"Schundler can play both the moderate and conservative cards"
You mean like Christie Whitman? Maybe we can have our very own John McCain!
"Lonegan, should he win, would immediately be shredded apart by the media as being a right wing crackpot, and Corzine would jump all over him in an instant."
You seriously think this won't happen regardless of who the nominee is?
"It's just not practical."
Neither is nominating a "triangulator". I believe voters respect someone more who takes a position and sticks to it than someone who sticks his finger in the air in order to decide whether or not to be a "moderate" that day.
I can accept voting on pragmatism in a general election, but not in a primary. No way, no how. We have to get our party in order, and actually have it represent what we believe, before we can expect it to start winning any voters over. "Faking it" is a losing proposition, and always has been.
Qwinn
Lonnegan says he wants to make it so senior citizens don't pay property taxes, so I guess I'll have to pay theirs! Lonnegan is no Ronald Reagan! Also running around saying I'm a conservative in your adds in NJ is a sure fire way to lose. Which he should.
Schundler's wishy, washy I really don't know what he stands for. No reason to take time out of my day to go to the poll. With these three clowns Corzine is a shoe in. Sorry but I calls them as I see them.
I don't have all that much of a problem with John McCain. If you take a look at his voting record, he's actually quite conservative. Christie Whitman can be more accurately compared to Doug Forrester, not John McCain.
You seriously think this won't happen regardless of who the nominee is?
Odds are that we lose to Corzine- but there is still plenty of time until November. If we play our cards right and rile up this state enough, a semi-moderate candidate CAN beat Corzine- and it's got to be Schundler or Forrester, because they're the only ones with both the name recognition and the moderate leans (liberal for Forrester) that can win in this state. Lonegan is a hardcore conservative- he'd stand 0 chance from the start. Better with a 10% chance than a 0% one.
I can accept voting on pragmatism in a general election, but not in a primary. No way, no how. We have to get our party in order, and actually have it represent what we believe, before we can expect it to start winning any voters over. "Faking it" is a losing proposition, and always has been.
Pragmatism in the primary sets up pragmatism in the general election. If the Democrats had nominated Howard Dean last year, they would have been assassinated instead of just losing by a few points with John Kerry in their candidacy. The last thing we need is an even bigger setback in November when Corzine shreds our party apart, blasting a guy like Lonegan on his conservatism (which Corzine will play as "far right Bushism"). It'll just make our party look even worse.
We do need to get our party in order, but voting for a candidate who has no chance- thus handing a bigger margin of victory to the most liberal candidate in the GOP field- is not any way to get this party into order.