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Video: NJ Gov Christie Plays Lt. Gov's Cancer Dad Card
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 1, 2011
Modified Jan 1, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 1, 2011
Modified Jan 1, 2011
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After giving some Democrats and NJ resident the opportunity to wonder why NJ Governor Chris Christie bothered to appoint a Lieutenant Governor if both he and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno were going to be on vacation at the same time—which happened to be during Blizzagedon, which meant Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney was the one calling the "state of emergency"— Christie fired back at a press conference yesterday. Why didn't he or Guadagno change their plans so at least one of them could be around? Well, Christie promised his kids the vacation to Disney World while Guadagno's dad has cancer and wanted to take a (possibly final) family cruise in Mexico. In other words, suck it, critics and reporters who had a slow news week and were looking for a scandalous story:
Christie says it wouldn't have been fair to break his promise to his family and says his critics are basically assholes for going after Guadagno without knowing about her situation.... a situation she apparently didn't want to make public. Christie also points out there was a system in place with his executive office team and he had full confidence in Sweeney—plus he was on the phone a lot!
The detail about Guadagno's personal situation was revealed through a "source" on Wednesday, and Slate's Tom Scocca wrote that day, "That anonymous piece of spin—'sources did not want to speak publicly about a private matter'—only affirms how monstrously detached Christie is. Not only wouldn't he adjust his own vacation for a blizzard, he wouldn't adjust it for a Stage IV cancer patient, either."
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blizzard 2010
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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