Free Republic

GOP lawmaker faces tough re-election against Democrat Tom Malinowski LEDGEWOOD, N.J. — Nobody dislikes New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance. The moderate Republican voted against what were supposed to be his party’s major legislative achievements this Congress: the tax overhaul and the repeal of the 2010 health care law. And unlike many of his GOP peers, he’s actually held town hall meetings. His civility and the carefulness with which he chooses his words hark back to a different political era. All that goes over well in his well-educated, affluent 7th District, where voters narrowly backed Hillary Clinton in 2016. But that...

Incumbent Republican leads Malinowski by 3 points in AARP poll Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton) has a 38%-35% lead over Democrat Tom Malinowski among voters over 50 years of age in his close first election since winning the seat in 2008, according to a poll conducted by the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP). Green party candidate Diane Moxley had the support of 1% of the respondents. Freedom, Responsibility, Action candidate Gregg Mele was backed by 2% of the same. In New Jersey, voters tend to skew Republican as they get older. The opposite is true of young voters, who tend...

If you want fresh evidence that Donald Trump has turned American politics upside down, here it is: Former Gov. Christie Whitman, a lifelong Republican, is so appalled by him that she wants Democrats to take over the House. "I'm hoping we lose the House, that would be a good thing," she said Friday. "Congress could stand up to him and could be dialing back a lot of this. They have ceded too much to this president." But be careful, she says. Don't kill the moderate Republicans, they are the ones who can help steer the country back to safe ground....

"The convictions of Manafort & Cohen only bolster my belief that the special counsel must be allowed to finish his investigation unimpeded by pressure from the White House, elected officials or the public. I’m the lead sponsor of legislation protecting the Mueller investigation."

.WASHINGTON -- Longtime Rep. Leonard Lance is in for the fight of his life as New Jersey's most vulnerable Republican lawmaker in a state that clearly doesn't like President Donald Trump. As he runs for re-election this fall in one of only 23 Republican-held House districts whose voters supported Democrat Hillary Clinton for president, Lance has been more willing to vote against Trump and his GOP colleagues. In fact, Lance, R-7th Dist., last year was rated as more liberal and less conservative than his lifetime record in Washington, according to a NJ Advance Media analysis of legislative scorecards from seven...

The GOP tax reform bill known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” came one important step closer to becoming law on Tuesday when the bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 227 to 203. No Democrats voted for the bill, of course. The party of big, centralized government isn’t for anyone keep more of their own money, other than perhaps illegal aliens and welfare recipients, and will never vote to cut anybody’s taxes. But not all Republicans voted for the bill either. Here are the 12 Republicans — all from high tax states — who joined...

U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) is extremely popular this week. The five-term congressman has filled a more than 900-seat auditorium and an overflow room at Raritan Valley Community College for a town hall meeting on Feb. 22. A second meeting was added for Feb. 25, and constituents who tried to register for that meeting said Friday they were told that session was also filled. Lance's spokesman John Byers, however, said the Feb. 25 event had open seats as of Friday afternoon.

Washington • The state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan secretly funded an all-expenses-paid trip to a conference at Baku on the Caspian Sea in 2013 for 10 members of Congress and 32 staff members, according to a confidential ethics report obtained by The Washington Post. Three former top aides to President Barack Obama appeared as speakers at the conference. Lawmakers and their staff members received hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of travel expenses, silk scarves, crystal tea sets and Azerbaijani rugs valued at $2,500 to $10,000, according to the ethics report. Airfare for the lawmakers and some of their spouses...

by John HillStand With ArizonaThe border is “safer than ever”. So DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has told us the past four years. Again and again. Barack Obama has mocked those who say the border is unsafe: “Maybe they’ll need a moat. Maybe they’ll want alligators in the moat. They’ll never be satisfied.” But for Texans, the Rio Grande is wide open - thanks to Federal failure to secure it  - and is a growing threat to the safety of citizens and law enforcement, on land and water. Wide open...and violent, as a Congressional delegation visiting the border found out this week. Three Republicans...

ATK is one company that won a contract with the Department of Homeland Security to provide 450 million rounds of .40 caliber ammunition in 2012. Last Friday, New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance (R – 7th District) told constituents that Janet Napolitano must explain to Congress why DHS has purchased 1.6 billion bullets and 2700 armored vehicles for domestic use. The purchase of thousands of fully automatic rifles for he DHS should also be explained.

RARITAN TWP. — Congressman Leonard Lance will continue his series of summertime town hall meetings, Monday, Aug. 23 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Raritan Township Municipal Building.During the meeting, Lance will discuss issues facing Congress and the American people. Lance will take questions and share his views on the issues like the economy, health care, federal spending and rising federal debt.:SNIP:The event is free and open to the public. Residents of Raritan and the surrounding communities are encouraged to attend.The Municipal Building is at 1 Municipal Drive, just south of Route 12 at the Dvoor Circle.For more information,...

The Larsen campaign has released a short animation on Leonard Lance's vote for the Cap and Trade Bill and its disastrous consequences for the citizens of New Jersey.Available on the campaign website (http://davidlarsenforcongress.com/index.php/cap_and_trade_in_congressional_district_7), the animation highlights how Lance sided with Democrats House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate President Harry Reid in voting for Cap and Trade. Lance was one of only eight Republicans to vote for the bill. Cap and Trade places restrictions or caps on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) manufacturers and other businesses can emit, forcing industry to purchase permits to offset the CO2 they are producing....

Today I attended what was billed on Conservatives for Patients' Rights as a Town Hall for my local Congresscritter, Leonard Lance. Unfortunately, Congressman Lance was not there, and the 100 or so irate voters who turned up were informed by his somewhat bewildered staffer that this was a "Mobile Office", intended to deal with constituent service issues, like late Social Security checks and the like. Well, we were not going to let the opportunity go to waste, and there was a cordial, if somewhat heated, discussion. Every single person who showed up opposed the Democrat plan. So, all in all,...

House Democrats were surprised at the number of Republican votes they won on the razor close climate change vote, which allowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to let a few more Democrats cast their own no votes. In what Democrats are readily admitting was their toughest vote since they took back power in 2007, the eight Republican votes proved critical to letting Pelosi hand out as many free passes as she could to members who thought that it would be too difficult to selling the bill in their districts.   The climate change bill passed 219-212, by just two votes...

In the wake of last week's landmark passage of the House climate bill, conservatives have focused their fury on the handful of Republicans who voted in favor of the sweeping legislation. The eight Republicans are Mark Kirk of Illinois; Mike Castle of Delaware; Mary Bono Mack of California; Dave Reichert of Washington; John McHugh of New York; and Frank LoBiondo, Leonard Lance and Chris Smith of New Jersey. Rush Limbaugh on his radio show yesterday accused the eight of voting for the bill sponsored by Democrats Henry Waxman of California and Edward Markey of Massachusetts because of Wall Street's influence...

Climate Change: A switch of four Republican votes would have defeated Waxman-Markey, the Democrats' global warming legislation. But like the Clinton Btu tax, the bill could die in the Senate and turn the House over to the GOP. What were these RINOs thinking? The GOP is supposed to be the party of low taxes and free markets. Rep. Mike Castle, one of the eight offered an explanation right off of President Obama's teleprompter...Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, who has senatorial ambitions to replace the choice of impeached former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Sen. Roland Burris, demonstrates why GOP fortunes in the Land...

House Republicans who received campaign donations from environmental groups helped make up the narrow margin of votes needed to send the Waxman-Markey “cap and trade” bill over to the U.S. Senate. The legislation passed by a vote of just 219 to 212 on Friday with critical assistance from eight Republicans. They are: Mary Bono Mack (Calif.), Mike Castle (Del.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Leonard Lance (N.J.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), John McHugh (N.Y.), Dave Reichert (Wash.), Chris Smith (N.J.). This support proved critical with 44 Democrats voting against the regulatory scheme.

Republicans in Italics: Bono MackCastleKirkLanceLoBiondoMcHughReichertSmith (NJ)

State Senator Ray Lesniak thinks allowing the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to sell off a portion of the state's toll roads would produce a huge windfall and annual savings for years to some. He doesn't, however think any potential cash from the sale should be used to stave off Governor Jon Corzine's one-cent state sales tax proposal. A bill Lesniak is set to introduce a bill that would, "allow the sale of 49% of the Turnpike Authority retaining control for the State of New Jersey." The Senator claims financial experts have told him that by doing so the state will...