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It's Lonegan for the Laughs
Star-Ledger ^ | June 5, 2005 | Paul Mulshine

Posted on 06/06/2005 8:51:58 AM PDT by Irontank

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Doug Forrester should feel flattered.

Here's Forrester's property-tax plan as stated on his Web site:

"The 30% in 3 Guaranteed Plan will cut property taxes 10 percent the first year, 20 percent the second year and 30 percent in the third and every year going forward."

And here's Corzine's plan, just released on his Web site:

"Corzine's plan gives direct rebates to homeowners and renters who need them; rebates are guaranteed to grow at least 10% per year for 4 years."

Corzine is a lock to win the Democratic nomination for governor Tuesday. Meanwhile, Forrester is expected to grind out victory by a small but significant margin over the six Republicans who oppose him for the GOP nomination.

If the poll results hold up, the resulting campaign promises to be a bit of a bore. Like their tax plans, the two leading contenders are mirror images. Both were born and raised out of state. Both are wealthy. Both are WASPs. Both are nice guys, but neither is what you would call a fiery personality.

I look to politics mainly for entertainment. And it is therefore my fervent hope that by some miracle Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan beats Forrester for the GOP nod. I have been following the GOP campaign closely. As it comes to an end, I am left with the same impression articulated by 101.5 FM radio host Jim Gearhart on Friday.

"Steve Lonegan is the real Republican in this race," Gearhart said. "The other six candidates are Democrat-lite."

(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: forrester; lonegan; newjersey; schundler
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To all my fellow NJ Republicans who like Steve Lonegan in tomorrow's primary but plan to vote for someone else because (a) he supposedly would be "too conservative" to beat Corzine in November or (b) voting for Lonegan is essentially a vote against Schundler and, thus, a vote for the RINO Forrester...I quote John Quincy Adams:

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.

1 posted on 06/06/2005 8:51:59 AM PDT by Irontank
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To: Irontank
Vote for principle over pragmatism, and you might as well just shoot yourself in the foot.

I'm sure everyone has nice thoughts of frolicking in a field filled with flowers on a bright shiny day when they go out to the polls tomorrow and vote for Lonegan (or any of the other 5 losers), but they'll also have to live with the fact- yes, FACT- that their vote was thrown away in the sense that it widens the liberal Doug Forrester's lead over the only guy who can beat him.

Voting for Lonegan is like voting for a third party candidate in the 2004 election. Waiting in a line in a very important reason, only to get to the front of the line and choke.

(Yup, I'm definitely going to get flamed for this one.)

2 posted on 06/06/2005 9:01:28 AM PDT by SunnyD1182
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To: Irontank
Lonnegan lost my vote when he said he would do away with property taxes for senior citizens. So, he wants me to pay their taxes to.
3 posted on 06/06/2005 9:02:29 AM PDT by thomas16
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To: Irontank

Also, the only way a Republican can win in NJ is being Democrat lite.


4 posted on 06/06/2005 9:04:45 AM PDT by thomas16
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To: Irontank

I respect where you purists come from, but I can never be one of you.

Anybody but Forrester means Schundler.


5 posted on 06/06/2005 9:10:11 AM PDT by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: Irontank

If Lonegan is what he says he is, then he should forget about being Governor, for now.

He should devote his attention to grass-roots rebuilding of the Republican party from the bottom up, not the top down. Without that, no Republican Governor will have a voter-base or legislative-base for real reforms.

Organize locally; retake local party organizations; register unregistered Republicans; build local bases for strong grass-roots county organizations; mount county-wide local and state legislative candidates in 2007; continue to build-up the county organizations for 2009 elections and maybe get a real Republican candidate for governor in 2009 or 2011 - not likely to be ready till then.

It cannot be done trying to organize around personalities. It can be done, organizing around common principles (not positions and policies) that NJ conservative Republicans can agree on; sticking to those principles and selecting candidiates who will advocate policies that can be supported by those principals.

If anyone personally knows Lonegan, send this to him.


6 posted on 06/06/2005 9:11:19 AM PDT by Wuli (The democratic basis of the constitution is "we the people" not "we the court".)
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To: thomas16
Lonnegan lost my vote when he said he would do away with property taxes for senior citizens. So, he wants me to pay their taxes to.

Yep. Anybody who wants to throw my money around to anybody pretty much loses credibilty with me.

7 posted on 06/06/2005 9:11:50 AM PDT by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: Irontank

he has our 5 votes, we're sick & tired of these n.j. rinos...


8 posted on 06/06/2005 9:14:49 AM PDT by ronnied (big red)
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To: ronnied

All NJ has are Rhinos!


9 posted on 06/06/2005 9:18:47 AM PDT by thomas16
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To: thomas16
I'm sorry I meant to say Rhinos are the only ones who will get elected!
10 posted on 06/06/2005 9:19:42 AM PDT by thomas16
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To: Irontank

Based on what my contacts in New Jersey are telling me, the race is too close to call between Schundler and Forrester.

Lonegan is probably the best choice philosophically, but he has no chance to get elected - too poorly known, not enough money and just with local experience. A vote for Lonegan is a wasted vote.

The other contenders, like Lonegan, are far behind.

That leaves Schuster and Forrester.

Forrester is being actively supported by the notorious RINOs - Tom Kean and Lewis Eisenberg.

For those of you not well-read in the Byzantine intracies of New Jersey Politics, Tom Kean is the former President of Drew University. Tom Kean was also a governor of New Jersey. Tom Kean doesn't believe the Second Amendment gives people the right to keep and bear arms. During his governorship, the same ferociously hostile New Jersey gun laws which impede law abiding citizens on the ownership of modern guns was extended to muzzle-loaders. Tom Kean was also a supporter of liberal social causes. He supported the concept of an "apology" and "reparations" for slavery. He invited his "old friend" Bill Clinton to speak at Drew University when Clinton ran against Bush I. He delivered a scathing speech on the topic of "governmental betrayal" on 9-11 THE VERY WEEK PRIOR TO THE RELECTION CAMPAIGN of Bush II. Kean invited Clinton back a Second Time to speak at Drew just before he retired from that University. And, of course, Mr. Kean, a silver-spoon in the mouth old-time moneyed liberal and fancied modern aristocrat, chaired the 9-11 Commission and issued the famous comment that people should "butt out" when Jamie Goraleski's (spelling?) position on that Commission was rightfully questioned, as well as when the the blatant bias of the Democrat members of the Commission was attacked by the public.

As for Lewis Eisenberg, as I have stated before, he is another moneyed liberal. Formerly an co-worker of New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine's at Goldman-Sachs, a campaign supporter of Fritz Mondale, the liberal Democrat for President years ago, Eisenberg has founded a PAC to support liberal Republicans and oppose conservative Republicans. He was also a political associate of former RINO Governor Chrissie Whitman in New Jersey. (Chrissie has just written a new book "Its My Party Too" in which the Rockefeller Republican, termed a "birdbrain" by our girl Ann Coulter, attacks the conservative wing of the Republican Party). Whitman is also an unabashed "Rockefeller Republican". (Nelson Rockefeller was a liberal RINO and ex-governor of New York who walked out of the Republican convention in 1964 when Barry Goldwater was nominated.)

Given all that, it would be insane for any conservative or moderate Republican in New Jersey to vote for anyone but Schundler for governor.

A Forrester victory would put Tom Kean, Chrissie Whitman and Lewis Eisenberg in strong policy-making positions vis-a-vis a Governor Forrester.


11 posted on 06/06/2005 9:23:45 AM PDT by ZULU (Fear the government which fears your guns. God, guts, and guns made America great.)
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To: ZULU

In a race between Forrester and Corzine, you could make an argument that it would be preferable to vote for Corzine, so this man could, at least, be removed from the Senate. If Forrester is elected, we get Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. If Corzine winds, we get Tweedledum and a Tweedledumber-to-be-named-later. But you could look at a lot of names before you could come one as bad as Forrester.


12 posted on 06/06/2005 9:40:39 AM PDT by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: thomas16; Huck; Pharmboy
Hi All-

"...All NJ has are Rhinos!..."


New Jersey has a significant RINO problem, not a rhino problem. Now if you're talking about black bears, we've got something else to discuss.

~ Blue Jays ~

13 posted on 06/06/2005 9:47:04 AM PDT by Blue Jays (Rock Hard, Ride Free)
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To: Blue Jays

You'd think coming from NJ I would know the correct spelling, RINO, got it!:)


14 posted on 06/06/2005 9:56:40 AM PDT by thomas16
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To: SunnyD1182
In the past few weeks, I've had my aunt (who hated Schundler the first time and voted for McGreevey) tell me that she'd vote for Schundler this time around because of the stem-cell issue (she's Catholic and seems to be coming around because of that) and I don't know if Forester can or will capitalize on that but I think Schundler can and will. Of course I was also utterly stunned last night when a friend's public school teacher West Wing-watching ultra-liberal wife told me that this fall, she's voting Republican in the state-wide elections because she hates Corzine so much. So I'm not so sure that Corzine is going to be a shoe-in in the Fall. I'm hopeing that like the corpse of Frank Lautenburg did when he retired the first time, Corzine will just get sick of being a minority-party Senator with no power, especially if the Republicans pick up more seats next year.
15 posted on 06/06/2005 9:56:49 AM PDT by Question_Assumptions
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To: thomas16
Lonnegan lost my vote when he said he would do away with property taxes for senior citizens. So, he wants me to pay their taxes to.

I've never heard Lonegan advocate that...it doesn't sound like anything he would advocate...do you have a cite or an article where he discussed that?

16 posted on 06/06/2005 10:11:52 AM PDT by Irontank (Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under)
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To: Irontank

I heard on one of his radio adds driving into work one morning.


17 posted on 06/06/2005 10:44:11 AM PDT by thomas16
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To: thomas16

I also saw it on a TV add, he was with some senior citizens shaking their hands, all I could see was that he was pandering to get the senior citizen vote, there is a lobby to do away with taxes for some of the senior citizens.


18 posted on 06/06/2005 10:47:42 AM PDT by thomas16
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To: thomas16

actually, they could win by running a negative campaign against Corzine. most NJ voters don't know who Corzine even is. Explain to people how he made his money, how he was part of the crowd on wall street that looted and fleeced pensioners and investors - while he walked away with 9 figures. If Corzine were a wealthy republican from wall street, thats exactly how the Dems would run against him - we need to flip the tables and do the same.


19 posted on 06/06/2005 10:53:02 AM PDT by oceanview
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To: Irontank; Ziva

Bump for electing a real Republican.


20 posted on 06/06/2005 10:56:11 AM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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