Posted on 05/23/2009 12:42:41 PM PDT by chevydude26
I am not associated at all with Lonegan's campaign but I am a nj resident and would like to spark a conversation from other freepers aware of the current battle that is a microcosm of the battle between republicans and conservatives. Christie is the establishment republican while Lonegan so far has shown himself to be a true conservative who wants to institute a flat tax of 2.9% in new jersey and wants to cut our horrible spending here in new jersey.
Would love all your input and if there are pro christie guys i'd love to hear from you guys too...there might be information i don't know about lonegan that could change my mind
i could care less if lonegan lost nominations before...you have to get a name somewhere
and just looking at the actual policies they plan to implement...lonegan has clear cut plans with numbers...christie...not so much...he speaks in such a general manner which gives him cover to basically do anything since he never claimed exactly what he would do...
I'd prefer an effective conservative who I don't especially LIKE to a likeable RINO any time!
“Seems to me getting 8% of the vote last time wasn’t very effective. If conservatives though Longean’s message was the best, they would have given him 31% of the vote instead of Bret Schundler.”
It seems to me you’re comfortable with an empty suit with no obvious ideas and the party establishment behind him, and Chris Christie unquestionably fits your requirements.
It’s unlikely I will vote for Christie, in spite of my disgust with Jon Corzine’s policies. If we can’t elect a real conservative, than let the Democrats take complete credit for New Jersey going bankrupt. New Jersey needs a complete change in direction, not just a small correction in policy details, which is all Christie might give us.
Reminds me of the presidential election when I was told the "only" candidates with any chance in the primaries were Rudy, Romney, and Fred Thompson. Well, they got one of three right (namely Romney)
I don't like being told that I have to support YOUR candidate or I'm helping the RINO.
“I don’t like being told that I have to support YOUR candidate or I’m helping the RINO.”
Lonegan is not my candidate. Merkt actually looks like the class of the field, but is generally given no chance of winning on June 2. Anyway, thanks for bringing him to my attention.
http://www.merktforgovernor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1
Poll shows:
Christie 50
Lonegan 32
Merkt 2
with the rest “undecided”.
Remind me again, how many states each of them won in the primary?
“I think there’s infinitely more evidence Longean was the spoiler than some freepers claim about State Senator Bill Brady causing Topinka’s nomination because he wouldn’t “get out of way” for unelectable Noshowberweis in the 2006 Illinois governor primary.”
I agree with that. Longean should not have run last time.
Fun fact I learned the other day. Longean is legally blind same as Patterson.
I’m not sure Christie is as huge a RINO as claimed, I want him to beat Corzine if he wins the nomination, but I’d vote for Lonegan if I lived in NJ. Although I’ve read plenty of criticism about his campaign.
Googling Rick Merkt he seems looks like a smart conservative at first glace.
http://www.politickernj.com/max/29716/merkt-contends-his-gop-rivals-are-misleading-public-tax-issue
He wants to dismiss leftist State Supreme court Justices.
But third place looks like his destiny.
In the 2006 Illinois primary, Oberweis was a spoiler at least as much as Brady. Both of them knew that they would split the anti-Topinka vote, helping her win the nomination. Oberweis should have known that, since the lost statewide primaries, in 2002 and ‘04, he would also lose in ‘06. I walked seven precincts for Brady. Oberweis should have dropped out of the race, in Sept. 2005.
Longean has a lot of baggage and has apparently lost not one, not two, but three prior campaigns (State Senator, Congressman, Governor) in a row. I don't think someone has permanently ruined any chance of future office if they lose one major campaign (see Reagan 1976 primary vs. Reagan 1980 primary), but losing three in a row is getting into Oberweis territory. Some of Longean's supporters apparently don't care about his losing streak, but care that Merkt is polling 2% in the primary and therefore "not viable". That's backwards to me. The rule of thumb is vote with your heart in the primary and vote with your head in the general election. I don't mind getting behind a long shot candidate in the primary if they'd make a good nominee for the general election, but I have a real problem running a candidate against the Dems in a general election that has a really poor track record in past elections.
I think Longean could potentially be another Alan Keyes and do more harm than good for NJ conservatives if he is the nominee. If he does anything stupid, the RINO establishment will blame conservatives as a whole. Keyes was the out-of-state sacrificial lamb against Obama after Obama had been running unopposed for a month and had become a national media celebrity. Even though almost NO Republican could have defeated Obama under those circumstances (barring a major star getting into the race like Mike Dikta or Jim Edgar), Keyes made some big gaffes in the November election and the RINO IL GOP establishment ever since then has used him as an excuse to portray all conservatives as hopelessly out-of-touch, goofy, unelectable fringe candidates. Prior to Keyes, our past three Senator candidates had all been conservatives (yes I count Jim Durkin's primary victory over Oberweis in 2002 as the "more conservative" candidate winning), but since then the party has had an excuse to run only "sensible, pragmatic" RINOs as our nominees (Sauerberg, and now probably Kirk). From what I've heard, Longean will do the same thing and run a general election campaign as a referendum on social issues like abortion. If Corzine crushes him, I think we won't see any more conservative statewide candidates from NJ for a long time and the next Governor's race will consist of 2 or 3 Christie Todd Whitman clones in the primary.
As for Christie... from what I've read, Impy's probably right that he's not as bad a RINO as some freepers make him out to be. Seems he's been endorsed by Bret Schundler and Steve Forbes (yes Forbes was wrong on the Giuliani endorsement though), and they say his tax reform plan is better than Longean's. Bret Schundler is throughly hated by the NJGOP establishment and would have no reason to back an ultra RINO they want. Obviously Schundler feels some of Christie's more conservative positions are made in good faith. Christie is also apparently running as a "pro-life" candidate (that alone puts him miles ahead of Whitman), though in fairness it appears to be a Romney-type flip-flop on his part. In any case, while I'd probably find him acceptable in the general election, I can't trust any candidate the NJGOP establishment has anointed as their choice in the primary. Plus it appears Christie's stance on illegal immigration sucks no matter you cut it. And even if he's not Whitman, the name "Christie" on a NJ ballot always haunts me. ;-)
Rick Merkt is looking good so far, it's a shame he hasn't built up any support and seems to be in Duncan Hunter territory for now. Impressive resume: He's built up a good track record in the New Jersey Legislature, served as Parliamentarian, Vice-chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, member of the Appropriations Committee, and member of the Higher Education Committee. He was previously Deputy Attorney General of NJ. He holds a B.A. from Yale, a law degree from Fordham University, and a Master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. His website notes "He is among New Jersey ’s first certified public managers and served as Founding President of the state Certified Public Manager Society. Mr. Merkt is vice-president and general counsel of a major power supply design and manufacturing firm with headquarters located in Morris County. Prior to his present position, he was in-house counsel to one of Morris County’s largest retail automotive firms. Assemblyman Merkt is a 32-year resident of Morris County and has been active in numerous community and volunteer organizations, specializing in eldercare concerns. He has received numerous awards for community and legislative service to Morris County."
On the issues, he highlights his support for second amendment rights and has an A+ rating from the NRA. He has a solid record opposing higher taxes and pledges "I will veto any tax hike proposal that passes the Legislature and use the line item veto to reduce state spending". On reducing government he writes "I will review all state regulatory requirements to determine whether they are really necessary, as opposed to hidden tax opportunities for the state. The goal will be to reduce the number of permits, licenses, etc. a business needs to a more reasonable and manageable number." He also promises to drastically reduce the number of state employers (currently 80,000) and slash the state budget by more than one-third of a billion dollars through four actions. He rallies against eminent domain seizures, illegal aliens taking American jobs, and activist judges in New Jersey, and has specific policy proposals on how to stop those things.
I'd like to know where he stands on some social issues like abortion and traditional marriage, though since it's NJ I don't expect the Republican candidates to shout their positions on these issues from the rooftops (though Longean seems eager to do so). In any case, so far, so good.
In the primary, I always go with my conscious and support the candidate who I think will be the best person the GOP could nominate for the job. If that person turns out to be polling an asterisk level of support, so be it. You don't have to deal with the RAT candidate on the ballot until November. This is the time to be principled and support the best conservative, period.
Also, never say never. Don't just assume it will be a two-way race between the guys polling all the support early in the race. Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson were considered the "front runners" for the GOP nomination back in summer 2008 (and McCain was considered a "has-been" from 2000 with no chance in the primary). Remind me how many states each of them ACTUALLY won?
“Oberweis should have dropped out of the race, in Sept. 2005.”
He should have never entered the race.
I admit I voted for Oberdouche because he was polling better than Brady. (and also I didn’t realize at the time how big a douce he was) And I voted for a certain RINO for President because I thought he was better than another RINO. I’d take both of those back.
I probably would have went for Rauschenberger but he quit due to to difficulty fundraising and bizarrely became the running mate of wealthy ‘moderate’ (but non-combine?) Rod Gidwitz.
Speaking of which NJ will get it’s first LT Guv, the nominees choose them after the primary.
RINO State Senate Leader Diane “Todd” Allen is an alleged top possibility.
L-o-n-e-g-a-n. It’s not Long-ean.
After Christie’s refusal (as a U.S. Attorney, no less !) to recognize the problem of the illegal invasion and to have the temerity to say illegals are NOT criminals, I wouldn’t vote for him or endorse him under ANY circumstances. That issue is DEEPLY personal to me and has had a very negative effect on my life (and I do not absolve Dubya of that, he could’ve done something about it and chose not to). Any Republican that doesn’t take a common-sense and SANE position on that issue that invaders need to be removed and employers JAILED can go screw themselves.
I do tend to cast "protest votes" in the primary for candidates who have little chance of winning, if I'm not happy with the 'front-runners'. It doesn't really do any harm unless the conservative vote is severely split and a RINO wins (though I think Phil Collins is right that Topinka's nomination is just as much Obie's fault and he should have sat that election out when we already had a number of good conservatives in the race)
In 2004, I cast a token "write-in" protest vote for Tom Tancredo in the GOP primary because I wasn't happy with Bush's immigration policies (it wasn't counted, as I learned later on, because Tancredo was not a declared write-in candidate) For the U.S. Senate race that year, I voted for State Rep. Jonathan Wright (who was polling about 2%), because I thought he was the most conservative candidate, had an impressive resume, and was a great speaker (Rauschenberger's record on immigration is also a little weak)
People are realizing in hindsight what a lousy field of choices we had in the GOP primary for President in 2008. I can't recall exactly, but I think Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo never filed the paperwork to get on the ballot in Illinois. My dad was a hardcore Fredhead, but Fred had dropped out by the time Illinois cast its vote on "Super Tuesday" in Feb., (Thompson was only "officially" in the race from Sept. 2007 - Jan. 3, 2008). The only candidates left at that point were McCain, Romney, Huckabee, and Ron Paul. My dad ended up voting for Huckabee along with me, but mainly because he couldn't stand McCain or Romney and wanted to cast his vote for anyone that could stop them. Even with Fred Thompson out of the race, his name remained on the ballot, so anyone who wanted to cast a pointless "protest" vote for him could do so (942 Illinoisans choose Thompson, for a total of 0.19% of the vote).
So has anyone figured out where Rick Merkt stands on social issues?
John McCain 426,777 47.45% 54 delegates
Mitt Romney 257,265 28.60% 2 delegates
Mike Huckabee 148,053 16.46% 0 delegates
Ron Paul 45,055 5.01% 0 delegates
Rudy Giuliani* 11,837 1.32% 0 delegates
Fred Thompson* 7,259 0.81% 0 delegates
Jim Mitchell, Jr. 483 0.05% 0 delegates
*Candidate withdrew prior to the primary
Haven’t researched Merkt. Any additional Conservatives in the race I regard as spoilers and should get out. It’s been nearly 70 years since a Conservative Governor was elected in NJ (Edison), and frankly, the state that has my ancestors buried in it going back to after the Revolutionary War needs a gigantic enema like Lonegan, and Christie is just more of another constipating tool.
I can admit when I was wrong or ignorant of the full breadth of information, like when I thought George Bush was EVER anything besides a big government CINO.
By the time Ober ran for Congress I was well aware that his nomination would risk the seat and as we know he did indeed lose. Chris Lauzen should be in Congress right now. Instead he lost the nomination after being smeared by Oberweis.
I won’t insult Oberweis by calling him the Illinois Romney, oops I just did. I shouldn’t have voted for either of them.
Ha I don’t even remember a Jonathan Wright on the ballot for Senate in 2004, I voted for Jack Ryan.
“So has anyone figured out where Rick Merkt stands on social issues?”
Well there’s
“1998-1999 Assembly Member Merkt supported the interests of the Family Planning Advocates of New Jersey 0 percent in 1998-1999.”
and
“Merkt sees civil unions as de facto “gay marriage” and is vociferously against it. Marriage is an ancient social, cultural, and religious institution, the Republican assemblyman contends, and he says his fellow lawmakers had no right to change the time-honored institution. Nor is he alone in his strong disapproval of yesterday’s vote.”
Cristie has allegedly been pro-life for the past 14 years.
Merkt looks like maybe he would be better than Lonegen but he’s gonna be a distant third place. I hope he’s considered for LT. Governor.
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