I learned a lot more about the Christie bridge scandal tonight. This from a TPM Reader who must remain anonymous because … well, they play rough.
I’m a longtime reader from Livingston, NJ, hometown of Chris Christie. I’m fascinated by the whole bridge lane closing mess, and I agree this can really hurt him. Because it’s simple to grasp, and it makes him look really mean.
On the surface, it seems strange that a talented, charismatic politician like Christie is making so many mistakes with this. But nobody in Livingston finds it strange at all. That’s because we remember when David Wildstein was mayor.
TPM is pleased to announce the winners of the Seventh Annual Golden Dukes recognizing the year’s best purveyors of public corruption, outlandish behavior and The Crazy.
The awards are named in honor of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who epitomizes the iconic modern scandal.
This year, the Golden Dukes were sponsored by Media Matters, who give out their own annual award called Misinformer of the Year for the most egregious example of misinformation from the media. This year it goes to CBS News.
Our celebrity judges — Julieanne Smolinski, Dan Savage, Hendrik Hertzberg and Susie Bright — waded their way through all 35 finalists in 7 categories, and selected the winners.
Check out the lucky nominees and the reader emails that selected them here. To read any judge’s statements (be sure you do), scroll to the end and click on each judge’s name! And now, without further ado, the winners: