Cenk Uyger loses it over Chris Christie 'protecting his own fat ass’

Young Turks host Cenk Uygur invoked his right as a fellow "fat New Jersey American" to slam Gov. Chris Christie (R) over his decision to hold a special election to determine a successor to deceased Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

"Chris Christie doesn't give a damn about the people of New Jersey getting to vote a couple weeks earlier," Uygur told his guests." That's the most ridiculous lie I've ever heard. All Chris Christie cares about is protecting his own fat ass. And as a fat New Jersey American, I know I live in a glass house, and brother, I'm calling you out on it."

Christie said on Tuesday that the election would be held on Oct. 16, despite Democrats' demands for it to take place on Nov. 5, the same day as Christie's bid for re-election.

"It needs to be happen in November," state Senate president Stephen Sweeney (D) told the New Jersey Star-Ledger on Tuesday. "I know there is some conflicting information, but you cannot disenfranchise voters for 17 or 18 months."

Uygur criticized Christie for spending $24 million in state funds to hold the election for Lautenberg's former seat two to three weeks before his own, but none of his panelists, all Huffington Post staff members, seemed to agree with him; reporter Elise Foley argued that Democrats were also concerned about having both elections simultaneously, worrying that Christie's supporters would follow the party line in voting in the senatorial race.

"I think there were concerns for all options, really," Foley told Uygur.

While Uygur agreed, saying Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and other Democrats did not want to endanger the election prospects for Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), who had allegedly been considering running for the vacant seat, he then decried that emphasis on self-preservation over the needs of the voters.

"Shouldn't Chris Christie shut his fat mouth about being a fiscally responsible governor from this day forward, now that he's gonna throw $24 million in the garbage for this special election for his own political purposes?" Uygur asked Post political editor Nick Wing.

"You've gotta imagine that he's willing to take any political advantage he can get," Wing replied. "Whether it's gonna be to put a Democrat on the ballot before November, so that he can hopefully get some benefit from the general election, and maybe try to chip away at the Democrats' advantage in the state legislature in the Senate."

Wing also explained that, with the election preceded by an Aug. 13 primary, Christie gets to watch Democrats fight amongst each other to determine their candidate for Lautenberg's seat, a rationale that drove Uygur to call his guests out.

"I hear all you guys," Uygur told the panel. "One of my pet peeves is the media that doesn't call out things that are obvious. Politicians are liars. They lie all the time."

Watch Uygur and his panel discuss the special election, aired Tuesday on Current TV, below.