversion therapy. Another talking point repeated ad nauseum by those advocating the both sides angle is the alleged targeting of Conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status by the IRS.When the smoke (and mirrors) cleared, the targeting of both Democratic and Republican groups were simply the result of an algorithm which was triggered by key words such as occupy AND patriot which equally targeted both sides (for once!). What began as a scandal of epic proportions ended, once again, with a whimper.

When our twice elected President Obama risked his political future and the Democratic Party’s reputation by fighting hard to pass the Affordable Care Act, Republicans were outraged he accomplished this feat, despite herculean efforts to defeat the measure. Much of the law is based on the policy ideas of Republicans, namely the Heritage Foundation, and is a far cry from the Single-Payer system most people, if they understood what it entails, would support. Once enacted, the website was laden with glitches and some people found the insurance they thought they could keep was no longer in accordance with the minimum standards of Obamacare. This was labeled “the lie of the year,” perhaps even the century, if you listened to the talking heads on almost EVERY news station. Turns out, these policies were such a ripoff, they didn’t even meet minimum standards to prevent bankruptcies from unforeseen exorbitant medical costs. President Obama explicitly stated how unfair medical bankruptcy is and sought to eliminate this uniquely American injustice. Mistakes were made, but the bottom line: the President wanted to alleviate suffering; he wanted to make things better for the majority.

Now with the revelation of the “Bridgegate” scandal and the questions arising from other areas of abuse by the Christie administration, the parallels to Democratic misadventures are uttered in tandem with each sordid development. The idea that if a bipartisan media-darling like Christie could perpetrate several underhanded revenge scenarios, the Democrats must have also done something similar. With each passing day, more Democratic New Jersey Mayors who allegedly backed the Christie Administration are coming forward with the real impetus for their unexplained support: threats of retribution from Trenton. The victims would be the unsuspecting and unfortunate electorate of their cities.

Christie’s aura of self-importance that is paramount over ethics and his sworn oath to serve the people, is beyond dangerous. It is vindictive, petulant and unforgivably corrupt. Fox News’ anchor, Brit Hume refers to this “old-fashioned tough guy,” as a victim of a feminized atmosphere. Make no mistake, Chris Christie is the embodiment of petty, mob-style politics eerily similar to the days of Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed.

All too often, a Republican is always portrayed as a martyr, because a right-wing-owned media is incredibly adept at skewing the perception of the guilty as innocent victims of random circumstance. Ultimately, Chris Christie will show his true self: the quintessential Republican only interested in furthering his own ambitions with no regard for the people he was elected to serve.

By: VegasJessie

A resident of Las Vegas Nevada, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma as a Political Science major. Very motivated to get people to participate in the electoral process.