Stigall Takes The Star-Ledger To Task For Retracting Endorsement Of Gov. Christie
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Chris Stigall criticized the Newark Star-Ledger for apologizing for its endorsement of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie prior to his re-election last fall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT Monday morning.
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Citing the revelation that members of his administration ordered lane closures to the entrance of the George Washington Bridge and the subsequent political scandal that followed, the newspaper retracted its endorsement while also labeling the New Jersey Governor, "the most overrated politician in the country."
Stigall responded by asking if the paper should also apologize for their endorsement of Barack Obama before the 2012 Presidential election.
"Newspaper endorsements mean nothing. Newspapers are the dinosaurs that they are because of editorial pages like these. When a newspaper, as an organization, takes a political stand, that's a horrible mistake," Stigall said.
"When a newspaper that is tasked with giving you the information of the day -- the who, what, where, when, and whys of the world around us -- when they presume to tell you how to vote…doesn't it project what we know about mainstream media, [its] arrogance?"
Stigall continued on the subject of newspaper endorsements.
"How can you trust them," he wondered, "if just a mere matter of months ago, they said Christie was worth being re-elected, and now a scandal that's not even directly tied to him…you can't make the case that he knew about this thing. There's no evidence to suggest it, and now they have dismissed him as the most overrated politician ever? The guy they endorsed just a mere matter of months ago? Doesn't that undermine their credibility?"
Stigall questioned the validity of the paper's retraction and apology. He also cited its endorsement President Obama's handling of the economy, the war on terror and bailout of the auto industry as reasons they should retract that endorsement as well.