It’s been a pretty rough patch recently for northeastern political tough guys, what with Christie’s legal troubles and Michael Grimm’s ‘roid rages, and let’s not forget Carlos Danger. I think it’s getting safer and safer to say that Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 implosion was not a one off, that, no matter how much Chris Matthews’ gruff unemployed uncle loves the whole Boss-Tweed-Meets-The-Soparnos routine, it just won’t play in Peoria. It’s not just the aggression, corruption, and Jersey Shore swagger, either — there’s also an inability to stick together when things get tough:
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Thursday there is a “fifty-fifty” chance New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) knew about an order to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge in September.
I don’t think Haley Barbour would be saying this about Bobby Jindal if something similar went down in Louisiana.
I don’t think any of the northeastern tough guy crew will make it nationally (not you either, Andrew Cuomo). They should enjoy their time in the “Morning Joe” greenroom and accept their own irrelevance.
schrodinger's cat
What about a Northeastern tough girl? Wasn’t Hillary a senator from NY?
dmsilev
First, being trapped in a room featuring Rudy and Geraldo discussing Christie is a vision of Hell to give Dante pause. Secondly, I see that we can add ‘probability and statistics’ to the long list of things Rudy doesn’t understand.
srv
They should go on the road together.
DougJ
@schrodinger’s cat:
She and Schumer and Gillibrand are different beasts, they’re much more quiet storm.
Hillary and Schumer don’t have to yell at people to scare them.
dmsilev
@srv: And not come back? Please?
Bill Arnold
He has a better chance of pulling it off than most, if baggage doesn’t bite him too badly. The calculated Rockefeller (D) Republicanism thing seems to be mostly working, at least from a down-state perspective. That and the on-time state budgets.
shortstop
I took this to mean Giuliani knows there’s zero chance and he’s helping to lay the groundwork for the inevitable revelations.
Or he could just be an asshole. I mean, he is an asshole, but that could be all it is.
shortstop
@DougJ: Schumer’s often inappropriate smiling kind of scares me.
schrodinger's cat
@shortstop: He does have rather large teeth and a toothy grin.
Sly
Where have you gone, Teddy Roosevelt,
A nation turns its overcompensating eyes to you….
jl
Unfair to Rudy. Things are tough for him too, he hasn’t been in the national news for whole days at a time recently.
kuvasz
Good gracious, if you’ve lost Rudy (9/11) Giuliani, you’ve lost America!
shortstop
@schrodinger’s cat: It’s not that…it’s that he often seems to be smiling at odd times. Perhaps he has inner joy.
jl
@kuvasz: I don’t think they’ve lost Rudy, this is pure extemporaneous Giuliani BS. But precise BS, noisily saying nothing (the one thing Rudy is good at) while keeping him carefully perched on the fence.
People will be interested in whether Rudy’s revised his odds, probably enough to justify another couple of bookings, amirite here people?
BGinCHI
@schrodinger’s cat: She’s from Park Ridge, yo.
Trollhattan
Was very pleased the Outlaw Jersey Whale has declared Denver to be Sunday’s victors. Seattle now has nothing to worry about!
beltane
Their inability/unwillingness to stick together is just about their only endearing quality. At least they are not total bots like the rest of the party.
In any event, we won’t know what’s really going on with Christie until Donald Trump offers his opinion.
BGinCHI
GodzBully vs. MothBully
BGinCHI
@Trollhattan: Let’s wait and see what Kristol says so we know for sure.
schrodinger's cat
@BGinCHI: Where is that? In Chicago?
jl
@BGinCHI: Remembering that Kristol is a reverse prediction machine. If Kristol starts saying the Big Man will survive the scandal(s) politically, then you know the Big Man is done.
Edit” Oops, forgot the comment was about the superbowl. OK, if Kristol picks the Niners, then you’ll know its the Chiefs, for sure.
dmsilev
@schrodinger’s cat: Suburbs of Chicago.
CaseyL
@shortstop:
There’s so much bad news for the GOP these days, I can’t help but give a big ol’ Schumer Smile, myself.
WereBear
@shortstop: I’ve met him, and my impression is that he’s too bright to be entirely happy as a politician.
Bright enough to learn to glad-hand, not that comfortable with it.
schrodinger's cat
@dmsilev: Are you guys still caught in the vortex? Above freezing temps expected on the rude coast this weekend.
shortstop
Thank dog these Clash and Elvis titles have come along, because “More, more, more, how d’you like it? How d’you like it?” has been earworming me all day, and I’m this close to offing myself.
ETA: SPECIALS! What is wrong with me? Reading one set of song lyrics and thinking of another.
dmsilev
@schrodinger’s cat: No, we’re back to cold-but-not-OMGCOLD weather.
jl
@shortstop: I don’t get most of these rock title and lyrics references. Because I don;t listen that much, and when I do it’s more for the music than the titles or the lyrics.
But, does this one have anything to do with Boehner’s message in a bottle? (ba-da-bing!)
shortstop
@dmsilev: It seemed pretty balmy today. I insouciantly went without a hat.
KG
It’s a cultural difference. The northeastern tough guy is based on the mafia/gangster archetype. If we’ve learned nothing from thousands of movies about that archetype, it’s that they are all on the same side until one of them risks the team’s power, then it’s cement shoes for the weakling. The southerners are much more about protecting the aristocracy, a failure by one is a failure by all, so they close ranks and defend.
MattF
There’s the same fifty-fifty chance that Rudy is an asshole. Look, flip a coin… heads I win…
shortstop
@jl: I visit a lady with Alzheimer’s in a nursing home. She can’t remember the conversation we had five minutes before, but the lyrics to thousands of songs are holding steady in her brain. So we sing.
RareSanity
@jl:
Ah…kind of like the dreaded “vote of confidence” management gives to the coach of a college or professional team.
You have a coach that is not performing up to expectations and a fan base that is angry. The general manager or athletic director makes it a point to state, unequivocally, that they still support the coach 100%…it is then that everyone knows the coach is getting fired at the end of the season.
jl
@KG: Or maybe, Barbour considers Jindal to insignificant and pathetic to notice much about him at all?
KG
@RareSanity: or in the case of USC, in the airport parking lot at 1 am after getting blown out… which, really, couldn’t have happened to a nicer coach or a better university.
KG
@jl: well, Jindahl is rather melanin rich, so maybe Barbour figures he’s the help?
jl
@KG: Ahh kin imaginate some cofuuushun in mistah Bahbah’s lil ol’ head about thayah finah points o’ the curren’ p’ltical scene a dayon thayah, Bless his lil ol; heart.
BGinCHI
@shortstop: It’s true. You can be damned insouciant.
KG
@jl: brilliant
RareSanity
@KG:
I don’t normally root for people losing their job…but that whole transaction was so full of awesome, I almost couldn’t take it.
Even growing up playing football in the south, I have always liked USC (minus the Kiffin years). Those SoCal sons of guns can play the hell outta some pigskin…they take a backseat to no one, including the SEC.
Plus their cheerleaders wear those awesome sweaters.
jl
@RareSanity:
” Plus their cheerleaders wear those awesome sweaters. ”
I think the sweaters should go, but maybe that is just me.
RareSanity
@jl:
Are they in some way sexist or otherwise offensive that I’m just not paying enough attention to?
Honest question…
I thought that I liked them because I saw them as “old skool” and a little more classy than some of the more provocative uniforms some squads wear.
Enlighten me, if you don’t mind, I don’t want to be walking around unknowingly sounding like a pig.
WaterGirl
@shortstop: You made me cry.
DougJ
@shortstop:
That’s how I want to end up. Truth be told, I’m a bit like that already.
jl
@RareSanity: No, I was being the sexist pig. Why bother with sweaters? Bikinis would be nice, and the weather would suit it. Or nothing at all.
And how about the guys playing the football games naked?
The memory of Troy should be properly honored.
RareSanity
@jl:
LOL
ellie
Great song!