Posted on 04/03/2008 5:49:36 AM PDT by Impy
Ignoring calls by party leaders to stay out of the race, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-1st, said he would take on U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., in the June Democratic primary, according to an e-mailed statement from Andrews spokesman Bill Caruso.
Andrews said people across the state wanted "real choices based on a positive, substantive campaign" and that state voters deserve a choice.
"Today's newspapers carry stories of 'threats of retribution' against citizens who wish to engage in such a campaign," Andrews said in the release. "It is time that someone stood up to this kind of politics and stood for positive change in our country. We need to bring our troops home from Iraq's civil war, fix our broken economy and bring people of all backgrounds together in the great common cause of making our country better."
Democratic Party leaders said that while Andrews and Lautenberg were quality candidates, they would still back Lautenberg. Southern New Jersey politicians, meanwhile, supported Andrews' campaign.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine and state Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Cryan said in a joint statement, "A primary contest will be expensive for both candidates, but we are confident that the Democratic Party will be just as strong for the general election and, with the superior quality of our candidates, we will defeat the Republican opponent in November."
Lautenberg supporters were less civil.
"This primary election will be a unique opportunity for Democrats to make a clear choice," said Lautenberg's campaign manager Brendan Gill. "Whether to choose Sen. Lautenberg, who has consistently stood up to (President) Bush, or Congressman Andrews, who helped write Bush's resolution to go to war with Iraq."
(Excerpt) Read more at pressofatlanticcity.com ...
Ed Case part two or a serious threat to Frankenstein?
Well, the Democrats will want to free up Lautenberg anyway to be available as a presidential candidate in October, just in case.
Theres an irony in the party establishment saying Lautenberg deserves to run unchallenged (i.e. no choice of candidates) when he was installed ilegally on the ballots by the Supreme Court of NJ at the 11th hour when Bob Toricelli withdrew because he couldnt win, on the premise that providing choices to the voters was more important than some silly law.
He'll be dead before the election.
And I'm not talking about Lautenberg...
Murray Sabrin, my friend.
A shining star....like Schundler, much too good for the idiots in this state who reflexively vote for the RAT and RINO slime who are dragging this once wonderful state to bankruptcy.
One of my favorite freeper quotes ever is from Alberta's Child...
"Same with New Jersey. This state is so f#%&ed up that losing it should be a badge of honor for any candidate with a shred of integrity."
I’m certain they wear their badges with the intermittent rueful smile and we mourn the loss of what might have been.
Since when has a walking corpse who will do as it is told not been a sufficient choice for Democrats? Look at all the company he has-- Bob Casey, Jr., Tom Carper, Pat Murray, Sherrod Brown . . . all of these are reliable rubber stamps and none of them are crooked enough to actually get indicted for anything. Nor are they smart enough to run for higher office. Isn't that the ideal resume for a Democrat senator?
Andrews: If your IQ is over room temperature, you are disqualified!
well NJ had their chance with Forrester (?). that switcheroo that got Lautenberg in there after the Torch was disgraced out should have destroyed the Dems statewide. it didnt. NJ is a lost cause
Jersey is Lost. Sorry, but true.
yep i agree completely
love your name by the way Bronson was awesome
U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-1st, said he would take on U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., in the June Democratic primary... "Today's newspapers carry stories of 'threats of retribution' against citizens who wish to engage in such a campaign," Andrews said in the release... Democratic Party leaders said that while Andrews and Lautenberg were quality candidates, they would still back Lautenberg. Southern New Jersey politicians, meanwhile, supported Andrews' campaign.SNJ eh?
The Ed Case comparison is an apt one. Early in his career, Robert Anderws occasionnally showed independence from his party’s leadership. If he somehow wins this primary in spite of his party’s opposition, perhaps he will do so again.
The way Schundler was treated by the “republican” party in NJ was criminal. I met him several times and he’s an intelligent, down-to-earth human being. Having him as governor would have been wonderful.
I try not to succomb to wishful thinking when it comes to NJ politics. But sometimes it’s SOOOO hard not to.
I know exactly how you feel. My wife and I were volunteers in his most recent primary campaign against that inept Forester. He could not have been nicer to his volunteers and he probably would have been the only possibility for retrieving this state from the toilet trap. Much too late now.
The average republican politician in this state is largely indistinguishable in terms of behavior, belief system and voting record from any RAT politician.
I was going to run for the Assembly in the DPRNJ last fall....thankfully I didn’t, I saw what happened to Lonegan...they tazed him bro for protesting Socialism.
Much like Hillary the carpetbagger going to NY where her focus group said they were most receptive to leftists, I am moving my family to where I belong....
South Carolina. I’m following everyone else. Let them find some other sucker to pay for their utopian experiment. I’ll be on the golf course in Hilton Head with a big cigar and my Big Bertha.
I can even smoke a cigarette in the clubhouse afterwards with my beer!
I’d go with Ed Case scenario. Real upsets just don’t occur much in NJ, and the Establishment prefers the corpse. It’d be smart for the Dems to dump the Corpse in favor of Andrews, but they ain’t exactly known for pulling smart moves.
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