Friday, October 15, 2010

Did Ray LaHood Try To Intimdate Chris Christie?

...with a follow up question of, "Just how f*cking stupid is Ray Lahood?"
Answered thusly: "He's a member of Obama's Cabinet. What else do you need to know?"

Apparently, Transportation Secretary LaHood flew into Jersey last week to try and talk Christie out of cancelling the $8-$12 billion dollar (no one will admit to the eventual cost) ARC tunnel that Jon Corzine authorized in the days before his failed re-election bid, in a desperate attempt to shore up union support. Incidentally - LaHood flew in with his posse on a private jet; remember that when he's forcing you into an electric shoebox in the name of "global warming". But more to the point - the
Newark Star Ledger reported the following on the meeting:

LaHood and his top aides huddled over Christie’s announcement. The group was well aware of Christie’s reputation, the national political tour he had been on in recent weeks and his status as a main attraction and rising star in the Republican Party.

“Some around the secretary, according to those aware of the meeting, suggested Christie was little more than schoolyard bully who had to be put back in his place through the public-relations strength that can be mustered by a member of the president’s Cabinet.

‘We should slam him,’ one of LaHood’s advisers thought out loud. “Start talking about the thousands of jobs lost, all that.”


However, LaHood apparently was not ready for that....

Smart boy.

"Junior Soprano's the new boss and he ain't respectin' old arrangements "


What was LaHood ready for? Tax hikes to pay for the project:

[LaHood] threw out some back-of-the-envelope ideas, none of which was new to the New Jersey side of the discussions.

How about a 50-cent ticket surcharge for commuters?

Christie said he knew that concept and had already dismissed it in light of the recent toll hikes that are hitting hard the very same commuters who might one day be aided by ARC.

Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: Oh, yeah? Who knows more about extortion, me or you?

LaHood knew who was boss:

They agreed that both sides would look over the proposed options. The secretary’s aides asked for four weeks. Christie shot that down without a blink.

"Two weeks," the governor offered.

LaHood, after a career in the hard-edged world of Illinois politics, knew the score and quickly chimed in: "Two weeks it is."

And in case you're not sure how it is in Jersey, Christie made it perfectly clear:

As they broke, up the bottom line was reinforced by the governor.

"We have to work on the money," he said.

Silvio Dante: You're only as good as your last envelope

Maybe Lahood's not that stupid after all...

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